Ethnic-racial Socialization Practices Research Articles

Black mothers' ethnic-racial socialization one year after highly publicized anti-Black murders during the pandemic.

Although research on ethnic-racial socialization is well established, limited studies have examined the influence of specific, highly publicized anti-Black murders. We assessed Black mothers' (N = 12, mean age = 37.45) concerns and ethnic-racial socialization with adolescents aged 11-18 years old approximately 1 year following the murders of George Floyd and other unarmed Black people. Researchers generated the following themes using reflexive thematic analysis: protecting adolescents from physical harm; protecting adolescents from psychological harm; parents' emotional distress; and parents' lack of confidence in their ethnic-racial socialization practices. Black mothers exhibit exceptional amounts of strength and courage as they navigate pervasive physical and psychological threats to their adolescents while experiencing worry and low confidence in their ability to socialize their adolescents about anti-Black racism.

Black and Latiné parents' perspectives on supporting their children's emotional and physical health.

Informed by integrative models of cultural resilience, the purpose of this study was to (a) explore how parents are promoting their children's emotional and physical health, with a focus on race and ethnic-racial socialization strategies, and (b) identify the barriers and challenges parents are experiencing in supporting their children's health. Ethnically racially matched qualitative interviews were conducted with 33 parents (82% women, 64% Black, 36% Latiné). Results of thematic analysis revealed three overarching themes: (a) Strategies for Promoting Children's Physical and Emotional Health, (b) Challenges Promoting Children's Physical and Emotional Health, and (c) Impact of Racism on Parenting and Children's Health. Most parents believed that racism had an impact on their parenting decisions and their children's health; however, there were some differences in ethnic-racial socialization practices between Black and Latiné parents. Findings have implications for culturally relevant parenting approaches to support children's emotional and physical health.

To maintain or conceal one's cultural identity? Chinese American parents' ethnic-racial socialization during COVID-19.

Ethno-racially minoritized parents' ethnic-racial socialization may center on encouraging their children to maintain or conceal their ethnic-racial identity, particularly during the period of heightened racism of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the underlying mechanisms that could explain Chinese American parents' specific ethnic-racial socialization practices and the role of children's developmental stage are not well understood. The present study examined: (a) the association between Chinese American parents' racial discrimination experiences and their engagement in maintenance of heritage culture and concealing Chinese heritage and connection ethnic-racial socialization; (b) the mediating and moderating roles of psychological well-being and family support; and (c) variations in these associations among parents with children of different developmental stages. The participants comprised 470 Chinese American parents (Mage = 43.7 years, SD = 6.4; 79% mothers) of 4- to 18-year-old children in the United States. Findings revealed that Chinese American parents' racial discrimination experiences were associated with greater engagement in both maintenance of heritage culture and concealing Chinese heritage and connection ethnic-racial socialization practices. Furthermore, parents' racial discrimination experiences were negatively associated with their psychological well-being, which in turn, was associated with lower levels of maintenance of heritage culture and higher levels of concealing Chinese heritage and connection ethnic-racial socialization practices. Greater family support buffered against the negative impact of racial discrimination on parents' psychological well-being and subsequent associations with their ethnic-racial socialization. The underlying moderated mediation mechanism was similar across parents of children, and younger and older adolescents. Our findings can guide future efforts to expand theoretical frameworks of ethnic-racial socialization among ethnic minority families. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Understanding Teachers’ Ethnic-Racial Socialization Practices with Students in Schools: A Qualitative Inquiry

Ethnic-racial socialization (ERS) is essential for youth of color to navigate the racialized world. There is a need to understand teachers’ practices as an extension of family-based ERS. This study explores teachers’ ERS engagement with African American and Latine adolescents attending two large, diverse high schools. Two 90-minute focus groups were conducted ( n = 15), utilizing thematic analysis and inter-coder agreement. Teachers reported nuanced ERS messages and methods. Facilitators and barriers ranged from macro (i.e., institutional), meso (i.e., community), and micro-level (i.e., personal). Findings are understood within congruency or distinction from parental ERS with implications for teacher practices within urban schools.

