Collectively coping with contact: The role of intragroup support in dealing with the challenges of intergroup mixing in residential contexts

The identification environment matters: Students' social identification, perceived physical school environment, and anxiety - A cross-level interaction model

The social identity approach to health argues that well-being depends on the psychosocial circumstances of the groups to which individuals belong. However, little is known about how the average level of identification in the group - 'the identification environment' - buffers the negative health consequences of stressors. We used multilevel modelling to investigate whether identification environment in a school modified the association between the students' perceptions of the quality of their school's physical environment and their reported levels of anxiety. In two representative samples of Finnish school students (N = 678 schools/71,392 students; N = 704 schools/85,989 students), weak identification environment was related to increased anxiety. In addition, in schools where identification environment was weaker, the student level relationship between perceived physical environment and anxiety was stronger, and students were more anxious. Our results provide evidence that identification environment needs to be considered when we analyse how group membership affects well-being.

Intergroup Contact Alleviates Loneliness: The Extensive Effect of Common Ingroup Identity

Purpose

Previous studies show that intergroup contact, through common ingroup identity, has impact on intergroup processes such as reducing intergroup bias, improving intergroup relations, etc. The effect of intergroup contact on individual psychological process (through common ingroup identity), however, needs further exploration. Based on the positive effect of both intergroup contact and ingroup identification on mental health and well-being, this article proposes and tests a new model of individual loneliness reduction through intergroup contact by promoting common ingroup identity.

Methods

A total of 263 majority ethnic members and 275 minority ethnic members from China participated in the survey. Intergroup contact, common ingroup identity and loneliness were measured at three time-points (T1-T3) over an 8-month period. Longitudinal mediation analysis and parallel process Latent Growth Curve Model for mediation are used for the examination of the indirect effect of common ingroup identity.

Results

Longitudinal mediation analysis showed that intergroup contact quality at T1 positively predicted common ingroup identity at T2, and common ingroup identity at T2 alleviated loneliness at T3. Intergroup contact quality at T1 was indirectly linked to loneliness at T3 via common ingroup identity at T2. The parallel process latent growth curve model for mediation confirmed the robustness of the indirect effect of common ingroup identity. In addition, the growth rate of the quality of intergroup contact increased the growth rate of common ingroup identity, but reduced the growth rate of loneliness.

Conclusion

The current study revealed the protectiveness of intergroup contact and common ingroup identity on loneliness, viz., intergroup contact reduces individual loneliness by promoting common ingroup identity, the implication being that intergroup contact and common ingroup identity should be taken into account in intervening process of loneliness prevention so that an individual's physical and mental health could be better safeguarded.

Keeping Apart on the Playground: Construction of Informal Segregation on Public Playgrounds in Multiethnic Neighborhoods

Informal segregation has been widely studied in various public settings but not on public playgrounds. Drawing on an 11-month ethnography among mothers of young children, we examine how informal segregation is (re)produced on public playgrounds in two ethnically diverse neighborhoods in Finland. Our findings reveal different normative practices. First, normative rhythms and parenting practices structure playground activities by limiting opportunities for contact between ethnic minority and majority groups and producing exclusive spaces. Second, group norms and the seeking of ethnic/racial ingroup members together regulate mothers’ interaction with outgroup mothers on playgrounds; mothers are inclined toward their ingroup while outgroup mothers are often ignored, resulting in only illusory contact. Based on our analysis, we argue that by better understanding the normative roots of segregation, more comprehensive and effective interventions can be designed to facilitate positive contact in this population.

Child’s presence shapes immigrant women’s experiences of everyday intergroup contact

Research on intergroup contact has considered how the occurrence and experience of contact is affected by ingroup members. Qualitative studies of contact in real-life settings have additionally highlighted how multiple actors can affect the manifestation of contact. This article shows how the presence of one’s child can shape immigrant mothers’ contact experiences in multi-ethnic neighbourhoods. Ten immigrant mothers living in Helsinki, Finland, were interviewed twice over a six-month period about their intergroup interactions in their locale. Using a thematic analysis, we identified three themes depicting immigrant mothers’ experiences of intergroup contacts in their child’s presence: i) feeling visible to others, ii) seeking harmonious contact, and iii) anticipating problems. The results illustrate how a child affords unique opportunities for an immigrant mother to engage in interethnic contact, but also brings distinctive threats. This suggests the need to further consider how different types of intragroup dynamics can shape intergroup contacts.

