The Limitations of Intergroup Friendship: Using Social Network Analysis to Test the Pathways Linking Contact and Intergroup Attitudes in a Multigroup Context
Recent research on intergroup contact theory has emphasized the potency of cross-group friendship for reducing prejudice. Evaluating this claim requires consideration of competing friend influence and selection processes. Few studies have jointly tested these mechanisms and often only in limited, ma...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SAGE Publishing
2023-04-01
|
| Series: | Socius |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/23780231231161048 |
| _version_ | 1797850373361238016 |
|---|---|
| author | Thoa V. Khuu David R. Schaefer Adriana J. Umaña-Taylor Allison M. Ryan |
| author_facet | Thoa V. Khuu David R. Schaefer Adriana J. Umaña-Taylor Allison M. Ryan |
| author_sort | Thoa V. Khuu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Recent research on intergroup contact theory has emphasized the potency of cross-group friendship for reducing prejudice. Evaluating this claim requires consideration of competing friend influence and selection processes. Few studies have jointly tested these mechanisms and often only in limited, majority/minority group contexts. In this study, the authors articulate several mechanisms linking friendships with intergroup attitudes and test them in a diverse U.S. context (two large high schools with significant representations of multiple ethnoracial groups). The analysis involves a longitudinal network model of friendship and attitude coevolution. The findings indicate that ingroup friends influenced intergroup contact attitudes (ICAs) over time, while more open ICAs promoted selection into cross-group friendship. By contrast, effects of cross-group friendships on ICAs were limited to White students with Black friends. These findings suggest that the effect of intergroup contact is overstated in the context of friendship and that more focus should be paid to understanding other friendship dynamics. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T19:00:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7882e8523feb4aaa8c99cb58fc450d0a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2378-0231 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T19:00:17Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Socius |
| spelling | doaj.art-7882e8523feb4aaa8c99cb58fc450d0a2023-04-08T13:33:28ZengSAGE PublishingSocius2378-02312023-04-01910.1177/23780231231161048The Limitations of Intergroup Friendship: Using Social Network Analysis to Test the Pathways Linking Contact and Intergroup Attitudes in a Multigroup ContextThoa V. Khuu0David R. Schaefer1Adriana J. Umaña-Taylor2Allison M. Ryan3Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USAUniversity of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USAHarvard University, Cambridge, MA, USAUniversity of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USARecent research on intergroup contact theory has emphasized the potency of cross-group friendship for reducing prejudice. Evaluating this claim requires consideration of competing friend influence and selection processes. Few studies have jointly tested these mechanisms and often only in limited, majority/minority group contexts. In this study, the authors articulate several mechanisms linking friendships with intergroup attitudes and test them in a diverse U.S. context (two large high schools with significant representations of multiple ethnoracial groups). The analysis involves a longitudinal network model of friendship and attitude coevolution. The findings indicate that ingroup friends influenced intergroup contact attitudes (ICAs) over time, while more open ICAs promoted selection into cross-group friendship. By contrast, effects of cross-group friendships on ICAs were limited to White students with Black friends. These findings suggest that the effect of intergroup contact is overstated in the context of friendship and that more focus should be paid to understanding other friendship dynamics.https://doi.org/10.1177/23780231231161048 |
| spellingShingle | Thoa V. Khuu David R. Schaefer Adriana J. Umaña-Taylor Allison M. Ryan The Limitations of Intergroup Friendship: Using Social Network Analysis to Test the Pathways Linking Contact and Intergroup Attitudes in a Multigroup Context Socius |
| title | The Limitations of Intergroup Friendship: Using Social Network Analysis to Test the Pathways Linking Contact and Intergroup Attitudes in a Multigroup Context |
| title_full | The Limitations of Intergroup Friendship: Using Social Network Analysis to Test the Pathways Linking Contact and Intergroup Attitudes in a Multigroup Context |
| title_fullStr | The Limitations of Intergroup Friendship: Using Social Network Analysis to Test the Pathways Linking Contact and Intergroup Attitudes in a Multigroup Context |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Limitations of Intergroup Friendship: Using Social Network Analysis to Test the Pathways Linking Contact and Intergroup Attitudes in a Multigroup Context |
| title_short | The Limitations of Intergroup Friendship: Using Social Network Analysis to Test the Pathways Linking Contact and Intergroup Attitudes in a Multigroup Context |
| title_sort | limitations of intergroup friendship using social network analysis to test the pathways linking contact and intergroup attitudes in a multigroup context |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/23780231231161048 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT thoavkhuu thelimitationsofintergroupfriendshipusingsocialnetworkanalysistotestthepathwayslinkingcontactandintergroupattitudesinamultigroupcontext AT davidrschaefer thelimitationsofintergroupfriendshipusingsocialnetworkanalysistotestthepathwayslinkingcontactandintergroupattitudesinamultigroupcontext AT adrianajumanataylor thelimitationsofintergroupfriendshipusingsocialnetworkanalysistotestthepathwayslinkingcontactandintergroupattitudesinamultigroupcontext AT allisonmryan thelimitationsofintergroupfriendshipusingsocialnetworkanalysistotestthepathwayslinkingcontactandintergroupattitudesinamultigroupcontext AT thoavkhuu limitationsofintergroupfriendshipusingsocialnetworkanalysistotestthepathwayslinkingcontactandintergroupattitudesinamultigroupcontext AT davidrschaefer limitationsofintergroupfriendshipusingsocialnetworkanalysistotestthepathwayslinkingcontactandintergroupattitudesinamultigroupcontext AT adrianajumanataylor limitationsofintergroupfriendshipusingsocialnetworkanalysistotestthepathwayslinkingcontactandintergroupattitudesinamultigroupcontext AT allisonmryan limitationsofintergroupfriendshipusingsocialnetworkanalysistotestthepathwayslinkingcontactandintergroupattitudesinamultigroupcontext |