Ethnic-racial Socialization Research Articles

Parent and Peer Racial-Ethnic Socialization Facilitates Psychological Well-Being Via Proactive Coping: A Daily Diary Study

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to assess the promotive and protective effects of parental and peer racial-ethnic socialization (RES) on adolescents’ psychological well-being in the context of racial-ethnic discrimination. We hypothesized that RES would buffer the pernicious effects of discrimination on well-being by promoting more proactive coping (problem-solving, seeking social support) and less avoidant coping responses. MethodParticipants were a nationally representative sample of 371 ethnoracially minoritized adolescents who were recruited through a research survey panel (51.75% assigned female sex at birth; 46.90% Black, 24.80% Latine, 20.22% Asian/Asian American; Mage= 14.47 years, SDage= 1.46, age-range= 10-19 years). Participants completed daily surveys of exposure to racial-ethnic discrimination, RES, coping, and psychological well-being across 30 days. ResultsResults indicated parental cultural socialization promoted more positive next-day well-being via increased problem-solving coping (B=0.01, SE=0.01, p<.05). The same pattern of findings emerged when examining cultural socialization messages from peers (B=0.02, SE=0.01, p<.01) and preparation for bias messages from parents (B=0.02, SE=0.01, p<.01). RES significantly moderated the effects of racial-ethnic discrimination on avoidance coping. ConclusionFindings suggest that RES from parents and peers may promote more positive psychological well-being in adolescents by facilitating proactive coping processes on days when they experience racial-ethnic discrimination. Overall, the study points to the need for continued efforts to develop, test, and disseminate evidence-based approaches to strengthening RES competency, as doing so may be a critical avenue for cultivating resilience among ethnoracially minoritized youth.

Network analysis of ethnic-racial socialization competency and content among diverse parents of color: An eye toward intervention targets.

To help their children survive and thrive in our unequal society, parents of color must engage in the process of ethnic-racial socialization (ERS) or teaching about race, ethnicity, and racism. Equally important to the provision of ERS messages are parents' confidence, skills, and stress levels around delivering ERS (i.e., ERS competency). Currently, little work speaks to how different aspects of parental ERS competency and the content of the messages they give are related to each other. This is important to better understand not only for the continued refinement of theory but also to inform newly developed and future interventions intervening upon parental ERS. The present study, therefore, utilizes network analysis, an analytical tool not yet applied to the study of ERS but with the capabilities of illustrating the interrelations between specific aspects of ERS content and competency. Among 576 Black, Asian American, and Latinx parents (Mage = 44.52 years old, SDage = 9.16, 59.5% mothers) with adolescent children (Mage = 14.31, SDage = 2.48), we found evidence for relatively sparse interconnections between dimensions of ERS content and competency. However, we identified parental messages about racism and coping (preparation for bias), the celebration of diversity (cultural pluralism), the history and values of one's ethnic-racial group (cultural socialization), and parents' levels of socialization-related stress as particularly central, important aspects of ERS; these central components of ERS may have the potential to serve as particularly powerful intervention targets. Specific findings and the potential for network analyses to add to our understanding of the complex process of ERS are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Exposure to diverse ethnic-racial media: Black, Latinx, and White Parents’ attitudes toward media-based ethnic-racial socialization

ABSTRACT An exploratory study surveyed 367 US Black, Latinx, and White parents of children (ages 4–7) and tested theoretical propositions of social identity gratifications theory and multicultural theory to determine the influence of ethnic-racial identity on media selection of ethnic-racial diverse content. The findings partially support both SIG and multicultural theory. Approximately two-thirds of the participants recalled watching a diverse ethnic or racial portrayal in the media with their child. Results indicated that Black and Latinx parents reported stronger ethnic-racial identity relative to White parents. Ethnic-racial identity predicted attitudes but not beliefs toward diverse ethnic and race portrayals; ethnic-racial identity, attitudes, and beliefs predicted media endorsement of such portrayals to their children. Implications for future research on media based ethnic-racial socialization practices are discussed.

