Supporting Ukrainian refugees: examining intergroup contact, empathy and European identity in promoting helping behaviours

The escalation of the Russian–Ukrainian conflict has forced many Ukrainian people to leave their country seeking safety and support. To date, more than 6 million of refugees have crossed the borders into neighbouring countries. Nearly all European countries were involved in refugee-hosting, including Italy. In a cross-sectional study with Italian respondents (N = 338), we examined direct contact with and empathy towards Ukrainians and identification with Europe as predictors of helping behaviours towards Ukrainian refugees. Specifically, based on intergroup contact theory, we expected contact to be associated with helping behaviours via increased empathy. The European identity, rooted in values such as tolerance and egalitarianism can be seen as a common ingroup that includes people from various European countries, including Ukrainians. Consequently, it should be associated with helping behaviours, and could boost the effects of contact and empathy. As hypothesised, identification with Europe boosted the direct effect of contact on helping behaviours. Instead, the indirect effect of contact on helping behaviours via empathy was significant only among respondents with low Identification with Europe. This research highlights processes related to intergroup helping behaviours and, more specifically, participation in humanitarian initiatives favouring Ukrainian refugees.