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. 2024 Oct;127(5):2368-2392.
doi: 10.1177/00332941221149182. Epub 2023 Jan 3.

The Effect of Multicultural Attitudes and Perceived Intergroup Threat on Attitudes Towards Immigrants in Portugal: A Polynomial Regression With Response Surface Analysis

Gabriela Gonçalves  1 , Cátia Sousa  2 , Lily A Arasaratnam-Smith  3
Affiliations

The Effect of Multicultural Attitudes and Perceived Intergroup Threat on Attitudes Towards Immigrants in Portugal: A Polynomial Regression With Response Surface Analysis

Gabriela Gonçalves et al. Psychol Rep. 2024 Oct.

Abstract

Supported by the Intergroup Threat Theory (ITT), this study analyzes the effect of multicultural ideology on attitudes towards immigrants mediated by realistic, symbolic, and zero-sum threats. With a sample of Portuguese participants (N = 404)), polynomial regression analysis with response surface methodology was used to test the effects of multicultural attitude (MA) and perceived intergroup threat (PIT) on attitudes towards immigrants (ATI). This study also tested a model in which positive MA leads to a lower PIT, and consequently to more favorable ATI. Four hypotheses were proposed; all of which were confirmed. The results further showed that the direction of discrepancy between MA and PIT can provide a more comprehensive understanding of the complex role of multicultural ideology in predicting ATI. Findings, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.

Keywords: The world is less peaceful today than at any time in the last decade; attitudes toward immigrants; multicultural attitudes; perceived intergroup threat; polynomial regression analysis; response surface methodology.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Three-dimensional representation of the combined effect of the multicultural attitude and perceived intergroup threat on the attitudes towards immigrants: Response surface analysis graphs.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Structural equation model.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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