ACTITUDES DE UNA MUESTRA DE ESTUDIANTES DE LA REGIÓN DE MURCIA HACIA LOS INMIGRANTES MAGREBÍES.

The aim of this research is to analyse the kind of prejudice towards Magrebian immigrants among university and high school students from the Murcia Region (Spain), n=323. An adapted version of the Pettigrew and Meertens Scales (the Blatant and the Subtle prejudice scales) done by Rueda and Navas, was used. A scale about feelings and emotions towards the immigrants was also administered. Results showed that 5 in every 10 subjects exhibited “subtle” racism. In addition, high school students obtained higher mean scores in the subtle prejudice scale than university students (3.8 vs. 4.1, P <0.05). Regarding the feelings and emotions scale, strong negative emotions, such as hate and disgust, were more intense among “blatant” subjects. Negative feelings more commonly exhibited by “subtle” subjects were insecurity, fear and uneasiness. The relation of these results with the impact of the terrorist attacks of March, 11th on the Spanish population is discussed.