David R. Schaefer, Sara I. Villalta, Victoria Vezaldenos, Adriana J. Umaña-Taylor
Sociological Science November 12, 2024
10.15195/v11.a38
Abstract
Research on race homophily in the United States has yet to meaningfully include the growing multiracial population. The present study confronts this challenge by drawing upon recent conceptualizations of race as a multidimensional construct. In aligning this insight with current understandings of homophily, we identify and address several open questions about the origins of race homophily—namely regarding the possibility of peer influence on racial identity and network selection based on multiple facets of race. Data are from 3,036 youth in two large U.S. high schools with sizable proportions of mixed-race students. Using a stochastic actor-oriented model, we find that students choose friends based on similarity across multiple dimensions of racial identity and that peer influence operates to reinforce multiracial youths’ racial self-classification rather than to induce change. This points to a system where race homophily arises through multiple selection mechanisms and is reinforced by pressure toward conformity.
Research on race homophily in the United States has yet to meaningfully include the growing multiracial population. The present study confronts this challenge by drawing upon recent conceptualizations of race as a multidimensional construct. In aligning this insight with current understandings of homophily, we identify and address several open questions about the origins of race homophily—namely regarding the possibility of peer influence on racial identity and network selection based on multiple facets of race. Data are from 3,036 youth in two large U.S. high schools with sizable proportions of mixed-race students. Using a stochastic actor-oriented model, we find that students choose friends based on similarity across multiple dimensions of racial identity and that peer influence operates to reinforce multiracial youths’ racial self-classification rather than to induce change. This points to a system where race homophily arises through multiple selection mechanisms and is reinforced by pressure toward conformity.
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Reproducibility Package: A replication package is available at: https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/VOK1UI.
- Citation: Schaefer, R. David, Sara I. Villalta, Victoria Vezaldenos, and Adriana J. Umaña-Taylor. 2024. “Some Birds Have Mixed Feathers: Bringing the Multiracial Population into the Study of Race Homophily.” Sociological Science 11: 1046-1083.
- Received: April 30, 2024
- Accepted: August 28, 2024
- Editors: Ari Adut, Andreas Wimmer
- DOI: 10.15195/v11.a38