Racial Socialization Practices Research Articles

Predictors of White parents' racial socialization: Links to attributions for racial inequalities and views of White privilege

AbstractTo explore predictors of variations in White parents’ racial socialization messages, we collected data on racial socialization practices, attributions for racial inequalities, and views about White privilege from White parents of White children between the ages of 10 and 14 (N = 194). After controlling for education and political ideology, endorsement of external attributions for racial inequality was related to sending more frequent messages about awareness of racism and White privilege, whereas endorsement of internal attributions was related to sending more frequent messages about colorblindness and preparation for bias. Further, beliefs about White privilege were associated with socialization regarding awareness of racism and acknowledgment of White privilege and negatively related to colorblind and preparation for bias messages. Results highlight the ways in which White parents’ racial socialization approaches reflect underlying views of race and racism.

White Parents’ Racial Socialization: Questionnaire Validation and Associations with Children’s Friendships

White parents’ approaches to racial socialization can have significant consequences for children’s understanding of race, racial bias, and racial justice. Across three studies, we attempted to identify three racial socialization practices that White parents employ. In Study 1, 238 White parents self-reported their racial socialization practices and listed their children’s friends’ age, race, and gender. Exploratory factor analysis suggested evidence for three scales: race-consciousness, discussion-hesitancy, and race-evasiveness. Parents’ discussion hesitancy was positively associated, and race consciousness negatively associated, with the racial homogeneity of their child’s friendship group. In Study 2 (N = 79), White parents’ discussion-hesitancy was again positively associated with the racial homogeneity of their child’s friendship group. In Study 3, with 21 White parents and their children independently reporting, White parents’ discussion hesitancy was again positively associated with the racial homogeneity of their child’s friendship group. Parents’ comfort level when discussing race and parents’ intergroup contact provided additional validational evidence.

Do Black and White Students Benefit From Racial Socialization? School Racial Socialization, School Climate, and Youth Academic Performance During Early Adolescence

With racial inequalities plaguing the U.S. school system, educators have recognized the importance of establishing inclusive, equitable, and diverse school environments where students from different ethnic-racial backgrounds can feel respected and supported. This study examined the longitudinal links between adolescents’ experiences of school racial socialization, school climate perceptions, and academic performance and tested whether these links varied by race (n = 941; 54% boys; 63% Black, 37% White). Results revealed that adolescents’ experience of school racial socialization practices (i.e., cultural socialization and promotion of cultural competence) predicted positive changes in their perceptions of school climate and, in turn, promoted better academic performance. School racial socialization was linked to positive school experiences and achievement for both Black and White adolescents.

Race Lessons: The Role of Place in Shaping Black Parents’ Racial Learning and Educational Engagement in a Predominantly White Suburb

While a large body of literature examines Black parents’ racial socialization, few studies have employed a sociological lens to explore parents’ own racial learning and how it relates to the implicit and explicit messages they send their children. Based on an ethnographic study of Black parents’ experiences and educational engagement in a predominantly white Midwestern suburb, this article uses a racial learning framework to examine how Black parents’ own racialized, place-based experiences relate to the lessons they attempt to teach their children about race and racism. The research reveals that parents’ racial socialization practices were influenced by their own racial learning and experiences in the predominantly white suburban context, their children’s experiences in the local schools, and for some parents, the things they learned with and from other Black families in school and community organizational spaces. The research findings illustrate the importance of understanding Black parents’ own place-based racial learning and how it shapes and informs their efforts to support their children’s wellbeing and academic success, particularly in predominantly white school districts and communities.

What Do White Parents Teach Youth About Race? Qualitative Examination of White Racial Socialization.

Research has examined racial socialization practices within families of color, but less is known regarding what White parents teach their children about race and/or racism. To explore White racial socialization processes, we interviewed 30 White parents of White children ages 7–17 years living in the Midwest. Using thematic analysis, we identified 22 themes organized into four domains: Content of conversations, factors to consider in socialization, developmental differences, and White identity/privilege. A majority of parents reported conversations about current or historic racial events, while relatively few also reported speaking specifically about systemic racism and microaggressions. Parents viewed adolescents as better able to handle difficult topics than children. Findings contribute to theoretical frameworks and may inform the development of educational resources.

