This pilot study examined the racial socialization frequency, practices, and goals African American mothers use to socialize their preschool-age children around race.Background: Previous 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. Methods: In 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. Results: Mothers 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. Conclusions: Mothers of African American children are processing parental guidance approaches on two levelsgeneral guidance related to their child's development and a track related to the role race may be playing. Implications: The 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.
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.
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