The Exploration of the Relationship between Participation in Organized Activity and Cross-Group Friendships

Cross-group friendship is an important element in regard to reducing prejudice and increasing positive interracial interactions among young adults. In order to facilitate the formation of cross-group friendships, organized activity participation (e.g., community service and school-based extracurricular activities) may provide an environment that supports positive cross-cultural interactions and contacts. The sample used for this study consisted of 601 college students. We tested whether participation in an organized activity contributes to the formation of cross-group friendships. The results of this study indicate that community service and school-based extracurricular activities significantly contribute to the formation of cross-group friendships among young adults. The findings also suggest that a variety of organized activities should be developed and implemented to  facilitate cross-group friendships. We also discuss the practical implications of these findings.

infrequent in our society where, unfortunately, racially segregated communities are not uncommon" (p.378).Bellmore, Nishina, Witkow, Graham, and Juvonen (2007) examined the influence of classroom ethnic composition on the same and other ethnicity peer nominations given and received in a school.The results showed that more nominations were given and received by students for same ethnicity peers because students reported that they are more accepted among same ethnicity and less accepted among other ethnicity peers.Thus, it may be challenging for students to develop the formation of cross-group friendships.
Participation in organized activities may provide an important context through which young adults foster positive interracial interactions and contacts, which facilitate cross-group friendships.Much research provides evidence that participation in organized activities is an important source of positive interracial interactions and contacts (Damico & Scott, 1984;Dubas & Sinder, 1993;Fletcher & Shaw, 2000;Scott & Damico, 1983).In a context of extracurricular activities, Scott and Damico suggest that extracurricular activities promote interracial contacts and interactions because they provide an opportunity for adolescents to have positive interactions.In addition to that, Damico and Scott conducted a study of 282 college students that examined whether interracial interactions through an extracurricular activity in high school predicted Suh & Kim positive interracial contact and interactions at college.The results show that frequent interracial contact in high school appeared to be a predictor of frequent cross-cultural contact in college.
Therefore, participation in an organized activity that promotes direct contact between members of different racial or ethnic groups can create an environment in which individuals form and develop cross-group friendships and create feelings of belongingness and connectedness with people who have different ethnic and racial characteristics.Thus, merit exists in researching relationship between participation in organized activities and cross-group friendships.Little information exists to examine the effects of participation in organized activities as a facilitator of the formation of cross-group friendships.

Effects of Cross-Group Friendships
Research has examined the effects of cross-group friendships on unique and effective forms of positive interracial contact and interactions.Emerson, Kimbro and Yancey (2002) investigated the effects of prior racial contact with other racial groups on social ties among 2,561 participants.This study indicates that individuals who had prior interracial contact and interactions are more likely to establish and develop cross-group friendships and engage in various social activities involved in a multi-ethnic group of members such as multiracial congregation rather than those who did not have prior racial contact.Such findings emphasize the value of interracial contact experience for cultural and ethnic understandings and the formation of cross-group.Levin, van Laar and Sidanius (2003) conducted a longitudinal study that examined the effects of cross-group friendships on in-group bias in a large sample of U.S. college students.They found that students who had more out-group friends in their second and third years of college were less biased in favor of other ethnic groups at the end of their fourth year in college.In addition, Page-Gould, Mendoza-Denton and Tropp (2008) studied the effects of cross-group friendships on anxiety in intergroup contexts among 64 Latinos and 80 Caucasians.The participants were assigned to crossgroup conditions, which consist of a group of members who have different ethnicities in order to encourage them to develop cross-group friendships that were based on the 26 cross-group dyads and to the same group friendship condition with 27 Caucasian samegroup dyads and 19 Latino same-group dyads as the control group.They found that Cross-group Friendship via Organized Activity Participation 225 participants who were assigned to the cross-group conditions formed cross-group friendships and reported significantly lower anxiety with out-group members after the experiment.
Cross-group friendships have also been associated with children's intergroup attitudes (Aboud, Mendelson, & Purdy, 2003;McGlothlin & Killen, 2006;McGlothlin, Killen, & Edmonds, 2005).These studies demonstrated that cross-group friendships are positively associated with children's attitudes towards other ethnic groups.For example, Feddes, Noack and Rutland (2009) examined the longitudinal direct friendship effects on majority (German, n=76) and minority (Turkish, N=73) children in ethnically heterogeneous elementary schools.The findings show that cross-group friendships positively affected children's intergroup attitudes, rather than the intergroup attitudes affecting the children's friendships.Therefore, cross-group friendships play an important role in affecting individuals' racial attitudes and facilitating positive interracial interactions.

