Socio-demographic factors influencing attitude towards refugees: an analysis of data from european social survey

Abstract

Globalization causes socio-demographic transformations and one of the most relevant is refugee crisis. In 2015, over 1 mil. people – refugees, displaced persons and other international migrants – have made their way to the EU. The EU has confronted the problem of illegal and extensive international migration. Recently it has been even more in the public focus of international organizations and separate countries as the influx of refugees has rapidly increased due to economic problems and wars in the Middle East. Most people have developed an attitude towards refugees and refugee crisis, as the topic has received a lot of publicity and media coverage. Therefore, a research concerning the socio-demographic factors influencing attitudes towards refugees is relevant offering an insight to the background of people’s attitudes. Research results show that attitude towards refugees is highly associated with income level, country of residence, employment status and family structure but not with age, gender, education level and place of living. The results of research can be useful for understanding and perhaps solving many unwanted social problems, for example racism and discrimination based on religion or social status. Knowing the factors influencing the attitude formation eases the creation of multicultural society with a very diverse population in globalization context.