Black Parents Research Articles

Memorable Messages About Racism in Black Families: Attributions, Intergenerational Transmission, and Well-Being

ABSTRACT The present study explored memorable messages about racism passed down from Black parent(s) to their children. 237 Black adults completed an anonymous survey. First, participants shared a memorable message they recalled from their parent(s) about racism. Eight memorable message themes emerged: critical incidents, cultural socialization, egalitarianism, preparation for bias, promotion of mistrust, racism as individual actions, racism as systemic, and silence. Second, participants shared attributions for why they believed the memorable message was shared. Results of independent sample t-tests revealed that memorable messages with stable attributions reported lower relational satisfaction with their fathers. In comparison, memorable messages with unstable attributions reported higher relational satisfaction with their fathers. Last, we gauged the likelihood of intergenerational transmission of the memorable message. Results revealed participants were least likely to transmit messages of silence when compared to all other memorable message themes except for critical incidents. This study offers unique theoretical and practical implications.

Black Parents’ eLearning Preferences and Expectations of an Online Beverage Program to Improve Healthy Beverage Consumption Among Young Children

Black Parents’ eLearning Preferences and Expectations of an Online Beverage Program to Improve Healthy Beverage Consumption Among Young Children

The talk and walk in Black families: Exploring racial socialization content and competency in the context of parental worries about racial profiling and adolescents' internalizing outcomes.

Although many parents worry that their child will be the target of racial profiling, there is a dearth of literature on how parental worries about children facing racism are linked to racial socialization (RS) practices and youth internalizing symptoms. Additionally, it is unclear how RS content relative to competency may uniquely influence whether and how parental worries influence youth internalizing outcomes. Using data from 203 Black parents (Mage = 44.099, 68% mothers) of adolescents, the current study examines the direct effects of parental worries on RS content (cultural socialization, preparation for bias, and promotion of mistrust) and competency (confidence, skills, general stress, and call to action stress) on youth internalizing outcomes, as well as whether RS content and competency indirectly links parental worries about racial profiling with youth internalizing symptoms. Parental worries were positively related to greater RS content across domains and child internalizing symptoms, but there were no indirect links. Parents' worries about racial profiling were positively associated with more call to action stress, general stress, and youth internalizing symptoms. RS confidence and general stress were associated with fewer and greater internalizing symptoms, but there were similarly no significant indirect effects. Findings speak to supporting and addressing parental stress in the context of family racial worries and child adjustment and have implications for policy efforts to dismantle racism and fund programs that support youth and caregivers in managing the ongoing consequences of this insidious stressor.

Are You Listening? The Experience of Black Parents and Caregivers in Accessing Pediatric Orthopaedic Care

Are You Listening? The Experience of Black Parents and Caregivers in Accessing Pediatric Orthopaedic Care

Black Mothers’ Experiences of Having a Preterm Infant: A Scoping Review

Black mothers with preterm infants face unique challenges during their stay in the NICU and after discharge. Racism-related barriers impact access to care for Black preterm infants. Understanding their experiences in caring for preterm infants is crucial to developing equity-focused interventions to address racism in the NICU and promote Black preterm infant health outcomes. The purpose of this scoping review is to shed light on Black mothers’ experiences of having a preterm infant. A search was conducted in CINAHL, Medline, Maternity and Infant Care, and Google Scholar. A total of 287 articles were retrieved and screened. Twelve (12) articles included in the final review were from the United States. The findings highlight the need to address racism among healthcare providers in the NICU through training and education. Gaps in understanding the experiences of Black parents with preterm infants from other Western contexts remain and require further research.

