Negative attitudes towards ethnic minorities and ethnic bullying and discrimination: a systematic review and meta-analysis

ABSTRACT

According to the socio-ecological model, the social environment contributes to the acquisition and maintenance of negative attitudes towards ethnic minority groups. However, the strength of the association between negative attitudes at different levels (i.e. individual, peers) and ethnic bullying and discrimination has not yet been assessed. A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted following the PRISMA guidelines. After duplicate screening, inclusion criteria and quality assessment, 10 studies (predominantly European, cross-sectional and involving secondary school students) were identified for descriptive analysis (i.e. systematic review) and 9 (22 assessments) were included in the meta-analysis. The results showed a positive average effect of attitudes towards ethnic minorities and ethnic bullying (d = .41, p < .001). Furthermore, the moderation analysis revealed a non-significant difference between the two levels of negative attitudes towards ethnic minorities (i.e. individual, peers) and ethnic bullying/discrimination (d = - .07, p = .09).

KEYWORDS:

• Prejudice
• peers’ attitudes
• individual attitudes
• ethnic bullying
• school aged students

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy or ethical restrictions.

Supplementary data

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/17405629.2024.2371547.

Additional information

Funding

This paper was funded by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research- National PRIN grant 2017 [n.20173E3Z7W _003 “Prejudicial bullying involving ethnic groups: Understanding mechanisms and translating knowledge into effective interventions” (period: 19.08.2019 to 19.08.2023)].