Contact, Perceived Threat, and Attitudes Toward Assimilation and Multiculturalism: Evidence From a Majority and Minority Perspective in Luxembourg

Abstract

In this article, we study how attitudes toward the integration of immigrants (multiculturalism and assimilation) are formed through the interplay between immigration-related threat perceptions, intergroup contacts, and the different migratory backgrounds of residents in a host country. The analysis is conducted using Multiple Group Structural Equation Modeling on data from the 2008 Luxembourg European Values Study. Our findings indicate that stronger perceptions of threat are related to more support for assimilation among all residents and to less support for multiculturalism among native residents and culturally close immigrants. More contact with natives is associated with more support for assimilation among culturally close immigrants and with more threat perceptions among culturally distant immigrants.