Intergroup Anxiety and National Identity Among Slovaks (Preliminary Findings)

Abstract

"Slovaks belong to nations that have long-term negative attitudes towards migrants (e.g. Bozogá?ová, Piterová, 2020). We are interested in whether national identity is related to intergroup anxiety (contact with a person of another ethnicity). Intergroup anxiety can be broadly defined as the arousal that occurs as a result of individuals’ negative expectations of rejection or discrimination during cross-group interactions or fears that the interaction partner or they themselves may behave in an incompetent or offensive manner (Stephan & Stephan, 1985, Turner, Hewstone, Voci & Vonofakou, 2008). The aim of the paper is to determine the relationship between national (Slovak) identity and intergroup anxiety and further determine whether there are differences in these constructs in the context of sex and age. The research sample consisted of 1001 respondents (49% men) aged 17 to 75 (M = 44.81; SD = 14.92). The data were collected online in the form of a panel collection in Slovakia with the ambition to obtain a representative sample of respondents (based on sex, age, region, and education). Intergroup anxiety was measured by the Stephan and Stephan (1985) scale (Cronbach ? = .866). Slovak national identity was measured by 8 items from ISP 2013 - National Identity III (Cronbach ? = .801). It was found that there is a weak positive relationship between national identities and intergroup anxiety. Multivariate analysis of variance was conducted to compare national identity and intergroup anxiety. Using Pillai’s trace, there was a significant effect of sex, age, and there was a significant effect of interaction sex x age. Results showed that older respondents (53 and above) scored higher than younger age groups in terms of national identity. Intergroup anxiety was higher in men. It appears that national identity is higher for women with increasing age, while for men its value decreases. The limit of the study is its exploratory and cross-sectional character. However, we consider it a steppingstone, when examining the mentioned constructs in the given context."

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