Prejudice towards refugees predicts social fear of crime

Kotzur, Patrick F.; Eckerle, Frank; Khosrowtaj, Zahra; Rothers, Adrian; Maaser, Johannes; Wagner, Ulrich; van Zalk, Maarten H. W.

Abstract

Research suggests that social fear of crime and prejudice towards minority groups may be linked. We investigated (Ntotal = 7712) whether prejudice towards a social group that is stereotyped as more criminal (refugees) is more strongly associated with social fear of crime than prejudice towards a group that is less (homosexual individuals); and whether prejudice predicts social fear of crime or vice versa. We used a mixed-method approach to show that refugees are stereotyped as more criminal than homosexual individuals (pre-test). Subgroup characteristics of the criminally stereotyped group, such as country of origin (Study 1a) and flight motive (Study 1b) of refugees, qualified the prejudice–fear of crime link. Finally, whereas prejudice towards refugees predicted social fear of crime over time more strongly than vice versa, prejudice towards homosexual individuals did not (Study 2). Our results have important theoretical and practical implications suggesting prejudice reduction towards refugees as a criminally stereotyped group as a potential pathway to reduce social fear of crime.

Citation

Kotzur, P. F., Eckerle, F., Khosrowtaj, Z., Rothers, A., Maaser, J., Wagner, U., & van Zalk, M. H. W. (2025). Prejudice towards refugees predicts social fear of crime. British Journal of Social Psychology, 64(2), Article e12875. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12875

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 9, 2025
• Online Publication Date: Mar 5, 2025
• Publication Date: 2025-04
• Deposit Date: Mar 17, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 20, 2025
• Journal: British Journal of Social Psychology
• Print ISSN: 0144-6665
• Electronic ISSN: 2044-8309
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 64
• Issue: 2
• Article Number: e12875
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12875
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/3716304