Do Hispanic and Asian Adolescents Practice Panethnicity in Friendship Choices?

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (or Add Health), a nationally representative sample of adolescents in 1994-95, we examine the extent to which Asian and Hispanic ethnic groups prefer same-ethnic, different-ethnic (but same-race), and different-race friends. We use the concept of panethnic sentiment, which we define as the importance of maintaining boundaries between one’s racial group and others, but relaxing the boundary between one’s ethnic group and other ethnic groups within the racial group (Asian or Hispanic). We begin by examining descriptive tabulations of friendship choices of whites, blacks, Hispanics (Mexicans, Cubans, Puerto Ricans, and South/Central Americans), Asians (Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, South Asian, Korean, and Vietnamese), and Native Americans. Because we are interested in the choice to cross both racial and ethnic lines, our empirical analyses focus on Asian and Hispanic adolescents. We find strong effects of school racial and ethnic composition, immigrant status, and parental education on the likelihood of crossing boundaries in the selection of friends. Overall, we find an overwhelming preference for same-ethnic peers, but no preference for different-ethnic (but same-race) peers. We find almost no evidence of a panethnic sentiment among Asian or Latino youth, although Vietnamese American youth come closest to revealing some panethnic sentiment in friendship choices.