Does ethnic-racial socialization matter? A within-person analysis of racial discrimination and sleep health among Black and Latinx emerging adults

ObjectivesEmerging work suggests that racism-related stressors may contribute to adverse sleep health, yet little is known about how culturally relevant resources may influence the relationship between racism-related stressors and adverse sleep health. The aim of this study was to examine associations between weekly reports of racial hassles and young adults’ sleep health (i.e., sleep onset latency, total sleep time, sleep quality) and to determine whether various forms of parental ethnic-racial socialization would moderate these associations. MethodsParticipants were 141 college students (Mage = 20.7 years, standard deviation (SD) = 1.22, 70% female) who identified as either Black (n = 88; 62.4%) or Latinx (n = 53; 37.6%). Participants completed an initial 1.5-hour assessment in the laboratory and 4 weekly sleep diary surveys (assessed sleep health and depressive symptoms). ResultsWeekly racial hassles are related to greater sleep onset latency, decreased total sleep time, and poorer sleep quality. The promotion of mistrust and cultural socialization significantly moderated associations between weekly racial hassles and sleep onset latency and total sleep time, respectively. ConclusionsThese results provide supportive evidence that parental ethnic-racial socialization practices, a preemptive cultural resource, may be an understudied mechanism in sleep health research. Future research is needed to clarify the role of parental ethnic-racial socialization in promoting sleep health equity among youth and young adults.

Learning about discrimination during childhood: Implications for racial trauma among Asians and Asian Americans during the pandemic.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a sharp rise in anti-Asian hate crimes, limited data exist on racial trauma and its effects on Asian Americans. The current study investigated how racial discrimination and parental ethnic-racial socialization (cultural socialization, preparation for bias, and promotion of mistrust) were associated with racial trauma among Asian Americans in young adulthood. Increased cultural socialization and preparation for bias in childhood were hypothesized to be associated with lower levels of racial trauma, whereas increased racial discrimination and promotion of mistrust were hypothesized to predict higher levels of racial trauma. Based on a retrospective report of young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic, this longitudinal nationwide study within the United States examined 133 Asian and Asian American young adults ages 18-30 who participated in an online survey regarding ethnic identity, childhood ethnic-racial socialization practices, racial discrimination-related experiences, and racial trauma. Lifetime discrimination, but not COVID-19-related discrimination, was associated with higher levels of racial trauma. Greater levels of preparation for bias during childhood predicted lower levels of racial trauma in young adulthood. Contrary to the hypothesis, greater levels of cultural socialization predicted higher levels of racial trauma. Promotion of mistrust was not associated with later racial trauma outcomes. The current study underscores the long-term impacts of parent-child discussions about racism (i.e., preparation for bias) to address racial trauma in young adulthood. Future research should further examine cultural socialization to determine its effects on racial trauma among Asian Americans.

Perceived discrimination, ethnic identity, and ethnic-racial socialization in Chinese immigrant families before and after the COVID-19 outbreak: An exploratory natural experiment

Emerging research from the United States indicates that people with an East Asian background experience COVID-19-related racial discrimination. There is some (although not consistent) evidence that these discrimination experiences can in turn have psychological and behavioral consequences, such as strengthening one’s ethnic identity and influencing parents’ ethnic-racial socialization practices. The current study presents a unique natural experiment examining self-reported perceived discrimination experiences, ethnic identity, and ethnic-racial socialization among 80 Chinese immigrant mothers in the Netherlands before and after the COVID-19 outbreak (39 mothers recruited before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and 41 during). The main findings from our exploratory analyses indicated an impact of the pandemic with higher (subtle) discrimination and stronger ethnic identity among Chinese immigrant mothers living in the Netherlands, highlighting how personal experiences related to intergroup processes have changed as a result of the COVID-19 crisis in the European context.

Parent's ethnic-racial socialization practices in families with young children experiencing homelessness

Ethnic-racial socialization (ERS) is an important developmental process that may have crucial significance for childrearing in families contending with discrimination or structural inequalities. Although the majority of families who experience homelessness are from historically marginalized populations in the United States, there is a dearth of research on ERS among families experiencing homelessness, particularly those with young children. To address this gap, the present study examined multiple dimensions of ERS reported by parents in a sample of families residing in an emergency shelter. Participants included 69 caregivers (84.1% female; Mage = 31.3; 69.6% Black/African American, 10.1% White/European American, 8.7% Native American/American Indian, 5.8% Multiracial, 5.8% Other) and their young children (63.8% male; Mage = 5.2; 63.8% Black/African American, 4.3% White/European American, 7.2% Native American/American Indian, 21.7% Multiracial, 2.9% Other). Results supported the hypothesis that caregivers experiencing homelessness would engage in ERS with their young children, with caregivers focusing more on cultural socialization than preparation for bias or promotion of mistrust. Families headed by 2 parents, who were employed, and had more children, engaged in more cultural socialization. Preparation for bias was related to child's ethnicity-race (Black), older age, higher verbal ability, and more siblings, whereas promotion of mistrust was related to parent attributes (e.g., older age, lower education). Unexpectedly, ERS was not related to parents’ income, distress, or perceived community discrimination, or to child gender. Results underscore the importance of understanding ERS in the contexts of sociocultural ecology and developmental timing.

