Unequal Social Belonging with Peers during Adolescence? Patterns by Age and Individual Characteristics

Social belonging, defined as temporally stable "frequent, affectively pleasant interactions with a few other people" (Baumeister & Leary, 1995, p. 497), is a fundamental human need and a crucial determinant of well-being. Despite its importance, gaps persist in our understanding of how social belonging to peers develops during adolescence and the extent of which social inequalities matter during this crucial life stage. This study addresses these gaps by investigating the development of social belonging to peers between the ages of 12 and 16, utilizing data from the kindergarten cohort of the German National Educational Panel Study. We employ fixed- and random-effects regression models to examine how students’ sense of social belonging changes as they grow older and how these developmental patterns differ by individual characteristics, i.e., gender, cultural and socioeconomic background, and academic achievement. Our findings reveal a slight decrease in social belonging between the ages of 12 and 16. Females report higher social belonging, although their decline over time is more pronounced than that of males. Students with a non-European cultural background do not show significantly higher belonging and differential growth trajectories compared to German native students. Adolescents from higher socioeconomic backgrounds start with slightly lower belonging at age 12 but experience a gentler decline than their less advantaged peers. No differences emerge by academic achievement levels. We conclude that social inequalities in perceived levels of social belonging with peers persist throughout the earlier life stages, with some developing before adolescence.