Prejudice against Syrians in Turkey: The role of age, moral perception, group identification, and contact

When Syrians fled Syria and took refuge in Turkey as the result of a civil war, various disturbances arose among Turkish people. In order to find out how they perceive Syrians in Turkey, distinct research was conducted. The present study examined the role of age of Turkish people in their moral perception of Syrians, group identification, contact quality, and prejudice against Syrians in Turkey. A total of 310 Turkish citizens (156 females, Meanage= 36.36) living close to the Syrian border (Şanlıurfa) and far away from the border (Istanbul) were surveyed. Prejudice was measured in terms of both behavioral and affective components. The results revealed that as people got older, they identified more with their language, nation, and civic group. Identification fully mediated the relationship between age and how warm one felt towards Syrians, and partially mediated the relationship between age and behavioral prejudice against Syrians. The older the people were, the greater behavioral prejudice they had against Syrians. Moral perception was not a mediator in the age and prejudice relationship, but it partially mediated the relationship between contact quality and prejudice. The finding suggesting that as the contact quality increased, the Syrians were perceived higher in morality may have further implications.