Children’s cross-ethnic friendships: Why are they less stable than same-ethnic friendships?

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Jugent, Philipp; Noack, Peter and Rutland, Adam. 2013. Children’s cross-ethnic friendships: Why are they less stable than same-ethnic friendships? European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 10, pp. 649-662. ISSN 1740-5629 [Article]

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Official URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1740562...

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Previous findings suggest that children’s cross-ethnic friendships are less stable than same-ethnic friendships. However, it is not clear why this is. This study examined stability of same- and cross-ethnic friendships among 10-year-old children over the course of five months. Analyses focused on both individual-level data (comparing 82 German and 37 Turkish children) and social network data (comparing 125 German and 172 non-German children). We predicted that children high in empathy and who perceived peer norms about cross-ethnic friendships to be positive would have more stable cross-ethnic friendships. Results showed that cross-ethnic friendships were indeed less stable than same-ethnic friendships. Empathy marginally predicted stability of cross-ethnic friendships while peer norms only predicted German but not Turkish children’s cross-ethnic friendship stability. Further, children high in empathy were less likely to be deselected by their cross-ethnic friends and similarity in empathy between cross-ethnic friends increased the longevity of their friendship.

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Article

Identification Number (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1080/17405629.2012.734136