Comparing the effect of cross-group friendship on generalized trust to its effect on prejudice: The mediating role of threat perceptions and negative affect

Intergroup relations theory posits that cross-group friendship reduces threat perceptions and negative emotions about outgroups. This has been argued to mitigate the effects of ethnic diversity on generalized trust. Yet, direct tests this friendship-trust relation, especially including affect as mediators, have remained rare at individual level. In article, we bridge research gap using representative data from eight European countries (Group-Focused Enmity). We employ structural equation modelling (SEM) model mediated paths trust via affect. find both total effect well (mediated) indirect are weak when compared with similar estimated for prejudice.