Parental Ethnic-racial Socialization Research Articles

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.

It's how I was raised: How ethnic-racial socialization patterns influence antiracism actions in minoritized emerging adults.

Research highlights the benefits of critical action on individual and community well-being; however, more needs to be understood about the ways ethnic-racial socialization (ERS) influences emerging adults' participation in antiracism actions. The present study examined patterns of parental ERS messages received by a sample of 668 racially and ethnically minoritized emerging adult college students (Mage = 18.76, SD = 1.23; female = 81.8%), and their associations with the emerging adults' demographic characteristics and three forms of antiracism actions. A latent profile analysis revealed a five-profile solution and showed variability in patterns of parental cultural socialization and preparation for bias messages. Participants in profiles reflecting far higher than average frequencies of both messages (high frequency) and those who received mean preparation for bias and above-average cultural socialization (culturally focused) tended to engage most frequently across all forms of antiracism. Our findings suggest the importance of parental ERS messages for fostering engagement in antiracism actions among diverse college students. Results are informative for those who work with minoritized emerging adults navigating racist contexts. (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.

Exploring the association between parental ethnic-racial socialization and parental closeness on Black-White biracial adolescents' choice of racial identification toward blackness.

To explore the influences of Black-White biracial adolescents' choice to racially identify with Blackness, parental ethnic-racial socialization (ERS) messages, parental race, and perceived parental closeness were examined. Specifically, this study investigated how messages that promote monoracial Black pride and messages that prepare youth for monoracial Black bias may be related to adolescents' identification with Blackness, and whether parental race or parental closeness moderated these relationships. Three hundred thirty Black-White biracial adolescents (Mage = 14.82) were recruited across the United States via social media. Participants completed the Racial Socialization Questionnaire for Biracial Adolescents and a demographic questionnaire to indicate how close they felt to each parent. The analytic sample (n = 280) included respondents who racially identified as exclusively Black, blended Black, or exclusively biracial. Multinomial logistic regression analyses revealed significant differences in the association between ERS messages and adolescent racial identification based on the race of the parent socializer. Further moderation analyses indicated that parental closeness, particularly regarding fathers, amplifies these findings. Maternal and paternal ERS messages are differentially associated with biracial adolescents' choice of racial identification toward Blackness. interestingly, ERS messages from White parents seem to significantly influence racial identification compared to Black parents. Parental closeness further elucidates these findings. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Ethnic-Racial Socialization Among Turkish-Dutch Mothers: Associations With Maternal Identity and Perceived Discrimination

Parental ethnic-racial socialization messages play an important role in children’s development of ingroup knowledge and positive intergroup relations. This study investigated ingroup ethnic-racial socialization (transferring values and practices to children about the own ethnic group) and positive outgroup ethnic-racial socialization (transferring values and practices to children about other ethnic groups) by Turkish-Dutch mothers ( n = 66, Mage = 36.18, SDage = 4.34) in the Netherlands, and examined associations with perceived ethnic discrimination, ethnic and national identity. Participants completed questionnaires and an observation task. Variable-centered analyses showed more observed ingroup than positive outgroup ethnic-racial socialization, but the opposite pattern for self-reported ethnic-racial socialization. Turkish-Dutch mothers with a stronger ethnic identity showed more ingroup ethnic-racial socialization, and mothers with stronger national identity showed more positive outgroup ethnic-racial socialization. No significant relations were found between perceived ethnic discrimination and ethnic-racial socialization. Using a person-centered approach, stronger national identity clustered with more ingroup and positive outgroup ethnic-racial socialization. The mixed results showed that it is important to use multiple methods and approaches yielding complementary insights about ethnic-racial socialization engagements of parents.

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.

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.

