Abstract
Although there has been recognition of the importance of examining the indirect effect of perceived parental ethnic-racial socialization on youths’ psychosocial outcomes, few studies have done so. To date, Tran and Lee’s (2010) study is one of few that has linked ethnic-racial socialization to psychosocial outcomes among Asian Americans, specifically. The purpose of this study was to extend Tran and Lee’s (2010) research in two ways. First, the present study tested a model similar to Tran and Lee’s but replaced their dependent variable, social competence, with self-esteem. Second, the present study tested the model among Asian American emerging adults (i.e., ages 18 to 25), not late adolescents. The present study hypothesized that perceiving more frequent messages of cultural socialization-pluralism from parents would indirectly lead to higher self-esteem via stronger ethnic identity. One-hundred-fourteen self-identified Asian Americans (M age = 21.34 years; 66% female) completed an online survey that included measures of perceived cultural socialization-pluralism, ethnic identity, and self-esteem. Based on model testing via the bootstrap method (Preacher & Hayes, 2008), the hypothesis was supported. The findings of the present study contribute to the discussion of the role that perceived ethnic-racial socialization plays in Asian Americans’ positive development. Further, the present study contributes to the limited research on ethnic- racial socialization among Asian Americans.
Highlights
IntroductionSocialization is defined as the transmission of attitudes, customs, motives, roles, skills, and values from a range of socialization agents (e.g., parents, teachers, community members) to youths (Harrison, Wilson, Pine, Chan, & Buriel, 1990; Parke & Buriel, 1998)
Socialization is defined as the transmission of attitudes, customs, motives, roles, skills, and values from a range of socialization agents to youths (Harrison, Wilson, Pine, Chan, & Buriel, 1990; Parke & Buriel, 1998)
The present study focused on emerging adulthood because: 1) this a time of new opportunities and experiences which may encourage ethnic identity development, as well as the development of other constructs (Arnett, 2006), and 2) Tran and Lee (2010) note that more research is needed to “understand ethnic-racial socialization across the life span” (p. 176)
Summary
Socialization is defined as the transmission of attitudes, customs, motives, roles, skills, and values from a range of socialization agents (e.g., parents, teachers, community members) to youths (Harrison, Wilson, Pine, Chan, & Buriel, 1990; Parke & Buriel, 1998). Researchers have revealed that socializing youth about ethnicity and race (i.e., ethnicracial socialization) is a predominant component of socialization in ethnic and racial minority families (Garcia Coll et al, 1996). Any socialization agent (e.g., teachers) can engage in ethnic-racial socialization with youths (Harrison et al, 1990; Parke & Buriel, 1998). The majority of the extant literature on ethnic-racial socialization has focused on the messages and practices that come from parents. This comes as no surprise, as developmental psychology highlights parents as especially engaged in youths’ development (Grusec & Kuczynski, 1997; Steinberg & Morris, 2001)
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