“…Ethnographic studies indicate that this is attributable to the geographic variation in local demographic composition and intercommunity relations of local areas (Byrne, Hansson, & Bell, 2006). The consequences of contact encounters depend upon the history and composition of the residential contexts within which they occur and, although there is evidence of an overall increase in the level of intergroup contact among residents of mixed areas, this is often qualified by a level of strategic withdrawal at different times according to local political tensions (Hughes, Campbell, Hewstone, & Cairns, 2007;Hughes, Campbell, & Jenkins, 2011). Furthermore, ethnographic research points to a fundamental difference largely overlooked by survey research: the experience of contact is qualitatively different for those who have lived in mixed areas for some time compared to those who have recently arrived (Byrne et al, 2006;Stevenson & Sagherian-Dickey, 2016).…”