Study Rationale and Purpose
Cross-group friendships have been proposed as being especially important to the formation of positive interracial relationships and a reduction of prejudice and anxiety (Pettigrew, 1998;Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006;2008).However, research conducted in the U.S. has shown forming and developing cross-group friendships is challenging due to ethnic and cultural differences, in-group favoritism and a lack of direct contact (Bellmore et al., 2007;Graham & Cohen, 1997;Hallinan & Williams, 1987).In addition, it has been found that simple exposure to intergroup contact is not enough to foster the formation of cross-group friendships but meaningful engagement in activity may be a vehicle for positive intergroup contacts and interactions (Moody, 2001).
Therefore, in this study, we focused on the effect of participation in organized activities on the formation of cross-group friendships.Previous researchers (i.e., Bartko & Eccles, 2003;Cooper et al.,1999;Eccles & Gootman, 2002;Mahoney et al., 2005) classified organized activities as extracurricular activity and community service involvement.The current study aims to investigate whether participation in schoolbased extracurricular activities contributed to the formation of cross-group friendships.
A few studies (i.e., Damico & Scott, 1984;Scott & Damico, 1983) identified the role of extracurricular activities for promoting cross-cultural interactions.We hypothesized that Suh & Kim school-based extracurricular activities would predict the formation of cross-group friendships.We also aim to examine whether community service involvement would be associated with cross-group friendships as no previous research has explored the relationships between two constructs.It was hypothesized that community service activity would significantly contribute to cross-group friendships.Additionally, this study was designed to explore the association between demographic variables, gender, GPA, and cross-group friendships.

Participants
The sample for this study consisted of 606 college students in the northeastern United States during fall 2004.Survey packets were administered with the assistance of the course instructors.Prior to data collection process, the instructors were trained in how to properly administer the surveys by the research team.At the beginning of the class, the students were asked to voluntarily complete the survey questionnaires.When completed, the students returned the packets to the instructors.Of the 606 questionnaires collected, a total of 601 questionnaires were used in data analysis after the incomplete surveys were removed.The sample was composed of 337 males (56.1%) and 264 females (43.9%), the majority of which were first year of college students.
Caucasians accounted for 84.4% of the sample, while 5.2% of the respondents were Asian, 3.5% were Hispanic, 3.2% were African-American and 2.7% were international students.Of the respondent's parents, 47.4% had received their bachelor's degree, while 32.4% had received their master's degrees.

Measures
Cross-group friendships.Pettigrew, Christ, Wagner and Stellmacher (2007) used a single item to measure cross-group friendships: "How many of your friends and good acquaintances are foreigners?-none, a few, many or very many."We adapted our questions from this question and they were as follows: "I have friends who are culturally and ethnically different from me" and "While attending the university, I have developed a friendship with other racial groups" Both questions were responded to on a scale of 1 to 7, with one being strongly disagree and 7 being strongly agree.Therefore, the higher the value is, the stronger the existence of cross-group friendships is.The Cronbach's alpha for all two items was .89.
Organized activity involvement.Iwasaki, Mannell, Smale and Butcher (2005) used a single item to measure the frequency and enjoyment of leisure participation based on the type of leisure activity (e.g., physically active leisure, social leisure, relaxing leisure, outdoor recreation, cultural leisure, hobbies and leisure travel).We used a single item to measure the involvement on an extracurricular activity: "While attending the university, I participated in school-based extracurricular activities."This question was responded to using a scale in which 1 was strongly disagree and 7 was strongly agree.A higher score indicated a higher involvement in extracurricular activities.
In order to measure an individual's involvement in community service, we used a two-item questionnaire.The participants were asked to rate the degree to which they agreed or disagreed with the following statements on a scale of "1-strongly disagree" to "7-strongly agree": (a) "While attending the university, I had opportunities for personal involvement in community service activities" and (b) "While attending the university, I was engaged in community service activities."Higher scores indicated a higher level of community activity involvement.The Cronbach's alpha for all two items was .78.
Two more predictor variables were tested in the final analysis.Measures of gender and grade point average (GPA) were included to account for their influence on the dependent variables.Some studies have identified that girls participate in more extracurricular activities than boys, but boys are more likely to participate in athletics (Antshel & Anderman, 2000;Eccles & Barber, 1999;Mahoney, Cairns, & Farmer, 2003).Given this distinction reported in previous research, gender was examined to determine if there were any gender differences associated with personal and social growth.Since Darling, Caldwell, and Smith (2005) found that school-based extracurricular activities positively influence grades and academic aspirations the variable of GPA was examined in this study as well.

