engleski

The refugee children after resettlement: Is outgroup derogation taught by parents?

The war that accompanied the breakup of former Yugoslavia led to massive trauma and destruction of social system. Most severly affected by the war were the refugees. Unfortunately, this extends also into the period of resettlement and social reconstruction. Many refugees who had returned to their local communities are expected to rebuild trust and communication with their former adversaries. However, data of a research conducted on 400 children and 700 parents from Vukovar suggests that instead of reconnecting with members of the other ethnic group, people tend to show preference for the members of the same ethnic group and even discriminate against members of the other group. This result is especially true for children, who have no personal memories of the war, yet are most ready to avoid outgroup members and discriminate against them. Question remains: how are children becoming prejudiced? One possibility is that prolonged displacement, but also stressful adjustments to new communities harm mental health of the returned refugees. This is illustrated by the data demonstrating lower personal self-esteem of refugees, especially in children. Low personal self-esteem is positively correlated with discrimination of other people. It seems that refugee children discriminate against other children in order to feel better and raise their self-esteem. Another possible explanation is that discrimination by ethnicity as well as in-group bias is something that is taught by family members and communities. Results from this research confirm that parents who show more in-group bias and outgroup derogation have children who tend to be more biased and who discriminate against members of other ethnic group. This shows how important family life and transgenerational communication is for forming intergroup attitudes in adolescence.

outgroup derogation; refugee children; resttlement

nije evidentirano