Perceived Group Discrimination Research Articles

An empirical investigation of ethnic-cultural procedural fairness effects and their boundary conditions among three societal groups in South Africa

ABSTRACT Ethnic-cultural procedural fairness refers to the perception that societal actors use fair and unbiased procedures to make decisions vis-à-vis one’s ethnic-cultural group. Prior research using ethnic-cultural minority samples has convincingly shown that such perceptions are associated with a range of desirable outcomes. Yet, this body of evidence has so far limited its scope to European and North American samples. Moreover, more research is needed on the underlying psychological processes. Therefore, the central aim of the present study was to investigate ethnic-cultural procedural fairness effects among three societal groups in South Africa. In Study 1 (N = 326 black South Africans), we observed relationships between ethnic-cultural fairness perceptions and positive institutional and intergroup attitudes. Institutional and social trust respectively mediated these associations. Study 2 (N = 747) replicated these findings among white (n = 595), but not among coloured South Africans (n = 152). Notably, across both studies, we also obtained evidence for moderation. That is, procedural fairness effects on institutional attitudes were significantly smaller among socioeconomically burdened black participants, and procedural fairness effects on intergroup attitudes were fully curbed among white participants who reported high levels of perceived group discrimination. Taken together, our results call for enhanced attention to procedural fairness obstacles outside of typical WEIRD settings.

Succeeding without belonging? A double comparison of migrants’ socio-economic attainment and national belonging across origin and residence countries

Abstract When is migrants’ socio-economic attainment associated with enhanced national belonging to their residence country? Drawing on a large-scale survey, we compare migrants from the same 10 origin countries across Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands. We exploit this double comparison across origin groups and residence countries to contextualize mixed findings of positive, negative, and null associations between migrants’ socio-economic attainment and national belonging in earlier research. We introduce the notion of ethnic boundaries to situate when migrants’ socio-economic attainment and belonging are positively or negatively associated. We examine how migrants’ socio-economic attainment interacts with contextual variation in ethnic boundaries and with individual-level variation in perceptions of ethnic boundaries based on perceived group discrimination. Multi-group structural equation models show that migrants’ socio-economic attainment is often decoupled from national belonging. However, they also reveal crucial contextual variation as same-origin migrants can succeed socio-economically with or without feeling belonging in different residence countries. At the individual level, perceived group discrimination conditions this association, so that socio-economic attainment translates into more national belonging only when perceptions of discrimination are low. Our comparative findings of contingent national belonging thereby challenge existing assumptions that associations between socio-economic attainment and national belonging are linear and that ethnic boundaries in European migration contexts are rigid.

The intergroup dynamics of political cynicism: how perceived discrimination, outsiderness, and social capital relate to political cynicism among Moroccan and Turkish Belgians.

This study examines how intergroup dynamics shape political cynicism among Belgians of Turkish and Moroccan descent. Concretely, we examine whether perceptions of discrimination, feelings of ethnic outsiderness and social capital (in terms of associational membership) can explain minorities' belief that political elites are selfish, incompetent, and immoral. We analyse data from the Belgian Ethnic Minorities Election Study 2014. Arguing that political cynicism includes blame attribution towards the political establishment, we distinguish between perceived group discrimination by the government, on the labor market, and in everyday life. As expected, political cynicism is closely related to perceptions of government discrimination, with no observed correlation with discrimination in the other domains. Next, we show that perceived ethnic outsiderness is also strongly related to increased feelings of political cynicism, further reinforcing the argument that cynics are concerned with their ethnic group's excluded status and position in society. Finally, associational membership is only related to lower political cynicism when it is generated exclusively within ethnic boundaries; there was no relationship with cross-ethnic social capital. Our findings show that intergroup indicators are highly relevant for understanding minorities' political cynicism, but that the intergroup dynamics operate in complex and nuanced ways.

