Evaluating Bridge-Building Strategies: How Direct and Indirect Contact with Refugees in Italian Welcome Projects Promotes Positive Intergroup Relations

According to Allport's Contact Hypothesis, contact with individuals from different social groups fosters positive intergroup relations under certain conditions. Building on this theoretical framework, we examined the effects of direct (Study 1) and indirect (extended; Study 2) contact with refugees within (two different types of) Italian welcome projects in promoting positive intergroup relations. In Study 1, we surveyed 99 professionals and volunteers who experienced direct contact with refugees by working on welcome projects, which encourage asymmetrical (status inequality) or symmetrical (status equality) contact with refugees. We analyzed their promotion of extended contact. In Study 2, we surveyed 173 participants who had indirect extended contact with refugees, being proxies of the professionals and volunteers from Study 1. We assessed their intention to engage in prosocial behaviors in support of refugees. Participants completed questionnaires measuring intergroup trust, anxiety, stigma (Study 1), and refugee attitudes (Study 2). Results showed that both direct and indirect contact with refugees were associated with promoting extended contact (Study 1) and prosocial behaviors (Study 2). These effects were mediated by stigma in Study 1, and by attitudes toward refugees in Study 2. The study highlights the importance of contact within Italian welcome projects in fostering positive intergroup relations. Our data showed that refugee welcome programs can foster positive intercultural relations, especially when efforts are made to nurture symmetrical and meaningful relations between refugees and hosts. These findings may bolster support for migration policies that prioritize projects promoting personalized, equitable relations between migrants and hosts, rather than those based on asymmetric, dependency-driven relationships between professionals and refugees.