Major and Classification
Psychology
Faculty Mentors
- Professor Shannon Daley
Department
- Psychology
McNair Project
“Quality of Friendships Among Ethnic Minority Adolescents and the Effects on Psychological Adjustment”
This study examines the quality of close friendships among ethnic minority adolescents to determine any differences between genders and between ethnicities. One-hundred seventy 10th grade students from Manual Arts High School in South Los Angeles participated in this study. Two Qualities of friendship were measured: Intimacy and Conflict. Significant differences were found for Intimate Exchange, with girls showing higher rates of intimacy than boys. Girls also showed significantly higher levels of depressive symptoms. Intimate Exchange in friendships was positively correlated with depressive symptoms in boys but not in girls. A correlation with Conflict & Betrayal and higher depressive symptoms was found only in girls. No differences were found between ethnicities.