Supplemental Material for Network Analysis of Ethnic–Racial Socialization Competency and Content Among Diverse Parents of Color: An Eye Toward Intervention Targets

Supplemental Material for Network Analysis of Ethnic–Racial Socialization Competency and Content Among Diverse Parents of Color: An Eye Toward Intervention Targets

Media as a Locus for Family Ethnic-Racial Socialization: U.S. Youth Report on Discussions and Mutual Mediation

ABSTRACT To examine the role of media in family discussions of race and ethnicity, we surveyed a U.S. sample of 834 Asian/Asian American, Black, Hispanic, Indigenous/Native American, and White 10- to 17-year-olds. Based on social relational theory, we conceived of media as a resource and locus for mutual influence, whereby parents and youth may mediate each other’s exposure to ethnic-racial depictions. Consistent with conceptions of race/ethnicity as vertical identities (shared by parent and child, socialized primarily by parents because of relevant, lived experience), youths overall reported that their parents (vs. they) engaged in more mediation. However, as hypothesized, older youths and those whose parents were adult immigrants reported more mutual mediation. Contrary to hypotheses, the direction of mediation did not vary based on whether parents and youth had the same ethnic-racial background. Notably, there was no single set of media-based socialization practices in families of color, distinct from White families. For example, Black youths reported more parental mediation than Asian/Asian American and Indigenous/Native American youths, and White and Hispanic youth fell in between. However, all minoritized ethnic-racial groups reported somewhat fewer positive media-based discussions of race and ethnicity than White youths.

Ethnic-racial discrimination and socialization: Short-term longitudinal effects on Black and Latinx young adults' ethnic-racial identity.

Short-term longitudinal data were used to examine how racial discrimination, cultural socialization (CS), and preparation for bias (PB) related to Black and Latinx young adults' public and private regard. Black (n = 90) and Latinx (n = 54) young adults (Mage = 20 years) were assessed at two time points, 6 weeks apart. Racial discrimination predicted lower levels of public regard 6 week later; whereas PB predicted greater levels of private regard. CS moderated the relations between racial discrimination and private regard suggesting that at low levels of CS, discrimination related to lower private regard 6 weeks later. Findings demonstrate the short-term effects of racial discrimination and suggest that ethnic-racial socialization is a salient cultural resource for young adults.

Promoting Family-School Congruence in Ethnic-Racial Socialization: An Integrated Conceptual Model

The ecological systems theory suggests that human development is influenced by interactions across settings. However, limited research examines the connections between ethnic-racial socialization (ERS) in different contexts. Existing literature focuses primarily on family ERS, with recent studies acknowledging the importance of school ERS. Unfortunately, these lines of ERS research remain separate. The dearth of research examining transactional ERS may stem from the lack of theoretical frameworks linking home and school ERS. To fill this gap, I propose an integrated conceptual model that connects the family and school ERS literature. Guided by ecological systems theory and cultural discontinuity hypothesis, I emphasize the interdependent influence of family and school ERS on ethnic-racial minority adolescents’ positive development. Additionally, the proposed conceptual model highlights the potential of dynamic family-school rapprochement in fostering congruence in family-school ERS across settings. Lastly, I propose new directions for future research based on this integrated conceptual model.

Unpacking Ethnic-Racial Messages and Coping Socialization Profiles: Family Relationship Quality and Demographic Differences

The current study aimed to 1) identify patterns of ethnic-racial and coping socialization among Black emerging adults, and 2) investigate profile differences in demographics and family relationship quality (e.g., communication and closeness). Six-hundred and three Black emerging adults (Mage = 18.63, 78% Female) at a Minority Serving Institution completed an online survey. We used latent profile analysis (LPA) with three ethnic-racial socialization and two coping socialization indicators. Four profiles emerged: High Socialization, Awareness without Response, Colorblind Coping, and Low Socialization. African American emerging adults were more likely to be in the High Socialization group than other profiles. Those in the High Socialization profile (high ethnic-racial socialization and racial coping socialization) were likely to report parental closeness more than others. Differences in family communication are discussed. The findings reveal that coping support and race-related socialization messages matter throughout emerging adulthood.

