Correlates of anti-immigrant prejudice in 1990s Spain
Description
This dissertation examines the correlates of negative attitudes immigrant groups and one native ethnic group (i.e. the Roma/Gypsies) in mid 1990s Spain, a period when the country, previously a mass emigration source, was rapidly growing into a major immigration destination. The main theoretical approach is group threat, according to which natives would be more likely to express negative attitudes to outsiders if those outsiders are threatening or are perceived to threaten the status quo, i.e. the dominant position of the native group. I also examine the effect of aggregate-level variables, such as regional GDP per capita on individual-level attitudes. I dwell on regional level aggregate variables because all 17 regions enjoy a high degree of autonomy within Spain under the constitution put in place in 1978 I use the concept of social distance to examine the correlates of Spaniards' attitudes to five immigrant groups (North Africans, South Americans, Asians, East Europeans and Black Africans) and one ethnic group, the Roma/Gypsies. I find little support for the group threat theory, but do find support for the contact hypothesis and for a cohort effect. Respondents who had a long conversation with the members of the minority group tend to express less negative attitudes toward these groups. Respondents from the cohorts that reached adulthood after 1975 tend to express more positive attitudes to these outgroups than respondents from older cohorts The dissertation goes on to analyze the correlates of negative attitudes to immigrants from developing and developed nations, respectively. OLS regression analysis suggests that personal contact and cohort matter for these attitudes as well, and that changes in an aggregate measure of prosperity (regional-level GDP per capita) also correlate, albeit not strongly, with attitudes in the expected direction (i.e. respondents from regions with smaller increases in aggregate prosperity tend to express more negative attitudes) One surprising finding throughout is that education level does not correlate with attitudes once other variables are controlled for. The dissertation concludes with a discussion of the limitations of the data and analysis and suggested directions for future research