Southeast Asian refugee adolescent friendship preferences and functions in public high schools

Abstract

Southeast Asian Refugee Adolescents (SARA) were studied in two Illinois public high schools to determine whether SARA friendship preferences affect academic achievement. There were 148 students in the sample: 121 SARAs and a control group of 27 White American Adolescents (WAA). Three data collection methods were utilized: Sociodemographic Questionnaire (SQ), Friendship Nomination Form (FNF), and Open Interview Questionnaire (OIQ). Data were analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative procedures as a means of comparing the results of each method with the other.

The initial hypothesis proposed that the more outgroup American friends a SARA nominated, the higher would be their academic performance (grade point average and class rank) on the assumption more nominations reflected greater opportunities to learn and practice American adolescent school behavior and higher achievement-related skills. The findings, however, did not support the hypothesis. The opposite was found to be the case. The students who had the most outgroup friends were also the students who received the lowest grades. Other data suggested that SARA peer preferences seemed to be influenced by the following conditions: (a) the degree of motivation they have to learn the American culture, (b) their ability to speak English, (c) the student's academic performance, (d) the type of educational track or program in which they have contact with Americans, (e) the SES of the society of origin of the family, and (f) the income level of the family in the United States. It was also found that the SARAs with the highest GPAs generally have been in the United States less than four years. These high-achieving SARAs also make fewer ingroup (SARA) as well as outgroup (WAA) friends. SARAs in the sample who make the most outgroup American friends have been in the United States an average of 66 months, which is 17 months longer than their SARA counterparts who did not nominate any Americans as friends regardless of the friendship nomination condition. Finally, it appears that the "quality," as well as "type" of outgroup friendships, rather than quantity, have the greatest influence on SARAs academic performance.