Comparing the effect of cross-group friendship on generalized trust to its effect on prejudice: The mediating role of threat perceptions and negative affect.

Achbari, Wahideh and Geys, Benny and Doosje, Bertjan (2021) 'Comparing the effect of cross-group friendship on generalized trust to its effect on prejudice: The mediating role of threat perceptions and negative affect.' PLoS One, 16 (2). e0245983-e0245983. ISSN 1932-6203

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245983

Abstract

Intergroup relations theory posits that cross-group friendship reduces threat perceptions and negative emotions about outgroups. This has been argued to mitigate the negative effects of ethnic diversity on generalized trust. Yet, direct tests of this friendship-trust relation, especially including perceptions of threat and negative affect as mediators, have remained rare at the individual level. In this article, we bridge this research gap using representative data from eight European countries (Group-Focused Enmity). We employ structural equation modelling (SEM) to model mediated paths of cross-group friendship on generalized trust via perceptions of threat and negative affect. We find that both the total effect as well as the (mediated) total indirect effect of cross-group friendship on generalized trust are weak when compared with similar paths estimated for prejudice.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Models, Statistical; Trust; Prejudice; Perception; Friends
Divisions:	Faculty of Social Sciences Faculty of Social Sciences > Essex Business School
SWORD Depositor:	Elements
Depositing User:	Elements
Date Deposited:	05 Mar 2021 08:44
Last Modified:	06 Jan 2022 14:22
URI:	http://repository.essex.ac.uk/id/eprint/30004

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