Intergroup contact with migrants is linked to support for migrants through attitudes, especially in people who are politically right wing

Abstract Due to the significance of the “refugee crisis” for European residents, the present research examined the link between residents’ support for newly arriving migrants and different types of intergroup contact with migrants. We compared the associations between support for migrants, and both positive and negative direct and mass mediated contact. In the link between contact and support, we examined the mediating role of residents’ attitudes towards migrants and the moderating role of their political orientation. In a Swiss sample (N = 861), only direct but not mass mediated contact was associated with support for migrants. Both positive and negative direct contact was linked to (higher vs. lower) support for migrants through (more vs. less positive) attitudes towards migrants. Relevant for interventions aimed at improving relations of host society with migrants, both positive and negative contact influenced support for migrants through attitudes, especially in people with a right wing political orientation.