Existing literature has shown that friendship is a form of love that has been valued throughout history in all socio-cultural and transcultural contexts, as a feeling that can led people to achieve important social transformations (Homer, c. 8th century BCE; Vyasa, n.d.; Al-Farabi, 950; Giner, 2018). The traditional currents that tried to conceptualize love and friendship as depending on biology have been challenged by new scientific developments which clarify the environmental dependence of human relationships and emotions, and, beyond that, that social interactions can transform them (Kandel, 2006; Gómez, 2015). 

The benefits of friendship in social, health and educational aspects have been identified in diverse backgrounds and cultures, including its implications on the integration of people in a new environment. Specifically, in educational settings, it has been stated how friendship relations have contributed to migrants' integration in the host country (Gordon, 2023; Becker, 2022; Kaya & Sahin, 2021), as well as to the acceptance of people from other countries and to the reduction of racist prejudices (Bergamaschi & Santagati, 2019).  

The Council of Europe (2021) has been recently working to promote intercultural integration strategies which may manage diversity as an opportunity. In the context of Spain, environments fostering relationships of friendship and solidarity have been observed with individuals from diverse cultures existing across educational centres (Girbés-Peco et al., 2018). However, to date, no scientific research has been found that specifically addresses the effects of friendship on the integration of migrants in the Spanish context and on the acceptance of migrants by Spanish people.

In order to address this gap and make progress on SDG 10, ‘Reducing inequalities’ and explore the role of intercultural friendship, a qualitative study following the Communicative Methodology (Gomez, Puigvert & Flecha, 2011) was conducted through 31 interviews with men and women currently living in Spain, including 19 migrant from diverse countries and participants and 12 people born in Spain, all of them confirming to have friendships from cultures different from their own. The interviews analysed their perception of the impact of their friendships on the integration of migrants. 

The results indicated, in the 31 participants of this study, that 1) Friendship as a special form of love is considered a universal value in different cultures that favours intercultural integration; 2) Migrants with friendships from the host country felt more interculturally integrated; 3) Migrants who have friendships with other migrants in the host country felt integrated earlier; 4) Natives with intercultural friendships were less likely to reject migrants. 

The implications of these results point to future lines of action in diverse contexts. This study is based on the possibility of transforming social interactions and how, when these favour feelings of love towards others and friendship, they can have very relevant social implications, such as the integration of migrants and the reduction of prejudices. Given that schools are a fundamental context for socialisation, the findings of this study point to the relevance of educational actions that promote positive friendships between people from different cultures. Education fostering intercultural friendship may improve the integration of people from diverse backgrounds.

This study analysed participants’ perception of the impact of their intercultural friendships on the integration of migrants, following the Communicative Methodology, given its use in research with culturally diverse populations (Puigvert, Christou & Holford, 2012). Throughout 31 communicative interviews, the following hypotheses were contrasted: H1. Friendship as a special form of love is considered a universal value; H2. Migrants who have friendships from the host country feel more interculturally integrated; H3. Migrants who have friendships with other migrants in the host country feel integrated earlier; H4. Natives who have friendships with migrants are less likely to reject migrants. This study involved 31 participants including 9 migrants and 12 Spanish people, all of them having intercultural friends and currently living in Spain. A total of 23 women and 8 men, including ages from 25 to 80 years of age and from 15 different cultural communities. Data collection was obtained through the interviews, which included questions concerning the existing scientific literature on intercultural friendship in migrant inclusion and host acceptance. In addition, two closed-answer questions of two different CIS surveys were included (CIS, 2017; CIS, 2024). The interviews were recorded and transcribed. This information was then analysed by researchers of this study, who identified relevant quotes to test the hypotheses through the categorisation of the quotes. The qualitative categories responded to each of the hypotheses of this study, which were: 1. Friendship as a universal value; 2. Friendships between migrants and native people from the host country; 3. Friendships among migrants in the host country; 4. Friendship between native people and migrants living in the host country. For each of these categories, two dimensions of analysis were stated, following the communicative approach: Firstly, the Transformative dimension, to identify elements that people highlight that have favoured the creation of contexts conducive to intercultural integration. Secondly, the exclusionary dimension refers to elements that have prevented the creation of contexts conducive to intercultural integration. According to this analysis, quotes were selected that answered the hypothesis. Additionally, to test Hypothesis H4, we contrasted the answers given to the two questions from the CIS (2017) and CIS (2024), to the same question by the 31 participants in this study. This study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee CREA - Community of Research on Excellence for All - Ethics Committee. Informed consent was obtained from all participants, orally for the interviews.

This research highlights that intercultural friendships benefit integration among newcomers in addition to that native people with intercultural friendships evidenced less rejection towards migrants. Three of the hypotheses were confirmed in our sample, another one (H3) only partially. Friendship was described in this research as a relationship founded on the will to know and love each other, with trust, love, mutual support, understanding, dialogue, companionship, fun and respect, as well as highlighting its capacity to drive social improvement. Immigrants and non-immigrants highlighted the value of intercultural friendship for sharing universal feelings and reinforcing one's own cultural identity (García-Espinel et al., 2017). The study in these 31 people identified these intercultural friendships as a milestone in fostering migrants' emotional and social well-being by promoting a sense of confidence and strength in their relationships through perceived support of them. These friendships boosted opportunities for migrants to improve their life situation in the new country (Sinanan & Gomes, 2020) Furthermore, friends from the same culture, allowed solving problems, obtaining security, support and information for survival and coexistence for migrants. Nonetheless, the type of the relationships was stated as the relevant criteria for friendship in this study, as shown in previous research (Hill & Collaborators, 2025) Moreover, this friendship between Spanish people and migrants contributed to the fact that people from the host country do not reject migrants but rather accept them, mitigating prejudice towards immigrant or minority groups (Bergamaschi & Santagati, 2019). The implications of these findings may promote future lines of ensuring contexts where the love of friendship among diverse cultures is promoted. Educational centres, as relevant socialisation contexts, can conduct educational actions that promote positive intercultural friendships which favour the integration of migrants as well as the reduction of prejudices towards people from other cultures.

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