TY - JOUR
T1 - Birds of a Feather
T2 - A Case Study of Friendship Networks of Mainland Chinese College Students in Hong Kong
AU - Ruan, Danching
AU - Zhu, Shu
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015, SAGE Publications.
Copyright:
Copyright 2015 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2015/8
Y1 - 2015/8
N2 - We examine the formation process of friendship networks of Mainland Chinese undergraduates in Hong Kong. The data comes from a 2011 survey of Mainland undergraduates at a university in Hong Kong and from in-depth interviews with students. We found a strong in-group pattern in the friendship networks of these students. More than 60% do not have good local friends. On a campus where nearly 90% of the students are locals, on average, only 18% of the good friends named by Mainland students are locals. We find that cultural differences—such as the language barrier, differences in values and ideologies, and differences in academic orientation and future plan—discourage formation of intergroup friendship. But intergroup contacts, as indicated by participation in local organizations, have positive effects on intergroup friendship formation. Both contact opportunities and their timing (i.e., when they become available) are important. During their first year, Mainland students have many more opportunities to interact with other Mainlanders than with local students. This may also be an important factor accounting for the strong in-group pattern in Mainland students’ friendship networks.
AB - We examine the formation process of friendship networks of Mainland Chinese undergraduates in Hong Kong. The data comes from a 2011 survey of Mainland undergraduates at a university in Hong Kong and from in-depth interviews with students. We found a strong in-group pattern in the friendship networks of these students. More than 60% do not have good local friends. On a campus where nearly 90% of the students are locals, on average, only 18% of the good friends named by Mainland students are locals. We find that cultural differences—such as the language barrier, differences in values and ideologies, and differences in academic orientation and future plan—discourage formation of intergroup friendship. But intergroup contacts, as indicated by participation in local organizations, have positive effects on intergroup friendship formation. Both contact opportunities and their timing (i.e., when they become available) are important. During their first year, Mainland students have many more opportunities to interact with other Mainlanders than with local students. This may also be an important factor accounting for the strong in-group pattern in Mainland students’ friendship networks.
KW - friendship formation
KW - homophily
KW - Hong Kong
KW - Mainland Chinese students
KW - social networks
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84937027975&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0002764215580616
DO - 10.1177/0002764215580616
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:84937027975
SN - 0002-7642
VL - 59
SP - 1100
EP - 1114
JO - American Behavioral Scientist
JF - American Behavioral Scientist
IS - 9
ER -