Interracial Friendships

Recent Trends

The bulk of research has focused on Black-White friendships. The estimated prevalence of interracial friendship in the United States varies by study. A closer look suggests that both real changes over time and differences in methodological approach may underlie this variation. A recent longitudinal study using consistent measures by Steven Tuch, Lee Sigelman, and Jason MacDonald found that African Americans increased their friendships with Whites in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but decreased such friendships in the early 1990s until the percentage in 1995 was basically equivalent to the percentage in 1975. The various cross-sectional estimates from other studies paint a more inconsistent picture of interracial friendships, although research concurs that there have been consistent increases in interracial acquaintances over time.

How friendship is measured is also an important source of variability, with results varying by how the relationship is defined, whether specific friendship nominations were required, and the number and pool of people from which friends can be considered. For example, a 1998 study by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago found that when White respondents were asked “Are any of your friends that you feel close to Black?,” 42% of Whites said yes. However, when asked to give the names of friends they felt close to before identifying their race, only 6% of Whites listed a close friend of a different race or ethnicity. Overall, real variation over time, aspects of methodology, and normative pressure on respondents to emphasize interracial friendships may affect the variability and accuracy of estimates.

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