Ethnic Minority Contact and the Similarities between Adolescent-Reported Parental and Self-Reported Far Right-Wing Attitudes

Abstract

AbstractRecent developments in society, together with an increase in the number of far-right motivated crimes in Germany, suggest that far right-wing attitudes are becoming increasingly popular within public opinion. Since political attitudes are shaped within the family and peer setting during the adolescent stage, assessing the potential interplay of family and peer relationships with regard to such attitudes appears essential. The present study aims to explore (1) the relationship between perceived parental far right-wing attitudes, as reported by adolescents, and adolescents’ self-reported far right-wing attitudes, as well as (2) the unique and moderating effects of variables related to the contact hypothesis (ethnic minority friends and exposure to ethnic minority group members in the social environment). Using data from a representative school survey of seventh and ninth grade German adolescents, multilevel linear regression models indicated a statistically significant positive association between adolescent-reported parental far right-wing attitudes and adolescents’ far right-wing attitudes. Furthermore, the analyses demonstrated a small but statistically significant moderating effect of friendship with individuals of an ethnic minority: the relationship between parental and adolescent far right-wing attitudes was weaker for adolescents who had more ethnic minority friends. Thus, adolescents who were friends with individuals of an ethnic minority appeared to be less congruent with their parents’ far right-wing attitudes, compared to adolescents without any ethnic minority friends. In contrast, the overall level of exposure to ethnic minority group members in the social environment did not affect the strength of the relationship between perceived parental and adolescent far right-wing attitudes.