Araştırma Makalesi

Policy Support and Attitudes towards Refugees: The Roles of Perceived Threat, and Perceived Preferential Treatment by the State

Cilt: 46 Sayı: 1 20 Nisan 2026
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Policy Support and Attitudes towards Refugees: The Roles of Perceived Threat, and Perceived Preferential Treatment by the State

Öz

Research has documented that perceived threats posed by refugees and immigrants shape responses toward these populations in (mostly Western) host societies. In this study, we tested whether realistic, symbolic, and collective psychological ownership threats are empirically distinct and whether they predict prejudice toward Syrian refugees and anti-refugee policy support in Türkiye, where anti-refugee public sentiment is quite strong. In addition, we considered the role of perceptions of the state’s treatment of refugees (i.e., as unfairly prioritizing the needs of the refugees at the expense of citizens) in shaping the responses of host nation members toward refugees. We collected data from 349 participants using university’s participant pool. We conducted confirmatory factor analysis to examine if realistic, symbolic, and collective psychological ownership threats are distinct constructs. The results supported this hypothesis. We conducted structural equation models where anti-refugee policy support related to three domains (acceptance and cultural integration of refugees, financial aids, political rights and citizenship), social distance, and negative attitudes were regressed on realistic, symbolic, collective psychological ownership threats, and perceived treatment of refugees by the state, along with control variables (intergroup contact, political ideology, and religiosity). The results have shown that realistic and symbolic threats positively predicted prejudice and anti-immigrant policy support whereas collective psychological ownership threat did not. Perceived treatment of refugees by the state predicted lower support for financial aid policies and greater social distance. Exploratory analyses suggested that perceptions regarding Syrian refugees spilled over to prejudice toward Afghan refugees. We discuss the implications of our findings for threat and relative deprivation theories as well as their applied implications for host societies.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Kaynakça

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Ayrıntılar

Birincil Dil

İngilizce

Konular

Sosyal ve Kişilik Psikolojisi (Diğer)

Bölüm

Araştırma Makalesi

Yayımlanma Tarihi

20 Nisan 2026

Gönderilme Tarihi

30 Mart 2022

Kabul Tarihi

3 Ekim 2025

Yayımlandığı Sayı

Yıl 2026 Cilt: 46 Sayı: 1

Kaynak Göster

APA
Yakın, S., & Soylu Yalçınkaya, N. (2026). Policy Support and Attitudes towards Refugees: The Roles of Perceived Threat, and Perceived Preferential Treatment by the State. Studies in Psychology, 46(1), 22-38. https://doi.org/10.26650/SP2023-1095926
AMA
1.Yakın S, Soylu Yalçınkaya N. Policy Support and Attitudes towards Refugees: The Roles of Perceived Threat, and Perceived Preferential Treatment by the State. Studies in Psychology. 2026;46(1):22-38. doi:10.26650/SP2023-1095926
Chicago
Yakın, Sevgi, ve Nur Soylu Yalçınkaya. 2026. “Policy Support and Attitudes towards Refugees: The Roles of Perceived Threat, and Perceived Preferential Treatment by the State”. Studies in Psychology 46 (1): 22-38. https://doi.org/10.26650/SP2023-1095926.
EndNote
Yakın S, Soylu Yalçınkaya N (01 Nisan 2026) Policy Support and Attitudes towards Refugees: The Roles of Perceived Threat, and Perceived Preferential Treatment by the State. Studies in Psychology 46 1 22–38.
IEEE
[1]S. Yakın ve N. Soylu Yalçınkaya, “Policy Support and Attitudes towards Refugees: The Roles of Perceived Threat, and Perceived Preferential Treatment by the State”, Studies in Psychology, c. 46, sy 1, ss. 22–38, Nis. 2026, doi: 10.26650/SP2023-1095926.
ISNAD
Yakın, Sevgi - Soylu Yalçınkaya, Nur. “Policy Support and Attitudes towards Refugees: The Roles of Perceived Threat, and Perceived Preferential Treatment by the State”. Studies in Psychology 46/1 (01 Nisan 2026): 22-38. https://doi.org/10.26650/SP2023-1095926.
JAMA
1.Yakın S, Soylu Yalçınkaya N. Policy Support and Attitudes towards Refugees: The Roles of Perceived Threat, and Perceived Preferential Treatment by the State. Studies in Psychology. 2026;46:22–38.
MLA
Yakın, Sevgi, ve Nur Soylu Yalçınkaya. “Policy Support and Attitudes towards Refugees: The Roles of Perceived Threat, and Perceived Preferential Treatment by the State”. Studies in Psychology, c. 46, sy 1, Nisan 2026, ss. 22-38, doi:10.26650/SP2023-1095926.
Vancouver
1.Sevgi Yakın, Nur Soylu Yalçınkaya. Policy Support and Attitudes towards Refugees: The Roles of Perceived Threat, and Perceived Preferential Treatment by the State. Studies in Psychology. 01 Nisan 2026;46(1):22-38. doi:10.26650/SP2023-1095926

Psikoloji Çalışmaları / Studies In Psychology / ISSN- 1304-4680