Premium
Are minority status children's cross‐ethnic friendships beneficial in a multiethnic context?
Author(s) -
Bagci Sabahat C.,
Rutland Adam,
Kumashiro Madoka,
Smith Peter K.,
Blumberg Herbert
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
british journal of developmental psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.062
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 2044-835X
pISSN - 0261-510X
DOI - 10.1111/bjdp.12028
Subject(s) - ethnic group , friendship , psychology , context (archaeology) , psychological resilience , developmental psychology , social environment , social psychology , sociology , paleontology , social science , anthropology , biology
Past research has demonstrated the negative impact of perceived ethnic discrimination ( PED ) on psychological well‐being among children. Given research demonstrating the benefits of cross‐ethnic friendship for children's intergroup attitudes, we examined whether cross‐ethnic friendships would attenuate the effects of PED on well‐being and resilience within a multi‐ethnic context. Two hundred and forty‐seven South Asian British children ( M = 11 years) recruited from 37 classrooms completed measures of perceived cross‐ethnic friendship quantity and quality, PED , psychological well‐being, and resilience. Friendship quality, but not quantity, had direct positive associations with psychological well‐being and resilience. A higher quantity of cross‐ethnic friendships moderated the negative effects of PED on both outcomes. Results suggest that cross‐ethnic friendships are beneficial for South Asian British children by functioning as a protective factor from the negative effects of discrimination within a multi‐ethnic context.