ORIENTATIONS OF BLACK AND WHITE CHILDREN TO POLITICAL AUTHORITY FIGURES

• Published in: Social science quarterly Vol. 51; no. 3; pp. 561 - 571
• Main Author: GREENBERG, EDWARD S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Austin, Tex Southwestern Social Science Association and The University of Texas Press at Austin 01.12.1970; University of Texas Press, in cooperation with the Southwestern Social Science Association
• Subjects: African Americans; Articles and Research Notes; Authority figures; Authority/Authorities/Authoritative; Black people; Black/Blacks; Child/Children/Childhood; Children; High schools; Lower class; Middle class; Orientation/Orientations; Police; Political authority; Political socialization; Political/Politically/ Politicalization (see also Politics); White/Whites
• ISSN: 0038-4941; 1540-6237

Lack of res is noted in the pol'al soc'ization literature in general & the child-authority literature in particular re Amer subcultures. Previous res suggests 3 dominant themes: (1) Young children in Western democracies idealize authority figures. (2) Idealization can be traced to feelings of anxiety & helplessness in young children & their consequent need to see authority positively. (3) Idealization of authority figures is the mechanism by which the child 1st forms stable links to the pol'al system. The pol'al soc'ization patterns of black & white children re authority figures are compared in this context. 980 public Sch students from grades 3, 5, 7, & 9 in Philadelphia were given a questionaire. Findings show that both black & white children are likely to be highly supportive of authority figures in the lower grades, but this support suffers serious erosion in the upper grades. The policeman had a relatively much stronger position than the President among younger children of both races. Black & white children above grade 3 sharply diverged: black children declined in affect for the President much more quickly than white children, but by grade 9 were overtaken by their white peers. The f of hostility expressed toward President L. B. Johnson was shocking. Black children beyond grade 3 showed an unambiguous decline in role-related judgments re both the President & the policeman. White students by comparison maintained a ,substantial appreciation for the role attributes of the President. Data support the vulnerabilityidealization hypothesis in previous literature & suggest that maturing black children come to perceive the President as a kind of benign grandfather figure. The initial attachment of the black child to the police becomes eroded rapidly after grade 3. Longitudinal data are needed. 5 Tables. M. Maxfield.