Contact quality and positive attitudes towards immigrants: The moderation of generalised trust

Abstract

In the context of international migration, intergroup contact has been widely recognised as a strategy for enhancing host populations' positive attitudes towards immigrants. However, the moderating factors that influence this association have been relatively understudied. In this research, we propose that generalised trust plays a significant role as a moderator in the relationship between the quality and quantity of intergroup contact and the positive attitudes of Chileans towards Peruvian and Venezuelan immigrants. We hypothesize that both types of contact will be associated with more positive attitudes towards immigrants in hosts with generalised trust (vs. no generalised trust). Using a sample of 916 Chilean participants, we conducted a linear regression analysis to test our hypotheses, and results show us a moderation effect only with contact quality. These findings have theoretical and practical implications, particularly in understanding how the moderation effect of generalised trust can contribute to improving intergroup attitudes.