Abstract
Cross-ethnic friendships are linked to a range of positive outcomes in adolescence, but have been shown to be lower quality and less stable than same-ethnic friendships. The current study examined how classroom diversity and out-of-school contact contribute to these relational differences between cross-and same-ethnic friendships. Multilevel analyses were conducted on a sample of 9,171 classroom-based friends nested within 4,333 ethnically diverse sixth grade students (54% female; 32% Latino, 20% White, 14% East/Southeast Asian, 12% African American, 14% Multiethnic, 8% Other ethnic). Consistent with the hypotheses, lower ethnic diversity in classes shared by friends and lack of home contact (as opposed to electronic) contributed to relational differences between cross- and same-ethnic friendships. The findings suggest that while diverse classrooms enable youth to bond across ethnic groups, connecting outside of school is critical for the relational quality and longevity of cross-ethnic friendships.
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Acknowledgements
The authors want to thank Dr. Sandra Graham (PI of the Project) and the members of the UCLA Middle School Diversity team for their contributions to collection of the data, and all school personnel and participants for their cooperation.
Authors’ Contributions
LL conceived of the current study, participated in its design, participated in analysis and interpretation of the data, and helped to draft the manuscript. KK conceived of the current study, participated in its design, participated in analysis and interpretation of the data, and helped to draft the manuscript. JJ conceived of the current study, participated in its design, participated in analysis and interpretation of the data, and helped to draft the manuscript, and was a principal investigator on the larger project from which the present analyses were conducted. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Funding
This research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (Grant 1R01HD059882-01A2) and the National Science Foundation (No. 0921306).
Data Sharing and Declaration
The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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All procedures involving human participants in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the University’s Institutional Review Board and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
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Lessard, L.M., Kogachi, K. & Juvonen, J. Quality and Stability of Cross-Ethnic Friendships: Effects of Classroom Diversity and Out-of-School Contact. J Youth Adolescence 48, 554–566 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-018-0964-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-018-0964-9