Page 172 - DSOC202_SOCIAL_STRATIFICATION_ENGLISH

Unit 8: Race and Ethnicity

Canada .09 .05 -.25*** .04 -4.75*** Notes
U.S. .13** .05 -.19* .09 -2.42* .19 .15

New Zealand .31*** .05 -- -- -- .42*** .09
Bulgaria .26*** .02 .17* .08 -1.70

Czech Republic .18*** .04 -.34 .19 -3.94***
Russia .35*** .03 .35* .13 <1

Slovenia .29*** .03 -- -- --
Slovak Republic .25*** .03 .06 .07 -2.59*
Total .37*** .01 -.09** .03 -15.80***
*** = p < .001. ** = p < .01. * = p < .05.

Inspection of Table 8.2 indicates that in 5 out of 7 analyses the interaction effect was significant in
the predicted direction : the link between ethnic and national identification was more positive for
majorities than for minorities. The powerful overall effect underlined the consistency of these
findings, t(8743) = -15.80, p < .001. Thus, the asymmetry between national minorities and majorities
is clearly reflected in the patterns of subgroup and superordinate identification.
Finally, the two native groups were analysed separately. While the relationship between ethnic
and national identification was positive for both Maoris and American Indians, it was significant
only for the Maoris. Yet, these results suggest that the relationship natives establish with the
nation is closer to a majority than a minority pattern. This effect may be due to strong feelings of
national entitlement of natives and considerations that the nation represents an ancestral homeland.
η 2 Levels of Xenophobia as a Function of Minority-Majority Status

We now move to the analyses concerned with xenophobic attitudes of minority and majority
members. In order to test the third prediction that majorities express a higher level of xenophobia
than minorities, Table 8.3 presents mean levels of xenophobia (corrected for the effects of age,
gender, and education level) for minorities and majorities. The results show that in 6 out of 11
national contexts, majority members hold more negative attitudes towards immigrants than
minority members. The largest difference is observed in Latvia, presumably reflecting the difficult
relationship between Latvia and Russia (all Latvian minority members are of Russian origin). In
Great Britain, the Slovak Republic, New Zealand, the U.S. and Russia, majority members are also
more xenophobic than minorities. The overall effect underlines the discrepancy between minorities
and majorities when it comes to negative intergroup attitudes.
Table 8.3
Mean Levels of Xenophobia as a Function of National Status

Majorities Minorities Difference F

Latvia 3.99 3.01 .98 160.8*** .196

Great Britain 3.27 2.88 .39 11.3** .012
Slovak Republic 3.73 3.52 .21 10.9** .009

New Zealand 2.92 2.63 .29 4.9* .007
U.S. 3.13 2.96 .17 5.1* .006

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