The Impact of Media-Based Indirect Contact with Immigrants on Multicultural Acceptance Among Korean Adolescents: Parallel Multiple Mediation Effects of Global Citizenship and Attitude of Accepting Migrants

1. Background/Purpose: In recent years, Korean society has been rapidly transforming into a multicultural society, and multicultural acceptance among adolescents has been highlighted as a key factor for future social integration and development (Sul, 2017). Previous studies have pointed out the dual effects of media exposure, either reinforcing or reducing stereotypes about specific groups (Silverstein & Flamenbaum, 1989) and have reported that indirect contact through positive media content can reduce social distance and promote positive attitudes (Heo et al., 2018). However, existing research has often been limited to examining the simple effects of media exposure (An & Kang, 2018) and has lacked in-depth analysis of the complex psychological mechanisms through which media experiences influence multicultural acceptance. Therefore, this study aims to overcome the limitations of previous research by empirically verifying the parallel multiple mediation effects of global citizenship consciousness and attitude of accepting migrants in the relationship between Korean adolescents’ indirect contact with immigrants through media and their multicultural acceptance. The purpose of this study is to provide more refined and practical empirical evidence necessary for developing media literacy education and multicultural awareness programs and ultimately contribute to the healthy development of Korean society as a multicultural society.

2. Method: Data for this study were obtained from the 2021 National Survey on Multicultural Acceptance. The participants consisted of 3,933 middle and high school students in South Korea. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 24.0. To analyze the relationships among media-based indirect contact, global citizenship, attitude of accepting migrants and multicultural acceptance, regression analyses were conducted following Baron and Kenny’s(1986) mediation steps. A parallel multiple mediation model was validated using Hayes’ (2013) PROCESS macro, with bootstrapping employed to verify the significance of indirect effects.

3. Results: All three stages of the regression analysis were statistically significant: Step 1, (F=35.322, p<.001); Step 2, (F=80.859, p<.001); Step 3, (F=1347.188, p<.001). The results of the parallel multiple mediation analysis revealed that both the direct effect (B=.0572, 95% CI[.0318, .0826]) and the total indirect effect (B=.1174, 95% CI[.0914, .1444]) of media-based indirect contact on multicultural acceptance were statistically significant. Specifically, the indirect effect through global citizenship was significant (B=.0307, 95% CI[.0196, .0420]), as was the indirect effect through attitude of accepting migrants (B=.0720, 95% CI[.0551, .0887]). In both cases, the 95% confidence intervals did not include 0, confirming the significance of the mediating effects.

4. Conclusion and Implications: The findings of this study highlight the importance of media content in shaping adolescents' perceptions of multiculturalism, while also underscoring the need to foster global citizenship and inclusive attitude of accepting migrants. The results provide empirical evidence that media literacy education can serve as an effective strategy to enhance multicultural acceptance among Korean Adolescents. Furthermore, the study suggests directions for developing integrated educational programs in schools and communities that cultivate both global citizenship and positive attitude of accepting migrants.