SAMPLE
2,125 adolescents
DATA
Friendship networks, Emotional patterns (EPQ)
METHOD
Social network analysis, Mixed-effects modeling
FOCUS
How social environments shape cultural belonging
Belonging Across Cultures
purpose
This project aimed to understand how the cultural makeup of one's friendships shapes emotional alignment with the larger social environment. In multicultural settings, minority-origin youth often navigate two emotional "worlds": one anchored in their heritage culture and another reflecting mainstream emotion norms. This study examined whether having more majority-culture friends can shape how aligned or "in tune" someone feels with majority emotional patterns and whether this comes at the cost of fit with one's heritage culture.
approach.
Using data from 2,125 minority- and majority-background adolescents, I integrated friendship network information with emotion intensity reports to explore how social environments shape emotional fit. Using mixed-effects modeling that incorporated social network structure, I examined whether friendship composition predicted alignment with majority and minority emotional norms. I wrote the scientific report as first author, leading the study’s conceptualization, statistical analyses, visualizations, and interpretation of results.
insights.
Youth with more majority-culture friends showed higher emotional fit with majority norms — meaning their daily emotional experiences aligned more closely with the emotional patterns typical of the mainstream group. Most importantly, this increase in majority emotional alignment did not reduce emotional fit with their own heritage norms, suggesting cultural belonging does not require cultural loss.
quote.
Having majority friends does not entail the loss of minority cultural experiences.
Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology, 31(3), 501–508
