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Stereotypes of U . S . Immigrants from Four Global Regions
Author(s) -
Timberlake Jeffrey M.,
Williams Rhys H.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
social science quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.482
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1540-6237
pISSN - 0038-4941
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-6237.2012.00860.x
Subject(s) - immigration , respondent , demographic economics , limiting , demography , political science , sociology , economics , law , mechanical engineering , engineering
Objective This study explores variation in stereotypes of U . S . immigrants from L atin A merica, the M iddle E ast, E urope, and A sia. Method We exploit a split‐ballot design in two waves of the O hio P oll to test hypotheses about effects of contextual and respondent‐level characteristics on immigrant stereotypes. Results Respondents generally rated A sian immigrants most positively and L atin A merican immigrants most negatively, with E uropean and M iddle E astern immigrants occupying an intermediate position. Findings from regression analyses indicate little direct effect of county‐level percent foreign born or media consumption. The strongest effects observed were income on stereotypes of M iddle E astern and A sian immigrants and concerns about the problem of unauthorized immigration on stereotypes of L atin A merican and M iddle E astern immigrants. Conclusion Our findings suggest that views about the characteristics of certain groups of immigrants are strongly linked to national‐level debates about unauthorized immigration.