Associations between cross-racial friendships and children's social and academic adjustment in racially diverse classrooms.

Abstract

This study examined bidirectional associations between cross-racial friendships and children's social and academic adjustment. Participants were 583 elementary school-age children in western Canada, or the midwestern United States (4-10years; 279girls; 143 Asian, 88 Black, 65 Hispanic or Latinx, 171White, 116mixed). Children's adjustment (social preference, academic enablers, academic performance) and friendship nominations (reciprocated, received, given) were measured in fall and spring over one school year from 2017 to 2018, or from 2018 to 2019. Regarding reciprocated nominations, fall adjustment positively predicted spring reciprocated cross-racial friendships, but not vice-versa. For received nominations, academic enablers and received cross-racial friendship nominations were positively and bidirectionally related to one another. Fall same-racial friendship nominations positively predicted spring academic performance and social preference. Effect sizes were small.