Madison Konja
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Research Mentor(s): Toni Antonucci, Professor
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Psychology and Institute for Social Research, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts
Presentation Date: Thursday, April 22, 2021
Session: Session 4 (2pm-2:50pm)
Breakout Room: Room 5
Presenter: 6
Abstract
It has been found that certain ethnic and racial groups’ social networks are composed of more people with the same ethnic and racial identity. There is little to no information on how this has changed for younger generations. This study introduces a new focus regarding social networks by exploring the ethnic/racial composition of social networks in different generations, which is defined by age. Also, I examine the correlation of these social networks with an individual’s level of pride in their racial and ethnic identity. Data are from the Detroit Community Study, a cross-sectional survey of social relations among Arab Americans, African Americans, and White Americas (N=907). The survey did not directly ask participants about their pride; therefore, pride will be measured by examining participants’ reactions to situations of racism towards their identity. The following hypotheses will be tested by using descriptive bivariate correlation analyses. Findings include there is a significant correlation between age and one’s racial/ethnic social network composition. The younger a person is the higher the proportion of people in their social network share the same identity as them. Older generations contain a more diverse ethnic and racial composition than their respective younger generations. There was a not significant difference between races/ethnicities and the proportions of homophily in social networks. Also, more research is needed to make conclusions regarding the connection, or lack of, between pride and the racial/ethnic homophily of one’s social network. The potential findings would demonstrate that who we surround ourself with does not necessarily impact the pride we have, so we should not limit ourselves to forming relationships with only certain types of ethnicities or races. The study introduces a new perspective in analyzing social networks to determine pride correlations. Also, it poses the question for researchers, why are there generational differences regarding ethnic/racial homophily in social networks?
Authors: Madison Konja, Dr. Toni Antonucci, Dr. Kristine Ajrouch, Dr. Noah Webster
Research Method: Survey Research
