Investigating Anti-Black Attitudes Among Chinese International Students

The current study is one of the first quantitative investigations of the consequences of anti-Blackness on opposition to affirmative action and other social justice related outcomes among Chinese international students in the United States. Drawing on international student critical race theory (IntlCrit) and QuantCrit, we conducted mediation analyses using survey data from 386 Chinese international students at a large Midwestern university. Results showed significant direct effects from greater anti-Black attitudes to more opposition to affirmative action but not to social justice behavioral intentions (SJBI). However, significant indirect effects emerged: greater anti-Black attitudes were associated with greater social dominance orientation (SDO), which in turn was associated with greater opposition to affirmative action and less SJBI. Our study has implications for research and practice that critically examine the racialized experiences of Chinese international students and facilitate social justice education for this understudied population on U.S. college campuses.