Work

Socioeconomic and Immigration Disparities in Ostracism: A Study of Statistical Outliers

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Does ostracism disproportionally affect certain groups? Which groups are at greater risk, and in which social domains (e.g., family, workplace)? To address these questions, we adopted a descriptive approach, leveraging a probability-based sample of Dutch adults, with 5,290 participants and 22,075 ratings of ostracism experiences in various social domains. The distribution of ostracism ratings was zero-inflated and extremely skewed: the majority of values clustered at the left end of the spectrum, indicating ostracism as a rare experience; a smaller number of values formed a tail of statistical outliers indicating ostracism as a frequent experience. Low-income (vs. high) earners had over three times higher odds of facing ostracism frequently by family members and people at work. Immigrants had two to three times higher odds of experiencing ostracism frequently than non-immigrants across all domains. These results highlight group-based disparities in ostracism experiences and identify priority populations in need of support.

Source: Social Psychological and Personality Science

DOI: 10.1177/19485506251414824

Authors: Dongning Ren, Olga Stavrova, Cathryn Johnson, Wen Wei Loh

Institutions: Maastricht University, University of Mannheim, Tilburg University, Emory University

Language: English

Topic: Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion

Subfield: Social Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,900