An Observational Approach to Examining White Parents' Racial Socialization Practices With Adolescent Youth.

The racial socialization (RS) strategies used by White parents have received limited empirical attention. Thus, the current study examined the frequency and content of White parents’ RS messages to their White children during an observed parent–child discussion task on discrimination when youth were 14 years old. Participants were 243 White caregivers and their adolescent children (47.7% female). Overall, parents provided few RS messages, but when they did, they often relayed egalitarian messages or messages minimizing racism. Other types of RS strategies that emerged included acknowledging racism targeting people of color, discriminatory attitudes, and false beliefs in reverse racism.

The Whiteness pandemic behind the racism pandemic: Familial Whiteness socialization in Minneapolis following #GeorgeFloyd's murder.

Family socialization into the centuries-old culture of Whiteness-involving colorblindness, passivity, and fragility-perpetrates and perpetuates U.S. racism, reflecting an insidious Whiteness pandemic. As a poignant case study, this mixed methods study examined Whiteness socialization among White mothers (N = 392, M = 37.99 years, SD = 4.34) in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the month following the May 2020 police killing of unarmed Black resident, George Floyd. Using Helms' (1984, 2017) White racial identity development theory (WRID), content analyses of qualitative responses classified participants into lower versus higher levels of WRID, after which thematic analyses compared their Whiteness socialization beliefs/values, attitudes, practices, and emotions, and analyses of variance compared their demographics, multiculturalism, and psychological distress. There was strong convergence across qualitative and quantitative findings and results aligned with the WRID model. Racially silent participants (i.e., no mention of Floyd's murder or subsequent events on open-ended questions: 53%) had lower multiculturalism scores and lower psychological distress. Among mothers who were racially responsive (i.e., mentioned Floyd's murder or subsequent events: 47%), those with more advanced WRID (17%) had higher multiculturalism scores; lower ethnic group protectiveness scores; a more effective coping style featuring empathy, moral outrage, and hope; more color- and power-conscious socialization beliefs/values; and more purposeful racial socialization practices than their less advanced peers (30%). Collectively, color-evasion and power-evasion-pathogens of the Whiteness pandemic-are inexorably transmitted within families, with White parents serving as carriers to their children unless they take active preventive measures rooted in antiracism and equity-promotion. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

African American mothers' racial socialization practices with preschoolers: A mixed methods study

AbstractObjectiveThis pilot study examined the racial socialization frequency, practices, and goals African American mothers use to socialize their preschool‐age children around race.BackgroundPrevious studies have demonstrated that African American mothers engage in racial socialization. However, little research has focused on how race and racism influence African American mothers' racial socialization frequency, practices, and goals.MethodsIn the quantitative phase, a racial socialization measure was used to assess African American mothers' (N = 30) racial socialization frequency. In the qualitative phase, follow‐up interviews conducted with eight African American mothers explored how race and racism influence the mothers' parenting.ResultsMothers with a high racial socialization score encouraged racial awareness, whereas mothers with low scores discouraged racial awareness. Most mothers used oppressive practices to keep their preschoolers safe. Most mothers braided their parental practices with their racial experiences from childhood.ConclusionsMothers of African American children are processing parental guidance approaches on two levels—general guidance related to their child's development and a track related to the role race may be playing.ImplicationsThe implications of this study will be influential in the development and effectiveness of culturally centered practices that support Black children as well as Black mothers' parenting.

Race, discrimination, and racism as “growing points” for consideration: attachment theory and research with African American families

ABSTRACT The author acknowledges attachment theory as a widely accepted analytic paradigm that has generated creative and impactful research for over half a century. This acknowledgment is followed with commentary on what the author considers critically relevant yet unacknowledged topics of inquiry in the attachment literature. The author contends that race, discrimination, and unaddressed systemic racism are the most important issues in the United States today and profoundly affect all areas of African American family life, particularly parenting, parent-child bonds, and other familial relationships in African American families. Suggestions are offered on how attachment research—a psychological, evolutionary, and ethological theory with an eye toward illuminating human universal processes can be advanced by research on race and racism, which emphasizes the critical role of context and culture on child development, parenting, and family life. Furthermore, the author discusses how attachment research can better delineate and measure cultural and contextual variations. Race, discrimination and racism; racial ethnic socialization practices; and the social context of caregiving are highlighted. Measurement and intervention considerations are suggested.