Using Queen Sugar as a Lens to Counter Hegemonic Conceptions of Black Fathers’ Involvement in P-12 Schools

The depictions of Black fathers and their relationships with their children on television sitcoms influence societal perceptions of Black fathers’ parenting practices, Black families’ configurations, and public policies on Black families. This paper sheds light on how excerpts of the show, Queen Sugar challenge narratives and images regarding Black fathers’ relationships with their children, particularly their Black sons. Revolutionary parenting and critical race media literacy are used as theoretical concepts to examine the interactions and experiences between Ralph Angel and Blue. Content analysis was employed to generate findings that examine the bond between Ralph Angel and Blue, Ralph Angel’s support for Blue’s toy choice, and his engagement in Blue’s education. Implications of this work illustrate how experiential learning activities, metacognitive activities, and popular culture sources that consider Black parents' voices and experiences with child-rearing and schools be used as an analytical and pedagogical tool in teacher education courses to counter deficit ideologies that aim to stereotype and marginalize Black parents in education settings.

Approval of Parent-Child Aggression as a Mediator of Intergenerational Child Abuse Risk: An Evaluation of Racial Differences

Abstract Purpose Personal history of parent-child aggression (PCA) can predict future parenting behavior, but some effects may differ between racial groups. Black parents in the U.S. are more likely to encounter discrimination and personally experience and approve of PCA, which may account for previously reported group differences. This study examined whether personal PCA history predicted later parental child abuse risk mediated by PCA approval across the transition to parenthood, and whether effects differed by race. Methods Expectant parents (non-Hispanic White sample: 95 mothers with 86 fathers; Black sample: 94 mothers with 85 fathers) participated in a prospective longitudinal study, assessed prenatally and when children were age 6 mo., 18 mo., and four years. Personal history of PCA was assessed retrospectively, PCA approval was evaluated at each timepoint; and abuse risk was assessed as both theoretical abuse risk (an analog task at all timepoints) and actual PCA use (parents’ report at the final two timepoints). Results Personal PCA history largely predicted PCA approval for Black parents but was inconsistent for White parents. Higher PCA approval predicted abuse risk for both groups but appears to be a more consistent mediator between personal PCA history and abuse risk for Black parents. Conclusions Findings suggest PCA approval may perpetuate the PCA cycle but future work needs to consider differential effects by race, socioeconomic status, and age and identify factors that may account for such differences. Abuse preventions should be more intentionally culturally informed to enhance efficacy for communities of color.

Social contexts and black families' engagement in early childhood programs.

In the U.S., the federal government and dozens of cities have invested in home visiting programs intended to be universally available at scale to support caregivers of young children. Evaluations find that participation in these programs reduces maternal mortality, improves maternal mental health, and supports children's healthy development. Yet, many parents of young children who are invited to participate in home visiting programs do not enroll. This study fills gaps in the literature by examining how the broader social context affects Black families' engagement in home visiting programs. Via focus groups, survey data from a socioeconomically diverse sample of Black parents across the U.S., and a pre-registered field experiment, we capture views of and experiences with early childhood home visiting programs. We assess the responsiveness of these views to the broader social context and examine implications for interest and participation in home visiting programs. Focus group participants described benefits of home visiting while also expressing concerns about being unfairly judged about their parenting practices and the risk of a home visit resulting in child welfare system involvement. One out of four Black parents surveyed associated the term "home visit" with surveillance (i.e., government scrutiny of parenting), and associating "home visit" with surveillance was empirically correlated with lower participation in home visiting programs. Further, our pre-registered survey experiment showed a causal link between surveillance fears and home visit engagement. Reading a news article about a family's experience with the child welfare system decreased interest in home visiting among Black parents, while labeling a program as "new baby wellness" rather than "home visit" increased interest. Collectively, the findings point to ways in which the broader social context of parenting/parental surveillance negatively affects Black parents' participation in early childhood home visiting programs despite their interest.

Parents' perspectives and behaviors regarding their child's access to alcohol: Variation by race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and neighborhood.