A test of the rejection identification model among gay men in Turkey

ABSTRACT Despite the improvements in the rights of LGBTIQ+ groups, gay men continue to confront prejudice and discrimination in various areas of life, whose effects harm their well-being. Turkey is one of the countries where prejudice and discrimination are high and pervasive. This study tests the possible mediating role of ingroup identification (i.e. satisfaction, solidarity, salience, importance, individual self-stereotyping, ingroup homogeneity), as proposed by the rejection-identification model (RIM), in the negative relationship between perceived discrimination and well-being in a sample of 496 Turkish gay men. Results indicated that identity salience mediated the links from perceived personal discrimination to negative affect and psychological well-being, but the mediating effects were contrary to predictions of the RIM. As for the direct effects, perceived personal discrimination predicted all four outcomes of well-being (i.e. psychological well-being, positive affect, negative affect, and life satisfaction), whereas perceived group discrimination only predicted negative affect. The results mark the context-dependent nature of the model and are discussed considering the literature regarding the RIM and minority stress theory.

Perceived group discrimination and the integration paradox in stigmatized neighborhoods

ABSTRACT Residents of “European Banlieues,” or stigmatized neighborhoods in urban peripheries across Europe, are frequent targets of discrimination. Scholars have previously found evidence of an “integration paradox,” where the most integrated people with foreign backgrounds perceive the most discrimination. In this research note, we evaluate whether the integration paradox extends to migrant-origin residents of “Banlieues.” Using an original two-wave panel survey of those with foreign backgrounds from two of Sweden's most deprived neighborhoods, we evaluate which subsets are most likely to perceive the most group discrimination and whether perceived group discrimination matters for their political incorporation. Our findings indicate the presence of an integration paradox in these communities, where greater acculturation is associated with less integration and more perceived marginalization: native-born residents are consistently more likely than foreign-born ones to report group discrimination. Moreover, perceptions of group discrimination are not without political consequence: discrimination reduces trust in national institutions and in ordinary Swedes, and is associated with a weaker Swedish national identity. These findings highlight evidence of pockets of discrimination in diverse and disadvantaged neighborhoods in European welfare states, and point to the detrimental consequences of perceived systematic exclusion.

The “hidden side” of intergroup contact: The role of perceived social structure in motivating support for social change among the disadvantaged and the advantaged

Intergroup contact is a powerful prejudice-reduction strategy, but research has also revealed its undesirable effects among the disadvantaged. To unravel these counterintuitive effects, we examine the explanatory role of sociostructural factors (permeability of group boundaries as well as stability and legitimacy of inequality) in the link between intergroup contact and both perceived group discrimination against the disadvantaged and support for collective action. We relied on quasirepresentative or nationwide samples of immigrants ( N = 1,539) and host nationals ( N = 838), who participated in two survey-based studies. Among the disadvantaged, contact was associated with less awareness of group discrimination and collective action intentions via more perceptions of permeability and/or stability. Among the advantaged, intergroup contact was associated with greater awareness of group discrimination and collective action intentions (primarily) via perceived illegitimacy of existing status disparities. Our findings elucidate the importance of structural factors in understanding the implications of intergroup contact in addressing inequality and inequity, as well as designing contact-based interventions.

Translation and Validation of Perceived Discrimination Scale in the Urdu Language

Perceived discrimination is an area that has been recognized as one of the important strains in relation to antisocial and delinquent outcomes. The purpose of this study was to translate and confirm the factor structure of the Perceived Discrimination Scale (PDS) in the Urdu language. The validation and translation were done in three phases. During phase I, the scale was translated using the standard forward and backward translation procedure. Language equivalence was established on a sample of 100 young adults (N = 100; 56 men and 44 women) through cross-language validation in phase II. Construct validity of the scale was established in phase III consisting of an independent study of 326 young adults with an age range from 18 to 25 (M = 21.23; SD = 1.68). The data was collected from universities across Pakistan. The factor structure of the scale was evaluated through two models: a two-factor structure model with Perceived Individual Discrimination and Perceived Group Discrimination and a unification model. The findings confirmed the factor structure of both the first-order and higher-order models of PDS. The findings confirmed the PDS as a psychometrically sound tool for measuring perceived discrimination in the Pakistani context