Documentation Status Socialization as an Ethnic-racial Socialization Dimension: Incorporating the Experience of Mixed-status Latinx Families

Ethnic-racial socialization (ERS) serves as a protective factor in the development of minority children. However, few studies have focused on mixed-status Latinx families to include the broad expression of their ethnic-racial socialization practices centering on their immigration experiences as they teach their children the risks and restrictions of having undocumented status. These parents adapt their ERS in accordance with their experiences of stress, fear, and discrimination, all of which shape the type and frequency of their socialization messages. Through documentation status socialization, Latinx parents forewarn their children of the inequities associated with their ethnic-racial group and undocumented status, including possible family separation. They also teach children about nativity differences and the attendant privilege of having documented status. This manuscript highlights insights to be gained by considering documentation status socialization as an ERS dimension within Latinx families. Learning about the specific ERS practices of such an understudied group is a social justice issue with important implications for understanding how these families might adapt and respond to their social context, especially amidst a political environment that engenders fear and isolation throughout their community. Including documentation status socialization in the ERS literature is a crucial step towards developing a deeper understanding of how the structural and social forces operating within the lives of undocumented immigrants impact normative family processes that ultimately exert an influence on their children’s development. A discussion on implications for practitioners and service providers working with this population is also included.

Ethnic-Racial Socialization, Ethnic-Racial Identity, and Depressive Symptoms in Korean Adolescents in the United States and China.

The United States and China are top two receiving countries of Korean immigrants in modern history. Minority families in ethnically-racially diverse societies, such as the US and China, use various ethnic-racial socialization practices (cultural socialization, promotion of mistrust, preparation for bias) to help their children navigate the world, yet research in non-U.S. contexts is scarce. To examine the specificity versus generalizability of ethnic-racial socialization and its implications, this study compared the prevalence of ethnic-racial socialization reported by Korean American (n = 408; Mage = 14.76, SD = 1.91; 48.30% female) and Korean Chinese (n = 267; Mage = 15.24, SD = 1.66; 58.90% female) youth. Moreover, this study examined how various ethnic-racial socialization practices relate to the youth's ethnic-racial identity, and subsequently, depressive symptoms. Although Korean American youth reported more frequent ethnic-racial socialization compared to their Korean Chinese counterparts, cultural socialization (but not preparation for bias nor promotion of mistrust) had a comparable negative indirect association with depressive symptoms via ethnic-racial identity across both groups. Thus, although the rates of parental ethnic-racial socialization are context-specific, parental cultural socialization may be similarly beneficial for Korean ethnic-racial minority youth's identity development, and in turn, psychological outcomes, whether in a Western individualistic society or an Eastern collectivistic society.

MEDIA MESSAGES: INTERSECTIONS OF ETHNIC-RACIAL AND MEDIA SOCIALIZATION IN AFRICAN AMERICAN FAMILIES

Research on ethnic-racial socialization in African American families has rarely examined parental messages about media, even though African American youth are among the heaviest media consumers, and media depictions are frequently biased. We surveyed 398 parents of African American 3- to 17-year-olds, asking how often they socialized their child using (a) ethnic-racial socialization, (b) parental mediation, and (c) media racial depictions. Results suggest that ethnic-racial socialization includes a specific set of practices involving encouraging, critiquing, and avoiding particular types of media racial depictions – strategies which we call Media-Based Ethnic-Racial Socialization (MBERS). Frequencies for all three socialization domains were predicted by parent and perceived child ethnic-racial identity strength and parental perceptions of racial bias and opportunity in the child’s media. These results suggest the importance of media for ethnic-racial socialization practices and the centrality of race even for socialization domains that may not always be seen as racialized, such as parental mediation.

Documentation status socialization among Latinx immigrant parents.

Discriminatory legislation targeting Latinx immigrants in the United States has shifted how parents communicate with their children about the hostile political climate. One way that Latinx parents talk about and prepare their children to face prejudice is through ethnic-racial socialization, which can promote children's positive development. Few scholars, however, have focused on how Latinx immigrant families with precarious documentation status socialize their children around issues of immigration, documentation status, and the potential for family separation. The current study seeks to broaden our understanding and conceptualization of ethnic-racial socialization practices among Latinx immigrant families living in the United States to include documentation status socialization to better capture the messages parents transmit to their children about the causes and potential impacts of their documentation status. Thirty-nine Latinx immigrant mothers aged 35-53 (M = 41.66), (22 undocumented, 17 documented) were interviewed regarding the ways in which their documentation status informs their ethnic-racial socialization practices. Five subthemes of Documentation Status Socialization were identified among both undocumented and documented parents. Example of subthemes included Limitations and Restrictions of Undocumented Status, and Documentation Privilege, in which parents discussed the limitation of being undocumented as well as the privilege that comes with the legal documentation status with their youth. Our findings yield important implications for practice and research alike.