Intergenerational Storytelling and Positive Psychosocial Development: Stories as Developmental Resources for Marginalized Groups

Academic We articulate an intergenerational model of positive psychosocial development that centers storytelling in an ecological framework and is motivated by an orientation toward social justice. We bring together diverse literature (e.g., racial-ethnic socialization, family storytelling, narrative psychology) to argue that the intergenerational transmission of stories about one’s group is equally important for elders and youth, and especially important for groups who are marginalized, because stories provide a developmental resource for resistance and resilience in the face of injustice. We describe how storytelling activities can support positive psychosocial development in culturally dynamic contexts and illustrate our model with a case study involving LGBTQ+ communities, arguing that intergenerational storytelling is uniquely important for this group given issues of access to stories. We argue that harnessing the power of intergenerational storytelling could provide a culturally safe and sustaining practice for fostering psychosocial development among LGBTQ+ people and other equity-seeking populations. Public Understanding one’s identity as part of a group with shared history and culture that has existed through time is important for positive psychological functioning. This is especially true for marginalized communities for whom identity-relevant knowledge is often erased, silenced, or distorted in mainstream public discourses (e.g., school curricula, news media, television, and film). To compensate for these limitations around access, one channel for the transmission of this knowledge is through oral storytelling between generations of elders and youth. Contemporary psychological science has often assumed that such storytelling occurs within families, but when families cannot or would not share such knowledge, youth suffer. We present a model of intergenerational storytelling that expands our ideas around who counts as “family” and how knowledge can be transmitted through alternative channels, using LGBTQ+ communities as a case example.

Friendship Network and School Socialization Correlates of Adolescent Ethnic-Racial Identity Development.

Ethnic-racial identity (ERI) development is consequential for youth adjustment and includes exploration, resolution, and affect about the meaning of one's ethnic-racial group membership. Little is known about how identity-relevant experiences, such as ethnic-racial socialization and discrimination in peer relationships and school contexts, catalyze adolescent ERI development. The present study examines how identity-relevant experiences in friend and school contexts (i.e., proportion of same-ethnoracial friends, cultural socialization among friends, friends' ERI dimensions, friends' experiences of ethnoracial discrimination, and school promotion of cultural competence and critical consciousness) are associated with ERI development. A multivariate path model with a sample from four southwestern U.S. schools (N = 717; 50.5% girls; Mage = 13.76; 32% Latinx, 31.5% Multiethnic, 25.7% White, 11% other) was used to test these associations. Findings showed that friend and school predictors of ERI did not differ between early and middle adolescents, but significant differences and similarities emerged in some of these associations between ethnoracially minoritized and White youth. Specifically, friend cultural socialization was positively associated with ERI exploration for ethnoracially minoritized youth only, whereas school critical consciousness socialization was positively linked with ERI exploration only for White youth. Friend cultural socialization and friend network's levels of ERI resolution were positively associated with ERI resolution across both ethnoracial groups. These friend and school socialization associations were documented above and beyond significant contributions of personal ethnoracial discrimination to ERI exploration and negative affect for both ethnoracially minoritized and White youth. These findings expand our understanding of how friend and school socialization mechanisms are associated with adolescent ERI development, which is vital to advancing developmental theory and fostering developmental competences for youth to navigate their multicultural yet socially stratified and inequitable world.

Parenting in African American families: Profiles of general and culturally specific dimensions of parent-adolescent relationships during late adolescence.

Developmental and parenting frameworks suggest that factors at the individual-level and multiple levels of adolescents' contexts are important determinants of how African American parents prepare their children to live in a racially stratified society. Using a person-centered approach, this study explored heterogeneity in profiles of African American parent-adolescent relationships (PARs) using indicators of parent-reported ethnic-racial socialization (cultural socialization, preparation for bias), general parenting practices (autonomy support, monitoring, behavioral control), and relationship quality (warmth, communication, conflict). We also examined how adolescents' characteristics, parents' personal and psychological resources, and contextual sources of stress and support contributed to profile membership. Data were from the Maryland Adolescent Development in Context Study (1991-2000) and consisted of 589 African American caregiver-adolescent dyads (caregivers: 89% female; 57.2% married; adolescents: 50.7% female; Mage = 17, SD = 0.64, range = 15-19 years old). Latent profile analysis revealed four profiles: (a) No-Nonsense High Socializers, (b) Indulgent Average Socializers, (c) Unengaged Silent Socializers, and (d) Authoritative Cultural Socializers. Adolescent characteristics (gender, depression, and problem behavior), parents' personal and psychological resources (parenting self-efficacy, centrality, private regard, and depression), and contextual sources of stress and support (stress: economic hardship, family stress, neighborhood disadvantage and support: marital status, family cohesion, family organization) were correlated with profile membership. Findings suggest that variability in African American PARs is shaped by an extensive set of individual and contextual factors related to adolescents and the family and neighborhood context. These findings have important implications for future research and how to target multiple potential levers for change in African American parenting practice.

