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

Zucker, Jenna Kelley; Patterson, Meagan M.

doi:10.1177/0192513x18800766

Cited by 80 publications

(145 citation statements)

References 39 publications

(119 reference statements)

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“…Studies that ask White parents to report on racial discussions with their children suggest that a sizable minority of parents engage in these discussions already. Recent estimates indicate that approximately 30% of White parents in the U.S. are able to recall specific examples of race discussions with their children (Vittrup, 2018;Underhill, 2017;Zucker & Patterson, 2018). For instance, we found that 37% of White parents had discussed contemporary race-related events (e.g., the deaths of Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin, or the Charleston shooting) with their child (Perry et al, 2019).…”

Section: Advantages Of Explicit Racial Socialization Conversationsmentioning

confidence: 71%

Applying the Evidence We Have: Support for Having Race Conversations in White U.S. Families

Perry¹,

Skinner-Dorkenoo²,

Abaied³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Popular press articles have advocated for parent-child conversations about race to prevent children from developing racial biases, yet empirical investigations of the impact of racial socialization in White families in the U.S. are scarce. Scott et al. (2020) warn that, given the lack of empirical evidence, parents might actually do more harm than good by talking to their children about race. In this comment, we draw upon the literature on (1) racial socialization, (2) parenting and parent-child discourse, and (3) the role of nonverbal communication in parental socialization to inform our understanding of parents’ ability to engage in race-related conversations in the absence of empirical guidance. We also highlight emerging evidence of the potential benefits of these conversations (even if parents are uncomfortable). In sum, the wealth of existing literature suggests that parents can successfully navigate challenging conversations with their children—which tends to result in better outcomes for children than avoiding those conversations. Thus, although we support Scott et al.’s call for researchers to develop more empirical research, we part with the authors’ assertion that White parents should wait to have these conversations with their children—we believe that the time to begin talking is now.

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Section: Advantages Of Explicit Racial Socialization Conversationsmentioning

confidence: 71%

Applying the Evidence We Have: Support for Having Race Conversations in White U.S. Families

Perry¹,

Skinner-Dorkenoo²,

Abaied³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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“…Our systematic review of the empirical literature in the 2010 decade confirmed D. L. Hughes, Del Toro, and Rarick's () observation that there is limited empirically based knowledge about the predictors or correlates of egalitarianism. Of the 15 studies we identified, nine focused on exploring and identifying factors that informed parents' use of this ethnic–racial socialization strategy (e.g., Cooper, Smalls‐Glover, Neblett, & Banks, ; Hagerman, ; Zucker & Patterson, ) and six examined the associations between messages of egalitarianism and youth outcomes (see Table ). As noted in Table , a majority found that egalitarianism promoted positive adjustment among youth (e.g., stronger integrated identity and higher self‐esteem [Villegas‐Gold & Tran, ]; higher academic expectations [Trask‐Tate, Cunningham, & Francois, ]); one study reported mixed findings (French, Coleman, & DiLorenzo, ), and one study reported null findings (White‐Johnson, ).…”

Section: Associations Between Family Ethnic–racial Socialization and mentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethnic–Racial Socialization in the Family: A Decade's Advance on Precursors and Outcomes

Umaña‐Taylor¹,

Hill²

2020

J of Marriage and Family

300

363

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In the current decade, the U.S. population reached historically high levels of ethnic–racial diversity and reelected the nation's first Black–White biracial President. Simultaneously, scholars also documented significant ethnic–racial inequities in education, increased xenophobia, and a racial climate that revealed deep‐seated ethnic–racial tensions. Given this backdrop and acknowledging the significant role that families play in youths' abilities to navigate their social contexts, the current review focused on the literature on families' ethnic–racial socialization efforts with youth from the 2010 decade. Our review of 259 empirical articles revealed that there has been an exponential increase in research on family ethnic–racial socialization in this decade. Furthermore, although it is clear that family ethnic–racial socialization is a robust predictor of youths' adjustment, the associations between socialization and adjustment must be considered with attention to specific socialization strategies, the confluence of strategies used, and the unique contexts within which families' lives are embedded.

