Ethnic Stereotypes and Prejudices of Young People in the Period 2004-2012

Ethnic stereotypes and prejudices as terms were examined and a historical review of their development (Duckitt, 1992) was made. The results from a survey of prejudices of young people of Bulgarian origin (n=942; 347 men and 595 women; average age 21.3 years) towards the in-group and the representatives of the main ethnic minorities: Turks, Roma and Jews, carried out in 5 time intervals: 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2012, were presented. Through free associations, the relation between stereotypes and attitudes was studied in two social contexts: personal and community. The results showed that the assessment of the minority groups was more positive in the former than in the latter context. The persons studied perceived most negatively the representatives of the Romani ethnos, more weakly negatively the Turks, and the attitudes towards the Jews were positive.