Where you live matters more than who you know: Context-level contact as a stronger predictor of post-war reconciliation than individual-level contact

IF 3.2 2区心理学 Q1 PSYCHOLOGY, SOCIAL

British Journal of Social Psychology Pub Date : 2025-06-12 DOI:10.1111/bjso.12913

Sabina Čehajić-Clancy, Clemens Lindner, Pascal Gelfort, Julia Elad-Strenger, Thomas Kessler

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Intergroup contact theory and research argue and demonstrate that intergroup relations, even in post-war societies, could be improved by individuals' positive contact experiences with outgroup members. This study extends this argument by investigating whether post-war reconciliation is determined by the amount and quality of individuals' personal contact experiences with members of former adversary groups (individual-level contact) and/or by the amount and quality of contact that occurs within the context in which they live (context-level contact). Using multilevel analyses among large representative youth samples from ethnic majorities (N = 2758) and minorities (N = 1751) nested across 40 administrative regions in five post-war countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina; North Macedonia; Kosova; Montenegro; Serbia), we provide substantive evidence that context-level contact is a stronger determinant of reconciliation, surpassing the influence of individual-level contact. Evidence from this research demonstrates the critical influence of the social context, particularly the amount and quality of intergroup contact that occurs within individuals' immediate surroundings, on post-war reconciliation, and provides important guidelines for policies and interventions fostering positive intergroup relations.

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你住在哪里比你认识谁更重要：情境层面的接触比个人层面的接触更能预测战后和解

群体间接触理论和研究认为，即使在战后社会，群体间关系也可以通过个人与外群体成员的积极接触经验得到改善。本研究通过调查战后和解是否由个人与前敌对团体成员的个人接触经历的数量和质量（个人层面的接触）和/或在他们生活的环境中发生的接触的数量和质量（环境层面的接触）决定，扩展了这一论点。对战后5个国家(波斯尼亚和黑塞哥维那；北马其顿;“;黑山共和国;（塞尔维亚），我们提供的实质性证据表明，情境层面的接触是和解的更强决定因素，超过了个人层面接触的影响。这项研究的证据表明，社会背景，特别是在个人的直接环境中发生的群体间接触的数量和质量，对战后和解具有重要影响，并为促进积极的群体间关系的政策和干预提供了重要指导方针。

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来源期刊

British Journal of Social Psychology PSYCHOLOGY, SOCIAL-

CiteScore

9.50

自引率

7.40%

发文量

期刊介绍： The British Journal of Social Psychology publishes work from scholars based in all parts of the world, and manuscripts that present data on a wide range of populations inside and outside the UK. It publishes original papers in all areas of social psychology including: • social cognition • attitudes • group processes • social influence • intergroup relations • self and identity • nonverbal communication • social psychological aspects of personality, affect and emotion • language and discourse Submissions addressing these topics from a variety of approaches and methods, both quantitative and qualitative are welcomed. We publish papers of the following kinds: • empirical papers that address theoretical issues; • theoretical papers, including analyses of existing social psychological theories and presentations of theoretical innovations, extensions, or integrations; • review papers that provide an evaluation of work within a given area of social psychology and that present proposals for further research in that area; • methodological papers concerning issues that are particularly relevant to a wide range of social psychologists; • an invited agenda article as the first article in the first part of every volume. The editorial team aims to handle papers as efficiently as possible. In 2016, papers were triaged within less than a week, and the average turnaround time from receipt of the manuscript to first decision sent back to the authors was 47 days.