Parental Racial Socialization in Asian and Asian American Families

• In Event: Highlighted Session: Migration, Education, and the Making of Policy and Discourse

Proposal

Introduction
Asian population is the fastest-growing racial and ethnic group in the United States. Asian and Asian American children and youth have been frequently targeted for racial stereotyping and experienced highest levels of peer discrimination of any racial and ethnic minority groups (Montoro et al., 2021). During the COVID-19 pandemic, Asians are scapegoated for causing and spreading the coronavirus and are at increased risk of racial discrimination. A national survey revealed that 10% of Asian youth experienced racial discrimination, and about one-third of Asian parents stated that their child experienced an incident at school (Horse et al., 2021). Research further showed that racial discrimination experienced by Asian children and youth during the pandemic is associated with their mental health problems (Cheah et al., 2020; Cheah et al., 2021; Saw et al., 2021).
Parental racial socialization model postulates that parents shape the development of their children’s understanding of race through parental racial socialization, instilling cultural values, teaching about racism, and promoting egalitarian beliefs (Hughes, et al., 2006). Parental racial socialization fosters children’s ethnic identity and buffers the impacts of racial discrimination (Cheeks et al., 2020). Within the context of current xenophobia and anti-Asian rhetoric during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to understand parental ethnic-racial socialization in Asian and Asian American families. Previous studies on parental ethnic-racial socialization have dominantly focused on Black and Latino/a families, whereas less is known about parental ethnic-racial socialization in Asian families compared to other racial and ethnic minority families (Cheah et al., 2021; Simon, 2021). Accordingly, there is limited research about how Asian and Asian American parents explain to their children why racial discrimination occurs. To address the research gap, the present qualitative study aims to understand the racial discrimination experiences and parental ethnic-racial socialization in Asian and Asian American families.

Method
This qualitative study used a convenience sampling to recruit participants through social media, Asian and Asian American forums, and online groups. Semi-structures interviews were conducted with 25 Asians and Asian Americans to understand their and their parents’/children’s racial discrimination experiences and parental racial socialization in their homes. Participants of this study self-identified as being from East, Southeast, and South Asian descent. Participants represented diverse immigration and generation statuses, genders, ages, and education and socioeconomic levels. The first round of semi-structured interviews was conducted in mid-2020, after the outbreak of COVID-19. The second round of semi-structured interviews were conducted in late 2021 and early 2022. Interviews were conducted virtually via Zoom or in-person depending on the local COVID-19 restrictions. Each interview took approximately 90 to 120 minutes. Both deductive and inductive coding methods were used including a priori and in vivo coding strategies (Saldaña, 2021). A priori codes were created based on the racial socialization literature and in vivo codes emerged from the interview transcripts.

Results


Participants reported hypervigilance of safety, nervousness in public, and anticipated discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic. Second and third generation participants also shared that they experienced racial discrimination at a young age and throughout their lives. Some reported that their hard work was disguised because of model minority stereotype, while their English proficiency and American identity were frequently questioned due to perpetual foreigner stereotype. Their early experiences had a profound and long-term influence on their ethnic identities and feeling of isolation. Most participants chose passive coping (ignorance, laugh off) when countering racial discrimination. They shared that if Asian and Asian American individuals feels that they have no coping resources, even acknowledging racial discrimination can be stressful.
All participants in the study recognized the parental role in preparing children for discrimination through family discussions. Immigrant parents had few experiences with racial discrimination, and they expressed concern that they lacked the knowledge to hold family discussions about race. On the contrary, second and third generation participants had more experience and knowledge talking about race in their families. Most parent participants shared that children’s racial discrimination experiences prompted their family discussion about racial discrimination. Many were concerned that preparation for bias might be related to model minority pressure and a sense of helplessness. As a result, some parents emphasized egalitarian ideas, valuing individual qualities over racial group membership. However, second generation youth expressed that they wish their parents could have the discussion before they experienced racial discrimination. They suggested parents initiating the conversation about race and ethnicity as early as possible. Additionally, racial socialization in Asian and Asian American families is bidirectional, not only from parents to children but from children to parents.
Some participants who experienced peer discrimination reported their incidents to teachers at school. However, not all teachers understood discrimination towards Asians and Asian Americans and properly addressed the incidents. All participants emphasized the role of schools in educating children about race and expressed the need for more resources to talk about race in Asian and Asian families. Immigrant parents preferred schools to educate their children about race because they had little knowledge about racial issues in the United States. All participants urged schools to include curriculum that talks about Asian American history and acknowledges the contributions of Asian American to American society.

Significance
This study aims to uncover specific barriers to parental racial socialization in Asian and Asian American families during the COVID-19 pandemic. It will inform parents, educators, and communities to better support Asian and Asian American families through preparing parents and children for racial conversations. This study provides an opportunity for Asian communities to make their voices heard and empower their communities.

Authors

• Peggy Kong, Drexel University School of Education

• Xinwei Zhang, Yale University

• Anu Sachdev, EAST STROUDSBURG UNIVERSITY