TRUST AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS MIGRATION. The effects of perceived group threat and exposure to ethnic/racial diversity in the case of France
TRUST AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS MIGRATION. The effects of perceived group threat and exposure to ethnic/racial diversity in the case of France

Summary/Abstract: This article takes into consideration several aspects regarding generalized and institutionalized trust, media exposure, economic and political satisfaction, perceived group threat and symbolic threat, in order to explain, in the context of various degrees of exposure to ethnic and racial diversity, exclusionary behavior towards immigrants in France. The main hypothesis is that high levels of political and economic satisfaction and low mass-media exposure determines a decrease of the level of perceived threat and this, in the context of exposure to racial and ethnic diversity, reduces the exclusionary behavior towards immigrants. By analyzing ESS 2003 data on France, we show that the perceived threat represented by migration and immigrants, translated into behavior by the lack of voluntary relationships (friendship) with migrants, is a process determined by the level of satisfaction felt towards the national economy, the national government and democracy, media exposure and achieved level of education. Due to different patterns of mass-media consumerism, we find that indeed written media, television and radio have different effects on trust – both generalized and institutionalized – but also on the shaping process of threat.

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