The effect of medical staff's professional identity on psychological stress during public health emergencies: The role of intolerance of uncertainty and adversity appraisal

This study aims to explore the relationship between medical staff's professional identity and the psychological stress they feel during a public health emergency. It also examines the possible mediating effects of staff's intolerance of uncertainty (IU) and moderating effects of staff's adversity appraisal on this relationship. This study's 447 participants were surveyed via questionnaire. The results indicate that (1) medical staff's sense of their professional identity can negatively predict the psychological stress they feel during public health emergencies; (2) staff's IU mediates the relationship between professional identity and psychological stress; (3) the direct effects of professional identity and psychological stress were moderated by staff's adoption of positive appraisal strategies (negative appraisal strategies), and the direct effect was significant in medical staff who adopted a less positive appraisal strategy (more negative appraisal strategy). Therefore, professional identity was proven to affect staff's psychological stress through their IU, and staff's adversity appraisal plays a moderating role in the direct path of this effect.

Collectively coping with coronavirus: Local community identification predicts giving support and lockdown adherence during the COVID-19 pandemic

The role of shared identity in predicting both ingroup helping behaviour and adherence to protective norms during COVID-19 has been extensively theorized, but remains largely under-investigated. We build upon previous Social Identity research into community resilience by testing the role of pre-existing local community (or 'neighbourhood') identity as a predictor of these outcomes, via the mediator of perceived social support. Community residents in the UK completed a longitudinal online survey four months before lockdown (T1; N = 253), one month before lockdown (T2; N = 217), and two months into lockdown (T3; N = 149). The cross-lagged panel analysis shows that T1 community identification predicts T3 giving and receiving of pandemic-related support, and that these effects occur via the perception of community support at the second time point (while the alternative pathway from T1 support via T2 identification is non-significant). Moreover, we show that T1 community identification also directly predicts lockdown adherence at T3. Our findings point to the pivotal role played by community identity in effective behavioural responses to the pandemic, and the need to support and foster community development to facilitate local community resilience as the crisis continues to unfold.

Collectively coping with coronavirus: Local community identification predicts giving support and lockdown adherence during the COVID-19 pandemic

The role of shared identity in predicting both ingroup helping behaviour and adherence to protective norms during COVID-19 has been extensively theorized, but remains largely under-investigated. We build upon previous Social Identity research into community resilience by testing the role of pre-existing local community (or 'neighbourhood') identity as a predictor of these outcomes, via the mediator of perceived social support. Community residents in the UK completed a longitudinal online survey four months before lockdown (T1; N = 253), one month before lockdown (T2; N = 217), and two months into lockdown (T3; N = 149). The cross-lagged panel analysis shows that T1 community identification predicts T3 giving and receiving of pandemic-related support, and that these effects occur via the perception of community support at the second time point (while the alternative pathway from T1 support via T2 identification is non-significant). Moreover, we show that T1 community identification also directly predicts lockdown adherence at T3. Our findings point to the pivotal role played by community identity in effective behavioural responses to the pandemic, and the need to support and foster community development to facilitate local community resilience as the crisis continues to unfold.

“Welcome to our neighbourhood”: Collective confidence in contact facilitates successful mixing in residential settings

Over the past decade, increasing attention has been paid to the antecedents of intergroup contact and, in particular, self-efficacy to engage in intergroup encounters. Contact self-efficacy has been shown to reduce intergroup anxiety and increase willingness to engage in future contact, and is influenced by the positive contact experiences of other group members. However, this work has neglected the collective nature of self-efficacy and, indeed, has typically counterposed the effects of contact and collective efficacy upon group behaviour. We highlight the potential role that collective efficacy can play in facilitating intergroup contact and propose a new concept to capture this phenomenon: collective confidence in contact (CCIC). Using data from two neighbourhood surveys in contrasting areas of Nottingham City, (UK), we show in our first survey ( n = 124) that CCIC is predicted by group identity and that this, in turn, predicts intergroup contact and feelings. In a second survey ( n = 232), we show that the effects of identity and support on CCIC are further mediated by a reduction in intergroup anxiety. We propose that the concept of CCIC returns the understanding of contact to the intergroup level, thereby allowing issues of group identity and the generalisation of contact effects to be investigated more directly.