Extending trust to immigrants: Generalized trust, cross-group friendship and anti-immigrant sentiments in 21 European societies.

The aim of this study is twofold. First, we expand on the literature by testing whether generalized trust is negatively related to anti-immigrant sentiments in Europe. Second, we examine to what extent the relation between generalized trust and anti-immigrant sentiments is dependent upon cross-group friendships. We apply multilevel linear regression modeling to representative survey data enriched with levels of ethnic diversity covering 21 European countries. Results show that both generalized trust and cross-group friendship are negatively related to anti-immigrant sentiments. However, there is a negligible positive relation between generalized trust and cross-group friendship (r = .10), and we can clearly observe that they operate independently from one another. Hence, trusting actors are not more likely to form more cross-group friendships, and cross-group friendship do not lead to the development of more generalized trust. Instead, the findings show that generalized trust leads immigrants too to be included in the radius of trusted others and, as a consequence, the benign effects of generalized trust apply to them as well. We conclude that the strength of generalized trust is a form of generalization, beyond the confines of individual variations in intergroup experiences.

The integration paradox: level of education and immigrants' attitudes towards natives and the host society.

The so-called integration paradox refers to the phenomenon of the economically more integrated and highly educated immigrants turning away from the host society, instead of becoming more oriented toward it. The present study examined this paradox in the Netherlands among a large sample (N = 3,981) of immigrants, including 2 generations and 4 ethnic groups. The assumed negative relationship between level of education and attitudes toward the host society and the native population was expected to be mediated by two indicators of perceived acceptance by the native majority: discrimination and subgroup respect. Results show that higher educated immigrants perceive more discrimination and less respect for minorities, and these perceptions, in turn, relate to less positive evaluations of the native majority and the host society. This pattern of associations is quite similar for the 2 generations and for the 4 migrant groups.

Economic participation and national self-identification of refugees in the Netherlands.

This study examines whether refugees self-identify as a member of the host society. We use survey data of more than 2,500 Somali, Iraqi, Afghani, Iranian, and ex-Yugoslavian refugees in the Netherlands. The results show that economic participation in the host country is positively related to refugees' national self-identification. In addition, we find that refugees' social ties with Dutch natives are associated with national self-identification and that the relationship between economic participation and national self-identification is partially explained by these social ties. Perceived discrimination is not related to refugees' national self-identification. Implications of these findings for debates on immigration and integration are discussed.