Setting rules about alcohol use and minimizing its availability in the home are known effective parent-level strategies for reducing underage drinking risk. However, parents' restrictions and their perceptions of their child's alcohol access have rarely been considered in combination (e.g., determining if rule-setting consistently accompanies perceived easy access), despite the potential to inform targeted prevention. The current study identified patterns in six parent-reported indicators of their child's alcohol restrictions and access and characterized them with respect to race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, community type (urban, suburban, or rural), and neighborhood (dis)advantage. Latent profile analysis was applied to Follow-up Year 2 data from the parents of Black, Latinx, and White participants in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (n = 9586; youth mean age = 12.05; 47.50% girl, 51.32% boy, 0.32% other gender; 14.29% Black, 25.97% Latinx, and 59.74% White) to derive distinct profiles. Four profiles (subgroups) emerged: High Restrictions/No Drinkers in Household (32.18%), Low Restrictions/High Access (29.58%), High Restrictions/High Access (26.38%), and High Restrictions/Low Access (11.86%). Black and Latinx youth and parents with relatively low educational attainment and income were overrepresented in the High Restrictions/No Drinkers in Household and High Restrictions/Low Access subgroups. By contrast, the low restrictions subgroups were composed primarily of parents of White youth living in advantaged neighborhoods. Findings support the notion that parents' perspectives and behaviors around youth alcohol access cannot be divided simply into restrictive and permissive. Further, the observed differences by demographic and neighborhood factors suggest the value of tailoring parent-level prevention approaches to consider community norms.

The Needs and Experiences of Black Families in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

To identify opportunities for improvement in quality of care, we explore Black families' experiences of family support in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) during their infant's hospital stay. Semistructured qualitative interviews or focus groups (FGs) were conducted to explore Black families' experiences of NICU hospitalization. Inclusion criteria were self-identification as a Black family member and infant admission to our NICU between January 2020 and February 2022. We conducted reflexive thematic analysis of recorded transcripts using Dedoose software. Three interviews and 2 FGs were conducted with 9 unique families (n = 13 individuals). We organized 10 key themes into "Experiences" and "Recommendations." Experience themes included distrust and fear of the medical setting, hypervigilance and trauma trajectory formation, the myth of "Black hardiness," policing and surveillance, and undermining of Black parenting. Recommendation themes implored NICU staff to earn rather than assume trust, respect family concerns, improve mental health support, provide compassionate care, and support the parenting role. In this single-center qualitative study of Black families' NICU encounters, families continue to experience differential treatment, which reinforces an untrustworthy medical system perpetuating structural racism. Family recommendations for improving care through transparent communication, advocacy and mental health support, increased engagement in their parental role, and decreasing biased treatment and provision of resources may improve their experience and mitigate hypervigilance and trajectory formation in our NICU.

Adolescent experiences of weight-related communication: Sociodemographic differences and the role of parents.

Weight-related conversations are common between adolescents and parents. However, there is limited understanding of how these conversations vary across sociodemographic groups, such as sex, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, or parents' level of education. This study assessed the prevalence of weight-related communication among adolescents and parents across sociodemographic characteristics, and identified adolescents' preferred sources for these discussions. Quantitative data were collected through online surveys from two independent U.S. adolescents aged 10-17 years of age (N = 2032), and parents of children aged 10-17 years of age (N = 1936). Frequency and sources of weight-related communication were assessed. Sociodemographic factors were analysed for their associations with these communication patterns. While few differences emerged based on race/ethnicity or grade level, significant variation was observed for sex, sexual orientation, and parental education. Girls, sexual minority youth, high school students, and those with college-educated parents were more likely to communicate about their own weight, whereas boys were more likely to comment on others' weight. Most adolescents preferred healthcare professionals (71%) and parents (69%) for these conversations, although sexual minority youth preferred mental health professionals considerably more than parents. Among parents, 77% discussed their child's weight, with fathers and Latinx parents engaging more frequently in these conversations, and Black parents engaging least frequently. Weight-related communication is prevalent among adolescents and parents, with variation across sociodemographic characteristics. As healthcare professionals and parents were identified as the preferred sources for weight-related communication by adolescents across sociodemographic groups, it is important that paediatricians and parents are equipped to engage in these conversations without imparting stigma.

Promoting Maternal Health in the Postpartum Period to Advance Birth Equity.

