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Advancing Active Allyship for Social Justice: Cross-Group Friendships, Social Empathy, and Political Engagement

Advancing Active Allyship for Social Justice: Cross-Group Friendships, Social Empathy, and... Collections of policies in the United States have produced and perpetuated ubiquitous social disadvantage. To overcome this reality, policymaking must be more democratic and participatory with active allyship in support of social justice. By deepening contextual understanding of systemic barriers and promoting macro perspective taking, social empathy may foster allyship from socially advantaged group members. However, research on the promise of social empathy and understanding of how to advance it remain nascent. Drawing on the intergroup contact theory (ICT) and using a sample of white U.S. college students (N = 329), this study explores the relationship between cross-group friendships, social empathy, and political engagement. Having close friends of color was indirectly related to more political engagement through a serial pathway of greater sociopolitical discussions and social empathy. The theoretical significance of these findings to the ICT and social empathy framework are discussed, as well as implications for intergroup contact interventions, social policy, and social work education. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Social Work Research Oxford University Press

Advancing Active Allyship for Social Justice: Cross-Group Friendships, Social Empathy, and Political Engagement

Social Work Research , Volume 46 (3): 12 – Jul 18, 2022

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References (53)

Publisher
Oxford University Press
Copyright
© 2022 National Association of Social Workers
ISSN
1070-5309
eISSN
1545-6838
DOI
10.1093/swr/svac017
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Collections of policies in the United States have produced and perpetuated ubiquitous social disadvantage. To overcome this reality, policymaking must be more democratic and participatory with active allyship in support of social justice. By deepening contextual understanding of systemic barriers and promoting macro perspective taking, social empathy may foster allyship from socially advantaged group members. However, research on the promise of social empathy and understanding of how to advance it remain nascent. Drawing on the intergroup contact theory (ICT) and using a sample of white U.S. college students (N = 329), this study explores the relationship between cross-group friendships, social empathy, and political engagement. Having close friends of color was indirectly related to more political engagement through a serial pathway of greater sociopolitical discussions and social empathy. The theoretical significance of these findings to the ICT and social empathy framework are discussed, as well as implications for intergroup contact interventions, social policy, and social work education.

Journal

Social Work ResearchOxford University Press

Published: Jul 18, 2022

Keywords: allyship; intergroup contact; political engagement; social change; social empathy

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