Partner Preferences of British Asian and White Girls and Boys on the Middle School Playground: Do They Vary As a Function of Activity?

Abstract

Asian and White girls and boys (N=54) were observed on the playground during recess in order to examine their spontaneous peer preferences. All four groups exhibited a highly significant tendency to spend more time with own-race, own-gender peers than with any other type of peer. This result held for the three specific categories of behavior that were examined—“Rule Games,” “Sociable,” and “Other Play”—with two exceptions (Asian boys did not spend significantly more time with other Asian boys than with White boys in the categories “Sociable” and “Other Play”). The data were also examined to determine if each group of participants differed in the amount of time they spent with particular types of companions as a function of the three types of activity. With one exception—White girls were with White boys significantly more often in “Rule Games” and “Other Play” than in “Sociable”—this was not found to be the case. It was argued that schools should be concerned with the strong cleavage by race and gender during recess, and that encouraging children to spend more time in those activities in which elevated levels of contact with diverse peers takes place may provide a useful way to reduce its occurrence.