Black birthing people experience lower rates of postpartum follow-up care. The objective of this study was to examine factors associated with postpartum follow-up care and explore suggestions for improving the quality and experience of care during the postpartum period. A survey was conducted among Black birthing people in the Boston area who had delivered an infant within two years of the study. Our survey comprised the Jackson, Hogue, Phillips Contextualized Stress Measure (JHPCSM), the Power as Knowing Participation in Change Tool (PKPCT), and demographic questions. One hundred and twenty-one self-identified Black birthing people completed the survey. One-third of participants did not attend their postpartum appointment. Those with public insurance, an educational level of less than a college degree, or were working outside the home were significantly less likely to have a postpartum follow-up visit. Participants who attended postpartum visits had higher scores on the JHPCSM (lower stress) and PKPCT. Inability to take time off from work, COVID-19 concerns, and lack of childcare were the most frequently reported barriers to attending appointments. There is a need for better institutional and policy support for Black parents in the postpartum period.

Black Male Principals’ Engaging Black Parents in Urban Charter Schools

This qualitative study explores the strategies employed by Black male principals to foster and sustain parent engagement in urban charter schools with a predominantly Black student body. Grounded in Epstein’s (1995) typology of parent involvement and Bass’s (2020) theory of Black Masculine Care (BMC) reveals that these principals leverage their cultural understanding and community connections to establish trust, facilitate open communication, and create a welcoming school environment. The findings highlight the importance of representation, visibility, and culturally responsive practices in promoting meaningful parent engagement. The study concludes by offering educational leaders and policymakers recommendations to enhance parent engagement in urban charter schools.

I See You, Mama: Low-Income Black Mother Leaders Reimagining Schools as Homeplace for Their Children

Canadian researchers continue to stress the importance of Black parent engagement in the schooling lives of Black children. Scholars, practitioners, and Black families call on schools to partner with Black parents and guardians to further support Black children’s academic achievement, well-being, and development. Although scholarship affirms the integral role of Black mothers, especially those with low income, in the educational lives of their children, limited research centres the work they lead at their children’s schools. In fact, low-income Black mothers’ work is often excluded from Canadian narratives on parent engagement and omitted from educational scholarship on leadership. Ultimately, low-income Black mothers and their contributions to their children’s schools are often rendered invisible in public and academic discourses. This arts-informed study took place at an Ontario school and traced the author’s work in establishing a family reading program with fourteen low-income Black mothers. The study drew on Black motherwork theory, Black feminist notions of homeplace, and Endarkened storywork to further understand Black mothers’ leadership at their children’s school. This article centres the narrative of one Black mother participating in the study describing how she leveraged collective work and technologies to eschew surveillance and establish a homeplace at her child’s elementary school.

Driven by Purpose: Exploring Spirituality in Black Mothers’ Coping with Loss of Children to Gun Homicide

The death of a Black child to gun homicide presents unique and ongoing coping challenges for Black parents. Current studies have provided insights into the role of spirituality in facilitating adjustment after homicide loss. However, the extent to which spirituality serves as a viable coping resource for Black mothers, who are disproportionately affected by gun homicide deaths of their children, remains unexplored. This exploratory phenomenological study explored the role of spirituality as a healing resource in 15 Black mothers’ grief experiences following the loss of their children to gun homicide. Thematic analysis revealed the role of spirituality in helping Black mothers find purpose in their loss. Following the loss of their children, mothers’ spiritual values enabled them to come to the realization that the deaths served a purpose. Spirituality served as the fuel to strengthen and renew their purpose in their grief journey. Gun homicide grief experience is an entanglement of systemic inequality and racial oppression. Exploring spirituality as a coping resource in the grieving experiences of Black survivors serves as an opportunity for enhancing community-based, culturally relevant, and spiritually-informed interventions, to adequately meet their coping needs.

Resilience and strengths in the Black autism community in the United States: A scoping review.

