Cross-National and Cross-Ethnic Differences in Attitudes: A Case of Luxembourg

Minorities' attitudes can be compared to attitudes of fellow citizen within the host country as well as to attitudes of the motherland. Given the heterogeneity of Luxembourg's minority groups, this country is a relevant example case in which the comparison needs to involve answering a two-folded question. First, the authors analyze the level of measurement equivalence, that is, the extent to which different groups can be compared. Second, the authors examine whether ethnic-cultural groups within Luxembourg resemble citizens from their native country more than their country of residence. Using European Values Study (EVS) data from 2008 the authors demonstrate different types of outcomes. Results indicate that cultural background is more important than national context in the case of culturally more distant minorities to Luxembourg's resident population and that national setting is the prevailing factor when minorities are from neighboring countries. The effect of a common national setting is also important with regards to the issue of measurement equivalence, where it contributes to greater comparability of intranational, cross-ethnic comparisons.