Intergroup relations after being ostracized and included by one’s own two in-groups

Despite the rise in exogamous marriages, little is known about how adolescents with parents from two different religious backgrounds experience social exclusion and acceptance. Two experimental ostracism-inducing studies examined needs satisfaction among Israeli adolescents aged 12–19 with a Muslim mother–Jewish father or vice versa when excluded or included by members of either parent’s group. The control groups consisted of adolescents with two Muslim or two Jewish parents. When playing Cyberball against ostensibly Jewish or Muslim opponents, the control participants showed a classic in-group effect: lower needs satisfaction when excluded and higher when included by their in-group. By contrast, split-identity adolescents reported the lowest needs satisfaction when excluded by either group, but the highest when included by members of the community in which they lived (Study 1: Muslim; Study 2: Jewish). The findings underscore the importance of social context for identity formation and intergroup relations and point to interventions to reduce conflict and support split-identity youth.