A Study of the Effects of Overseas Contract Work on Ethnic Prejudice

Abstract

The hypothesis that overseas contract work leads to less ethnic attitudes (A form of the Contact Hypothesis) was tested in this study. A social distance scale was constructed to measure ethnic prejudice and administered to two types of sample groups -- Overseas Contract Workers (Contact Group) and the Philippine Local Working Public (No-Contact Group). Each set of samples consisted of 150 respondents each. The findings of the study demonstrate a lack of consistency in the Contact Hypothesis. A significant t-Test computation was arrived at when the Grand Total Mean Social Distance Scores of the Contact (4.19) and No-Contact Groups (4.52) were compared (t = -2.30, a. = .05). This manifests a confirmation of the hypothesis on an overall level for all foreigners. However, both significant and insignificant t-Test figures were found for the individual nationalities. Levels of prejudice of those who have gone abroad to work (Contact Group) and those who have never been abroad (No-Contact) were significantly different for only half of the nationalities represented in the scale. Opinions for the other half did not substantially differ. In addition to testing the Contact Hypothesis, a comparative analysis was made of the levels of prejudice between those who have worked abroad and those who have never been abroad. The results of the study indicate very similar trends in both the Contact and No-Contact Groups. First, only a moderate degree of prejudice is possessed by the two sets of samples (4.19 &4.52, respectively). Second, similar levels of prejudice are found for the Middle East nationals (F COMPUIED = 0.37, Fco1mm:o = 0.25, F1 ABULAR = 2.22) and, inversely, for the Asians (F COMPUIED = 2.70, F COMPUIED = 5.11, F1 ABULAR = 2.22). Finally, a high preference for Asians over Middle East nationals, as individual nationality groups and as a world region, is manifested by both sample groups (t = -2.97 and t = -3.09).