Ethnocultural Empathy and Racial Colorblindness Among White Police Recruits: Do Cross-Racial Friendships Matter?

We investigated how ethnocultural empathy and colorblind racial beliefs were associated through the racial composition of close friendship groups in police recruits. In a sample of White police recruits in a midwestern training academy (N = 192), mediation analyses revealed a significant association between ethnocultural empathy and colorblind racial beliefs through Black friendships. Specifically, findings from path analyses indicated an indirect effect between earlier empathy for Black, Indigenous, People of Color and later reduced denial of institutional racism. Although both ethnocultural empathy and racial beliefs were associated with Asian American and Latinx friends, these close cross-racial friendships were not significant mediators. Limitations, directions for future research, and implications for training and intervention in police samples are discussed.