The role of cross-group friendship and emotions in adolescents' attitudes towards inclusion.

Grütter et al. (2017) asked 11- to 13-year-olds in Swiss schools about their friendships with classmates who have special needs.

They also asked how bad the kids felt when someone was left out.

The team used a survey to see if close friendships and strong feelings predicted warmer attitudes toward inclusion.

Kids who reported tighter friendships with SEN peers and stronger upset feelings about exclusion also showed more inclusive attitudes.

In plain words, caring friendships plus empathy went hand-in-hand with wanting everyone included.

Gasser et al. (2013) saw the same link earlier: younger students in inclusive rooms made harsher moral judgments about exclusion, matching the empathy angle.

Szumski et al. (2020) widened the lens, showing that both a student’s own moral identity and the class’s shared moral tone shape attitudes—building on Jeanine’s friendship-plus-emotion idea.

Schwab (2015) seems to disagree: her Austrian study found SEN students felt lonelier in inclusive classes even while non-SEN kids gained friends. The clash fades when you notice Jeanine asked non-SEN kids about their attitudes, whereas Susanne asked SEN kids about their lived experience—both can be true.

Bossaert et al. (2012) and Kasari et al. (2011) add a caution: students with ASD still sit on the edge of classroom networks despite physical inclusion, showing that friendship quality must be nurtured, not assumed.

For BCBAs consulting in middle schools, the takeaway is simple: foster real, caring friendships and teach empathy.

Try peer-pairing with shared interests, reinforce kind invitations, and use perspective-taking lessons.

When students feel upset about exclusion and count a SEN peer as a friend, inclusive attitudes grow naturally.