Ethnic Residential Segregation, Social Contacts, and Anti-Minority Attitudes in European Societies

Bibliographic Data

ID7771990
AuthorsM Semyonov (0000-0001-8794-6322), Anya Glikman
Year2009
Volume25
Issue6
Pages693-708
Publication date2009-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueEuropean Sociological Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0266-7215 • E-ISSN: 1468-2672
PublisherOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/esr/jcn075
OpenAlexW2091908773
LanguageEN
Citations received146
References cited40

Ethnic residential segregation has long been viewed as a major structural mechanism through which ethnic and racial minorities are denied equal access to opportunities, rewards, and amenities. Residential segregation also decreases opportunities for establishment and development of social ties and contacts between members of ethnic minorities and members of the majority population. This article examines the complex inter-relations between ethnic residential segregation, inter-ethnic social contacts and attitudes toward minorities within the context of European societies. It specifically examines the following hypotheses: first, ethnic residential segregation (i.e. residence in homogeneous all-European neighbourhoods) restricts opportunities for establishment and development of inter-ethnic social contacts; second, positive inter-ethnic contacts are likely to reduce anti-minority attitudes (i.e. perception of threat and social distance); and third, contact mediates the relations between the ethnic composition of neighbourhood of residence and anti-minority attitudes. Using data from the 2003 European Social Survey for 21 European countries a series of multi-level regression models are estimated to examine the hypotheses within a cross-national comparative framework. Although the findings generally support the theoretical expectations, they also underscore the complex ways in which patterns of ethnic residential segregation affect attitudes toward minority populations through inter-ethnic contacts. Explanations for the findings are offered and discussed in light of the theoretical expectations presented at the outset of this article.

Affect (linguistics) · Contact theory · Context (archaeology) · Demographic economics · Ethnic group · European Social Survey · Geography · Homogeneous · Neighbourhood (mathematics) · Perception · Political science · Politics · Residence · Sociology · Demography · Migration, Refugees, and Integration · Psychology · Social Psychology · Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies · Urbanization and City Planning

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