TY - JOUR
T1 - Contributions of Racial and Sociobehavioral Homophily to Friendship Stability and Quality Among Same-Race and Cross-Race Friends
AU - McDonald, Kristina L.
AU - Dashiell-Aje, Ebony
AU - Menzer, Melissa M.
AU - Rubin, Kenneth H.
AU - Oh, Wonjung
AU - Bowker, Julie C.
N1 - Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The research reported in this article was supported by National Institute of Mental Health grant 1R01MH58116 to Kenneth H. Rubin.
PY - 2013/10
Y1 - 2013/10
N2 - The current study examined how racial and sociobehavioral similarities were associated with friendship stability and friendship quality. Cross-race friends were not significantly similar to each other in peer-nominated shyness/withdrawal, victimization, exclusion, and popularity/sociability. Relative to same-race friends, cross-race friends were significantly less similar in peer-nominated popularity/sociability, exclusion, and victimization. Although same-race friendships were more prevalent than cross-race friendships, only similarity in friends' aggressive behavior (but not racial homophily) was related to friendship stability. Neither racial nor sociobehavioral similarity predicted friendship quality beyond adolescents' individual sociobehavioral characteristics. Taken together, findings suggest that although racial similarity may affect initial friendship formation, racial similarity may not impact friendship stability or friendship quality when also accounting for friends' similarity in sociobehavioral characteristics.
AB - The current study examined how racial and sociobehavioral similarities were associated with friendship stability and friendship quality. Cross-race friends were not significantly similar to each other in peer-nominated shyness/withdrawal, victimization, exclusion, and popularity/sociability. Relative to same-race friends, cross-race friends were significantly less similar in peer-nominated popularity/sociability, exclusion, and victimization. Although same-race friendships were more prevalent than cross-race friendships, only similarity in friends' aggressive behavior (but not racial homophily) was related to friendship stability. Neither racial nor sociobehavioral similarity predicted friendship quality beyond adolescents' individual sociobehavioral characteristics. Taken together, findings suggest that although racial similarity may affect initial friendship formation, racial similarity may not impact friendship stability or friendship quality when also accounting for friends' similarity in sociobehavioral characteristics.
KW - dyadic relationships
KW - friendship
KW - middle school
KW - race/racial issues
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84883431271&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0272431612472259
DO - 10.1177/0272431612472259
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84883431271
VL - 33
SP - 897
EP - 919
JO - Journal of Early Adolescence
JF - Journal of Early Adolescence
SN - 0272-4316
IS - 7
ER -