Adolescents and prejudice: A comparative study of the attitudes of two European adolescent populations regarding the issues that are raised by increasing cultural and religious pluralism

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This study illustrates the reaction toward the cultural and religious pluralism of two adolescent populations, from two different European countries. The goal in this study is to relate prejudices regarding immigration to the socio-cultural features that in a given context shape the issues surrounding this subject. The hypotheses proposed indicate that the socio-cultural factors represent interesting examples of variation of the stereotypes and attitudes toward the phenomenon of immigration. A survey has been conducted in Italy and France on 1277 high school students (mean age 17.2) to examine two different contexts concerning the issues that are raised by immigration phenomena. Consideration of the contextual factors will enable us to understand why young Italians express prejudices focused on economical and social issues, whereas young French people have a prejudice driven by identity issues. In order to explain such a typology of prejudice we have turned to the social and cultural characteristics that the question of immigration takes on in these two countries. Let us remember that for a more in-depth explanation of the factors that shape intergroup hostility, variables at the individual level need to be put alongside those at the contextual level. This way of working will lead to a better understanding of the social genesis of prejudices.