Gaps in research knowledge pertaining to resiliency factors and strengths among the Black autism community, inclusive of autistic persons and their support system exist. A scoping review was conducted to further explore quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods studies that investigate resiliency factors and related strengths in the Black autism community in the United States. A total of 436 articles were identified, with 28 studies included in the final review. Results demonstrated that (1) strengths of Black autistic persons across the life course have been disregarded in research; (2) Black caregiver advocacy, while common, is also a developmental process that can be supported by community-based interventions; (3) informal supports including family and friends play an instrumental role in supporting the well-under investigated being of Black parents of autistic children; and (4) spirituality is often endorsed by Black caregivers of autistic children, such as playing a role in acceptance of the autism diagnosis and with coping with difficult life situations. Research and practice implications are discussed.

Measuring critical parent engagement: the development and validation of the black parent measure of critical consciousness in education

Currently, measures of parent-school involvement do not consider structural racism, and current measures of critical consciousness (CC) include multiple forms of oppression without a focus on any in particular. This paper outlines the development and validation of The Black Parent Measure of Critical Consciousness in Education (BPMCC-E) and assesses Black parents’ analysis of educational inequities and their critical parent engagement. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were run to evaluate the proposed scale. Five internally consistent factors were found suggesting various dimensions that may capture differences in how Black parents critically analyze their children’s schools and engage in that space.

Black Homeschooling: A Response to Racialized Educational Terrain

ABSTRACT This paper explores how Black parents’ school choice, particularly through homeschooling, intersects with the racialized educational terrain. Challenging the view of homeschooling as solely market-driven, the literature review emphasizes race, class, and gender’s roles in this decision-making. Unlike Averett and Stewart, who focus on gendered and racial dynamics in school choice, this study proposes Diamond’s racialized educational terrain and Cooper’s motherwork as frameworks to understand Black homeschooling. This paper aims to shift theoretical perspectives on Black homeschooling, advocating for a more nuanced, intersectional approach to studying school choice.

"Actually, I don't do different": Black parents' perceptions of gender socialization of sons versus daughters.

This study expanded on research examining families' roles in youth gender development that has investigated boys' versus girls' family experiences by using a within-family design to study the gender socialization of brothers versus sisters from the same families. We drew from archival data collected in 2001-2002 from an ethnic homogeneous sample of Black American mother-father families (N = 128) who were raising at least one son and one daughter; the majority of youth were adolescents (range 2-31 years). In separate home interviews, mothers and fathers described whether and how they socialized their sons versus daughters about education, their futures, and racism and discrimination. Across these three domains, most parents reported that they did not socialize their sons and daughters differently. Nonetheless, several themes emerged that illuminated race and race-gender intersectionality in parents' socialization, both resistance and accommodation to traditional gender norms, and the role of children's personal characteristics in parents' socialization, with similar themes evident among parents who did and who did not report socializing sons and daughters differently. This study advances understanding of parents' gender socialization and has implications for family-focused interventions aimed at promoting the well-being and achievement of Black American boys and girls. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

A Black Feminist Study of Black Mother-Daughter Sexual Communication

ABSTRACT There is a well-established body of literature on parent-child sexual communication (PCSC) among Black families. Still, most of this work focuses on reducing sexual risk behaviors among Black girls and focuses less on the multidimensionality of PCSC among Black parents and their daughters. In this qualitative study, we explored Black mother-daughter PCSC by analyzing interviews with 29 Black mothers in the U.S. with daughters ages 6–11. We used consensual qualitative research methods to analyze mother’s responses to questions about the messages and strategies they used when educating their daughters about sex-related topics, such as pleasure and sexual identity. We identified the following themes related to mothers’ goals with their messages: (1) increasing awareness through neutral information, (2) building daughter’s sense of self, (3) challenging societal norms and White heteropatriarchy, and (4) upholding societal norms and White heteropatriarchy. We also developed five themes for mother’s strategies for PCSC: (5) direct and open PCSC, (6) modeling, (7) integrating real-life examples, (8) centering the child, and (9) monitoring and tailoring daughters’ experiences with others. Our findings add to existing research on sex-positive practices among Black families, highlight the need to use critical lenses when exploring PCSC, and have important implications for parent education.