International and Domestic Altruism: A Study Among the Adult Population in Norway.

Instead of targeting charity to countries where the human needs are most precarious, donors tend to direct their helping to victims within their own country. Despite being important for human welfare, the question why it is so has heretofore not been raised scientifically. In this survey study ( N = 3849 respondents) a suggested distinction between international and domestic altruism was validated by examining to which extent the 2 concepts showed differing patterns of associations with a range of relevant variables. When controlling for demography, international orientation, trust in people, and less xenophobia predicted international altruism, while patriotism and fear predicted domestic altruism. Research on how national boundaries stem altruism should be intensified and refined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]