Abstract
Ethnic differences in peer reactions to academic achievement during adolescence has been a widely discussed but controversial issue in developmental and education research. Do peers respond positively or negatively to classmates of different ethnic groups who get good grades in school? The current study addressed this question by examining the linkage between academic achievement and friendship nominations received in an ethnically diverse sample of 4501 sixth grade students (Mage = 11.3 years; 51% female; 41.3% Latino, 25.1% White, 19.3% Asian, and 14.3% Black). The results of mediated moderation analyses showed that for Asians and Whites, higher academic achievement was associated with more same-ethnic friendships, whereas for Blacks and Latinos, higher academic achievement was associated with more cross-ethnic friendships. In addition, ethnic differences in the linkage between academic achievement and friendships were partly explained by classroom ethnic composition. Implications for promoting friendships of high achieving students both within and across ethnic boundaries were discussed.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the members of the UCLA Middle School Diversity team for their contributions to collection of the data, and all school personnel and participants for their cooperation.
Authors’ Contributions
X.C. conceived of the study, participated in its design, performed the statistical analysis, participated in the interpretation of the data, and helped draft the manuscript; A.S. participated in the study design, interpretation of the data, and helped draft the manuscript; S.G. participated in the study design, interpretation of the data, and helped draft the manuscript, and was the principal investigator on the larger project from which the present analyses were conducted. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Funding
This research was supported by grants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (5R01HD059882) and the National Science Foundation (No. 0921306) to Sandra Graham. The first author (XC) received additional support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31600895).
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The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the currentstudy are not publicly available but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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All procedures involving human participants in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the University’s Institutional Review Board and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
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As participants in this study were minors, a parent or legal guardian provided written informed consent. In addition, participating youth provided written informed assent.
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Chen, X., Saafir, A. & Graham, S. Ethnicity, Peers, and Academic Achievement: Who Wants to be Friends with the Smart Kids?. J Youth Adolescence 49, 1030–1042 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-019-01189-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-019-01189-7