Robert M. Kunovich

Social structural position and prejudice: an exploration of cross-national differences in regression slopes

Abstract Group-threat theorists suggest that increases in the collective threat posed to dominant ethnic and racial groups increase average levels of prejudice and intensify the relationships between individual characteristics and prejudice. However, group-threat theorists focus attention more on differences in the average levels of prejudice across geographic regions and/or time than on differences in the relationships between individual characteristics and prejudice. The purpose of this article is to explore in greater detail possible differences in these relationships—that is, to identify the conditions that intensify or even dampen the relationships between individual characteristics and prejudice. I use relative group size and economic conditions—as suggested by theories of prejudice—to explain variation in the effects of three social structural variables on prejudice (labor market position, education, and income). I use hierarchical linear modeling to analyze multi-level data from 17 East and West European countries. Results indicate that the effects of labor market position, education, and income differ across countries and that the effects are weaker in Eastern Europe compared to Western Europe, largely because of poor economic conditions. There is some support for group-threat theory in that the effect of student status is stronger in countries with larger immigrant populations. However, in opposition to group-threat theory, countries with poor economic conditions have weaker relationships between the social structural variables and prejudice. Thus, results suggest a revision of group-threat theory—indicators of group-threat have different effects on the relationships between individual characteristics and prejudice.

ETHNIC DIVERSITY, SEGREGATION, AND INEQUALITY: A Structural Model of Ethnic Prejudice in Bosnia and Croatia

Widespread ethnic prejudice is an incomplete explanation for the development of war in the former Yugoslavia. However, high levels of prejudice in ethnic enclaves played an important role in increasing ethnic tensions and facilitating the outbreak of war. The purpose of this article is to explain county differences in average levels of ethnic prejudice in Bosnia and Croatia prior to the wars of national separation. We focus on structural characteristics of counties, such as ethnic diversity, economic conditions, and ethnic segregation and inequality, to explain county differences in average levels of prejudice. We also consider the possibility that compositional differences among counties (e.g., differences in average levels of education) explain county differences in ethnic prejudice. We combine survey data and county-level census data collected immediately prior to the wars of national separation and use hierarchical linear modeling techniques to analyze these data. Results suggest that ethnic diversity and ethnic occupational segregation decrease ethnic prejudice while ethnic economic inequality increases ethnic prejudice. Thus, structural characteristics account for some of the county differences in average levels of prejudice. County compositional differences, however, explain a majority of the county variation in ethnic prejudice. These results provide important clues to the origins of pockets of intense ethnic prejudice within diverse societies.

An Exploration of the Salience of Christianity for National Identity in Europe

Most scholars of identity focus on processes of boundary maintenance rather than on the cultural content of identity categories (e.g., language, religion). In this article, the author explores the cultural content of national identity categories in Europe. He focuses on individual and collective factors that are associated with the salience of Christianity for national identity in seventeen European countries. At the individual level, the author focuses on the relationships between the salience of Christianity for national identity and religious majority and minority status, the frequency of attendance of religious services, and their interaction. At the country level, using a group-threat perspective, he examines the relationships between the salience of Christianity for national identity and the size of various non-Christian populations, diversity in the non-Christian population, and their statistical interaction. Individual-level survey data are from the International Social Survey Programme 1995: National Identity (Zentralarchive 1998), and country-level data are from the World Christian Encyclopedia (Barrett, Kurian, and Johnson 2001). The author uses multilevel modeling techniques to analyze these data. Results support group-threat and constructionist perspectives of national identity and suggest key factors at multiple units of analysis that promote a link between Christianity and national identity in Europe.

Social Structural Sources of Anti-immigrant Prejudice in Europe: The Impact of Social Class and Stratification Position

Abstract: In sociological theory, structural perspectives postulate that attitudes are a function of individuals, “life situations,” which result from the prevailing social context and their location within it. This article examines individual-level sources of anti-immigrant prejudice in seventeen European countries included in the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) 1995: National Identity. The focus is on social structural sources of prejudice that indicate location in the larger social context, such as social class and stratification position. While there are many one-country studies of prejudice that emphasize social structural variables, there are few cross-national analyses. Thus, an important gap in the literature on prejudice is addressed. The following questions are posed: To what extent do both social class and position in the stratification system affect anti-immigrant prejudice in a variety of European countries? Does social class affect prejudice above and beyond stratification position? Does stratification position affect prejudice above and beyond social class? Do the effects of social class and stratification position vary across Western and Eastern Europe?

Civil war, social integration and mental health in Croatia.