Results
The descriptive statistics (see Table 1) showed the means and standard deviations of the cross-group friendships, community service activities and extracurricular activities.On average, the respondents had developed cross-group friendships (M = 5.66, SD= 1.076).The sample indicated that more individuals participated in extracurricular activities (M = 4.91, SD= 1.779) than community service activities (M = 4.32, SD= 1.75).1984;Scott & Damico, 1983).This study extends the value of extracurricular activities as a facilitator of cross-group friendships and it shows that such activities may have a positive effect on positive cross-group interactions.In addition, the results support the idea presented by Moody (2001) that extracurricular activities provide environments that promote cross-group friendships.
Previous studies have demonstrated that organized activities promote interpersonal relationships and extend peer networks (Brown, 1990;Dubas & Snider, 1993;Hansen, Larson, & Dworkin, 2003).The findings from this study extend the explained effect of organized activities on the formation of cross-group friendships and indicate that developing cross-group friendships may be helpful in regard to participants expanding their peer relationships and promoting interpersonal relationships.
Reductions in ethnic out-group prejudice are achieved by promoting cross-group friendships (Pettigrew, 1997;1998;Wright et al., 1997) and the results of this study indicate that organized activity may be positively related to improving intergroup relationships with a reduction in prejudice.Allport (1954) proposed the optimal conditions in which to promote positive intergroup relations include cooperation, equal status, common goals and support by norms and authority.Some researchers have stated that the main reason why cross-group friendships promote intergroup relations (Pettigrew, 1997;1998;Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006) is that they satisfy at least three of Allport's four conditions (e.g., intimate contact, equal status and common goals).Based on Allport's formation of positive intergroup contact, our study results indicate that organized activities may be optimal contact situations.Individuals who participated in organized activities have equal status because participants cannot be restricted based on their race, ethnicity or culture.In order to successfully perform an activity, participants Cross-group Friendship via Organized Activity Participation 231 need to cooperate and share common goals.Thus, future research is needed to examine the connections between organized activities and intergroup relationships.
Another important predictor of cross-group friendship is participation in community service activities.Other studies have documented the various benefits of volunteering from a serious leisure perspective (e.g., Arai & Pedlar, 1997;Cassie & Halpenny, 2003;Stebbins, 2007).For example, Stebbins stated that volunteering is a type of serious leisure activity that can provide both personal (e.g., personal enrichment, self-actualization, self-expression and self-gratification) and social benefits (e.g., social An interesting finding in the present study is that the participant's GPA did not significantly impact cross-group friendships.Students with higher GPAs tended to be more actively involved in school-related extracurricular activities.Future studies need to explore the relationships between gender and involvement in organized activities.
In addition, gender was associated with community service and extracurricular activities even though it did not significantly predict cross-group friendships.Our findings indicated that female students were more involved in extracurricular and community service activities than male students.Future studies are needed to examine the relationships between gender differences and participation in organized activities.
Several limitations can be associated with this study that should be addressed by future researchers.First, this study focused on organized community service and extracurricular activities completed by college freshmen.Other types of recreation activities exist and future researchers should examine the relationships between these types of activity and their effects on cross-group friendships.
Second, we focused on the connections between organized activities and crossgroup friendships.Previous research has provided evidence that cross-group friendships are associated with a reduction in prejudice and an increase in intergroup relationships.
It may be helpful to see whether organized activities contribute to intergroup relationships and a reduction in prejudice.
Third, it was also a challenge to hear the participants' voices and understand how their experiences were related to their participation in organized activities in regard Suh & Kim to the promotion of cross-group friendships.It may be helpful for future researchers to employ a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods in order to better understand how participation in organized activities leads to the formation of crossgroup friendships.
Fourth, we used a single item to measure an individual's involvement in extracurricular activities.It may be helpful for future research to employ different scales or develop other more extensive instruments with which to measure an individual's involvement in extracurricular activities.
Finally, most of the participants in this study were Caucasian (86%).It would be helpful if future research encompassed a more diverse sample so that perceptions from other typically underrepresented groups could be examined.

Conclusion and Implications
Participation in organized activities is associated with the formation of crossgroup friendships.In the broadest sense of participation, recreation activity may be a context in which friendship always evolves regardless of the cultural, ethnic or racial backgrounds of the participants.Participating in meaningful activities may facilitate positive cross-group interactions and contact which may help cultural and ethnic understanding.While forming cross-group friendships, participants are likely to discover unnoticed similarities and differences related to culture and ethnicity which helps them to reduce negative feelings and improve intergroup relations.
Based on the above finding, we make the following two suggestions.First, in a school setting, it is necessary to design and develop a variety of extracurricular activities in order to encourage the participation of a variety of culturally and ethnically diverse students.In addition, it may be helpful to introduce some activities from different cultural backgrounds, such as Taekwondo, salsa dancing, belly dancing and yoga.Being exposed to activities from different cultures may increase the likelihood of the development of cross-group friendships.
In a community setting, recreational professionals need to create diverse community-based programs which encourage culturally and racially different participants' participation to promote the participation of young adults.Currently, many young adults are not involved in community service activities and, therefore, are not developing a civic identity (Zaff, Malanchuk, & Eccles, 2008).According to the Spring,

Table 1 .
Descriptive Statistics for Study Variables The zero-order correlation coefficient matrix (see Table2) identified a number of statistically significant relationships among cross-group friendship, gender, GPA, community service activity and extracurricular activity.Cross-group friendship was significantly associated with community service (r=.295, p <.001) and extracurricular activities (r=.296, p <.001).Interestingly, the demographic variables, gender and GPA, were significantly related to extracurricular activities (gender: r=.089, p <.05; GPA: r=.043, p <.05) and gender was significantly related to community service activity (gender: r=.087, p <.05).This finding indicates that female students and students with higher GPAs were more actively engaged in extracurricular activities and female students were more actively involved in community service activities.

Table 2 .
Zero-order Correlation Coefficients of Independent and Dependent Variable <.001).This model accounted for 11.8% of the variance in cross-group friendship, which uniquely explained the contribution of community service (β=.196, p<.001) and extracurricular activities(β=.198,p<.001).

Table 3 .
Multiple Regression Analysis