What Shapes Attitudes Toward Homosexuality among European Muslims? The Role of Religiosity and Destination Hostility

Muslim migrants and their descendants in Western Europe have consistently been shown to hold more negative attitudes toward homosexuality, the more religious they are. In this article, we go beyond this mono-dimensional view of religiosity and develop a theoretical framework that combines (a) the role of different dimensions of religiosity in anchoring cultural attitudes and (b) the potential impact of destination hostility and discrimination on the retention of cultural attitudes toward homosexuality among Muslim migrants in Western Europe. For the analysis, we use eight rounds of the European Social Survey, enriched with country-level data. Findings indicate that Muslim migrants’ mosque attendance, as a dimension of religiosity, has the negative effect that was expected. Particularly, Muslims who grew up in Western Europe are negative about homosexuality if they attended mosque regularly, whereas among first-generation Muslim migrants, origin-country norms are a strong predictor of attitudes toward homosexuality. In addition, we find that perceived group discrimination drives the maintenance of negative attitudes toward homosexuality, especially among mosque attendees. These results imply that the development of more liberal attitudes among European Muslims is held back by a combination of socialization in conservative religious communities and hostility from host-country populations.

Benefits of employment in people with mental illness: Differential mediating effects of internalized stigma on self‐esteem

AbstractPrevious research shows a negative relationship between the stigmatization of people with mental illness and self‐esteem. Through path analysis, the present study examines the extent to which both perceived individual discrimination and perceived group discrimination predict self‐esteem and the extent to which internalized stigma and concealment mediate these relationships. We also test whether this mediation is moderated by the amount of time worked. The participants were 110 Spanish people with mental illness (67 men and 43 women) recruited from Spanish nongovernmental organizations. The sample was divided into two groups according to whether they had a permanent employment contract (which occurs when a person has worked for over 5 months). The results confirmed the mediating role of internalized stigma between individual perceived discrimination and self‐esteem in the group with permanent employment contracts. Group discrimination had an indirect positive association with self‐esteem through reduced internalized stigma in the whole sample. In sum, our results show that being employed for longer may strengthen the relationship between perceived individual discrimination and self‐esteem via internalized stigma and that perceived group discrimination may buffer the negative relationship between internalized stigma and self‐esteem in people with mental illness.

Háblame de tí: Latino mobilization, group dynamics and issue prioritization in the 2020 Election

Abstract What motivated Latinos to turnout in 2020 in the middle of a global health pandemic that has devastated their community financially, physically and mentally? How might we explain Latino support for each one of the Presidential candidates in the context of these crises? In this paper, we tackle these questions through an investigation of the factors that drove Latino turnout in 2020 and what might explain Latino favorability for Joe Biden and Donald Trump. To contextualize these findings, we compare these results to the 2016 election. We find that the most predictive factors of Latino turnout in 2020 were perceived group discrimination and mobilization efforts by campaigns and other organizations. We also find that Latino candidate preference in 2020 can be best explained by issue prioritization. Latinos for whom the economy was the most important issue were more likely to support Donald Trump. However, Latinos for whom COVID-19 and racism towards the Latino community were the top pressing political priorities were more likely to favor Joe Biden. These findings continue to shed light on the diversity and heterogeneity of the Latino vote and speak to the significance of outreach efforts by political parties, candidates and community organizations.

