University of Genova, Italy.
Br J Soc Psychol. 2013 Dec;52(4):781-92. doi: 10.1111/bjso.12039. Epub 2013 Jun 12.
Emerging research suggests that outgroup partner's anxiety can disrupt intergroup rapport-building. This study extends previous findings by investigating the interactive effects of anticipated outgroup partner's anxiety and perceived ethnic discrimination on self-anxiety and intergroup contact avoidance. A sample of immigrant adolescents belonging to different ethnic minorities in Italy (N = 118) was considered. Results showed that when participants expected to interact with an anxious outgroup (Italian) versus in-group partner, self-anxiety increased and, as a consequence, their intentions to avoid future encounters. However, these effects were observed only for participants with higher (vs. lower) perceptions of being discriminated against. The implications of these results for interethnic communication and misunderstandings are discussed.
新兴研究表明，外群体伙伴的焦虑会破坏群体间的融洽关系。本研究通过考察预期外群体伙伴的焦虑和感知到的种族歧视对自我焦虑和群体间接触回避的交互作用，扩展了先前的发现。研究考虑了意大利不同少数族裔的移民青少年样本（N=118）。结果表明，当参与者预期与焦虑的外群体（意大利人）而不是内群体伙伴互动时，自我焦虑会增加，因此他们会避免未来的接触。然而，这些影响仅在参与者感知到更高（而非更低）的歧视时才会出现。讨论了这些结果对族裔间交流和误解的影响。
