Ethic minorities more likely to feel British in UK if live in mixed communities: Study

A study of community cohesion in the UK has reportedly found that people from ethnic minorities are more likely to feel British if they live in mixed communities rather than being surrounded by neighbours of their own background.

Researchers from Essex University and the University of Oxford analysed data from two surveys of 4,391 British people, 3,582 of who came from ethnic minorities.

According to The Independent, the study found that when people from these minority groups live in very mixed areas, where there were few people from their own ethnicity, five percent of them are more likely to identify with Britain as a whole than those who live amongst people from their own background.

A researcher said that diversity is good for minority members in Britain, adding that if they live in diverse scenarios they identify more with Britain as they do not create reactive identities.

In addition, the study established that living as a minority amongst other ethnicities does not lessen trust in neighbours, willingness to help neighbours, or how often a person takes part in community activities.

The research, published in the journal Sociology, also found that white Britons living in deprivation with little education are less likely to trust their neighbours than their richer, better educated peers, the report added.