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.

Black youth overwhelmingly experience racial discrimination (RD). Racial socialization (RS), or racial communication between families, mitigates RD stress by expanding youth coping strategies. Although most Black parents currently discuss racial content with their children, less is known about this RS quality. The burgeoning construct of RS competency, or the skills, confidence, and stress of RS transmission, explores these emotion-focused approaches. Drawing on the racial encounter coping appraisal and socialization theory (RECAST), the current study seeks to depict RS competency through qualitative methods. Through deductive analysis, we examined in-depth interviews from nine parents of 10- to 14-year-olds enrolled in a RS intervention with familial conversations on RD in an urban mid-Atlantic city. Overall, findings support what has been found in quantitative studies of RS competency, particularly that subfactors are related yet unique, parent’s prior experiences impact current practices, and parental concerns for children drive practices and competency. This study also unearthed findings of processes occurring in light of a contentious context for Black adolescents. To our knowledge, this is the first study to qualitatively investigate these emotional and cognitive processes inherent in RS competency, which has future implications for family interventions to disrupt the psychological impact racism exacts on Black adolescents and families.

This mixed method study explored whether and how familial mentor support may have influenced the parent-adolescent relationship, and whether the impact of familial mentor support on the parent-adolescent relationship may have differed across adolescents’ developmental stage. Findings from analyses of survey data from 106 Black adolescents indicated that familial mentor support may be equally beneficial for youths’ connectedness to parents across developmental stage. Interview data from a subset of 12 adolescents, their primary caregivers, and familial mentors were analyzed to better understand how familial mentors supported the parent-adolescent bond and whether the nature of mentor support differed between early and middle adolescents. Qualitative findings indicated that mentors supported the parent-adolescent relationship by acting as sounding boards; coaching positive communication strategies; and promoting understanding between youth and their parents. Additionally, findings indicated that familial mentors may be attuned to developmental changes experienced by their adolescent relatives.

This paper reports on a curriculum designed for Black students whose school teachers and administrators sought to address concerns about students’ academic underachievement and behavioral challenges. In order to design the curriculum, we examined Black students’ reactions to race- and academic-related stress as a result of their interactions with mostly White teachers and peers in an increasingly diversifying predominantly White, middle-class community. Grounded in principles of Racial Encounter Coping Appraisal and Socialization Theory (RECAST), a paradigm for understanding the racial coping strategies utilized by individuals to contend with racial stress and well-being, the study sought to elucidate racial tensions found in schooling relationships that foster racial disparities in classrooms. Specifically, our team conducted focus group sessions with Black parents and students which were guided by our use of the Cultural and Racial Experiences of Socialization Survey (CARES), a racial and ethnic socialization measure that elicits responses from students about the kinds of messages students receive about race and ethnicity from people parents and teachers. Data from the sessions subsequently informed the design of Let’s Talk? (LT), a racial conflict resolution curriculum for Black adolescents. In this paper, we share what we learned about students’ school experiences and coping mechanism through their participation in LT.

The present study explored measurement invariance of the Multidimensional Assessment of Parenting Scale (MAPS; Parent & Forehand, 2017) across White, Hispanic, Black, and Asian American parents. Participants included 2,734 parents, 58% of whom were mothers. On average, parents were 36.32 years old (SD = 9.54); the parent sample was 66.9% White non-Hispanic, 10.1% Black, 5.3% Asian, and 17.7% Hispanic regardless of race. Child ages ranged from 3 to 17 years (M = 9.84, SD = 3.71), and 58% were identified as male. Parents completed a demographics questionnaire about themselves and their target child, and the 34-item MAPS. We explored measurement equivalence of the MAPS Broadband Positive and Negative parenting scales using item response theory to identify differential item functioning (DIF). Univariate analyses for Positive and Negative Parenting showed reliability was excellent. Twelve items assessing negative aspects of parenting exhibited bias by race/ethnicity. Specifically, when comparing racial and ethnic groups, three items had nonuniform DIF comparing Black and Asian participants, two items had nonuniform DIF comparing Black and Hispanic participants, and one item showed nonuniform DIF comparing Asian and Hispanic participants. When looking at Positive Parenting, no items showed evidence of DIF. Results from the present study suggest broadband Positive Parenting can be compared across ethnoracial groups, while findings raise concern about assessing Negative Parenting items when examining invariance across race and ethnicity. Findings from the present study imply that racial and ethnic comparisons are potentially invalid. These findings offer guidance for improving parenting assessment for racially/ethnically diverse populations.