Poster #176 - Racial Socialization, Mother-Adolescent Communication, Ethnic Identity and Depressive Symptoms in African American Adolescents

• In Event: 3-003 - Poster Session 09
  In Poster Session: PS 09 Section - Race, Ethnicity, Culture, Context

Integrative Statement

African American adolescents are a particularly vulnerable group due to their status of being a racial minority group and subject to racial discrimination. The stress associated with discrimination has been positively related to internalizing symptoms (Gaylord-Harden & Cunningham, 2009). One protective factor that may counter internalizing symptoms is cultural pride reinforcement (CPR), a form of racial socialization parents use to instill pride and knowledge about African American culture (Davis et al., 2017; Neblett et al., 2013). Another predictor may be their quality of communication (QoC) with their mothers, a factor previously associated with academic attitudes (Tang et al., 2016) and psychological adjustment for boys (Lambert et al., 2015). However, less is known about the link between parenting practices and internalizing symptoms. Although previous literature has examined racial identity as a mechanism explaining racial socialization and depressive symptoms (Neblett et al., 2013), another unexplored factor that may link parenting practices and mental health is ethnic identity affirmation (EIA). We hypothesized that African American adolescents’ perceptions of 1) CPR and QoC would be positively linked with EIA, 2) CPR and QoC would be negatively linked with anxiety/depressive symptoms and withdrawn behaviors, 3) EIA would be negatively associated with anxiety/depressive symptoms and withdrawn behaviors, and 4) EIA would mediate (a) CPR and QoC and (b) anxiety/depressive symptoms and withdrawn behaviors.

Participants included African American adolescents (N = 110) ages 14-17 (M = 15.48 yrs.) from the mid-Atlantic region. Participants completed a pen and paper survey including demographic questions, the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment Scale, Teenagers’ Experience of Racial Socialization Scale, the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure, and the Youth Self-Report Scale.

A just-identified path analysis was conducted to test our hypotheses. We utilized a just-identified model to examine all possible relationships between variables (Weston & Gore, 2006). Preliminary results indicated that both CPR (b = 0.31, p < .001) and QoC (b = 0.33, p < .001) positively predicted EIA. CPR did not have a direct effect on anxiety/depressive symptoms (b = 1.12, p = .25) and withdrawn behaviors (b = 1.18, p = .06). QoC also had no association with anxiety/depressive symptoms (b = 0.03, p = .76) but was negatively associated with withdrawn behaviors (b = -.22, p =.021). Participants who reported greater EIA were less likely to report anxiety/depressive symptoms (b = -.25, p = .02) and withdrawn behaviors (b = -.27, p < .01). In addition, EIA mediated the relationship between (A) quality of communication (b = -.09, p = .02) and cultural pride reinforcement (b = -.08, p = .03) on withdrawn behaviors and anxiety/depressive symptoms (b = -.08, p = .04; b = -.08, p = .04 respectively). These findings are also consistent with previous research examining parenting practices, racial identity, and adolescent psychological outcomes. Findings highlight the importance of both general and cultural parenting factors in fostering healthy adjustment in African American children. Future directions and implications about the importance of communication and ethnic identity affirmation will be discussed.

Authors

• Lydia HaRim Ahn, University of Maryland, College Park
  Presenting Author

• Mia A Smith-Bynum, University of Maryland
  Non-Presenting Author