Ethnic-Racial Identity and Friendship Diversity Across Contexts

• In Event: Ethnic-Racial Identity and its Links to Critical Consciousness, Socialization, and Diversity

Abstract

Background: Ethnic-racial diversity in the U.S. is on the rise (U.S. Census Bureau, 2020). In this regard, schools may serve as useful socialization spaces for youth, where expose to diverse peer groups often facilitates friendships among students from different backgrounds (Nishina et al., 2019). This is highly beneficial, as diverse friendships are tied to youth’s identity development, self-image, and reduced feelings of loneliness (Graham, 2018). However, little is known of the extent to which youth’s school friendship diversity predicts their friendship diversity later in life. In addition, it is unknown what role youth’s ethnic-racial identity beliefs may play in their future friendship composition (Rivas-Drake, Syed, et al. 2014). In this study, we hypothesized that high school friendship diversity would predict friendship diversity one year later across college, workplace, and community spaces, and this link would be positively moderated by students’ positive ethnic-racial identity beliefs.

Method: Data were drawn from a multi-state longitudinal school climate study. Adolescents completed daily and single time-point quantitative surveys annually from the 9th grade through their second year post-graduation (2021). The analytic sample consists of 275 adolescents (55% female, 45% male; 30% Asian, 5% Black, 23% Latino, 19% Multiracial, 23% White). Students completed measures on multiple dimensions of their ethnic-racial identity (private regard – positive feelings about one’s ethnic group; public regard – one’s perspective on others’ positive feelings about one’s ethnic group; Scottham, Sellers, & Nguyên, 2008), as well as detailed the ethnic diversity of their school friends, workplace friends, and friends outside of these spaces.

Results: Preliminary analyses revealed, across ethnic groups and genders, significant bivariate correlations between students’ high school friend ethnic diversity and the ethnic diversity of their college friends (r = 0.390, p < .001), workplace friends (r = 0.297, p = .002), and friends elsewhere (r = 0.448, p < .001). Hierarchical linear regressions confirmed that high school friend ethnic diversity also predicted friend diversity across each of these three contexts (college: β = 0.443, p < .001, workplace: β = 0.442, p < .001, elsewhere: β = 0.484, p < .001). In addition, students’ private regard beliefs positively moderated the relation between high school friend ethnic diversity and the diversity of their college friends (β = 0.268, p = .040).

Implications: Youth in the U.S. are expected to navigate an increasingly ethnically diverse school population (National Center for Education Statistics, 2015). As such, it is useful to consider how their friendship diversity varies and interacts with identity development over time. Our findings suggest that high school friendship diversity is a significant predictor of the diversity of friendship choices later in life, both within and outside of school. This is strong evidence in favor of school initiatives that promote interactions between students of different backgrounds, as well as those hoping to encourage positive identity development among diverse student bodies. Implications for the future of ethnic-racial identity research, as it relates to diversity exposure and relationship building, are discussed.

Authors

• Michael Alan Medina, Boston University
  Presenting Author

• Adrienne Nishina, University of California - Davis

• Amy Bellmore, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Melissa R Witkow, Willamette University