Predicting Immigrants' Attitudes Toward Multiculturalism Using a Measure of Its Perceived Benefits

Abstract

We examined the predictors of attitudes toward multiculturalism in a sample of Asian and African immigrants. Multiculturalism was measured in terms of its perceived benefits as realized through Canadian government policy. As well as replicating past findings, two hypotheses derived from social identity theory are supported: Canadian identity and acculturation into Canadian society were significant predictors of attitudes toward multiculturalism. Counter to previous research findings, perceived discrimination was a negative predictor of these attitudes. The distinction between predicting support for attitudes toward multiculturalism measured as an ideology versus attitudes toward multiculturalism measured in terms of its perceived benefits is discussed.

Notes

Note. N = 313. Items in the Cultural and Canadian identity scales were answered using a 7-point response scale. The items in the other scales were responded to on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). A high score on the scales indicates a stronger cultural and Canadian identity, more acculturation into mainstream Canadian society, more interdependent self-construal, more perceived discrimination, and more cultural identity threat.

†p < .10. **p < .01. ***p < .001, one-tailed.

Note. The table entries under Model 1 through Model 7 are standardized regression coefficients. The regression coefficients for the covariates are those obtained at the first step. At the second step the regression weights for these covariates are not significant. The correlations with the dependent variable (DV) are those obtained in the analysis of Model 7. Gender and citizenship are dummy variables (0 = female, 1 = male; 0 = not a citizen, 1 = a citizen respectively).

^a Measures of the predictor variable(s) in this regression analysis were included in the second booklet. The sample size is lower, therefore, as 40 of the 403 respondents did not have time to complete this booklet.

†p < .10. *p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001, one-tailed.

¹Age was also marginally related to attitudes toward multiculturalism (r = .09, p < .10). However, a relatively large number of respondents did not wish to give their age (13.2%). A regression analysis that entered this variable as an additional covariate at the first step yielded substantially similar results to those reported and the standardized regression coefficient for this variables was not significant at this step.

²We thank the editors and two anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments on this issue.

³We are indebted to two anonymous reviewers who suggested this particular interpretation of our results.