Recently, there has been an emergence of literature on the mechanisms through which parents transmit information, values, and perspectives about ethnicity and race to their children, commonly referred to as racial or ethnic socialization. This literature has sought to document the nature of such socialization, its antecedents in parents' and children's characteristics and experiences, and its consequences for children's well-being and development. In this article, the authors integrate and synthesize what is known about racial and ethnic socialization on the basis of current empirical research, examining studies concerning its nature and frequency; its child, parent, and ecological predictors; and its consequences for children's development, including ethnic identity, self-esteem, coping with discrimination, academic achievement, and psychosocial well-being. The authors also discuss conceptual and methodological limitations of the literature and suggest directions for future research.

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Parents' ethnic-racial socialization practices: a review of research and directions for future study.

Amidst changing patterns of accommodation and conflict among American ethnic groups, there remains a paucity of research on the nature and impact of racial and ethnic discrimination on development in multiethnic samples of youth. The Adolescent Discrimination Distress Index along with measures of caregiver racial bias preparation and self-esteem was administered to 177 adolescents drawn from 9th–12th graders self-identified as African American, Hispanic, East Asian, South Asian, and non-Hispanic white. Youth from all ethnic backgrounds reported distress associated with instances of perceived racial prejudice encountered in educational contexts. Instances of institutional discrimination in stores and by police were higher for older youth and particularly for African American and Hispanic teenagers. Encounters with peer discrimination were reported most frequently by Asian youth. Reports of racial bias preparation were associated with distress in response to institutional and educational discrimination and self-esteem scores were negatively correlated with distress caused by educational and peer discrimination. The importance of research on discrimination distress to understanding adolescent development in multiethnic ecologies is discussed here.

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Discrimination Distress During Adolescence

Recently, social scientists have become increasingly interested in the nature of communications from parents to children regarding ethnicity and race. Termed racial socialization, race-related messages to children may have important consequences for children’s identity development and well-being. This study examined the frequency and correlates of two dimensions of racial socialization—messages about ethnic pride, history, and heritage (Cultural Socialization) and messages about discrimination and racial bias (Preparation for Bias)— among 273 urban African American, Puerto Rican, and Dominican parents. Parents reported more frequent Cultural Socialization than Preparation for Bias. There were no significant ethnic group differences in the frequency of Cultural Socialization. However, African American parents reported more frequent Preparation for Bias than did Dominican parents who, in turn, reported more frequent messages of this sort than did Puerto Rican parents. Ethnic identity was a stronger predictor of Cultural Socialization among Puerto Rican and Dominican parents than among their African American counterparts. In contrast, perceived discrimination experiences was a stronger predictor of Preparation for Bias among African American and Dominican parents than among Puerto Rican parents. Finally, race-related phenomenon accounted for more variance in both Cultural Socialization and Preparation for Bias among parents reporting on their behaviors with children 10‐17 years old as compared to parents reporting on their behaviors with children 6‐9 years old.

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Correlates of African American and Latino parents' messages to children about ethnicity and race: a comparative study of racial socialization.

Discrimination affects millions of children in the United States and throughout the world. Although the topic is important for both theoretical and applied reasons, little developmental work has examined children's perceptions of discrimination directed toward themselves and others. A review of past theoretical and empirical work on the perception of discrimination is provided. Next, a developmental model of the perception of discrimination is offered. The model identifies developmental and individual differences expected to influence judgments about discrimination, as well as situational variables that are likely to support attributions to discrimination.

Children's perceptions of discrimination: a developmental model.

This research responded to researchers' calls for investigation of potential moderators of the link between perceptions of racist discrimination and mental health. In a sample of 119 African American young adults, the authors investigated the extent to which 4 theoretically relevant variables moderated the perceived racism-mental health relation. Consistent with predictions, results revealed that greater experience with racial socialization messages attenuated the link between reports of racist events and poorer mental health. Self-esteem also moderated the relation, but in a direction opposite that predicted. Neither racial socialization beliefs nor African American social networks moderated the relation. Overall, results indicated that individual differences shape the extent to which African Americans' mental health is related to perceptions of racist discrimination.

African Americans' mental health and perceptions of racist discrimination: The moderating effects of racial socialization experiences and self-esteem.

This research explores ethnic socialization among middle-income African American parents and their children who attend predominantly white schools. Descriptive data regarding parents' and children's reports of ethnic socialization practices were obtained. Additionally, the relationship between ethnic socialization, ethnic identity, and academic achievement was assessed through correlational and predictive statistics. Correlation analyses indicated that children's reports of ethnic socialization were significantly related to the encounter stage of ethnic identity. Surprisingly, the child's report of ethnic socialization was predictive of lower classroom grades. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for ethnic socialization and identity development among African American children.

Ethnic socialization of African American children: Implications for parenting, identity development, and academic achievement

Understanding social support within a cultural context requires knowledge of the culture in which support is given and received. This chapter focuses on cultural factors that shape giving and receiving social support among African-American, Hispanic-American, Asian-American, and Native American families. Although these groups are a part of American society, they also function within distinct cultural boundaries that define and provide them with an identity that is uniquely different from the identity of those who are not a part of their group’s culture. Findings suggest that their history, social position, minority group status, and entrance into American society have played major roles in shaping their cultural definition and identity.

Sheree Marshall

Papers

Ethnic socialization of African American children: Implications for parenting, identity development, and academic achievement

Social Support in Its Cultural Context