Economic status: middle class and poor children's views

This qualitative study explored low and middle‐income children's character associations regarding economic class and their corresponding friendship choices. Projective techniques employing photographs of houses representing different income level families were used to interview 48 United States children between the ages of five and 14 years, divided equally between low and middle income. It is clear that even at early ages, both realistic assessments and popular prejudices about wealth and poverty were firmly fixed in their minds. Their prejudgments likely prevent them from reaching across economic boundaries on the basis of inherent factors of common interest and friendship. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.