Mapping the landscape of cross-group friendship research: a bibliometric review

Cross-group friendships play a crucial role in reducing prejudice and promoting social inclusion. While previous reviews have advanced our understanding using narrative or meta-analytic methods, they may not capture the full breadth of the research landscape. To address this limitation and provide a comprehensive mapping of the field, our review employs bibliometric analysis. We examined 323 scholarly works from the Scopus database (1961-2023) using Vosviewer and R-bibliometrix. Through performance analysis and science mapping, our study reveals the field's evolution, identifying key contributors, leading institutions, and influential journals. Co-citation analysis uncovers three main thematic clusters: the Contact Hypothesis, Dynamics and Impact of Cross-Group Friendships, and Direct and Extended Cross-Group Friendships. Additionally, bibliographic coupling analysis identifies emerging themes, including interethnic friendships among children, cross-group friendships as catalysts for societal change, and advances in intergroup contact theory. This comprehensive mapping complements existing reviews by offering a broader perspective on the field's structure and evolution. The insights gained from this review could potentially guide future research directions and inform policy and intervention strategies aimed at mitigating prejudice and promoting social cohesion. We acknowledge limitations related to database and language inclusion, and encourage further exploration.