Illuminating ethnic-racial socialization among undocumented Latinx parents and its implications for adolescent psychosocial functioning.

The purpose of this study is to examine how parents' documentation status informs their ethnic-racial socialization (ERS) practices and the subsequent implications for Latinx youths' psychological adjustment. The mixed-methods approach combined convergent and exploratory sequential designs to explore the breadth and depth of Latinx parents' messages to their children regarding race and ethnicity. Qualitative data were used to generate hypotheses that were tested quantitatively. Analysis of interviews revealed parents' concerns with obeying the law, avoiding interaction with others, teaching children how to deal with discrimination, the importance of transmitting their culture, and concerns for their children's ever-present fear and stress. Path analysis showed that undocumented parents utilized more cultural socialization and promotion of mistrust messages than their documented counterparts. More promotion of mistrust, in turn, was associated with higher levels of adolescent depressive symptoms. Given the current sociopolitical climate and ethnic-racial tensions in the United States, it is imperative to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the nuanced ERS practices Latinx families employ to both cope with and respond to this situation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Black Students’ Perceptions of School Ethnic-Racial Socialization Practices in a Predominantly Black School

Ethnic-racial socialization describes messages and practices that teach youth about their racial and/or ethnic group membership and the role of race in society. Despite a wealth of research on families, little work has considered school socialization practices. The current article uses a framework of school racial socialization to explore six socialization messages reported in a predominantly Black public charter school in an urban area. In focus group and individual interviews, 21 African American students (71% female) discussed what they learned about race and culture at school. Responses revealed a high frequency of cultural socialization and promotion of cultural competence messages, but the content was limited to certain key figures and events. The findings illustrate the complexity of youths’ perceptions of socialization and the need for multicultural education in schools.

Parental ethnic-racial socialization practices and children of color's psychosocial and behavioral adjustment: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Despite increasing empirical research documenting the association between parental ethnic-racial socialization and youth of color's psychosocial well-being, evidence on the extent to which ethnic-racial socialization practices are linked to youth outcomes and potential variation in these relations remains equivocal. In the current study, a meta-analysis of 102 studies with 803 effect sizes and 27,221 participants reveals that overall ethnic-racial socialization was positively, albeit modestly, associated with self-perceptions, interpersonal relationship quality, and internalizing behavior. Ethnic-racial socialization's overall association with externalizing behavior was nonsignificant. Moreover, ethnic-racial socialization's connection to psychosocial outcomes varied by the subtype that parents used, the developmental stage and race/ethnicity of the target child, and the reporter of ethnic-racial socialization. In particular, cultural socialization was positively associated with self-perceptions and interpersonal relationship quality and negatively associated with externalizing behaviors. In addition, ethnic-racial socialization's positive association with self-perceptions was strongest in early adolescence and among African American youth. These findings underscore the complexity of parental ethnic-racial socialization practices and the need for a nuanced perspective on it. Implications for parenting practices and future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

African American Fathers’ Race-Related Discussions with Their Children: Associations with Racial Identity Beliefs and Sociodemographic Factors

Studies have highlighted that, for African American men, race-related and sociodemographic contexts are inextricably bound and have profound effects across the life course. These context and related experiences, individually and collectively, are critical social determinants of their parenting practices. The current study examined African American fathers’ racial identity beliefs in relation to their ethnic-racial socialization practices. Further, this investigation examines this association within the context of sociodemographic factors (i.e., age; education level; residential status). Data were collected from 174 African American fathers (M = 32.2; SD = 8.24; Range = 23–62 years of age) of adolescents (M = 12.6; SD = 2.20; Range = 8–18 years of age) residing in a mid-sized, urban city in the Southeastern region of the United States. Participants completed survey questionnaires regarding their parenting ideologies, sociocontextual experiences and parenting practices. Regression analyses revealed that racial identity dimensions (centrality; public regard; private regard) and sociodemographic factors were directly associated with multiple ethnic-racial socialization domains. Also, the relationship between fathers’ perceptions of others’ views about African Americans (public regard) and ethnic-racial socialization was moderated by residential status. Findings suggest that, African American fathers’ public regard beliefs, in combination with sociodemographic factors, shape race-related discussions with their children. Overall, results suggest that the public lens of fatherhood is further heightened by African American fathers’ sociodemographic landscape.