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.

"Race was something we didn't talk about": Racial Socialization in Asian American Families.

Our goal was to explore racial socialization practices in Asian American families during a time of heightened racial tension. Asian Americans hold a complex racial position in the United States, made even more complicated by an increase in public protests regarding socioracial injustices in the United States experienced by racial minority groups. Discussions about race and ethnicity occur within Asian American families but often focus on cultural heritage rather than awareness of discrimination and the historical roots of racism. Our study used an inductive-deductive thematic analysis to collect data from 12 Asian American young adults. Semistructured interviews queried participants' experiences with racial socialization in their nuclear families and their own racial identity. Qualitative analysis revealed the following themes: (a) Participants received limited messages regarding racial issues, (b) participants engaged in "bottom-up" racial socialization and taught their parents about race, and (c) participants felt left out of society's racial dialogue. During this time of heightened racial tension, Asian American young adults struggle to find their place, despite wanting to participate in community building. Without strong Asian American racial socialization practices in families, young adults must educate themselves and initiate racial meaning-making in their families.

Black Mothering in Action: The Racial-Class Socialization Practices of Low-Income Black Single Mothers

African Americans have long dealt with racism, discrimination, and racialized state and vigilante violence. As such, African American parents must educate their children about the realities of racism in the United States and how to cope with racism and discrimination. This practice, known as racial socialization, is a key aspect of Black parents’ parenting practices. Much of this labor tends to fall on the shoulders of Black mothers. To date, most of the scholarship on Black mothers’ racial socialization practices focuses on Black middle-class mothers. In this study, the author uses in-depth interviews with low-income African American single mothers in Virginia to examine how low-income Black single mothers racially socialize their children, what major concerns they express regarding raising Black children, and how their racial socialization practices and the concerns they express compare with those of Black middle-class mothers. Paralleling previous studies, the findings show that low-income Black single mothers generally fear for their children’s, especially their sons’, safety. They also invoke respectability politics when racially socializing their children, encouraging them not to dress or behave in ways that will reinforce stereotypes of Black boys as thugs or criminals. Diverging from previous research, however, the author argues that low-income Black single mothers’ employment of respectability politics is largely aspirational, as, unlike middle-class mothers, they are not able to assert their class status in an effort to prevent their children from experiencing discrimination.

Lesbian, Gay, and Heterosexual Adoptive Parents’ Attitudes Towards Racial Socialization Practices

ABSTRACTWe tested the validity and measurement invariance of the Transracial Adoptive Parenting scale (TAPS) across sexual orientation with a nationwide sample of adoptive parents. Our study sample consisted of 737 heterosexual, 102 lesbian, and 64 gay adoptive parents from the Modern Adoptive Families (MAF) study, a cross-sectional survey. We conducted reliability analyses, as well as exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses for the 29-item TAPs. We then tested for measurement invariance based on sexual orientation. Findings show the TAPS is a reliable scale with a two-factor model measuring racial socialization and managing bias related to racial socialization practices. However, there was measurement invariance based on parent sexual orientation. Our study informs practitioners that the TAPS measure is a useful tool for assessment and intervention that can be used with sexual minority transracial adoptive parents. However, cautions against comparing TAPs scores across parental sexual orientation.

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

‘We don’t teach race here’: race-silenced pedagogies of Trinidadian preschool teachers

ABSTRACT Much of the educational literature highlights the importance of teaching young children about the value of diversity in relation to fostering positive social–emotional skills and well-being. In the Trinidadian context, while ample work addresses the prevalence of racism, far less research has investigated the racial socialization practices of Caribbean teachers in general and Trinidadian teachers in particular. The present qualitative study investigated how Indo-Trinidadian teachers addressed children’s racial awareness, cultivated racial pride in young children and enacted anti-racist pedagogies. Findings revealed that teachers did not engage in explicit racial socialization; and the lack of anti-racist/anti-colonial pedagogy was strongly linked to teachers’ professional and personal identities; as well, it appeared that context-specific race relations inform educator’s conceptual understandings of race and its relevance to their teaching practice. The article concludes with suggestions for a decolonized early childhood education model for the Trinidadian context.

