The impact of Hispanic population growth on the outlook of African Americans

Abstract

We know too little about the effects of immigration on black Americans. If prior research yields mixed evidence about immigration’s consequences for the objective well-being of African Americans, it is silent about effects of immigration on blacks’ subjective well-being. To fill that void, this paper assesses the impact of the expanding Hispanic population on black Americans from a social psychological perspective. We ask whether blacks’ self-reported distress, social distrust, or attitudes toward Hispanics and immigrants are affected by the size of the local Hispanic population or by the percentage growth in local Hispanic residents. Answers come from responses of non-Hispanic black participants in the 1998–2002 General Social Surveys, linked to 1990 and 2000 census data. Contrary to pessimistic claims, most social psychological outcomes, including measures of economic distress, manifest no impact of local Hispanic numbers. The four exceptions, significant effects of local Hispanic population share or percentage growth evenly split in valence, underscore the complexity of recent immigration’s effects on African Americans.

Does Size Really Matter? On the Relationship between Immigrant Group Size and Anti-Immigrant Prejudice

“…Vallas, Zimmerman, and Davis (), for example, compare anti‐immigrant attitudes in north and southeast regions of Virginia. Studies using the US General Social Survey typically used both metropolitan areas and non‐metropolitan counties (e.g., Dixon ; Berg ; Taylor and Schroeder ), and these were coded as city‐county. If the study considered individuals within a single country, we coded this as nation.…”

Warmth of the Welcome: Attitudes Toward Immigrants and Immigration Policy in the United States

“…For example, blacks in localities experiencing rapid Hispanic population growth have cooler feelings toward Hispanics, perhaps because of unfamiliarity and perceptions of conflict, but blacks in localities with larger shares of Hispanics have warmer feelings toward Hispanics, presumably because of greater contact (Taylor and Schroeder 2010). The perception that blacks and Latinos compete for resources may instigate blacks' cool initial reaction to Latinos, but this is balanced by blacks' sympathy for fellow minorities (Mindiola Jr., Flores Niemann, and Rodriguez 2002; Thornton and Mizuno 1999).…”

Racial diversity and change in metropolitan neighborhoods

“…In Los Angeles, Charles (2000) documents that one-third of Latinos and two-fifths of Asians identify an ideal neighborhood as one completely devoid of black residents. The feelings may be mutual; a different L.A. study finds that substantial proportions of black respondents hold negative views of Hispanics and Asians (Johnson, Farrell, and Guinn 1997; but see Taylor and Schroeder 2010). Stereotyping encourages the rank ordering of racial outgroups as potential neighbors (Charles 2000), which in turn could contribute to neighborhood fragmentation as certain groups seek distance from others.…”