Research has shown that social relationships are generally beneficial for mental health (Thoits 1995). However, few scholars have examined this association after the occurrence of a significant shock to the social system as a whole. The purpose of this article is to examine the relationship between social integration and war-related distress in Croatia immediately following the recent civil war. Does social integration decrease war-related distress? Does social integration buffer the effect of traumatic events on war-related distress? We analyze these questions using nationally representative survey data collected in Croatia in 1996. Results suggest that social integration has both positive and negative direct effects on distress. Being a member of informal organizations, such as sports clubs, and participating in social activities are beneficial for mental health. On the other hand, being a member of some formal organizations, such as church organizations and unions, is detrimental to mental health. There is little support for the idea that social integration buffers the effect of traumatic events on distress. Only one of thirty-six possible interactions is significant and supports the buffer hypothesis. Frequent participation in social activities buffers the effect of experiencing violence on war-related distress. Also, some forms of social integration appear to aggravate the effect of traumatic events on war-related distress. In sum, social integration does affect war-related distress after a system shock, but in complex and sometimes unexpected ways.

Labor Market Competition and Anti‐Immigrant Sentiment: Occupations as Contexts

This paper explores the impact of labor market competition measured within occupations on attitudes toward immigrants in the U.S. including perceived group threat and policy preferences. Multilevel analyses of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, O*NET, and the General Social Survey demonstrate that labor market competition accounts for threat perceptions – threat is lower in occupations with greater expected employment growth. Individual-level characteristics also explain differences across occupations. Perceived group threat is higher in some occupations because job incumbents have less education. Occupational differences in threat perceptions account for all occupational differences in policy attitudes.

Gender Dependence and Attitudes toward the Distribution of Household Labor A Comparative and Multilevel Analysis

We use comparative and multilevel methods to examine attitudes toward the distribution of household labor in 32 countries. We test hypotheses derived from Baxter and Kanes (1995) gender dependence theory, which suggests complex relationships between societal-level gender dependence, individual-level gender dependence, and gender attitudes. Country-level data are from the United Nations and survey data are from the International Social Survey Programmes 2002 Family and Changing Gender Roles III module. Our analysis is among the first to combine societal and individual indicators of gender dependence using multilevel modeling and to test for cross-level interactions between societal and individual gender dependence. Results provide mixed support for gender dependence theory and suggest several revisions — especially pertaining to mens attitudes.

Obesity trends and perinatal outcomes in black and white teenagers.

OBJECTIVE Our objective was to explore the trends in prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) for black and white teenagers over time and the association between elevated BMI and outcomes based on race. STUDY DESIGN This was a retrospective cohort study of singleton infants (n = 38,158) born to black (34%) and white (66%) teenagers (<18 years of age). We determined the prevalence of elevated prepregnancy BMI between 1993 and 2006 and the association between elevated prepregnancy BMI (primary exposure) and maternal and perinatal outcomes based on race (2000-2006). RESULTS The percentage of white teenagers with elevated prepregnancy BMI increased significantly from 17-26%. White and black overweight and obese teenagers were more likely to have pregnancy-related hypertension than normal-weight teenagers; postpartum hemorrhage was increased only in obese black teenagers, and infant complications were increased only in overweight and obese white teenagers. CONCLUSION Because the percentage of elevated prepregnancy BMI has increased in white teenagers, specific risks for poor maternal and perinatal outcomes in the overweight and obese teenagers varies by race.

Medical Communication in Older American Indians: Variations by Ethnic Identity

The authors analyzed audiotapes from 102 patients of American Indian race (≥50 years) to explore how ethnic identity influences medical communication. A standardized interaction analysis system was used to classify patient utterances into categories: information-giving, questions, social talk, positive talk, negative talk. The authors identified patient subgroups distinguished by level of identification with American Indian and White identity and explored whether some subgroups devoted more communication to certain categories of talk. Patients highly affiliated with American Indian identity devoted a significantly greater percentage of communication to “positive talk”—including statements of optimism, reassurance, and agreement—than patients identifying at lower levels (p > .05). They devoted less communication to “negative talk,” including corrections, disagreements, and anxiety statements (p < .05). Effects persisted after adjustment for confounders, including health status. Patterns may encourage providers to underestimate distress and overestimate satisfaction and comprehension in patients highly affiliated with American Indian identity.

Perceived Unemployment: The Sources and Consequences of Misperception

A great deal of social research examines macro-micro linkages—for example, by examining how economic conditions influence peoples political attitudes and behavior. Rarely, however, do researchers directly examine the mechanisms linking macro-level conditions to individual-level attitudes and behavior, the accuracy of peoples perceptions of the larger context, or the consequences of their misperceptions. In this paper, using data from two waves of the Polish Panel Study (2003 and 2008), I examine individual and contextual sources of perceived unemployment as well as the consequences of perceived unemployment for economic and political attitudes. Results suggest that people do not possess accurate information on levels of local unemployment in Poland; on average, they overestimate the extent of local unemployment (some quite dramatically). Misperceptions of unemployment vary in predictable ways; misperceptions are related to resources, cognitive ability, and a heightened awareness of unemployment (e.g., by living in the same household with someone who is unemployed or in a region with high unemployment). Misperceptions of unemployment, moreover, lead to changes in peoples economic and political attitudes. Actual rates of unemployment, however, are not directly related to changes in peoples attitudes.