Browsing by Author "Silver, Elisabeth"

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    Effects of Diversity, Ideology, and Economic Threat on "Anti-White" Discrimination Claims
    (2022-04-12) Silver, Elisabeth; Hebl, Michelle
    Research suggests that white people respond to increased racial diversity with heightened concerns about their social status and anti-white discrimination, particularly among those who endorse conservative beliefs and live in areas with high white unemployment. However, research has not yet assessed whether these variables similarly predict formal anti-white discrimination claiming behavior. Drawing from integrated threat theory (Stephan & Stephan, 2000) and social ecology theory (Oishi & Graham, 2010), I explore how three factors influence the prevalence of formal anti-white discrimination claims at the U.S. county level. I test (1) whether there is a positive relationship between racial diversity and anti-white discrimination claim prevalence, (2) whether the positive effect of racial diversity on claim prevalence is stronger in more conservative (versus less conservative) counties, and (3) whether high levels of white unemployment exacerbate the effects of racial diversity and conservatism on claim prevalence. I combine a geocoded dataset of employment discrimination claims filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission with county-level data on racial diversity, white unemployment rates, and conservatism. Results reveal the expected positive relationship between county-level racial diversity and the proportion of claims filed for anti-white discrimination, and further show that this positive effect is significantly stronger in counties with higher conservatism than those with lower conservatism. The magnifying effect of conservatism on the relationship between racial diversity and claim prevalence is also stronger amid higher levels of white unemployment. This study provides the first large-scale support for the hypothesis that conservatism and material threat amplify the association between racial diversity and white people’s tendency to engage in status-legitimizing behavior.