The Influence of Crime Salience and Economic Insecurity and on Attitudes Toward Migrant Groups

• In Event: Posters I

Abstract

The Syrian refugee crisis has recently garnered significant attention in the United States and abroad. As millions of Syrian men, women and children flee their civil war-torn country, seeking safety and security, potential host countries once again consider the “problem” of migratory populations. Whether directed at Mexican immigrants or Middle Eastern refugees, anti-migrant rhetoric tends to rely on often used and familiar themes. Specifically, at the heart of such discourse are heightened concerns about the criminal, economic, cultural and even medical threats that migrants are often thought to pose. To the extent that individuals feel that refugees and/or immigrants are a threat to their own personal safety and financial well-being, it is reasonable to assume that they well harbor increasingly negative and punitive sentiments towards such populations. Using data from the 2010 Transatlantic Trends Survey, this study then examines the impact of crime salience and economic insecurity on attitudes toward refugees and immigrants across several nations. Preliminary results indicate that both are predictive of punitiveness.

Authors

• Madeline Stenger, Northern Arizona University

• Michael Costelloe, Northern Arizona University