title: Are minority status children's cross-ethnic friendships beneficial in a multiethnic context?
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Goldsmiths, University of London, UK.
authors.forename: Sabahat C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Bagci
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rutland
authors.forename: Madoka
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kumashiro
authors.forename: Peter K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Herbert
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Blumberg
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D033062:Friends / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000523:psychology*; D010379:Peer Group; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D055500:Resilience, Psychological; D012933:Social Identification
keywords: cross-ethnic; discrimination; friendships; resilience; well-being