Journal
DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
Volume 55, Issue 8, Pages 1666-1679Publisher
AMER PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOC
DOI: 10.1037/dev0000755
Keywords
friendship; early adolescence; academic achievement; parental education; middle school
Categories
Funding
- National Institutes of Health [1R01HD0598820-1A2]
- National Science Foundation [0921306]
- Direct For Social, Behav & Economic Scie [0921306] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
- Division Of Behavioral and Cognitive Sci [0921306] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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Academic achievement disparities based on parental education are robust during the middle school years. The current study examined whether cross-class friendship (i.e., reciprocal relationships between peers with different levels of parental education) decrease class-based achievement differences during a developmental phase when friends are particularly important. Relying on a sample of 4,288 sixth grade students (M = 12.03 years) from 26 ethnically diverse middle schools, multilevel analyses were conducted predicting seventh-grade grade point average, standardized achievement test scores, and teacher-rated academic engagement. The associations between parental education and academic achievement were reduced when students had at least 1 cross-class friendship at sixth grade. The findings are discussed in terms of how socioeconomic diversity of school-based friendships can level the academic playing field.
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