Familial and religious ethnic-racial socialization in promoting activism among Asian American Christians.

The adversity faced by Asian Americans (AAs) due to discrimination is a testament to the ongoing fight for human rights. At the crux of social activism, familial and religious ethnic-racial socialization (ERS) instills cultural values, ethnic identity, belonging to one's racial group, and a meaningful outlook, navigating generations through these challenges. This study examined the role of family and religion in amplifying social advocacy among AAs by assessing the relationship between race-related stress and social activism, as well as the mediating role of familial and religious ERS via a parallel mediation. Our research, utilizing a cross-sectional, nonexperimental design, involved 254 AA emerging adults identifying as Christian (Mage = 29.06, SDage = 7.55), sourced from Prolific (n = 203) and community sampling (n = 51). Linear regression findings revealed significant positive associations between familial ERS and social action (β = .226, p < .001), as well as religious ERS and social action (β = .085, p = .033). Nevertheless, parallel mediation analysis through bootstrapping demonstrated that neither familial nor religious ERS fully mediated the effects of race-related stress on social activism. These results underscore the significance of applying culturally imbued insights from different contexts to address discrimination within the AA Christian community. Scrutinizing these pathways can safeguard AA Christians, while promoting the amalgamation of Christian theology and psychological science. Future research should address the spectrum of beliefs and practices within Christianity that intersect with AA families and culture, unraveling the foundations of the call for social action. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Critical consciousness and anti-racist action as rooted in family processes.

Racially ethnically marginalized communities in the United States are exposed to structural and interpersonal forms of racism that have harmful effects on their health, wealth, education, and employment (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Racism and Health. https://www.cdc.gov/minorityhealth/racism-disparities/index.html, 2021). Although a plethora of research exists outlining these harmful effects, research examining how youth from diverse backgrounds effectively combat racism is lacking. Emerging research demonstrates that families may play a key role in the development of critical consciousness and participation in anti-racist actions (Bañales etal., Journal of Social Issues, 2021, 77, 964; Blanco Martinez etal., American Journal of Community Psychology, 2022, 70, 278; Lozada etal., Journal of Black Psychology, 2017, 43, 493). Yet, many key family processes have not been examined in relation to youth development of anti-racist practices. The current study included a sample of 327 racially ethnically diverse emerging adults (Mage = 18.80, SD = 1.28, range = 18-25), and explored the association between ethnic-racial socialization (cultural socialization, preparation for bias) and youth critical consciousness (reflection, motivation, action) and anti-racist (interpersonal, communal, political change) actions, and how familism values impact these associations. Results found that ethnic-racial socialization was positively associated with all aspects of critical consciousness and anti-racist actions. Results also found that familism significantly interacted with ethnic-racial socialization to predict some aspects of critical consciousness and anti-racist actions, but not others. Implications of the findings and future research directions are discussed.

The Social Contexts of Cultural Identity Among Adolescents of Immigrant Descent: Separate and Interacting Relations of Family and School Ethnic-Racial Socialization

This study explored the separate and interacting relations of family (cultural pluralism, promotion of mistrust) and school (equal treatment, intercultural learning) ethnic-racial socialization with cultural (heritage culture and German) identity among adolescents of immigrant descent. Analyses were based on survey data from 311 early to mid-adolescents in Germany ( M age = 13.85, SD = 1.82). Higher family cultural pluralism and intercultural learning at school were related to higher heritage culture identity, while higher equal treatment at school was related to lower heritage culture identity. Higher intercultural learning and equal treatment at school were related to higher German identity. Family promotion of mistrust had no direct relation to heritage culture or German identity. The interaction of family promotion of mistrust and equal treatment at school had relations to heritage culture but not to German identity. These findings expand our understanding of the complementary roles of family and school for supporting cultural identity development.

