scholarly journals Fear of Terrorism and Attitudes Toward Refugees: An Empirical Test of Group Threat Theory

2020 ◽  
pp. 001112872098189
Author(s):  
David De Coninck
Keyword(s):  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Empirical Test ◽  
Multilevel Modelling ◽  
Economic Conditions ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Migration Crisis ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Refugees And Asylum Seekers ◽  
Municipal Level ◽  
Threat Theory

In recent years, the co-occurrence of the migration crisis and terrorist attacks in European cities have created a strong link between refugees and asylum seekers and terrorism in the minds of many Europeans. This study investigates how attitudes toward refugees are associated with fear of terrorism. Using multilevel modelling on 1,500 Belgian citizens nested in 402 municipalities, results indicate that positive attitudes toward refugees are associated with lower terrorism fear. Adverse economic conditions at both the individual and municipal level are associated with greater fear of terrorism, while a large outgroup size is associated with lower fear of terrorism. Women hold greater fear than men, while commercial news consumption is associated with greater terrorism fears.

Social Psychology of Identity and Stereotyping in the Media

2021 ◽  
pp. 168-199
Author(s):  
Catherine Lido ◽  
Ariel Swyer ◽  
Leyla De Amicis
Keyword(s):  
Social Psychology ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Media Bias ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Social Psychological ◽  
Identity Narratives ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Refugees And Asylum Seekers ◽  
Threat Theory

This chapter is focussed on how the media may influence societal attitudes and behaviours, particularly in their coverage of refugees and asylum seekers. Traditional social psychological approaches to concepts of identity, categorization, and prejudice are discussed, followed by a review of relevant current models, such as intergroup emotion theory, integrated threat theory, and the so-called BIAS map (Behaviours from Intergroup Affect and Stereotypes). It is proposed that refugees might receive greater warmth and increased perceptions of competence if they were reframed in the news not as stealing jobs but, rather, as future citizens, supporting their new countries of residence by doing necessary work and by creating new employment avenues. The chapter concludes with a proposal for five evidence-based strategies both for audiences to be more overtly aware of misleading media bias (e.g., the creation of ‘us versus them’ identity narratives) and for developing a more responsible journalism.

scholarly journals Prejudice-relevant Correlates of Attitudes towards Refugees: A Meta-analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 502-524 ◽  
Author(s):  
Misha Mei Cowling ◽  
Joel R Anderson ◽  
Rose Ferguson
Keyword(s):  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Right Wing Authoritarianism ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
Refugees And Asylum Seekers ◽  
Systematic Database

Abstract This article meta-analyses the available data on attitudes towards refugees and asylum seekers, with the aim of estimating effect sizes for the relationships between these attitudes and prejudice-relevant correlates. Seventy studies (Ntotal = 13,720) were located using systematic database searches and calls for unpublished data. In the case of demographic factors, being male, religious, nationally identified, politically conservative, and less educated were associated with negative attitudes (Fisher’s zs = 0.11, 0.17, 0.18, 0.21, and –0.16, respectively). For ideological factors, increases in right-wing authoritarianism and social-dominance orientations correlated with negative attitudes, while the endorsement of macro (but not micro) justice principles were associated with positive attitudes (Fisher’s zs = 0.50, 0.50, –0.29, and 0.00, respectively). Perceptions of refugees as symbolic and realistic threats were the strongest correlates of negative attitudes (Fisher’s zs = 0.98 and 1.11, respectively). These findings have contributed to the growing body of knowledge that endeavors to understand the antecedents of refugee-specific prejudice, and are discussed in light of the global refugee crisis.

scholarly journals Refugees, Asylum Seekers, and Policy in OECD Countries

2016 ◽  
Vol 106 (5) ◽  
pp. 441-445 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy J. Hatton
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Oecd Countries ◽  
Economic Conditions ◽  
Policy Response ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
Displaced People ◽  
Political Terror ◽  
Refugees And Asylum Seekers ◽  
Developed World

Refugees and asylum seekers are only a small proportion of the 60 million forcibly displaced persons. But those seeking asylum in the developed world have received much of the attention as western governments have struggled to develop a policy response. An analysis of asylum applications by origin and destination indicates that these flows are largely driven by political terror and human rights abuses. Poor economic conditions in origin countries and tough asylum policies in destination countries matter too. In the light of the findings I suggest that greater coordination among OECD countries could improve the lot of those fleeing from persecution but even this would make only modest inroads into the sum of human misery that displaced people exemplify.