The Role of Race and Ethnicity in Parental Ethnic-Racial Socialization: A Scoping Review of Research

Over the past 35 years, ethnic-racial socialization (ERS) has been a widely studied topic in psychological and cultural research. Most popular among the populations that ERS research centers are Black/African American families and youth. However, a small, but emerging body of research on the ERS processes of other racial/ethnic groups suggest that ERS is not limited to Black/African American families. Recently, scholars have begun to ask more critical questions regarding the differential effects of ethnic-racial socialization on non-Black youth’s psychological development. Therefore, the current review of research draws together studies on Black/African American, Biracial, Latinx, Asian American, and White American families to demonstrate the role of racial/ethnic group identification in soliciting the exchange of ERS messages from parents to children. The methodology used to execute this review follows a modified framework which includes four key phases of searching and selecting appropriate studies. From three multidisciplinary and psychological databases, 24 studies were selected based on the inclusion criteria set by the researcher. The studies discussed in this scoping review all revealed how racial/ethnic group identification solicits the exchange of ERS messages from parents to children in some way.

Inherently Political? Associations of Parent Ethnic-Racial Socialization and Sociopolitical Discussions with Latinx Youths' Emergent Civic Engagement.

The current study expands on ethnic–racial socialization (ERS) among Latinx families to include sociopolitical discussions as a way to better understand how these practices relate to adolescents’ developmental outcomes, including their ethnic–racial identity (ERI) and their sociopolitical development. More specifically, we examined whether there were direct links between parental ERS practices and sociopolitical discussions at home and adolescents’ emergent participatory citizenship via their ERI processes (i.e., exploration and resolution). These questions were examined using path analyses with 267 self‐identified Latinx early adolescents (M age = 11.88, SD = 1.22; girls = 54.3%). Results revealed direct associations between sociopolitical discussions and cultural socialization at home with civic accountability. Thus, youth whose parents had engaged in more discussions with them about current political issues and who taught them about their ethnic heritage and history endorsed a greater sense of collective responsibility for helping community members in need. Additionally, preparation for bias and sociopolitical discussions at home were each uniquely associated with more ERI exploration, and each was also indirectly associated with expectations for future community involvement via youths’ ERI exploration. Our findings come at a critical juncture in time, providing insight into ways we can support the positive ERI development and build the civic capacity of Latinx adolescents.

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).

Parental Ethnic-Racial Socialization and Children of Color's Academic Success: A Meta-Analytic Review.

Increased attention is being placed on the importance of ethnic-racial socialization in children of color's academic outcomes. Synthesizing research on the effects of parental ethnic-racial socialization, this meta-analysis of 37 studies reveals that overall the relation between ethnic-racial socialization and academic outcomes was positive, though the strength varied by the specific academic outcome under consideration, dimension of ethnic-racial socialization utilized, developmental age of the child receiving the socialization, and racial/ethnic group implementing the socialization. Ethnic-racial socialization was positively related to academic performance, motivation, and engagement, with motivation being the strongest outcome. Most dimensions of ethnic-racial socialization were positively related to academic outcomes, except for promotion of mistrust. In addition, the link between ethnic-racial socialization and academic outcomes was strongest for middle school and college students, and when looking across ethnic-racial groups, this link was strongest for African American youth. The results suggest that different dimensions of ethnic-racial socialization have distinct relationships with diverse academic outcomes and that the effects of ethnic-racial socialization vary by both youth developmental levels and racial/ethnic groups.

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).

Supplemental Material for Parental Ethnic–Racial Socialization Practices and the Construction of Children of Color’s Ethnic–Racial Identity: A Research Synthesis and Meta-Analysis

Supplemental Material for Parental Ethnic–Racial Socialization Practices and the Construction of Children of Color’s Ethnic–Racial Identity: A Research Synthesis and Meta-Analysis

Valuing What Your Parents Taught You: The Moderating Role of Personal Valuation of Parental Ethnic-Racial Socialization in Emerging Adults

Parental ethnic-racial socialization (PERS) represents distinct family cultural practices through which parents communicate important ethnic-racial information to their children. To date, there has been a dearth of quantitative research on how youths value these family practices. Drawing on a sample of ethnically-racially diverse emerging adults (N = 263), this study examines personal valuation of PERS (i.e., the perception of how valuable or important PERS practices have been in one’s life) and its relations to components of subjective well-being (satisfaction with life, positive affect, negative affect). Personal valuation of cultural socialization and promotion of mistrust emerged as significant moderators of the link between respective PERS frequency and negative affect. There was a significant positive association between frequency of cultural socialization and negative affect for those who endorsed relatively low personal valuation of cultural socialization. For individuals who indicated a relatively high level of personal valuation of promotion of mistrust messages, a greater frequency of these messages was associated with more negative affect. Results highlight the practical relevance of exploring youths’ subjective evaluations of these family cultural practices on subjective well-being.

