Abstract
Friendship racial homophily, the tendency to form friendships with individuals who share the same racial background, is a normative developmental phenomenon that holds particular significance for youth of color in a racialized society. Yet, there exists a paucity of longitudinal research elucidating the stability and change of friendship racial composition across developmental span. This study aimed to examine the friendship racial homophily trajectories over a six-year period encompassing four time points. The sample comprised 437 Asian American youth (MAge = 16.52, SDAge = 1.36, 53% female), with 197 Filipino and 240 Korean participants. Using logistic multilevel modeling analyses, it was found that both Filipino and Korean American youth demonstrated an increase in friendship racial homophily from high school to college, but that Filipino youth overall reported lower levels of racial homophily compared to their Korean counterparts. The study findings also pinpointed several influential factors impacting these trajectories, including proficiency in heritage languages, ethnic identity, and encounters with racial discrimination from both White Americans and other People of Color. These results highlight the continuous evolution of friendship racial composition from high school to college and emphasize the crucial role of ethnic identity and experiences of discrimination in influencing these dynamics, with ethnic identity exerting more enduring effects and experiences of discrimination showing more situational impacts on the levels of racial homophily.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aboud, F. E., Mendelson, M. J., & Purdy, K. T. (2003). Cross-race peer relations and friendship quality. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 27(2), 165–173. https://doi.org/10.1080/01650250244000164.
Bankston, C. L., & Zhou, M. (1996). The Ethnic Church, Ethnic Identifcation, and the Social Adjustment of Vietnamese Adolescents. Review of Religious Research, 38(1), 18–37. https://doi.org/10.2307/3512538.
Benner, A. D., Wang, Y., Shen, Y., Boyle, A. E., Polk, R., & Cheng, Y.-P. (2018). Racial/ethnic discrimination and well-being during adolescence: A meta-analytic review. American Psychologist, 73(7), 855–883. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000204.
Birman, D., & Trickett, E. J. (2001). Cultural Transitions in First-Generation Immigrants: Acculturation of Soviet Jewish Refugee Adolescents and Parents. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 32(4), 456–477. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022101032004006.
Branscombe, N. R., Schmitt, M. T., & Harvey, R. D. (1999). Perceiving pervasive discrimination among African Americans: Implications for group identification and well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77(1), 135–149. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.77.1.135.
Budiman, A., & Ruiz, N. G. (2021). Key facts about Asian Americans, a diverse and growing population. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/04/29/key-facts-about-asian-americans/.
Campigotto, N., Rapallini, C., & Rustichini, A. (2022). School friendship networks, homophily and multiculturalism: Evidence from European countries. Journal of Population Economics, 35(4), 1687–1722. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00148-020-00819-w.
Chan, W. Y., & Birman, D. (2009). Cross-and same-race friendships of Vietnamese immigrant adolescents: A focus on acculturation and school diversity. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 33(4), 313–324. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2009.05.003.
Choi, Y., Park, M., Lee, J. P., Yasui, M., & Kim, T. Y. (2018). Explicating Acculturation Strategies among Asian American Youth: Subtypes and Correlates across Filipino and Korean Americans. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 47(10), 2181–2205. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-018-0862-1.
Currarini, S., Jackson, M. O., & Pin, P. (2010). Identifying the roles of race-based choice and chance in high school friendship network formation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(11), 4857–4861. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0911793107.
Davies, K., Tropp, L. R., Aron, A., Pettigrew, T. F., & Wright, S. C. (2011). Cross-Group Friendships and Intergroup Attitudes: A Meta-Analytic Review. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 15(4), 332–351. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868311411103.
Harris, K., & Vazire, S. (2016). On friendship development and the Big Five personality traits. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 10(11), 647–667. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12287.
Hruschka, D. J. (2010). Friendship: Development, Ecology, and Evolution of a Relationship. (University of California Press.
Kao, G., & Joyner, K. (2004). Do Race and Ethnicity Matter Among Friends? The Sociological Quarterly, 45(3), 557–573. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1533-8525.2004.tb02303.x.
Kao, G., Joyner, K., & Balistreri, K. S. (2019). The Company We Keep: Interracial Friendships and Romantic Relationships from Adolescence to Adulthood. (Russell Sage Foundation.
Kiang, L., Peterson, J. L., & Thompson, T. L. (2011). Ethnic Peer Preferences Among Asian American Adolescents in Emerging Immigrant Communities. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 21(4), 754–761. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-7795.2011.00750.x.
Kogachi, K., & Graham, S. (2021). Same-race friendship preference across the middle school years: The role of school racial/ethnic context. Developmental Psychology, 57(12), 2134–2149. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001263.
Leszczensky, L., & Pink, S. (2019). What Drives Ethnic Homophily? A Relational Approach on How Ethnic Identification Moderates Preferences for Same-Ethnic Friends. American Sociological Review, 84(3), 394–419. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122419846849.
Li, Q. (2017). Does Multiculturalism Work? Language, Friendship Homophily, and Well-Being of Immigrants in Canada. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2997318.
Liu, S., Wang, Y., & Nuttall, A. K. (2020). Cross-race and cross-ethnic friendships and psychological well-being trajectories among Asian American adolescents: Variations by school context. Developmental Psychology, 56(11), 2121–2136. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001109.
Lu, J. G. (2021). A social network perspective on the Bamboo Ceiling: Ethnic homophily explains why East Asians but not South Asians are underrepresented in leadership in multiethnic environments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000292.
McGill, R. K., Way, N., & Hughes, D. (2012). Intra- and Interracial Best Friendships During Middle School: Links to Social and Emotional Well-being. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 22(4), 722–738. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-7795.2012.00826.x.
