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The 'Coronavirus crisis' and xenophobia in South Africa: how did the pandemic affect anti-immigrant sentiment?

Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on xenophobia in South Africa is little understood. The Behavioural Immune System (BIS) theory would predict that hostility towards immigrants increases during periods of heightened pathogen stress. This BIS-hypothesis is tested against the relative strength of three other possible drivers of anti-immigrant sentiment. These included anger at the national lockdown system, intertemporal relative deprivation, and racial transformation ideology. For these tests nationally representative data (N=2996), gathered during the height of the 'Omicron' wave, were used. Multivariate analysis showed that COVID-19 exposure was not associated with more negative sentiments towards immigrants. Fear-based reactions to the Coronavirus were, in fact, correlated with proimmigrant attitudes. Intertemporal relative deprivation and transformation orientations were much better predictors of anti-immigrant sentiment than pathogen stress. These findings raised questions about the applicability of the BIShypothesis in the context of the Coronavirus and suggest new avenues of academic inquiry.
DOI: 10.14749/32361684
Language: English
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7162117255
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