Supplemental Material for Parental Ethnic-Racial Socialization Practices and Children of Color’s Psychosocial and Behavioral Adjustment: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Supplemental Material for Parental Ethnic-Racial Socialization Practices and Children of Color’s Psychosocial and Behavioral Adjustment: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Parental ethnic-racial socialization practices and the construction of children of color's ethnic-racial identity: A research synthesis and meta-analysis.

Parental ethnic-racial socialization practices help shape the development of a strong ethnic-racial identity in children of color, which in turn contributes positively to mental health, social, and academic outcomes. Although there is a wide body of literature on the relationship between these meta-constructs, this research has not been systematically examined to either (a) determine the degree to which associations between parental ethnic-racial socialization approaches and ethnic-racial identity dimensions hold actual practical significance for parents of color or (b) estimate how these associations vary as a function of theorized mitigating factors. In response, this meta-analytic study investigated the strength of the association between parental ethnic-racial socialization practices and the construction of ethnic-racial identity, as well as factors that moderated the strength and direction of this association. Findings revealed that across 68 studies, there was a significant and substantive relationship between the global constructs of ethnic-racial socialization practices and ethnic-racial identity. Most individual practices of ethnic-racial socialization were positively associated with global ethnic-racial identity, and the strongest relationship was with pride and heritage socialization. Parental ethnic-racial socialization was also positively associated with all ethnic-racial identity dimensions tested except for public regard, with which it was negatively associated. Developmental findings showed that although ethnic-racial socialization positively predicted identity at every level of schooling, the strongest relationship was at the high school level. Finally, the association between ethnic-racial socialization and ethnic-racial identity was positive for African Americans, Latinxs, and Asian Americans alike, but the strongest relationship was among Latinxs. Implications for parenting practices and future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Ethnic-racial socialization in Latino families: The influence of mothers' socialization practices on adolescent private regard, familism, and perceived ethnic-racial discrimination.

Cultural value endorsement and ethnic-racial identity promote Latino/a adolescent positive adaptation and mitigate the negative impacts of perceived ethnic-racial discrimination. This study explored the intergenerational process of how adolescents develop these cultural characteristics in concert with their experiences of discrimination, focusing on the role of youth-reported maternal ethnic-racial socialization processes. Participants included 175 Latino/a adolescent-mother dyads recruited from the 7th and 8th grades in an understudied emerging immigrant destination. We tested the effects of maternal cultural characteristics (i.e., familism, private regard, and perceived discrimination) on the same adolescent outcomes through youth-reported maternal ethnic-racial socialization practices (i.e., cultural socialization, preparation for bias, promotion of mistrust, and familism socialization, a novel construct introduced in this study). Three significant indirect pathways were identified. Higher maternal private regard was associated with both higher youth familism and higher youth private regard through greater youth-reported familism socialization, and higher maternal private regard was associated with more perceived youth discrimination through greater youth-reported preparation for bias. Our results highlight maternal private regard as particularly important for understanding how youth perceptions of socialization processes encourage the development of adolescent cultural characteristics and the benefit of using specific assessment tools, such as a familism socialization measure, to identify how ethnic-racial socialization processes serve as intergenerational links. Directions for future research and implications for intervention are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

The Role of Parents’ Ethnic-Racial Socialization Practices in the Discrimination–Depression Link among Mexican-Origin Adolescents

The present study investigated the moderating role of parents’ ethnic-racial socialization practices (T1) in the link between adolescents’ discrimination experiences (T1–T3) and adolescent anxiety and depression, respectively (T1–T3). Using a 3-wave longitudinal design with multiple informants (adolescent, mother, father) reporting on parents’ ethnic-racial socialization practices, the data analytic sample comprised a total of 251 (T1) Mexican-origin families from the midwestern United States. Mother and father reports of their own ethnic-racial socialization practices (i.e., cultural socialization, preparation for bias, promotion of mistrust) were entered simultaneously into multilevel moderation models. Results from these multilevel moderation analyses indicated that fathers’ promotion of mistrust was a significant moderator in the adolescent discrimination–depression link over time. Specifically, fathers’ promotion of mistrust exacerbated the youth discrimination–depression association. Moreover, the difference between the moderating effects of fathers’ versus mothers’ promotion of mistrust on the youth discrimination–depression association was significant. Cultural socialization and preparation for bias did not significantly moderate the adolescent association between discrimination and mental health, regardless of parent gender (fathers or mothers) or mental health outcome (anxiety or depression). The results are discussed in light of a socioecological framework, with special emphasis on the importance of including (and differentiating between) both fathers and mothers in the investigation of ethnic-racial socialization and implications for future theory building, research, and clinical practice.