The trickle‐down effect of procedural fairness on perceptions of daily discrimination: How societal actors can build social trust among minority members

AbstractThe present research investigated the trickle‐down effect of procedural fairness enacted by societal institutions on minority members’ social trust. Building on the racial identity development hypothesis, we argued that procedural fairness represents a racial socialization experience, which influences how minorities perceive discrimination in daily life. Perceived group discrimination, in turn, impacts social trust. The results of five studies with African American samples corroborated the hypothesized mediation model. Study 1 showed that minority members distinctly perceive fairness enacted by institutions and discrimination by fellow citizens. Subsequent studies demonstrated that manipulating procedural fairness influenced perceived discrimination in an “attribution‐to‐discrimination” paradigm (Study 2), and that inducing discrimination lowered trust in an allocation game (Study 3). Finally, Studies 4 and 5 obtained cross‐sectional evidence for the full model. Our results thus contribute to literature by showing that perceived discrimination mediates the relationship between procedural fairness and social trust. Societally relevant practical implications are discussed.

Perceived group discrimination based on one's gender and the gender gap in depression in Europe.

Gender discrimination is one of the most significant psychosocial stressors. This study examined whether the relationship between perceived group discrimination against one's gender (PGD) and the gender gap depression varied by societal levels of gender inequality. The current study used data from three waves (2006, 2012 and 2014) of the European Social Survey and applied multilevel linear regression methods. We assessed depressive feelings through the eight-item version of the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. The sample contained 71,419 respondents living in 22 countries. While only a small percentage of people were confronted with PGD, this group consistently reported more depressive feelings. PGD had a similar effect on the mental health of men and women, except for men in more gender-egalitarian societies. When confronted with PGD, the latter group reported more depressive feelings in comparison to men in more gender unequal societies. Our research found a strong association between PGD and depression. In addition, this relationship varied by societal levels of gender equality. More pronounced gender equality strengthened this relationship in men. Research that ignores this social context might, therefore, be limited in terms of generalization.

Group discrimination, intergroup contact, and ethnic minority members’ reactions toward the majority

This study expands research on how intergroup contact makes ethnic minority members less prejudiced toward the majority group. Specifically, we propose that perceived group discrimination may serve as an essential boundary condition of the friendship‒prejudice relationship. Accordingly, analyses show that: (a) cross-group friendship predicts less prejudice, (b) perceived group discrimination relates to greater prejudice only among noncontacted ethnic minority members, and (c) greater perceived group discrimination enhances the ability of cross-group friendship to predict reduced prejudice toward majority members. The enhancing effect is inconsistent with previous research. Moreover, we show that perceived personal discrimination does not moderate the friendship‒prejudice relationship. Finally, analyses confirm the unique qualities of cross-group friendship, as perceived group discrimination does not predict greater prejudice when this type of contact is most intense. Analyses are performed on an unusually rich, national probability sample of ethnic minority members fielded in 2017 including 1211 respondents from Denmark. We conclude with discussion of the implications of our findings.

Collective and personal self-esteem as mediators between perceived group discrimination and adjustment in Chinese migrant children.

Previous studies have shown that perceived discrimination is negatively correlated with children's psychological development. However, how perceived group discrimination (PGD) leads to negative adjustment is not known. For 692 Chinese rural-to-urban migrant children, we examined the relations between PGD and both behavioral and emotional adaptation (antisocial behavior and positive affect), as mediated by collective self-esteem (CSE) and personal self-esteem (PSE). Children (50.7% boys; Mage = 13.37 years) completed questionnaires on PGD, antisocial behavior, positive affect, CSE, and PSE. PGD was positively associated with antisocial behavior and negatively associated with positive affect according to structural equation modeling. CSE and PSE accounted for some of the PGD related to antisocial behavior and fully accounted for PGD effects on positive affect. These findings suggested that the combination of CSE and PSE is a potential mechanism that underlies PGD associated with both antisocial behavior and positive affect.

