Through the looking glass : ingroup-outgroup identity stereotypes among the Romanian diaspora in Malta

Abstract

The present study investigated stereotypical perceptions of Romanians living in Malta with regards to their own national identity, in juxtaposition to the Maltese and European identities. The research questions focused on the implications of the stereotypical views held by Romanian diaspora on the assessment of their own national identity, on one hand, and on the appraisal of two neighbouring identities, namely Maltese and European, on the other hand. The area of investigation is particularly relevant in the current multicultural Maltese climate, which renders inter-group attitudes and behaviours critically important. The method used was the European Opinion Survey – Revised (EOS-R), which involves a mixed-methods empirical design; thus, during the initial qualitative phase a list of 16 stereotypical attributes, both positive and negative, was indexed, while in the quantitative stage the attributes formed part of a questionnaire which was distributed to Romanian residents in Malta. The results pointed to a relatively strong positive identity, with a positive to negative ratio of 1.25. Further, the data revealed that both positive and negative traits were considered more representative of Romanians than of the Maltese and European identities, suggesting a double bias in the appraisal of the national identity. One particularly important finding concerns the inter-group relations with the host nationality, as these may be sabotaged by rather abrupt unfavourable perceptions on the part of the Romanian community. This study can serve as a starting point for further in-depth analyses of inter-group perceptions within the Romanian community; furthermore, it may be useful to replicate the study within other residing communities in order to assess the general inter-ethnic climate in Malta.