The Ethnic Hierarchy Among Majority and Minority Youth In The Netherlands

Abstract

This study tests the hypothesis that ethnic groups have consensus about the relative position of ethnic out‐groups in society. A survey among ethnic majority and minority youth in the city of Rotterdam indicated that: (a) each ethnic group preferred the in‐group, (b) there was consensus on an ethnic hierarchy within ethnic groups, and (c) ethnic groups largely agreed on the ethnic rank order. Among the Dutch respondents, the ethnic hierarchy was found to be related to real cultural differences. The scheme of ethnic preferences corresponded inversely to the rank ordering of the ethnic groups in terms of collectivism. Among ethnic minority youth the rank ordering did not correspond to cultural differences but to existing socioeconomic status differences.