A group of scientists from the University of Zurich in Switzerland and Stockholm University in Sweden revealed how material well-being affects children’s social life at school. They concluded that poor children had a harder time making friends than their wealthier peers. The study was published in the scientific journal magazine Social Networks (SocNet).
The team analyzed data from 4,787 Swedish teenagers aged 14-15 from 235 school classes and looked at their social and friendship circles.
The results showed that low parental income hinders children’s social integration, regardless of the status of their schools.
“We found that students from poorer backgrounds are less likely to be offered friendships and therefore have fewer friends than their peers whose parents have higher incomes. This also applies to schools where children from the same social class study,” explained Isabelle Raabe, lead author of the scientific study. .
Scientists emphasized that the fewer friends a person has, the more difficult it will be to find them in the future and a support circle is formed.
Researchers suggested combating this trend by creating more opportunities for friendships among young people. For example, teachers can take the social structure of groups into account when assigning homework for project work, sports, and extracurricular activities.
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