Intergroup contacts in civil society organizations and trust: How neighbourhood diversity moderates the role of intergroup contacts

ABSTRACT When dealing with the complex policy issue of how to maintain social cohesion within an increasingly diverse society, decision-makers often view civil society organizations as important actors that can provide opportunities for intergroup contacts and pathways for immigrants to integrate. The present study uses data from a large-scale survey directed toward individuals nested within 36 different local communities and over 1250 different neighbourhoods with varying levels of visible minorities. The results contribute by showing that it is important to consider not only the frequency of intergroup contacts but also the context in which those who are involved in civil society organizations live. Those who are involved in civil society organizations at the local level are embedded in local contexts that moderate how respondents perceive whether others are to be trusted. Very frequent intergroup contacts within civil society organizations correlated more strongly with higher levels of community and outgroup trust among those with native backgrounds who lived in diverse neighbourhoods. Similarly, the results indicated that perceptions of intergroup contact mattered. Neighbourhood diversity and outgroup trust were statistically significant only for those who perceived intergroup contacts to be very positive or rather positive.