Valence of immigration news, perceived threat, and support for restrictive immigration policy: A multilevel study across 26 countries

Abstract

Immigration is often portrayed negatively in the news, yet previous research remains inconclusive about how the valence of immigration news in national coverage relates to individual immigration policy preferences. Furthermore, the psychological mechanisms underlying this relationship are not well understood. This study examined whether, in national contexts where immigration news has a more negative valence, there is greater support for restrictive policies and heightened threat perceptions. Drawing on Intergroup Threat Theory, we also assessed whether threat perceptions explained the link between more negative immigration news and restrictive immigration policy support. Additionally, we tested whether greater salience of immigration in the news amplifies these associations. Using data from Rounds 6–8 of the European Social Survey (ESS; n = 113,654) and the ESS Media Claims dataset (n = 18,451), covering 26 countries from 2012 to 2017, multilevel regression analyses showed that more negative immigration news was associated with increased restrictive policy support, a relationship fully explained by heightened threat perceptions. Greater salience did not reinforce these associations. These findings underscore the link between immigration news valence in national media and policy preferences, highlighting threat perceptions as a key factor in this process.