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“…In addition to our primary interest in developmental processes, we highlight the role of social‐justice issues in the realm of political thought and participation. Collectively, our past research has focused on the formation, function, and revision of youths’ attitudes about social groups, including those based on gender or sex (e.g., Bigler & Liben, , ; Bigler, Hayes, & Liben, ; Hayes, Bigler, & Weisgram, ; Hayes, Pahlke, & Bigler, ; Leaper & Brown, ; Pahlke, Bigler, & Green, ; Pahlke, Bigler, & Martin, ; Pahlke, Hyde, & Allison, ; Patterson, 2012; Patterson & Pahlke, ), race or ethnicity (Bigler & Liben, ; Brown, ; Brown, Mistry, & Bigler, ; Hughes, Bigler, & Levy, ; Pahlke, Bigler, & Suizzo, ; Zucker & Patterson, ), and immigrant status (Brown, ; Brown, Ali, Stone, & Jewell, ; Brown & Lee, ). We sought to bring insights from our past work on these topics to understanding how factors rooted in childhood might relate to the political knowledge, attitudes, and behavior of individuals from diverse social groups.…”

Section: Politics and Child Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward a Developmental Science of Politics

Patterson

Bigler

Pahlke

et al. 2019

Monographs Society Res Child

Self Cite

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In this monograph, we argue for the establishment of a developmental science of politics that describes, explains, and predicts the formation and change of individuals’ political knowledge, attitudes, and behavior beginning in childhood and continuing across the life course. Reflecting our goal of contributing both theoretical conceptualizations and empirical data, we have organized the monograph into two broad sections. In the first section, we outline theoretical contributions that the study of politics may make to developmental science and provide practical reasons that empirical research in the domain of politics is important (e.g., for identifying ways to improve civics education and for encouraging higher voting rates among young adults). We also review major historical approaches to the study of political development and provide an integrative theoretical framework to ground future work. Drawing on Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems model as an organizing scheme and emphasizing social justice issues, we describe how factors rooted in cultural contexts, families, and children themselves are likely to shape political development. In the second section of the monograph, we argue for the importance and utility of studying major political events, such as presidential elections, and introduce the major themes, rationales, and hypotheses for a study of U.S. children's views of the 2016 U.S. presidential election. In addition, we apply a social‐justice lens to political thought and participation, addressing the role of gender/sex and race/ethnicity in children's political development broadly, and in their knowledge and views of the 2016 U.S. presidential election specifically. In interviews conducted within the month before and after the election, we examined two overarching categories of children's political attitudes: (a) knowledge, preferences, and expectations about the 2016 election, and (b) knowledge and attitudes concerning gender/sex and politics, particularly relevant for the 2016 election given Hillary Clinton's role as the first female major‐party candidate for the presidency. Participants were 187 children (101 girls) between 5 and 11 years of age (M = 8.42 years, SD = 1.45 years). They were recruited from schools and youth organizations in five counties in four U.S. states (Kansas, Kentucky, Texas, and Washington) with varying voting patterns (e.g., Trump voters ranged from 27% to 71% of county voters). The sample was not a nationally representative one, but was racially diverse (35 African American, 50 Latinx, 81 White, and 21 multiracial, Asian American, Middle Eastern, or Native American children). In addition to several child characteristics (e.g., age, social dominance orientation [SDO]), we assessed several family and community characteristics (e.g., child‐reported parental interest in the election and government‐reported county‐level voting patterns, respectively) hypothesized to predict outcome variables. Although our findings are shaped by the nature of our sample (e.g., our partici...

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

Cited by 80 publications

References 39 publications

Applying the Evidence We Have: Support for Having Race Conversations in White U.S. Families

Applying the Evidence We Have: Support for Having Race Conversations in White U.S. Families

Ethnic–Racial Socialization in the Family: A Decade's Advance on Precursors and Outcomes

Toward a Developmental Science of Politics

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