Youth Vocational Training and Conflict Mitigation: An Experimental Test of Social Contact Theory in Nigeria

Can grassroots-level interventions that increase contact between members of groups in conflict improve intergroup relations? We conducted a computer-education-based, randomized field experiment (the Urban Youth Vocational Training program, or UYVT) to test whether sustained social contact between members of groups in conflict can reduce prejudice and discrimination, increase cooperation, and alter individual attitudes about past violent events. We implemented the program in Kaduna, a northern Nigerian city that has experienced multiple deadly Christian-Muslim riots since 2000, resulting in residential segregation and diminished social contact across religious lines. Examining the effects of intergroup contact, we find no robustly significant changes in prejudice, but find significant increases in generosity toward the out-group and decreases in discriminatory behavior. Our findings suggest that attitudes may be slow to change in post-conflict settings but meaningful behavioral change can result from interventions designed to promote social contact across a deep religious cleavage. Further, by focusing on practical skill-building instead of peace-building messaging, we minimize problems of reporting bias and are able to suggest that positive contact alone is sufficient to change behavior in constructive ways.