According to a new study from the Forum for Living History, intolerance towards minority groups has increased among middle and high school students in Sweden. The rise is particularly significant when it comes to attitudes towards LGBTQI individuals.
Commissioned by the government, the Forum for Living History examined students’ attitudes towards various minority groups as well as their own reported experiences of bullying, threats, and violence. The survey was conducted by Statistics Sweden and included over 8,000 students in grade 9 and the first and third years of upper secondary school.
The results are presented in the report Young People’s Views of Others. A study of school students’ attitudes, trust, and vulnerability. The study shows increased intolerance towards minority groups compared to the last survey in 2013.
READ ALSO: Preschool Children Taught LGBTQ Issues During Pride Week
“We see that the group with distinctly negative opinions about minority groups has grown, at the same time as young people’s own experiences of vulnerability have increased. This is a worrying result that needs to be taken very seriously,” says Petra Mårselius, Director at the Forum for Living History.
At the same time, results show that a majority of students do not have negative attitudes toward these groups, and that 72 percent respect other people’s opinions and see it as important that everyone has the freedom to live their lives as they wish.
Immigrants More Negative Towards LGBTQ
Despite—or perhaps because of—the ever-present LGBTQ advocacy, attitudes toward the group have worsened, something that surprises the study’s authors.
“The proportion of students with distinctly negative attitudes towards LGBTQ individuals has risen from 3 to 15 percent. In the 2013 survey, it was the opposite—students had mostly positive attitudes towards this group. It’s a clear change and something that needs further analysis,” says Oscar Österberg, report author and research coordinator at the Forum for Living History.
Students with a foreign background show more negative attitudes toward sexual minorities than those with a Swedish background. Among students born abroad, 21.2 percent have negative attitudes toward sexual minorities. Among students born in Sweden with foreign-born parents, the figure is 22.6 percent, and among Swedish-born students with Swedish-born parents, the proportion is 12.1 percent.
Muslims and Jews
The proportion of non-Muslim students in the survey who believe that “there are far too many Muslims in Sweden” has increased from 28 to 34 percent since 2013.
At the same time, the proportion who believe that “Jews have too much influence in the world today” has increased from 15 to 24 percent. 15.6 percent of Muslim students harbor strongly negative attitudes toward Jews.
22 percent of young men are not satisfied with democracy.
Increased Bullying
The percentage reporting they have been teased has risen from 33 percent in 2013 to 51 percent in the new study. Those exposed to threats increased from eight to 13 percent, and those who have been hit from eleven to 16 percent.
“It is too early to say whether these changes are temporary or reflect a long-term trend. Nevertheless, there are several strong reasons to strengthen efforts for equal value for all and to reduce vulnerability among Swedish students,” says Petra Mårselius.