Around but not close? Mapping normative trends in cross-race contact during adulthood

How do people form cross-race relationships in everyday life, and do people vary from each other in this process? Answering these questions can yield useful insights for scholars interested in encouraging cross-race contact. We investigated how people (N=1,156 Bay Area adults) met their different-race (versus same-race) contacts, the roles that different-race contacts occupied in their personal networks, and the content and quality of their relationships with their different-race contacts. We found that different-race contacts were, on average, “around but not close”. They were met in less intimate settings; they occupied less intimate roles; and they were felt less close to. Importantly, processes varied across people. People who formed cross-race kin relationships were the most likely to have stable cross-race contact, and people who engaged in “high effort” activities with their different-race contacts (e.g., confiding in) had closer relationships with them. We highlight insights of these results for encouraging cross-race contact.