Attitudes of Turkish and Moroccan Belgians toward Redistribution and Government Responsibility: The Role of Perceived Discrimination, Generation, and Religious Involvement

This article contributes to the debate about migration’s impact on welfare state support by investigating the welfare opinions of migrants and their descendants. It examines whether experiences of group and individual discrimination explain the welfare attitudes of this group over and beyond classical predictors of self-interest and political ideology. Using survey data from Belgian citizens of Turkish and Moroccan descent, we show that stronger support for redistribution is associated with higher levels of perceived group discrimination, religious involvement, and belonging to the second generation. Preferences of government responsibility, however, are strongly determined by labor market position and left-right ideology.

Psychotic experiences among ethnic majority and minority adolescents and the role of discrimination and ethnic identity.

Research shows that the prevalence of psychiatric problems is higher in ethnic minority youth compared to native youth. This school-based screening study of early adolescents' mental health in the Netherlands examined differences in prevalence of psychotic experiences in ethnic minority youth compared to their Dutch peers. Moreover, we investigated the association between psychotic experiences, ethnic identity, and perceived discrimination. A cohort of 1194 ethnic majority and minority adolescents (mean age 13.72, SD 0.63) filled-out questionnaires on psychotic experiences (including delusional and hallucinatory experiences), perceived group and personal discrimination, and ethnic identity. Apart from lower levels of hallucinatory experiences in Turkish-Dutch adolescents, prevalence of psychotic experiences did not differ between ethnic minority and majority adolescents. Perceived personal discrimination was associated with the presence of psychotic experiences (including delusional and hallucinatory experiences) (OR 2.30, 95% CI 1.22-4.34). This association was stronger for delusional experiences (OR 2.94, 95% CI 1.43-6.06) than for hallucinatory experiences (OR 1.65, 95% CI 0.73-3.72). No significant associations were found between perceived group discrimination and psychotic experiences. A weak ethnic identity was associated with higher risk for reporting psychotic experiences (OR 2.04, 95% CI 1.14-3.66), particularly hallucinatory experiences (OR 3.15, 95% CI 1.54-6.44). When looking at specific ethnic identity categories, marginalization, compared to separation, was associated with a threefold risk for reporting psychotic experiences (OR 3.26, 95% CI 1.33-8.03). Both marginalisation (OR 3.17, 95% CI 1.04-9.63) and assimilation (OR 3.25, 95% CI 1.30-8.13) were associated with a higher risk for hallucinatory experiences. These results underline the protective effect of ethnic identity against mental health problems. Future research should focus on interventions that focus on strengthen social identity.

Perceived discrimination and physical health-related quality of life: The Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) Sociocultural Ancillary Study

RationaleThe aim of this study was to examine the direct associations of perceived personal and group discrimination with physical health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among Latinx adults. We also tested whether ethnic identity and depression symptoms sequentially mediate these associations. MethodThis population-based study included 5313 Latinx adults, ages 18–74 years, from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (2008-11) and its Sociocultural Ancillary Study (2010-11). Participants were recruited from the Bronx; NY; Chicago, IL; Miami, FL; and San Diego, CA. Self-reported perceived personal and group discrimination, ethnic identity, depression symptoms, and physical HRQoL were ascertained through interviewer-administered surveys. Survey-weighted path analysis was used to examine direct and indirect effects simultaneously in one analytic model controlling for demographic covariates. ResultsPath analysis indicated that higher perceived personal discrimination was directly associated with poorer physical HRQoL and this association was only mediated by depression symptoms. In contrast, perceived group discrimination was not directly associated with physical HRQoL. However, each of the direct paths linking perceived group discrimination to physical HRQoL were statistically significant: perceived group discrimination was positively associated with ethnic identity, and ethnic identity was negatively associated with depression symptoms, and, in turn, depression symptoms were negatively associated with physical HRQoL. Our model accounted for 18% of the variance of physical HRQoL. ConclusionsPerceived personal and group discrimination are differently associated with physical HRQoL. Results highlight the importance of considering self-perceptions of different discrimination forms when evaluating its impact on the physical HRQoL of Latinx adults.

