Parental Racial Socialization Research Articles

The Influence of Racial Socialization, Mentor Support, and Emotion Regulation on the Psychological Well-Being of African American Boys.

Although it is well-documented that school-based racial discrimination can have adverse effects on African American adolescents, the understanding of how socio-emotional factors can act as safeguards is still limited. This study explores whether emotion regulation, mentor support, and parent racial socialization help African American boys cope with school-based racial discrimination. Factors such as emotion regulation are internal assets, while mentor support and parent racial socialization are external resources. Four hundred and eighty-seven African American boys aged 12 to 18 (M = 14.33; SD = 1.62) participated. School-based racial discrimination correlated negatively with psychological well-being. Only emotion regulation and parental racial socialization were related to positive psychological well-being. However, mentor support buffered against the negative impacts of school-based racial discrimination on psychological well-being. These results underscore the significance of assets and resources in bolstering African American boys' resilience against school-based racial discrimination, with implications for interventions and future research.

Black adolescents' experiences with racial socialization, racial identity, and critical reflection of need for school change of racial inequity

AbstractThis preliminary investigation explored associations between Black adolescents' experiences with parental racial socialization (racial pride and racial barrier messages), dimensions of racial identity (centrality and private regard), and critical reflection regarding the need for school change of racial inequity. One hundred fifty‐one (78 girls; 73 boys) high school students from the southeastern United States were sampled for this self‐report cross‐sectional investigation. Findings revealed significant, positive total effects of racial pride and racial barrier socialization on critical reflection. Furthermore, a significant specific indirect relationship between racial pride socialization and critical reflection through centrality (small to medium effect), but not private regard. Unexpectedly, no significant indirect associations of perceived racial barrier socialization on critical reflection through racial identity dimensions were found. Implications for our findings are discussed for school‐based practitioners and policymakers.

Who, what, and where? How racial composition and gender influence the association between racial discrimination and racial socialization messages.

This study investigated the moderating roles of contextual racial composition (neighborhood, school, and job) and parent-adolescent gender dyads on the relation between familial racial discrimination experiences and parental racial socialization messages. The analytic sample included 565 Black parents (Mage = 44.7; 56% mothers, 44% fathers) who reported on their personal and adolescents' racial discrimination experiences and their communication of cultural socialization and preparation for bias messages. Regression analyses in a structural equation modeling framework (path analyses) revealed that parents who personally experienced more racial discrimination or were in workplaces with more Black people communicated higher cultural socialization messages. They communicated high preparation for bias messages when reporting personal and adolescent racial discrimination. Racial discrimination experiences were positively related to preparation for bias messages among parents who worked in jobs with fewer Black people but were unrelated among parents working with more Black people. Multiple-group analyses indicated no gender differences in these associations. The findings demonstrate that Black parents vary in their racial socialization messages based on their family's contexts and experiences. The findings highlight the importance of parents' work contexts for adolescent development and family processes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

“That Conversation within the Conversation”: A Mixed Methods Study of Skin Tone and Black Parents’ Racial Socialization

This study examines whether there is a relation between assigned skin tone and parental racial socialization of their young children (ages 5–8). The concurrent mixed methods design combined quantitative and qualitative findings to explore the complexity and role skin tones play in Black parents’ messages to their children. In the quantitative strand, 178 Black parents completed a survey and questionnaire. The qualitative strand consisted of a one-on-one interview with 10 parents from the quantitative sample. Quantitative findings revealed that parents who assigned a light skin tone to their children engaged in more specific types of racial socialization than those who assigned a darker skin tone to their children. Analysis of qualitative interviews revealed parents’ unique messages based on assigned skin tones. Data from the two strands were integrated using a weaving approach that compared findings from both strands.

They raised me to resist: Examining the sociopolitical pathways between parental racial socialization and Black youth's racial justice action

AbstractIn a sample of 500 self‐identified Black adolescents from across the United States, this study investigated the pathways between youth's experiences of parental racial socialization (RS) and their sociopolitical development. Findings from structural equation modelling reveal that RS messages and actions were positively associated with youth's awareness of racial inequality (critical reflection) and confidence and motivation in addressing racism (critical agency). Further, there were direct and indirect associations between RS and multiple forms of racial justice actions (interpersonal, political/communal, and online). Racial barriers messages were directly positively associated with political/communal and indirectly positively associated with interpersonal and online action, while cultural socialization actions were directly positively associated with all three forms of action. These findings support theoretical contentions that RS messages and actions may be powerful tools for cultivating Black youth's understanding and capacity to transform racially unjust systems. Further, parents' behaviours to racially socialize their children may be more impactful than their verbal messages in cultivating multiple forms of racial justice action. Finally, recommendations for future research and practice related to Black youth's consciousness and activism are presented. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.

Concordant and Discordant Patterns of Parental Racial Socialization among Biracial Black-White Adolescents: Correlates and Consequences.

