“Minding Their Own Business, Slogging Hard, and Busting Nobody Chops”. The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Anti-Chinese Sentiment in Italy: An Integrated Threat Theory Perspective

• Anti-Chinese sentiment, or sinophobia, has emerged in many countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper explores anti-Chinese prejudice in Italy in the context of COVID-19 with the integrated threat theory (ITT; Stephan & Stephan, 2000). Our empirical investigation was based on an online survey with 316 Italian participants in April 2020. Multiple hierarchical regression was used to analyze the data. The results showed sex, intergroup contact, direct knowledge of people with COVID-19, and, to a lesser degree, educational level contributed in making the Chinese immigrant community in Italy be perceived as a potential threat. Females were more likely than men to perceive the Chinese as a threat, in terms of realistic threat, symbolic threat, and intergroup anxiety. Perceptions of threat were also positively correlated with intergroup contact and negatively correlated with direct knowledge of people with COVID-19. Finally, level of education was positively related with perceptions of symbolic threat.

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Media and Communications (hsv//eng)

Keyword

integrated threat theory

prejudice

sinophobia

social media

crowdsourcing

hierarchical regression analysis

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

kap (subject category)