Racial-ethnic socialization among Asian American families with preadolescent children.

The COVID-19 pandemic and resurgence of overt anti-Asian racism have prompted many Asian American parents to grapple with ways to discuss race and ethnicity with their children. Racial-ethnic socialization (RES) has been shown to have promotive and protective influences on Asian American adolescents' adjustment but remains understudied among Asian American families with younger children. This study examined parent (i.e., racial-ethnic identity [REI], experiences of discrimination) predictors of RES among Asian American families with preadolescent-aged children and moderation by parental generational status. We surveyed a sample of 404 Asian American parents (Mage = 38.4, SD = 7.0; 66% female) with 6- to 12-year-olds (Mage = 8.9, SD = 2.0; 56% boys). Findings revealed that parents with higher levels of REI centrality were more likely to report engaging in cultural maintenance practices and those with higher levels of REI private regard were less likely to minimize race. Parents' experiences of racial discrimination were also associated with more frequent cultural maintenance practices and discussions of anti-Asian discrimination. Tests for moderation by parental generational status indicated that the positive association between experiences of racial discrimination and discussions of anti-Asian discrimination was stronger among first-generation than second+ generation parents. Findings highlight that among Asian American parents of preadolescent-aged children, RES approaches and practices are nuanced and differentially responsive to parents' views of their own REI, their experiences of racial discrimination, and by generational status. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Supplemental Material for Racial–Ethnic Socialization Among Asian American Families With Preadolescent Children

Supplemental Material for Racial–Ethnic Socialization Among Asian American Families With Preadolescent Children

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.

Parental identity and socialization mediate parental racial discrimination's impact on child adjustment

AbstractObjectiveThe study explored the mediating role of Chinese American parents' ethnic–racial identity (ERI) in linking their discrimination experiences, ethnic–racial socialization (ERS), and their children's mental health, testing whether neighborhood racial diversity and perceived Chinese density moderated these mediation paths.BackgroundDuring COVID‐19, Chinese American families faced increased discrimination, impacting their mental well‐being. However, few studies have examined how parents' discrimination experiences influence their ERI, ERS practice, and ultimately their children's mental health difficulties.MethodData from 294 Chinese immigrant parents (Mage = 44.28, 79% female) were collected in two waves, 2020 and 2021. Path analysis tested if parental discrimination affects their ERI and ERS, and children's mental health. Multigroup analysis assessed if mediation models varied for families living in communities with low versus high racial diversity or Chinese density.ResultsParental racism‐related stress at T1 had significant indirect effects on parental ERS practices (higher use of maintenance of heritage culture and lower use of avoidance of outgroups practice) at T2 via parental ERI (greater private regard) at T2. Parental racial discrimination (perceived sinophobia in the media and racism‐related stress) at T1 had significant indirect effects on children's mental health difficulties at T2 via parental ERS practices (use of maintenance of heritage culture and avoidance of outgroups practices) at T2. The neighborhood racial diversity moderated the mediation model.ConclusionThese findings advance the understanding of both individual (i.e., parental ERI) and contextual factors (i.e., neighborhood racial diversity) in the complex associations between parents' discrimination experiences and children's mental health difficulties.

Roles of Racial Ecologies on Black Adolescents’ Coping with Racism

Drawing from Spencer’s phenomenological variant of ecological systems theory (PVEST), this study examines how Black adolescents navigate racism-related stress, ethnic-racial socialization, and critical reflection as racial ecologies, and their association with coping strategies. Additionally, we explore critical action, a unique coping strategy related to critical consciousness. Using latent profile analysis, data from 200 Black adolescents (Mage = 14.2 years) were analyzed, with racism, ethnic-racial socialization, and critical reflection as indicators. Profile differences in coping were also investigated. Four distinct profiles of Black teen racial ecologies were identified: (a) Positively Racially Socialized, Less Discriminated ( n = 88); (b) Racially Socialized, Discriminated, and Aware ( n = 47); (c) Racially Discriminated and Negatively Socialized ( n = 37); and (d) Low Racially Salient ( n = 28). These profiles exhibited differences in coping strategy endorsement. The findings highlight the importance of Black youth's racial ecologies in shaping their coping mechanisms and have implications for research and clinical practices.