Multiracial-Black youth are one of the fastest-growing populations in the U.S., but little is known about their racialized developmental experiences. This study uses Latent Profile Analysis to identify patterns of parental racial socialization among Biracial Black-White adolescents and explore whether those profiles relate to demographics and racial identity outcomes. The sample consisted of 330 Biracial Black-White adolescents living in the U.S. (67% boys; Mage = 14.8, SD = 1.5). The analysis yielded a four-profile solution based on (1) the frequency of socialization messages youth received and (2) the concordance of those messages across both of their parents (i.e., whether socialization frequency is similar or different between Black and white parents). Profile membership differed based on youth gender and racialized appearance (i.e., whether youth presented physically as Black, white, or racially ambiguous). Ultimately, adolescents in the profile with the highest frequency and concordance of parental racial socialization reported more adaptive racial identity attitudes including a sense of pride in being Black and Biracial. Youth in that profile also felt the most comfortable navigating the intersections of their racial identities, which coupled with racial pride has promising implications for their development and wellbeing.

Racial Microaggressions and African American Undergraduates’ Academic Experiences: Preparation for Bias Messages as a Protective Resource

Using a sample of 108 African American undergraduates at a minority serving institution, this quantitative study investigated the relationships among aspects of parental racial socialization messages, on-campus racial microaggressions, and academic outcomes. The analysis indicated a negative relationship between academic inferiority microaggressions and school belonging. Results showed a positive intercorrelation between the academic outcomes (academic engagement and school belonging). Findings from multiple linear regressions, using Hayes PROCESS model, revealed the frequency of receiving preparation for bias messages (PBM) moderated the relationship between academic engagement and academic inferiority microaggressions. For undergraduates who reported receiving a low amount of PBM from their parents, experiencing high amounts of academic inferiority microaggressions predicted lower academic engagement. In contrast, among students who reported receiving a high amount of PBM, experiencing more academic inferiority microaggressions predicted higher academic engagement. These results indicated PBM can serve as a protective factor for the extent to which African American undergraduates’ academic engagement is harmed by experiences of academic-related racial microaggressions.

Cultural Racism and Depression in Black Adolescents: Examining Racial Socialization and Racial Identity as Moderators.

The current study explored parental racial socialization and racial regard as moderators of the effects of cultural racism on depression symptoms among Black adolescents (N = 604, Mage = 15.44). When adolescents reported lower private regard and lower cultural pride messages or higher public regard and lower alertness to discrimination messages, the negative effects of cultural racism on depression symptoms were exacerbated. When adolescents reported higher private regard and more cultural pride messages, the negative effects of cultural racism on depression symptoms were attenuated. Findings suggest that racial messages transmitted to Black adolescents combined with their own racial attitudes can alter the effect of cultural racism on depression symptoms.

Antecedents and Consequences of Discrepant Perceptions of Racial Socialization between Parents and Adolescents within Mexican-Origin Families.

Parents and adolescents often have different views regarding parental racial socialization practices; however, studies documenting such discrepancies remain scarce. Using a person-centered approach, this study investigated patterns of parent-adolescent discrepant views on racial socialization (i.e., cultural socialization, bias coping, bias awareness) as well as antecedents and consequences of the discrepancy profiles. Participants were 604 adolescents (54% female, Mage = 12.41, Rangeage = 11-15) and their mothers and fathers. The results showed distinct discrepancy patterns and suggested that more maternal/paternal warmth was associated with profiles that have smaller discrepancies or profiles in which adolescents reported higher socialization than parents. Adolescents who reported higher or similar socialization as parents demonstrated better adjustment. Implications for interventions aimed at strengthening parent-child relationships and communication about race and culture are discussed.

Differentiating competency from content: Parental racial socialization profiles and their associated factors.

For Black parents, the racial socialization (RS) process represents a critical parenting practice. Although the field has historically focused on the content of parents' RS, it is also important to consider caregivers' perception of their competence to effectively teach their children to navigate their racialized world. The present study investigated patterns of RS by exploring 332 Black caregivers' report of both content and competency. Using Latent Profile Analysis (LPA), we identified three profiles of RS: Multifaceted & More Competent (MMC), Unengaged & Moderately Competent (UModC), and Negative, Stressed, & Less Competent (NSLC). Additionally, we explored the role of several previously established correlates of parental RS, including sociodemographic factors (i.e., age, gender, and socioeconomic status), caregiving status (e.g., mother, father, and aunt), and parents' race-related experiences (i.e., history of RS, racial identity, and experiences with racial discrimination). Generally, the NSLC profile consisted of caregivers who were younger than those in the other two profiles, while those in the UModC profile tended to have younger children, relatively. Interestingly, caregivers in the UmodC profile reported receiving significantly less RS in childhood and experienced less racial discrimination than those in the other two profiles. Numerous differences were found across profiles for dimensions of racial identity. The emergence of these varied profiles, as well as the identification of factors that differentiated them, extends our understanding of RS and highlights the importance of considering parents' notions of feeling confident, skillful, and less stressed as they navigate such a vital developmental process for their children.