The relationship between social identification and local voting, and its interplay with personal and group discrimination among the descendants of Turkish immigrants in Western Europe

This study explores how Turkish and Islamic identifications relate to local voting likelihood among the descendants of Turkish immigrants in 10 Western European cities using The Integration of the European Second Generation (TIES) survey data (Herzog-Punzenberger, 40 Jahre und eine Generation später – die Kinder der angeworbenen Arbeitskräfte in Österreich sind erwachsen, 2010; Crul et al., The European Second Generation. Does the Integration Context Matter?, 2012; and Fibbi et al., The new second generation: Youth of Turkish and former Yugoslav descent in Zurich and Basel, 2015). Unlike previous studies of the politicization of social identification, it researches local voting and considers how this relationship is moderated by the interplay between perceptions of personal discrimination and group discrimination. Islamic identification relates negatively to local voting likelihood among Muslims who perceive both high levels of personal and group discrimination. This study concludes that it is crucial to take the interplay between perceived personal discrimination, perceived group discrimination, and the countries’ policy context into account in studying the politicization of social identification.

Perceived group discrimination and psychological well‐being in ethnic minority adolescents

AbstractFew studies have examined the relation of perceived group discrimination and psychological well‐being. Yet, there are theoretical reasons to expect such a relation, and members of ethnic minorities usually perceive higher levels of group discrimination than personal discrimination. In this research, we investigated the associations between perceived group discrimination and several indicators of psychological well‐being among 354 Moroccan‐Dutch adolescents controlling for perceived personal discrimination and testing the extent to which ethnic group identification moderated these associations. Our results showed that higher perceived group discrimination was associated with higher parent‐ and adolescent‐reported internalizing (e.g., fear, worries) and externalizing problems (e.g., anger, aggression) but not with lower personal self‐esteem. For personal self‐esteem a negative association with perceived personal discrimination was found. Moreover, for adolescents with a strong ethnic group identification, there was no relationship between perceived group discrimination and parent‐ and adolescent‐reported internalizing problems, while for those with a weak ethnic group identification, perceived group discrimination was associated with more parent‐ and adolescent‐reported internalizing problems. Conversely, perceived group discrimination was unrelated to personal self‐esteem among low identifiers, but positively related to it among high identifiers. Results indicate that minority group members can be negatively affected by discrimination, even if they do not experience it at first hand. Thus, future research on the psychological effects of discrimination should include group perceptions.

How belief in a just world might shape responses to discrimination: A case study of left-behind children in China.

Previous study has indicated that perceived discrimination affected the children's behaviors, but whether belief in a just world moderates the relationship between perceived discrimination and problem behaviors among left-behind children and whether there are differences between boys and girls are still unknown. This study aims at exploring whether perceived discrimination influences the left-behind children's behaviors and the moderating role of belief in a just world among both boys and girls. Using cross-sectional data on rural left-behind children in Henan Province of China, this study examined the relationships among perceived discrimination (personal and group), belief in a just world and problem behaviors for both boys and girls. The participants included 336 boys and 310 girls. Self-report questionnaires captured perceived discrimination, belief in a just world and problem behaviors. The results demonstrated that Chinese left-behind boys who perceived a high amount of personal discrimination were prone to exhibit problem behaviors. Yet, neither perceived personal nor group discrimination was associated with problem behaviors among the left-behind girls. Moreover, the children's belief in a just world moderated the association between perceived discrimination and problem behaviors among the boys; in those who reported higher levels of belief in a just world, the negative effect of perceived personal discrimination on problem behaviors appeared weaker, comparing to those who reported lower levels of belief in a just world. In addition, the negative effect of perceived group discrimination on problem behaviors appeared stronger among the left-behind boys who reported higher levels of belief in a just world. Belief in a just world provided a protect function for the left-behind children when facing perceived personal discrimination. More attention should be paid on belief in a just world, perceived discrimination and problem behaviors among left-behind children.