Citation
Cherng, Hua-Yu Sebastian; Calarco, Jessica McCrory; & Kao, Grace (2013). Along for the ride: Best friends' resources and adolescents' college completion. American Educational Research Journal. vol. 50 (1) pp. 76-106Abstract
Research on social capital in education rarely considers how the resources students can access through their friendships affect educational outcomes later in life. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we explore how having resource-rich best friends impacts adolescents’ college completion. We compare the influence of friends’ material and cultural resources and their effects relative to adolescents’ family resources. We find that having a best friend with a college-educated mother significantly increases the likelihood of college completion, though having a best friend whose parents are high income does not. This positive effect of best friends’ cultural resources is not explained fully by school achievement or by the expectations of respondents, best friends, or parents. We conclude that adolescent friendships are an underrecognized source of social capital.URL
http://dx.doi.org/10.3102/0002831212466689Keyword(s)
EducationReference Type
Journal ArticleJournal Title
American Educational Research JournalAuthor(s)
Cherng, Hua-Yu SebastianCalarco, Jessica McCrory
Kao, Grace