Contextual Sources of Perceived Group Threat: Negative Immigration-Related News Reports, Immigrant Group Size and their Interaction, Spain 1996–2007

Abstract

This study attempts to further our understanding of the contextual sources of anti-immigrant sentiments by simultaneously examining the impact of immigrant group size, negative immigration-related news reports and their interaction on natives' perceived group threat. We test our theoretical assumptions using repeated cross-sectional survey data from Spain during the time period 1996-2007, enriched with regional statistics on immigrant group size and information from a longitudinal content analysis of newspaper reports. Drawing on multilevel regression models, our findings show that a greater number of negative immigration-related news reports increases perceived group threat over and above the influence of immigrant group size. Additionally, our findings indicate that the impact of negative immigration-related news reports on perceived group threat is amplified (weakened) in regions with a smaller (larger) immigrant group size. Collectively, these results testify to the importance of immigrant group size and negative immigration-related news reports as key contextual sources of natives' perceived group threat.

Individual values, cultural embeddedness, and anti-immigration sentiments: Explaining differences in the effect of values on attitudes toward immigration across Europe

“…Values tend to display high stability over time and do not offer a convincing mechanism for studying longitudinal change in anti-immigrant sentiments. Studies suggest instead that worsening economic conditions (Semyonov et al 2006(Semyonov et al , 2008, immigration policies (Schlüter et al 2013) or change in media coverage (Schlüter and Davidov 2011) may offer, at least in part, explanations for such longitudinal variation in negative attitudes toward immigration.…”

“…These studies suggest that unfavorable economic conditions on the country level accompanied by large-scale immigration are perceived as a threat to the economy and may induce hostile attitudes (Gorodzeisky 2011;Meuleman, Davidov, and Billiet, 2009;Pichler 2010;Quillian 1995Quillian , 1996Scheepers et al 2002;Semyonov et al 2006). Other contextual variables identified as sources of hostile attitudes are negative media coverage (Schlüter and Davidov 2011) and national immigration policies (Schlüter, Meuleman and Davidov 2013;Weldon 2006).…”

Media Effects on Racial Attitudes: Evidence from a Three-Wave Panel Survey in a Political Campaign

“…Additionally, frequent exposure to counter-stereotypical news depictions of groups can reduce negative attitudes and increase positive intergroup perceptions (Armstrong, Neuendorf, & Brentar, 1992). Research based on repeated cross-sectional data found that frequency of negative news coverage about immigrants increased perceived group threat (Schlueter & Davidov, 2013). Frequency of news about immigration has also been shown to increase the likelihood of voting right-wing populist parties (Boomgaarden & Vliegenthart, 2007;Walgrave & de Swert, 2002).…”

Support for restrictive immigration policies in the European Union 2002–2013: the impact of economic strain and ethnic threat for vulnerable economic groups

“…People may be exposed directly and indirectly and, moreover, alarmingly via media messages (Hopkins 2007). In this vein, Schlueter and Davidov (2013) showed that negative immigration-related news reports increased perceived group threat, over and beyond immigrant group sizes. In times of higher levels of unemployment and national government debt, employment and government resources generally become scarcer.…”