The Effects of Religiosity and Socioeconomic Status on Social Distance towards Refugees and the Serial Mediating Role of Satisfaction with Life and Perceived Threat

Abstract

In every society, refugees face social and economic exclusion. In particular, social distance towards refugees may be seen remarkably in cities where host people and refugees live together intensely. This study examined essential predictors of social distance towards refugees: religiosity, socioeconomic status (SES), satisfaction with life, and threat perception towards refugees. A quantitative research strategy was used to collect cross-sectional data from 1453 individuals via an online questionnaire in Turkey. Confirmatory factor, correlation, regression, and mediation analyses were conducted. In this study, the effect of religiosity and socioeconomic status on social distance towards refugees and the serial mediation effects of satisfaction with life and threat perception towards refugees on this relationship were analyzed. Questions related to age, gender, marital status, education level, and having refugee neighbors or not were used as control variables. It was found that religiosity and SES were associated with social distance towards refugees. Furthermore, in the effect of religiosity and SES on social distance towards refugees, the serial mediating roles of satisfaction with life and threat perception towards refugees, respectively, were identified.

Üni̇versi̇te Gençli̇ği̇ni̇n Suri̇yeli̇lere Yöneli̇k Sosyal Mesafe Ve Tehdi̇t Algisi: Tokat Gazi̇osmanpaşa Üni̇versi̇tesi̇ Örneği̇

“…3 -Türk vatandaşlarının Suriyeli mültecileri geçici (kalıcı yerleşimcilere kıyasla) yerleşimciler olarak gördüklerinde daha az tehdit algıladıkları nı ve Suriyeli mültecileri kabul etmeye daha istekli oldukları sonuçlarına ulaşmıştır. Koçak (2021) çalışmasında, mültecilere yönelik sosyal mesafenin temel yordayıcıları olan dindarlık, sosyoekonomik durum, yaşamdan memnuniyet ve mültecilere yönelik tehdit algısını incelenmiştir. Yaşamdan memnuniyet mültecilere yönelik tehdit algısını olumsuz etkilemektedir.…”

Migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees: Different labels for immigrants influence attitudes through perceived benefits in nine countries

“…We also let participants rate their personal understanding of the distinction between the labels (i.e., variable 'Understanding of Labels') because past research indicated that those who were less exposed to confusion between labels showed larger effects of labels on attitudes (Janky, 2019). 2 Finally, we recorded participants' self-perceived social class because social class predicts relevant outcomes related to immigration (e.g., perception of threat and social distance from refugees; Koçak, 2021). Altogether, we tested four moderators: Participants' (a) reported importance of issues regarding immigration, (b) conservative political orientation, (c) understanding of the differences between distinct immigrant labels, and (d) social class.…”

Forced Migrant: The Factors Contributing to Social Functionality of Syrian Youth

“…Satisfaction with life reflects the gap between one's expectations for the future and what one currently has. The greater the disparity between one's expectations and the things one has currently, the lower one's satisfaction with life (Koçak, 2021). Many studies in the literature have found that low satisfaction with life causes a variety of mental health problems, particularly depression (Lombardo et al, 2018;Moksnes et al, 2014).…”