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Xenophobia and Tolerance Toward Immigrants in Adolescence: Cross-Influence Processes Within Friendships

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An Erratum to this article was published on 07 April 2013

Abstract

To what extent do adolescents and their friends socialize each others’ attitudes toward immigrants? Can friends’ positive attitudes toward immigrants counter adolescents’ negative attitudes toward immigrants, and do friends’ negative attitudes decrease adolescents’ positive attitudes? These questions were examined by following a large (N = 1,472) friendship network of adolescents (49.2 % girls; M age = 13.31 at first measurement) across three annual measurements. Selection and influence processes regarding tolerance and xenophobia were distinguished with longitudinal social network analyses, controlling for effects of age, gender, and immigrant background. Findings showed that friends’ tolerance predicted increases in adolescents’ tolerance and friends’ xenophobia predicted increases in adolescents’ xenophobia. Moreover, friends’ tolerance predicted a lower likelihood of adolescents’ xenophobia increasing. The current results suggest that interventions should distinguish between tolerance and xenophobia, as these appear to represent two separate dimensions that are each influenced in specific ways by friends’ tolerance and xenophobia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Developmental Research, Örebro University, Fakultetsgatan 21, 70183, Örebro, Sweden

    Maarten Herman Walter van Zalk, Magraret Kerr, Nejra van Zalk & Håkan Stattin

  2. Youth and Society (YeS), Center for Developmental Research, JPS: Psychology, Örebro University, 70182, Örebro, Sweden

    Maarten Herman Walter van Zalk

  3. Research Centre Adolescent Development, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80.140, 70182, Utrecht, TC, the Netherlands

    Maarten Herman Walter van Zalk

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  1. Maarten Herman Walter van Zalk
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  2. Magraret Kerr
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  3. Nejra van Zalk
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  4. Håkan Stattin
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Correspondence to Maarten Herman Walter van Zalk.

Appendix

Appendix

Appendix 1

Table 4 The Tolerance and Xenophobia Scales
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Appendix 2

Table 5 Estimated Effects and SIENA Labels
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van Zalk, M.H.W., Kerr, M., van Zalk, N. et al. Xenophobia and Tolerance Toward Immigrants in Adolescence: Cross-Influence Processes Within Friendships. J Abnorm Child Psychol 41, 627–639 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-012-9694-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-012-9694-8

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