Antipatía y simpatía hacia los inmigrantes de diferentes orígenes: el caso de Tenerife

Daniel Buraschi; Dirk Godenau; José Juan Cáceres Hernández

doi:10.5565/rev/papers.3324

Antipathy and sympathy towards immigrants of different origins: The case of Tenerife

Authors

Daniel Buraschi University of La Laguna https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7123-5286
Dirk Godenau University of La Laguna https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8945-2051
José Juan Cáceres Hernández University of La Laguna https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0092-8864

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Abstract

The present study investigates the perceptions of antipathy and sympathy toward immigrant groups among the native-born population of Tenerife, Canary Islands. A logit model is used not only to estimate the probabilities of antipathy, indifference, and sympathy for each group of immigrant origin, but also to quantify probabilistically the joint effects of different individual attributes on these social perceptions. Results, based on survey data from 479 respondents, show that there are significant differences in attitudes depending on the immigrants’ origin. Antipathy is most commonly directed toward immigrants from Eastern Europe and North Africa, while sympathy is more frequently expressed for individuals from Latin America, the European Union, and sub-Saharan Africa. Key pregdictors of antipathy include older age, lower educational attainment, active labour market participation, Catholic religious affiliation, and right-wing political ideology. In contrast, sex and residential area show minimal influence on attitudes. The study also identifies distinct extreme profiles characterized by combinations of these attributes, demonstrating substantial variation in the likelihood of antipathy or sympathy across different immigrant groups. Findings support the differentiated threat model, which posits that perceived threats and their impact vary among population segments based on group characteristics. The results underscore the importance of tailored social policies that address the specific concerns and perceptions associated with different immigrant communities. Future research should incorporate dynamic social contexts and qualitative insights to further explore the underlying mechanisms of intergroup attitudes.

Keywords

attitudes towards immigrants, intercultural relations, intergroup threat perception, prejudice, logit model

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Author Biographies

Dirk Godenau, University of La Laguna

D. from the University of Kiel (Germany), he is currently full university professor in the Department of Applied Economics and Quantitative Methods at the University of La Laguna (Spain). Line of research: international migration.

José Juan Cáceres Hernández, University of La Laguna

D. from the University of La Laguna (Spain), he is currently a full professor in the Department of Applied Economics and Quantitative Methods at the same university. Line of research: discrete choice models.