Work

Trajectories of cross-ethnic friendships and their associations with school adjustment in ethnic minority adolescents.

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: = 15.07; 76.3% second generation), followed across three annual waves over 3 years. Latent growth mixture models of their repeated self-reported cross-ethnic friendships with majority peers revealed four distinct trajectories: maintaining (32.7%), gaining (9.3%), losing (10.5%), and never having cross-ethnic friendships (47.6%). Adolescents who maintained or gained cross-ethnic friendships experienced stronger school adjustment, including increased belonging and engagement. Conversely, adolescents who never had or lost such friendships showed poorer school adjustment. These results highlight the importance of cross-ethnic friendships in the school context, particularly for ethnic minority adolescents. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Source: Developmental Psychology

DOI: 10.1037/dev0002090

Authors: Gülseli Baysu, Jessie Hillekens, Karen Phalet

Institutions: Queen's University Belfast, KU Leuven

Language: English

Topic: Psychosocial Factors Impacting Youth

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: green

Funders: City University of New York, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Jacobs Foundation, Vlaamse regering