Friendship Networks, Social Capital and Ethnic Identity: Researching the Perspectives of Caribbean Young People in Britain

Abstract

This article examines the perspectives of Caribbean young people in Britain in order to examine the issue of friendship networks. The research shows that the young people interviewed have a vast array of friendship networks across diverse ethnic groups. However, the majority of the Caribbean young people in the study acknowledged that their three closest friends or 'best friends' shared their own ethnic background. It was these friends that most strongly matched the values associated with social capital, such as trust, reciprocity, emotional support, community, and identity. By drawing on the theory advanced by Robert Putnam, the analysis explores how Caribbean young people use 'bonding' social capital to establish same-ethnic friendship networks and 'bridging' social capital to develop cross-ethnic friendship bonds. It will also investigate the particular factors that facilitated these same-ethnic friendship networks, including transitions to secondary school and university, and family and parental influence on friendship choice, as well as more wider changes that occur in the life course.