A prospective examination of neighborhood social and cultural cohesion and parenting processes on ethnic-racial identity among U.S. Mexican adolescents.

Neighborhood social processes may have important implications for parenting processes and ethnic-racial identity (ERI) processes and content in adolescence. Past research suggests that adolescents whose parents engaged in more cultural socialization, an important aspect of parental racial socialization, had higher levels of ERI processes and content. Parenting, however, is also situated within neighborhood contexts and can be influenced by resources available in neighborhoods. For example, having neighbors who share mutual values, trust one another, and appreciate/celebrate one's heritage culture may be a resource that promotes parents' efforts to engage in cultural socialization. We prospectively examined (from x¯age = 10.9-15.8 years) a model in which U.S. Mexican parents' perceptions of neighborhood social and cultural cohesion supported parents' engagement in higher levels of cultural socialization and in turn promoted adolescents' ethnic-racial identity processes and content. We tested a longitudinal mediation model with a sample of 749 U.S. Mexican adolescents (30% Mexico born; 48.9% female) and their parents. Mother-adolescent models suggest mothers' perception of neighborhood social and cultural cohesion in late childhood promoted middle adolescents' ERI affirmation via intermediate increases in maternal cultural socialization. Similar patterns were observed for ERI resolution, but only for adolescents whose mothers were born in the United States. We did not find evidence for mediation in the father-adolescent models. Findings are discussed in the context of the promoting nature of socially and culturally supportive neighborhood environments for U.S. Mexican families and adolescents. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

What does it mean to be Black and White? A meta‐ethnographic review of racial socialization in Multiracial families

Racial socialization—parent–child communication about race—may promote cohesion and relational satisfaction in Multiracial Black–White families, where parents and children have unique racial experiences. However, little is known about how racial socialization is actually practiced in Multiracial families. The current paper addresses this gap by synthesizing the existing qualitative literature on racial socialization in Multiracial Black–White families. Seventeen articles were identified using three electronic databases and appraised based on a critical review form for qualitative investigations. We then used meta‐ethnographic methods and two theoretical frameworks to explore patterns of racial socialization, which included messages about (1) Monoracial Black experiences, (2) the irrelevance of race (e.g., color‐evasiveness), and (3) Multiracial experiences. The findings illuminate the intricacies of parental racial socialization in Multiracial Black–White families. The implications for family theory and practice are discussed.

Relating through Oppression: Longitudinal Relations between Parental Racial Socialization, School Racial Climate, Oppressed Minority Ideology, and Empathy in Black Male Adolescents' Prosocial Development.

This research explored whether Black male adolescents' (N=453; Mage =13.72, SD=1.33) perceptions of parental racial socialization (i.e., behavioral racial socialization) and school racial climate (i.e., equitable school racial climate) were associated with prosocial outcomes (i.e., prosocial behaviors and positive relations with others) across three waves of adolescence. This study also explored whether youth's beliefs about the extent to which Black individuals and other marginalized communities are united by experiences of oppression (i.e., oppressed minority ideology) and empathy mediated these associations. Structural equationmodeling indicated that parental behavioral racial socialization at Wave 1 and positive relations with others at Wave 3 were positively linked through youth's oppressed minority ideology and empathy at Wave 2. Thus, Black male adolescents who relate to other marginalized communities through a shared experience of oppression and feel empathy towards others' lives possess skills that translate their lessons about race and racism into positive relations with others.

White parents’ racial socialization and young adults’ racial attitudes: Moral reasoning and motivation to respond without prejudice as mediators

This study examined relations between parental racial socialization messages (i.e., egalitarianism, racemute, and preparation for bias) and racial attitudes in a sample of 282 White young adults (ages 18–22) in the United States. Egalitarianism messages were positively related to warmth toward racial outgroup members, whereas preparation for bias was negatively related to warmth toward racial outgroup members. In both cases the relation between racial socialization and racial attitudes was mediated by internal motivation to respond without prejudice and fairness/reciprocity moral orientation. Contrary to our expectations, racemute socialization messages were not directly related to participants’ warmth toward racial outgroup members. However, racemute socialization predicted internal motivation to respond without prejudice and fairness/reciprocity moral orientation, which in turn predicted outgroup warmth. These findings suggest possible mechanisms by which parents’ messages about race and racism may shape youths’ racial attitudes.

