Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Friends Or Foes: The Impact Of Political Ideology And Immigrant Friends On Anti-Immigrant Sentiment, Elizabeth Kiehne, Cecilia Ayón

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In recent years, an increase in anti-immigrant sentiment has been witnessed in the United States, particularly from politically conservative groups. According to intergroup contact theory, increased contact between in-group and out-group members, especially cross-group friendships, has been found to reduce intergroup prejudice. This study analyzed nationally representative U.S.-based data (n = 1,000) from the Transatlantic Trends Survey, 2013 to examine if having immigrant friends interacted with political ideology, such that having immigrant friends weakened the association between conservative ideology and anti-immigrant sentiment. Findings revealed that immigrant friends and political ideology each had a significant but opposite main effect on …