Racial Socialization Practices Among White American Parents: Relations to Racial Attitudes, Racial Identity, and School Diversity

This study examines racial socialization practices among White American parents ( N = 154) of children aged 8 to 12 years, using both quantitative and qualitative measures, as well as the relations of racial attitudes, racial identity, and racial diversity of the schools that children attend to socialization practices. Responses on the qualitative socialization measure indicate that White parents are generally unlikely to discuss race or racism with their children in a direct, explicit fashion, even when the parents are responding to a situation in which racial bias is clear and salient. Parents with less biased racial attitudes were more likely to engage in color-conscious racial socialization and to present socialization messages that emphasized egalitarianism and the existence of racial discrimination. School diversity was generally unrelated to parents’ racial socialization strategies, with the exception of messages about preparation for bias against one’s own racial group.

What's Race Got to Do With It? Racial Socialization's Contribution to Black Adolescent Coping.

While youth generally experience stressors from developmental milestones, Black youth also face racialized stressors. Racial socialization has been found to help Black youth cope with racialized stressors, but research has yet to show its contribution to coping beyond general socialization practices. This study examines how racial socialization contributes beyond that of general coping socialization to coping behaviors. Fifty-eight third-eighth-grade (Mage =11.3, SD=1.54) youth reported general coping socialization and racial socialization practices and coping behaviors. Results indicate that for engagement coping, racial socialization messages contributed significantly to parent-provided engaged socialization strategies. Implications are considered for the ways in which Black youth experience stress and require culturally specific practices for successful coping with frequently encountered stressors.

Initial Validation of the Socialization Self-Efficacy Scale With International Transracially Adoptive Parents

This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the 10-item Socialization Self-Efficacy Scale (SSES) using a sample of international transracially adoptive parents. This online survey design study recruited transracially adoptive parents from parenting support groups. Using a random split sample of the data, exploratory factor analysis resulted in two subfactors: cultural socialization self-efficacy and racial socialization self-efficacy. Next, confirmatory factor analysis in the remaining sample supported the two-factor structure. The findings provide strong initial support for the validity of the SSES that measures transracially adoptive parents’ motivation and belief in their ability to engage in cultural and racial socialization practices.

Reactive and Proactive Ethnic-Racial Socialization Practices of Second-Generation Asian American Parents.

Studies of Asian American parenting have primarily focused on first-generation immigrant parents. Few studies have examined the experiences of second-generation Asian American adults who now have children of their own. The purpose of this qualitative study, then, is to better understand the values, practices, and concerns of second-generation Asian American parents regarding ethnic and racial socialization. The sample included 34 Asian American parents from seven different cities across the United States. Using interviews and a focus group, the results show that (a) place, specific contexts, and transitions were important to second-generation parents' motivation behind ethnic and racial socialization, (b) parents are reactive and proactive, especially with regard to promoting an awareness of discrimination, in the racial socialization of their children, (c) parents engage in predominantly proactive ethnic socialization when passing on heritage culture, which they believe is important, but also difficult to do, (d) in contrast to ethnic socialization, passing on American culture and passing on important values (that they did not see as solely "American" or "Asian") came easily, and (e) parents consider the intersection of race and culture with religion and disability when socializing their children. Our findings highlight unique aspects of how second-generation Asian American parents engage in ethnic and racial socialization in an increasingly socially diverse world.

A path analysis of a cultural and racial socialization model in international transracial adoption: Racial awareness, self-efficacy, and socialization practices

The purpose of this study was to test a conceptual model using path analysis to examine direct and indirect relationships among factors contributing to transracial adoptive parents' cultural and racial socialization practices. Participants, responding to an online survey, were White mothers and fathers of children born in China and other Asian and non-Asian countries, and were associated with Families with Children from China, a support group. Included in a path analysis were 310 cases. As hypothesized, post-adoption education and support, racial awareness, and socialization self-efficacy were found to be important factors that positively influenced socialization practices. Researchers may be interested in further examination of the cultural and racial socialization model to address the parenting needs of international transracial adoptive parents, and ultimately to support the healthy ethnic and racial identity formation of transracial adoptees.