Minorities and Mistrust: The Cushioning Impact of Social Contacts and Institutional Fairness

Abstract

Previous research concludes that immigrants and minority members, as well as all residents of more diverse contexts, display less generalized trust. Such findings suggest a harsh trade-off between diversity on the one hand and social capital on the other. In contrast, we gauge the relationship between minority status and trust while considering three interaction variables. First, informal neighbour interaction cushions the negative impact of minority status. Second, a similar role is played by fair treatment by public authorities responsible for social and welfare state policies. Third, consistent with expectations we did not find a similar cushioning interaction of participation in organized settings. All in all, the empirical results encourage a more optimistic stance about diversity and social capital. The minority “culture of mistrust” is not cut in stone but has a potential to wither away as a consequence of positive experiences of social interaction and institutional fairness. Specifically, because these have a particularly positive impact on trust among minorities, the trust gap between immigrants and “the originals” is closed at high levels of these variables.