Poster #223 - Can Friendship Patterns and Middle School Norms Provide Insights About Sexual Minorities’ Early Adolescent Wellbeing?

• In Event: 3-106 - Poster Session 11
  In Poster Session: PS 11 Section - Social Relationships

Integrative Statement

Friends play important roles in shaping adolescent wellbeing (e.g., Waldrip, Malcolm, & Jensen-Campbell, 2008). For sexual minorities, at higher risk than their heterosexual peers for mistreatment (Toomey & Russell, 2016) and internalizing problems (Plöderl & Tremblay, 2015), friends may be particularly vital for promoting positive outcomes. Compared to heterosexual young adults, sexual minority adults report fewer friends, higher proportions of other-gender friends, and more friendships with sexual minorities (e.g., Baiocco, Santamaria, Lonigro, Ioverno, Baumgartner, & Laghi, 2014). Further, both gender and sexual orientation of friends impact associations between friendship and wellbeing (Baiocco et al., 2014; Doty, Willoughby, Lindahl, & Malik, 2010). Little is known about friendship patterns in early adolescence, when many young sexual minorities may not be fully aware of their sexual orientation.

The current study uses a “looking back” approach with a longitudinal sample, basing participant sexual orientation on romantic attraction data from 9th-12th grades, and examining their friendship patterns and wellbeing during 6th grade. This approach enables me to examine friendship patterns (i.e., number and demographics of close friends) of sexual minority youth before many of them may have clearly defined their sexual orientation, while reducing concerns about recall bias by utilizing prospective data.

I rely on data based on an ethnically diverse sample drawn from 26 middle schools (N=4,157; 54% girls; 19% of boys and 31% of girls reporting same-gender attraction, multi-gender attraction, or uncertainty about their attractions in high school) to examine (a) whether sexual minority and heterosexual youth differ in friendship patterns and (b) whether these patterns are associated with socioemotional wellbeing in 6th grade (i.e., the first year of middle school). Sexual minority status was assessed by relying on a developmentally sensitive, multi-item romantic attraction measure. In addition to examining the number, gender, and subsequent sexual orientation of friends, also school-wide descriptive norms regarding other-gender friends (i.e., prevalence of such friendships) were computed to test for possible school-contextual moderator effects.

Preliminary analyses demonstrate that sexual minorities report fewer friends and higher proportions of other-gender friends. Further, the difference in proportion of other-gender friends is larger for sexual minority boys than girls (Table 1). Analyses are pending on likelihood of having a sexual minority friend. Preliminary analyses also show the expected disparities in peer victimization, loneliness, and social anxiety at 6th grade for youth identified as sexual minorities in high school (Table 1). Subsequent analyses will test whether the associations between friendship and wellbeing are moderated by school gender integration (proportion of youth with other-gender friends). I expect that having a moderate proportion of other-gender friends will be associated with positive outcomes, particularly for sexual minorities, in gender-integrated schools. However, in schools where other-gender friendships are uncommon, I expect these associations may be attenuated because “atypical” patterns of friendship may put youth at risk for negative reactions from peers. Similarly, I expect that having at least one other sexual minority may be beneficial for sexual minorities, but more so in gender-integrated environments if such integration indicates less strict gender-related norms.

Authors

• Danielle Sayre Smith, University of California, Los Angeles
  Presenting Author

• Jaana Juvonen, University of California - Los Angeles
  Non-Presenting Author