Xenophobia and Tolerance Toward Immigrants in Adolescence: Cross-Influence Processes Within Friendships

Abstract

To what extent do adolescents and their friends socialize each others' attitudes toward immigrants? Can friends' positive attitudes toward immigrants counter adolescents' negative attitudes toward immigrants, and do friends' negative attitudes decrease adolescents' positive attitudes? These questions were examined by following a large (N = 1,472) friendship network of adolescents (49.2 % girls; M(age) = 13.31 at first measurement) across three annual measurements. Selection and influence processes regarding tolerance and xenophobia were distinguished with longitudinal social network analyses, controlling for effects of age, gender, and immigrant background. Findings showed that friends' tolerance predicted increases in adolescents' tolerance and friends' xenophobia predicted increases in adolescents' xenophobia. Moreover, friends' tolerance predicted a lower likelihood of adolescents' xenophobia increasing. The current results suggest that interventions should distinguish between tolerance and xenophobia, as these appear to represent two separate dimensions that are each influenced in specific ways by friends' tolerance and xenophobia.

Relationships between individual endorsement of aggressive behaviors and thoughts with prejudice relevant correlates among adolescents

“…We used the Tolerance and Prejudice Questionnaire (van Zalk, Kerr, van Zalk, & Stattin, 2013) to measure tolerance and prejudice toward immigrants. The Italian version of this instrument was formed by translation and back translation by English and Italian mother tongues.…”

Populist Upheavals: What can we do?

“…The awareness of the overwhelming influence of parents on the formation of xenophobic attitudes is also very important [45,46] as well as the knowledge of the inverse relationship between the ability to be friendly and tolerant towards strangers [36,47,48].…”

Prejudice in the classroom: a longitudinal analysis of anti-immigrant attitudes

“…Which leads to the assumption that if we are to understand how social contexts effect prejudicial attitudes, we must study their effects during adolescence. Taking in to account the research on how important the timing is on attitudinal formation and change, it is interesting that the research into the contextual effects on prejudice in adolescence has been quite scarce (but see Bubritzki et al 2017;Hjerm 2005;Miklikowska 2016Miklikowska , 2017Van Zalk et al 2013).…”