Prejudice against asylum seekers and the fear of terrorism: The importance of context

Abstract

Australia has a rich history of immigration. Historically, immigrants have often met with negativity and distrust (for example, Greek, Italian and Vietnamese immigrants). Evidence is now accumulating that many Australians also are critical of the latest 'wave' of asylum seekers. In the present study, we were interested in the effect of the wider society on the social inclusion (or not) of asylum seekers using an ecological framework and in particular focusing on the 'macrosystem' and 'location'. To do this, we examined negative attitudes toward asylum seekers as well as their correlates collected from 649 members of the West Australian community. Our results indicate that participants who reported more negative views about asylum seekers were also significantly more .likely to report a fear of terrorism. Additionally, there were significant location differences in the strength of this relationship. Together with past research, our results indicate that context can greatly impact on the well-being of new Australians.