View the resource website here: https://www.verywellmind.com/xenophobia-fear-of-strangers-2671881

What Is Xenophobia?

Xenophobia, or fear of strangers, is a broad term that may be applied to any fear of someone who is different from us. Hostility towards outsiders is often a reaction to fear. It typically involves the belief that there is a conflict between an individual’s ingroup and an outgroup. Xenophobia often overlaps with forms of prejudice including racism and homophobia, but there are important distinctions. Where racism, homophobia, and other forms of discrimination are based on specific characteristics, xenophobia is usually rooted in the perception that members of the outgroup are foreign to the ingroup community. Whether xenophobia qualifies as a legitimate mental disorder is a subject of ongoing debate. Xenophobia is also associated with large-scale acts of destruction and violence against groups of people.

Visit the website to learn more about xenophobia, its characteristics, types, impacts, history, and how we can work collectively to fight xenophobia