Center for Opinion Studies

"How would you feel if your son or daughter had a romantic relationship with an Arab?"

The latest CEO survey confirms the majority acceptance of immigration by Catalans.

Abderrahame Moujane is an Arabic teacher at the Pompeu Fabra High School in Martorell, where 10 third-year ESO students have chosen this elective.
ARA
21/03/2025
2 min

BarcelonaThe distribution of unaccompanied minors in the Canary Islands has reopened the debate on immigration, which has been on the front page for months. The far right has managed to make the issue a key issue, and some surveys have reflected increased public concern, such as the September survey by the Center for Sociological Research (CIS). when it became the first problem for the Spanish –in February it had already dropped to sixth place–. In Catalonia, the Center for Opinion Studies (CEO) finds that the majority of Catalans view immigration positively. In fact, the results of the latest longitudinal survey, published this Friday, reflect that opinions on immigration have not changed in the last year, despite the intensification of the political debate. The average score remains similar both in terms of the positive impact of immigrants on the economy (6.4) and on culture (5.8) and coexistence (5.8).

Beyond the generic questions, the CEO also incorporates some experiments into the survey. It already did so last year and now asks again, for example, about romantic relationships. "How do you think someone in your immediate circle would feel if one of their sons or daughters were in a romantic relationship with a person from one of the following groups..." begins the wording of one of the questions. And it is here where important differences are noted regarding origin. Nearly 70% of respondents would rate positively (between 6 and 10) if this relationship were with an East Asian, Black, or Latin American person. However, less than 50% believe it would be good news if the relationship were with a North African or Arab person. This difference is 20 points, which also holds true for another group, Roma.

Actituds vers una relació amorosa dels fills
Com creu que se sentiria algú del seu entorn proper si un dels seus fills o filles mantingués una relació amorosa amb una persona d’algun dels següents grups...

Beyond origin, the study also finds clear differences regarding sexual orientation or gender identity. Only 15% of those surveyed believe their neighbor would feel uncomfortable if their son or daughter's partner were gay, lesbian, or bisexual, but that percentage doubles if it were transgender.

Technical sheet

This is the second longitudinal CEO survey, leveraging the institute's citizen panel. A total of 6,877 people participated, 5,773 of whom responded online (84%) and the remaining 1,104 on paper (16%). The final sample is composed of 4,237 people who had already responded to the first wave, 62.2% of the initial participants, with a dropout or attrition rate of 37.8%. To this sample, 2,640 individuals were added who were responding for the first time, 29.5% of the total refresher sample. The survey's sampling error margin can be estimated at +1.18% for a 95% confidence level and under the maximum variance hypothesis (p=q=0.5).

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