The effectiveness of intergroup contact on different contact levels in reducing Muslim prejudice: A multilevel approach

The Netherlands are an ethnically diverse society, but interethnic contact between immigrants and the native Dutch is scarce. With the increase of non-western immigrants since 2000, Islamophobia and discrimination against Muslims have increased. Avoidance of contact and increased Muslim prejudice are mutually related problems. A solution is suggested by Allport (1954) who hypothesized that intergroup contact could effectively reduce intergroup prejudice when certain conditions are met. Contact between different groups is likely to occur on different contact-levels, such as the classroom, the neighborhood and on the individual-level in case of intergroup friendship. However, research studying contact in different settings is scarce. The goal of this study is to test in a multilevel model on which level intergroup contact is most negatively related to Muslim prejudice. In contrast with our hypothesis this study found that ethnic diversity in the neighborhood and in the classroom has...Show moreThe Netherlands are an ethnically diverse society, but interethnic contact between immigrants and the native Dutch is scarce. With the increase of non-western immigrants since 2000, Islamophobia and discrimination against Muslims have increased. Avoidance of contact and increased Muslim prejudice are mutually related problems. A solution is suggested by Allport (1954) who hypothesized that intergroup contact could effectively reduce intergroup prejudice when certain conditions are met. Contact between different groups is likely to occur on different contact-levels, such as the classroom, the neighborhood and on the individual-level in case of intergroup friendship. However, research studying contact in different settings is scarce. The goal of this study is to test in a multilevel model on which level intergroup contact is most negatively related to Muslim prejudice. In contrast with our hypothesis this study found that ethnic diversity in the neighborhood and in the classroom has no significant effect on Muslim prejudice. Furthermore, the number of Muslim classmates is not related to the number of Muslim friends. Consistent with our hypothesis, adolescents with more Islamic friends had less feelings of Muslim prejudice. We therefore advise to alter the Dutch policy on integration and shift the focus to the level of the individual. Interventions can for instance be started at the level of the family or at the level of the classroom using the ‘jigsaw’ method.Show less

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The effectiveness of intergroup contact on different contact levels in reducing Muslim prejudice: A multilevel approach