Parental Ethnic-Racial Socialization in Multiracial Mexican Families

ABSTRACTEmpirical studies of parental ethnic-racial socialization are constricted to single-race or monoracial youths. This has led to a monocentric conceptualization of ethnic-racial socialization, one that negates the experiences of the growing population of multiracial youths. This exploratory qualitative secondary analysis (QSA) examined messages of ethnic-racial socialization present in multiracial Mexican families. These messages were compared and contrasted to existing conceptualizations of parental ethnic-racial socialization, those more representative of single-race or monoracial youths. In addition, this study utilized an ecological model of multiracial identity development to examine how parental ethnic-racial socialization messages inform different identity types associated with the multiracial experience. Findings generated from this study extend the field of familial racial-ethnic socialization to further encompass and more accurately represent the growing population of multiracial youths and their families. Implications for future research and practice with multiracial individuals and families are discussed.

Parental ethnic-racial socialization and social attitudes among ethnic-racial minority and White American emerging adults.

This article utilizes moderated mediation analyses to explore whether the relations between parental ethnic-racial socialization (PERS) dimensions and social attitudes differ across ethnic-racial minority (n = 128) and White (n = 131) college-going emerging adults. We examined social dominance orientation (SDO) as an index of antiegalitarian intergroup attitudes and attitudes toward interpersonal harmony as an index of interpersonal attitudes. We tested whether there were ethnic-racial variations in mediation models in which each type of PERS dimension was expected to be linked to greater antiegalitarian attitudes (greater SDO), which, in turn, was predicted to be associated with less prosocial attitudes (lower harmony enhancement). Results indicated that more frequent cultural socialization and preparation for bias were linked to greater SDO for the White sample, but not for the ethnic-minority sample. Moderation results were nonsignificant for promotion of mistrust, with results indicating a positive link to SDO, regardless of racial-ethnic status. Moderated mediation analyses further revealed indirect effects of cultural socialization and preparation for bias on interpersonal attitudes through SDO for the White sample, but not for the ethnic-minority sample. Specifically, greater cultural socialization and preparation for bias each were linked to greater SDO, which, in turn, was associated with less positive perceptions of the value of maintaining interpersonal harmony for White respondents. Practical applications, including social justice implications, of the results and possibilities for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record

Ethnic–Racial Socialization, Social Bonds, and College Student Substance Use

ABSTRACTUsing survey data from a diverse college student sample (N = 1,728), this study tested how three types of parental ethnic-racial socialization received during the respondents’ youth were indirectly associated with substance use through their impact on the development of social bonds. Cultural socialization and preparation for bias messages indirectly decreased substance use, while promotion of mistrust messages indirectly increased substance use. By-group analyses indicated some ethnic and gender differences. Overall, the findings point to the importance of examining ethnic-racial socialization as a multidimensional construct in relation to social bonds to understand its impact on young adult substance use.

An Examination of Ethnic Identity and Academic Performance: Assessing the Multidimensional Role of Parental Ethnic–Racial Socialization Among a Sample of Latino Adolescents

While past research has examined the protective benefits of a strong ethnic identity in promoting positive academic outcomes, less is known about how parental messages addressing a child’s ethnicity (ethnic–racial socialization; ERS) influence this process. Drawing on survey data from a Latino adolescent sample (N = 193), this study examined how a child’s ethnic identity and three dimensions of ERS conjointly influence academic performance. The findings show that the relationship between ethnic identity and academic performance was contingent on the prevalence of socialization messages stressing distrust of other ethnic and racial groups (promotion of mistrust). Where these messages were prevalent, the relationship was negative. Where these messages were not prevalent, the relationship was positive. In addition, messages stressing pride in and knowledge of one’s ethnic group (cultural socialization) were found to increase the strength of one’s ethnic identity. These findings point to a complex interrelationship between ERS, ethnic identity, and academic performance, suggesting that parental strategies emphasizing cultural socialization over the promotion of mistrust may be optimal for promoting ethnic identity development and positive academic outcomes.