ALBANIAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS' ETHNIC DISTANCE AND STEREOTYPES COMPARED WITH OTHER BALKAN NATIONS

The purpose of this study is to identify the Albanian university students' ethnic distance and the negative ethnic stereotypes compared with other ethnic groups in the Balkans. In addition, the study aims at determining the relationship between the ethnic distance and negative ethnic stereotypes. The sample of this study consists of 600 students selected at random in seven Albanian public universities. The instruments used in this study are a seven item ethnic distance scale for measuring the ethnic distance and a ten item scale for measuring ethnic stereotypes. The ethnic distance scale reliability coefficient is 0.76. The reliability coefficient for the ethnic stereotypes scale varies from 0.84 to 0.90. The descriptive statistics (mean - comparison) is used to describe the level of ethnic distance and ethnic stereotypes. Pearson Product-moment Correlations are used to identify the intensity and orientation of the relation between the ethnic distance and stereotyped attitudes. The study findings indicate that Albanian university students manifest high levels of ethnic stereotypes and ethnic distance compared with other Balkan ethnic groups, especially Serbs and Greeks. In line with the other research, the findings of the present study indicate that there is a positive relationship between the ethnic distance and negative ethnic stereotypes.