Abstract

This study examines the extent and pattern of out-group contact amongst a cohort of Catholic and Protestant first year university students in Northern Ireland (N.I.). Attitudes towards mixing with members of the out-group were also considered, together with a complex of constructs identified in the literature as being central to friendship development. These included group identification, self-disclosure, out-group attraction, and trust. Gender differences were also taken into account. Results revealed significant differences between religious groups and between genders. Catholics displayed a greater inclination to disclose to a friend of the same religion (p<.05). They also recorded a stronger feeling of group identification than their out-group counterparts (p<.01). Females, compared with males, reported higher levels of out-group trust (p<.05), a greater willingness to self-disclose to a friend of both the same (p<.05) and other religion (p<.001) and “to others” collectively (p<.05) together with higher levels of social attraction towards the out-group (p<.05). Both males and females preferred disclosing to a friend than a stranger (p<.001). Criticism of Social Identity Theory and the Contact Hypothesis as incomplete explanations for inter-group relations are discussed. The contribution of relational dimensions to an understanding of the association of Catholics and Protestants in N.I. is explored.