Immigrant adolescents' adaptation to a new context: Ethnic friendship homophily and its predictors

PF Titzmann�- Child Development Perspectives, 2014 - Wiley Online Library
Child Development Perspectives, 2014Wiley Online Library
Although interethnic friendships are among the best indicators of social adaptation to a new
cultural context, adolescent immigrants form friendships predominantly within their own
ethnic community, a phenomenon called friendship homophily. In this article, I focus on the
acculturation of immigrant adolescents and on the factors that lead them to form friendships
within their group, including acculturation‐related behaviors, mutual attitudes of native and
immigrant groups, developmental age‐related considerations, and the context in which�…
Abstract
Although interethnic friendships are among the best indicators of social adaptation to a new cultural context, adolescent immigrants form friendships predominantly within their own ethnic community, a phenomenon called friendship homophily. In this article, I focus on the acculturation of immigrant adolescents and on the factors that lead them to form friendships within their group, including acculturation‐related behaviors, mutual attitudes of native and immigrant groups, developmental age‐related considerations, and the context in which these adolescents live. The results present opportunities not only for reducing friendship homophily but also point to the complexity of acculturation research and the need to study side effects of adolescents' adaptation to a new context.
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