Migration Flows and Migration Crisis in Southern Europe

2018 ◽  
pp. 602-618
Author(s):  
Domenico Maddaloni ◽  
Grazia Moffa
Keyword(s):  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Southern Europe ◽  
Neoliberal Globalization ◽  
Political Debates ◽  
Migration Flows ◽  
Migration Crisis ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Refugees And Asylum Seekers ◽  
Southern European Countries

This chapter examines the main migration flows concerning the countries of southern Europe; those are a) the immigration from developed countries b) the so-called ‘new emigration’, and c) the persistent flow of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. They receive a very different treatment in local political debates, which are dominated by the concern for ‘the crisis,’ (i. e., the whole range of economic, social, and political changes arising from neoliberal globalization). While discussing the current literature on these topics, the chapter shows how these flows are politically constructed for the purposes of the establishment. At the same time, the chapter highlights the relationships between these trends and the general changes affecting southern European countries.

scholarly journals Prejudice-Relevant Correlates of Attitudes Towards Refugees: A Meta-Analysis

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Misha Mei Cowling ◽  
Joel Anderson ◽  
Rose Ferguson
Keyword(s):  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Right Wing Authoritarianism ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
Refugees And Asylum Seekers ◽  
Systematic Database

This paper meta-analyses the available data on attitudes towards refugees and asylum seekers, with the aim of estimating effect sizes for the relationships between these attitudes and prejudice-relevant correlates. Seventy studies (Ntotal = 13,720) were located using systematic database searches and calls for unpublished data. In the case of demographic factors, being male, religious, nationally identified, politically conservative, and less educated were associated with negative attitudes (Fisher’s zs = 0.11, 0.17, 0.18, 0.21, & -0.16, respectively). For ideological factors, increases in right-wing authoritarianism and social-dominance orientations correlated with negative attitudes, while the endorsement of macro (but not micro) justice principles were associated with positive attitudes (Fisher’s zs = 0.50, 0.50, -0.29, & 0.00 respectively). Perceptions of refugees as symbolic and realistic threats were the strongest correlates of negative attitudes (Fisher’s zs = 0.98, & 1.11, respectively). These findings have contributed to the growing body of knowledge that endeavors to understand the antecedents of refugee-specific prejudice, and are discussed in light of the global refugee crisis.

Europe’s Migration Crisis: An American Perspective

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 307-319 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip L. Martin
Keyword(s):  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
American Perspective ◽  
The Us ◽  
Angela Merkel ◽  
Migration Crisis

The European Union’s 28 member nations received over 1.2 million asylum seekers in 2015, including 1.1 million in Germany[1] and over 150,000 in Sweden. The US, by comparison, has been receiving 75,000 asylum applications a year. One reason for the upsurge in asylum applicants is that German Chancellor Angela Merkel in August 2015 announced that Syrians could apply for asylum in Germany even if they passed through safe countries en route. The challenges of integrating asylum seekers are becoming clearer, prompting talk of reducing the influx, reforming EU institutions, and integrating migrants.[1] Some 1.1 million foreigners were registered in Germany’s EASY system in 2015, but only 476,500 were able to complete asylum applications because of backlogs in asylum offices.

Overcoming the deficiency of refugee mental health research

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina Kalfic ◽  
Glenn Mitchell ◽  
Lezanne Ooi ◽  
Sibylle Schwab ◽  
Natalie Matosin
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Scientific Discovery ◽  
Mental Health Research ◽  
Psychiatric Research ◽  
Risk And Resilience ◽  
Refugee Mental Health ◽  
Refugees And Asylum Seekers

The growing number of refugees and asylum seekers are one of the most significant global challenges of this generation. We are currently witnessing the highest level of displacement in history, with over 65 million displaced people in the world. Refugees and asylum seekers are at higher risk to develop mental illness due to their trauma and chronic stress exposures, and particularly post-migration stressors. Yet global and Australian psychiatric research in this area is greatly lacking, particularly with respect to our understanding of the molecular underpinnings of risk and resilience to mental illness in traumatised populations. In this Viewpoint, we explore the reasons behind the lack of refugee mental health research and use this context to propose new ways forward. We believe that scientific discovery performed with a multidisciplinary approach will provide the broad evidence-base required to improve refugee mental health. This will also allow us to work towards the removal of damaging policies that prolong and potentiate mental health deterioration among refugees and asylum seekers, which impacts not only on the individuals but also host countries’ social, economic and healthcare systems.

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