A Daily Examination of African American Adolescents’ Racial Discrimination, Parental Racial Socialization, and Psychological Affect

This study examined 164 African American adolescents' (Mage =15) daily reports of racial discrimination and parental racial socialization over 21days. The study examined same-day and previous-day associations of adolescents' discrimination and socialization experiences with their positive and negative psychological affect. It further explored whether racial socialization messages buffered discrimination's effects on affect when messages were received during the same day and on the day prior to discrimination. Findings indicated the deleterious effect of racial discrimination (associated with more negative affect) and highlighted the importance of examining youth's short-term coping in critical developmental years. Findings also showed how messages promote positive youth emotions. However, daily moderating associations differed from prior survey studies, suggesting the importance of examining short-term processes.

“They Told Me What I Was Before I Could Tell Them What I Was”: Black Girls’ Ethnic-Racial Identity Development Within Multiple Worlds

Current research on ethnic-racial identity (ERI) development among Black youth derives primarily from studies that focus on the impact of parental racial socialization from a racial/monoidentity perspective without accounting for the roles of youth’s other worlds (i.e., schools, classrooms, and peers) and the intersection of their social identities in their identity development experiences. In using Phelan, Davidson, and Cao’s Multiple Worlds model as a framework as well as Black girls’ own words, we explore the beliefs and attitudes Black girls hold about race and their own racial categorization, as well as the processes that contribute to their learning about race (and racism) during early adolescence. We find that the Black girls in the present study are making meaning of their ERI, in part, in response to stereotypical and biased messages about their identities within their multiple worlds (i.e., schools, classrooms, families, and peers). The findings support the need for an expanded view of the messages and experiences that influence the ERI development process by illustrating that schools, classrooms, peers, and families are important socializing environments that influence the ERI development process for Black girls.

Do Preparation for Bias and Cultural Socialization Protect Against Discrimination for Transracially Adopted Adolescents?

This study of transracially adopted adolescents and their White parents examines the role of two types of parental racial socialization, preparation for bias and cultural socialization, in protecting adoptees from the impact of discrimination. Sixty-six transracially adopted adolescent–parent dyads in the United States completed an online questionnaire. Preparation for bias, and not cultural socialization, protected transracial adoptees from discrimination-related stress, in particular when experiencing high levels of racism. The importance of parents talking to their transracially adopted adolescents about racism and how to cope with it and the value of researchers examining types of racial socialization separately as opposed to broadly are discussed.

Black Adolescents’ Critical Reflection Development: Parents’ Racial Socialization and Attributions About Race Achievement Gaps

This research explored the development of Black adolescents' (N=454) critical reflection, conceived as individual (i.e., blaming Black people) and structural (i.e., blaming systemic racism) attributions for race achievement gaps. In this longitudinal study, adolescents and their parents reported their individual and structural attributions for race achievement gaps and parents' racial socialization. Adolescents' structural attributions increased from Grade 10 to Grade 12. Average levels of individual attributions did not change. Adolescents' reports of parental racial socialization and parents' structural attributions when youth were in Grade 10 predicted increases in adolescents' structural attributions. Findings are applied to future research and efforts to increase adolescent critical reflection.

Discrimination and mental health in adult transracial adoptees: Can parents foster preparedness?

In response to the growing trend of White parents adopting children from different racial backgrounds, and heeding the call for more research on adoption-related issues, the present study examined the relationship between perceived racial discrimination and mental health of 206 adult transracial adoptees adopted by White parents. In addition, the study examined adoptive parent racial socialization as a buffering variable in the perceived discrimination-mental health link. We hypothesized that racial discrimination experiences would be related to greater psychological distress and poorer psychological well-being. Furthermore, we expected the relationships between perceived discrimination and mental health outcomes to be weaker for transracial adoptees who reported higher levels of parental racial socialization by their adoptive parents during their youth, but stronger for those reporting lower levels of parental racial socialization. Interestingly, our results showed that racial socialization functioned differently depending on the mental health outcome under investigation. Although, as expected, racial discrimination was positively associated with psychological distress and negatively related to psychological well-being, parental racial socialization only moderated the discrimination-distress link. Limitations and implications for research, practice, and policy are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Use of Parental Racial Socialization with African American Toddler Boys

In this qualitative pilot study, 12 self-identified African American parents (six mother-father dyads, ages 25-43) shared (via in-depth, in-person interviews) culturally relevant socialization beliefs, practices and goals for raising their toddler boys (ages 12–33 months). Transcript analysis focused on understanding the prevalence of and rationale for racial socialization (i.e., messages addressing the significance and meaning of race and ethnicity), the specific content of those messages, and the methods and modes by which parents use racial socialization and/or plan to use it with their toddler sons. Results indicated parents of toddlers engaged in common racial socialization tenets varyingly, including cultural socialization, preparation for bias, and egalitarianism. However, promotion of mistrust was a tenet not typically engaged in by parent participants. The importance of elucidating the culturally-influenced context of parenting (specifically, the engagement in racial socialization) for caregivers of this young age group are discussed.