Friendship, educational engagement, and school belonging: Comparing Hispanic and White adolescents

Citation

Vaquera, E. (2009). Friendship, educational engagement, and school belonging: Comparing Hispanic and White adolescents. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences. vol. 31 (4) pp. 492

Abstract

The current study explores the relationship between friendship formation, school engagement, and belonging among White and Hispanic students. It employed the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a nationally representative sample of adolescents in high school. The sample consisted of 6,366 Mexican, 1,132 Cuban, 1,330 Puerto Rican, 4,446 Central/South Hispanic origin youth, and 46,592 non-Hispanic Whites. Hispanic students are less likely to report having friends and to having their best friend at school. Both Hispanic and White students who have a best friend report fewer engagement problems and a higher school belonging. However, only students whose best friend attends their same school report higher levels of school belonging. Findings suggest that ethnic origin is an important stratifier among Hispanics for the studied school outcomes. Signs for optimism are discussed as some Hispanic ethnic groups report higher levels of school belonging compared with their White counterparts.

URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0739986309346023

Keyword(s)

Education School

Reference Type

Journal Article

Journal Title

Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences

Author(s)

Vaquera, E.

Year Published

2009

Volume Number

31

Issue Number

4

Pages

492

DOI

10.1177/0739986309346023

Reference ID

1044