Miller-Cotto, D., & Byrnes, J. P. (2016). Ethnic/racial identity and academic achievement: A meta-analytic review. Developmental Review, 41, 51–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2016.06.003.
Miyazaki, Y., & Raudenbush, S. W. (2000). Tests for linkage of multiple cohorts in an accelerated longitudinal design. Psychological Methods, 5(1), 44–63. https://doi.org/10.1037/1082-989X.5.1.44.
Nadal, K. L. (2020). Filipino American Psychology: A Handbook of Theory, Research, and Clinical Practice. John Wiley & Sons.
Ocampo, A. C. (2016). The Latinos of Asia: How Filipino Americans Break the Rules of Race. Stanford University Press.
Park, M., Choi, Y., Yasui, M., & Hedeker, D., Specificity, Commonality, and Generalizability in Social‐Emotional Development Special Section Editors. (2021). Racial discrimination and the moderating effects of racial and ethnic socialization on the mental health of Asian American youth. Child Development, 92(6), 2284–2298. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13638.
Raudenbush, S. W., & Bryk, A. S. (2002). Hierarchical linear models: Applications and data analysis methods (Vol. 1). Sage.
Rivas-Drake, D., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Schaefer, D. R., & Medina, M. (2017). Ethnic-Racial Identity and Friendships in Early Adolescence. Child Development, 88(3), 710–724. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12790.
Shrum, W., Cheek, N. H., & Hunter, S. M. (1988). Friendship in School: Gender and Racial Homophily. Sociology of Education, 61(4), 227–239. https://doi.org/10.2307/2112441.
Singer, J. D., & Willett, J. B. (2003). Applied longitudinal data analysis: Modeling change and event occurrence (pp. xx, 644). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195152968.001.0001.
Smith, T. B., & Silva, L. (2011). Ethnic identity and personal well-being of people of color: A meta-analysis. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 58(1), 42–60. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021528.
Stearns, E., Buchmann, C., & Bonneau, K. (2009). Interracial Friendships in the Transition to College: Do Birds of a Feather Flock Together Once They Leave the Nest? Sociology of Education, 82(2), 173–195. https://doi.org/10.1177/003804070908200204.
Sutin, A. R., Stephan, Y., & Terracciano, A. (2016). Perceived discrimination and personality development in adulthood. Developmental Psychology, 52(1), 155–163. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000069.
Syed, M., & Juan, M. J. D. (2012). Birds of an ethnic feather? Ethnic identity homophily among college-age friends. Journal of Adolescence, 35(6), 1505–1514. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2011.10.012.
Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In W. G. Austin & S. Worchel eds, The social psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 33–48). Brooks/Cole.
Thomas, R. J. (2019). Sources of Friendship and Structurally Induced Homophily across the Life Course. Sociological Perspectives, 62(6), 822–843. https://doi.org/10.1177/0731121419828399.
Titzmann, P. F. (2014). Immigrant Adolescents’ Adaptation to a New Context: Ethnic Friendship Homophily and Its Predictors. Child Development Perspectives, 8(2), 107–112. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12072.
Trieu, M. M. (2023). Fighting Invisibility: Asian Americans in the Midwest. Rutgers University Press.
Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Kornienko, O., McDermott, E. R., & Motti-Stefanidi, F. (2020). National Identity Development and Friendship Network Dynamics among Immigrant and Non-Immigrant Youth. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 49(3), 706–723. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-019-01181-1.
Widaman, K. F. (2006). Best practices in quantitative methods for developmentalists: III. Missing data: What to do with or without them. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 71, 42–64. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5834.2006.00404.x.
Williams, M. T. (2020). Microaggressions: Clarification, Evidence, and Impact. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 15(1), 3–26. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691619827499.
Zhou, X. (2023). Review of Fighting Invisibility: Asian Americans in the Midwest. Rutgers University Press. Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.7771/2153-8999.1307.
Zhou, X., Lee, R. M., & Syed, M. (2019). Ethnic identity developmental trajectories during the transition to college. Developmental Psychology, 55(1), 157–169. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000634.
Zhou, X., Min, C. J., Kim, A. Y., Lee, R. M., & Wang, C. (2022). Do cross-race friendships with majority and minority peers protect against the effects of discrimination on school belonging and depressive symptoms? International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 91, 242–251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2022.10.010.
Acknowledgements
During the preparation of this work the author used ChatGPT to refine the paper’s grammar and academic writing style. The core ideas and content of the paper originates from the authors themselves. After using this tool/service, the author reviewed and edited the content as needed and take full responsibility for the content of the publication.
Funding
This work was supported by grants from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD/NIH), R01HD073200 (PI: Yoonsun Choi) and Russell Sage Foundation Trustee Grant (2005-24450; PI: Yoonsun Choi). This study was not preregistered.
Data Sharing DeclarationThe datasets analyzed in the current study are not publicly available but can be available from the corresponding author if certain conditions are met. The study analysis code is available at https://osf.io/3pjd6.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
X.Z. conceived the analytical plan, conducted the statistical analysis, interpreted the data, and drafted the manuscript; M.P. contributed to the study design and coordination, assisted with data interpretation, and edited the manuscript; Y.C. conceptualized the study, led its design and coordination, and edited the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare no competing interests.
Ethical Approval
This study was conducted in compliance with ethical standards. All procedures of the study were approved by the Institutional Review Board of the University of Chicago to ensure the proper protection of human subjects, including confidentiality of the data.
Informed Consent
All study participants received thorough informed consent and assent process.
Additional information
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary information
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zhou, X., Park, M. & Choi, Y. Friendship Homophily Trajectories among Asian American Youth from High School to College. J. Youth Adolescence (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-024-02008-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-024-02008-4