Crossing Lines with Unbalanced Ties: Power Asymmetry in Friendship and Racial Minority Adolescents’ Mental Health

• In Event: 30420 - Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 4: Race, Health, and Inequalities

Abstract

While research often emphasizes the positive aspects of social relationships, this study examines how power asymmetry in friendships affects adolescent mental health, particularly for racial minorities. Two forms of power are considered: social capital (measured by the number of friends) and racial status. Drawing on theories and evidence regarding social status and health, I argue that racial minorities are more vulnerable to the detrimental effects of being less powerful in friendships. Moreover, the influence of power differences in inter-racial friendships is likely to have negative impacts on the mental health of racial minority adolescents.
 
Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), I operationalize power difference as the gap in indegree centrality between individuals and their friends. Depression is measured using the CES-D scale. I examine three dimensions of power asymmetry: with all friends, with white friends, and with same-racial friends.
 
Preliminary findings reveal three key insights: First, power difference significantly affects adolescent depression, even after controlling for conventional network measures. Second, racial minorities show greater sensitivity to the negative effects of power differentials in friendships. Specifically, Black and Asian adolescents report more depressive symptoms when they possess lower social power than their friends. Third, among Asian adolescents, having lower social power than white friends is significantly associated with increased depressive symptoms.
 
Future analyses will employ multi-level regression to examine the effect of school-level racial diversity. I will also use exponential random graph models to establish causal relationships between power-asymmetric friendships and long-term mental health outcomes for minority adolescents.

Author

• Fei Xie, The Ohio State University