Does interethnic contact buffer against the socialization of anti-immigrant prejudice? A test on the impact of parents’, school and contextual countrywide attitudes on young people

Abstract

Social science research has shown that interethnic contact reduces prejudiced attitudes. It has been also proven to successfully intervene in several mechanisms of prejudice formation such as when feelings of threat arise. However, there are few studies that examine the potential of interethnic contact in the reduction of prejudice transmission. Using data from PISA 2018, this article examines the impact that anti-immigrant attitudes from three socializing contexts (parents, school and country) have on young people's attitudes, as well as the capacity of interethnic contact to have a buffering effect against them. The results obtained from multilevel regression models show that the attitudes of parents, school and the broader social context of the country exert a notable influence on young people's attitudes. Our results also show that interethnic contact (friendships) lead to a reduction in anti-immigrant attitudes. However, such contact is only able to counteract contextual countrywide attitudes (not those of parents or school).