The Role of Comparative Victim Beliefs and Intergroup Threat in The Relationship Between Ingroup Identification and Intergroup Relations in Lebanon

The present research aimed to investigate the impact of ingroup identification (national vs religious), threat perception, and construals of violence (victimhood perceptions and responsibility attribution) regarding the Lebanese civil war on Christians-Muslims relations in Lebanon. Using a (survey) correlational design conducted among Lebanese citizens in 2020 (N=343) our study showed that stronger religious identification and belonging to the Lebanese Christian group increased perceived intergroup threat, leading to a stronger endorsement of competitive victimhood and a lower endorsement of inclusive victimhood, which decreased positive outgroup attitudes and willingness to engage in intergroup contact. This study replicates prior research on collective memory and its impact on intergroup relations and brings further understanding of this phenomenon in a complex intergroup context such as Lebanon.
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished