Individual and class room predictors of
same-cultural friendship preferences in
multicultural schools
2015

Sample

36 multicultural classes

non-immigrants (numerical minority), Turkisch and former Yugoslavian migrants in 1 and 2 generation

Theorie

Acculturation theory (Berry)

Intergroup contact theory (Pettigrew + Tropp)

individual level variables such as immigrant status, cultural pride, and racist victimization are potentially related to friendship choices

that class level principles such as equal status, common goals or cooperation define the friendship potential of a contact situation and are therefore relevant for same vs. cross-cultural friendship preferences.

Measures

Individual level variables: number of friends, same cultural friendship preferences, cultural pride, racist victimiyation

opportunity hypothesis, microstructural theory (how many people from the same group are avaliable)

Class-level variables: cultural diversity, percentage of cultural groups, percentage of students with limited German lnguage proficiency, multi-cultural education, percentage of boys

Results

that both Turkish and former Yugoslavian
immigrant youths showed a higher preference for same-cultural friends compared with non-immigrant youths.
(acculturative function)

no differences regarding cultural pride were found in the three immigrant groups (expected that immigrants would have more CP, based on research of Verkuyten 2012)

non-immigrant students also reported the highest level of
racist victimization compared with Turkish and former Yugoslavian immigrant students in the present study.
(non-immigrant in minority)

Positive association between being 1 or 2 generation immigrant (1 generation - both yugoslavian and turkish, 2 generation - only yugoslavian) and friendship homophilie. 2 generation is still perceived as immigrant

a positive association between cultural pride and same-cultural friendship preference.

no pattern in perceiving racist vict. and FH

the preference for same-cultural friends was
higher in more culturally diverse classes. contradict this ‘availability’ hypothesis, pointing to some other psychological mechanisms such as, for instance, a need for same-cultural affiliation

any effect of multi-cultural education
on same-cultural friendship preferences

fewer friends - positive predictor