JOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE, 11(4), 325–349 Copyright © 2001, Society for Research on Adolescence Individual and Contextual Predictors of Perceived Friendship Quality among Ethnic Minority, Low-Income Adolescents Niobe Way and Kerstin Pahl New York University This longitudinal study examined the separate, relative, and combined con- tributions of demographic (i.e., gender and ethnicity), individual-level (i.e., psychological well-being), and contextual (i.e., relationships with parents and perceived school climate) factors on changes over time in perceived quality of general and closest same-sex friendships among 114 Asian Amer- ican, Black, and Latino adolescents from low-income families. Multiple re- gression analyses indicated that the increase in reported levels of general friendship support from Time 1 to Time 2 (a 1-year period) was greater for those who reported more positive perceptions of school climate at Time 1. The increase in general friendship support from Time 1 to Time 2 was also greater for those who reported lower support scores from mothers at Time 1. Find- ings suggest a compensatory model of relationships and draw attention to the importance of exploring the ecological context of adolescent friendships. The extensive body of research on friendships over the past 2 decades has provided much information on adolescents’ perceptions of their friend- ships, as well as on the psychological and developmental consequences of friendships for adolescents. Friendships have been found to help satisfy adolescents’ desire for intimacy; enhance their interpersonal skills, sensi- tivity, and understanding; and contribute significantly to cognitive and social development and psychological adjustment (Hartup, 1993, 1996; Requests for reprints should be sent to Niobe Way, Department of Applied Psychology, New York University, 239 Greene Street, Rm. 500, New York, NY 10003. E-mail: niobe.way@ nyu.edu