Inter-Ethnic Bullying: The Role of the Contact with the Ethnic Outgroup

• In Event: Peers' and Teachers' Responses to Inter-Ethnic Bullying: Attitudes, Contact, and School Climate

Abstract

Introduction: In the literature on the perpetration of inter-ethnic bullying the role played by the contact with peers of other ethnicities is still unclear. Allport (1954) hypothesized that the contact with the outgroup promotes inclusion (contact hypothesis), and some studies have supported this hypothesis (Vitoroulis & Georgiades, 2017). Other studies, however, indicate that in multi-ethnic schools the high contact with ethnic outgroup peers is associated with higher inter-ethnic bullying, probably because there are more possibilities to victimize an outgroup member (opportunity effect; Peguero et al., 2015). Also the perceived quality of the contact may play a role, and both quantity and quality of the contact may interact with other risk factors, such as the perception of the school climate (Bayram Özdemir & Özdemir, 2020).
Hypotheses. This study aims to clarify the associations between quantity and quality of the contact with the ethnic outgroup, and the perpetration of inter-ethnic bullying when other factors are considered: perception of cultural acceptance at school (school climate), gender, peer popularity. We hypothesized that perpetrating inter-ethnic bullying is associated with a more negative perception of the contact quality. With regards to the contact quantity, both the hypotheses of the “contact hypothesis” and the “opportunity effect” were tested. Lastly, we hypothesized that contact quantity and quality moderate the association between school climate perception and inter-ethnic bullying.
Study Population. Participants were 225 adolescents (M=16.32 y., SD=1.51; 58.7% girls) attending high schools in Northern Italy: 73.8% native Italians (majority ethnic group) and 26.2% migrants (minority ethnic group).
Methods. Self-report measures were administered to assess: ethnic bullying (Roland & Munthe, 1997), quality (0=hostile, 4=friendly) and quantity (time spent at school) of contact with the ethnic outgroup, perception of cultural acceptance at school (La Salle et al., 2016), peer popularity.
Two SEM models were tested: A main effect model with inter-ethnic bullying regressed on cultural acceptance, contact quantity and quality, peer popularity, gender. A moderation model adding two interactions terms among predictors: cultural acceptance*contact quantity, cultural acceptance*contact quality.
Results. The main effect model fitted the data adequately in the overall sample and among Italians (CFIs > .91 RMSEAs < .06), but not adequately in the minority group sample. Among Italians, higher inter-ethnic bullying was associated with lower contact quality (Figure 1), and the moderation model (Figure 2) dad a good fit (lower AIC, BIC than the main effect model). The effect of cultural acceptance*contact quantity was significant and cultural acceptance was significantly, negatively, associated with inter-ethnic bullying only for high levels of contact quantity.
Conclusions. These findings indicate that among the members of the majority group a negative perception of the quality of the contact is the most relevant contact characteristic. The quantity of the contact, however, moderates the effect of the perceived school climate, which becomes a risk factor for inter-ethnic bullying only for adolescents who have higher contact with people of other ethnicities at school (opportunity effect). This result suggests that greater attention should be given to the quality of inter-group relationships especially in schools that are highly multicultural.

Authors

• Simona Carla Silvia Caravita, University of Stavanger (Norway)
  Presenting Author

• Noemi Papotti, Catholic University of Sacred Heart Milan
  Non-Presenting Author

• Elisa Gutierrez Arvidsson, Linköpings universitet
  Non-Presenting Author

• Robert Thornberg, Linköping University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Giovanni Giulio Valtolina, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan & Brescia, Italy
  Non-Presenting Author