Black Parents’ Racial Socialization Content & Competency: Patterns, Predictors, and Psychological Wellbeing Associations

• In Event: Ethnic-Racial Socialization in Multiple Contexts in Adolescence: Families, Peers & Schools

Abstract

For parents of Black youth and teens, racial socialization (RS) represents a critical parenting process. Although the field has historically focused on the content of parents’ RS, it is also important to consider caregivers’ perception of their competence to effectively teach their children to navigate their racialized world. The present study investigated patterns, predictors, and outcomes of both RS content and competency among 257 caregivers of Black youth and teens (ages 6-18). Using Latent Profile Analysis (LPA), we identified three profiles of RS: Multifaceted and More Competent, Unengaged and Moderately Competent, and Negative, Less-Competent, and Stressed. Next, we explored the role of several previously established correlates of parental RS, including sociodemographic factors (i.e., age, gender, SES) caregivers status (e.g., mother, father, aunt), and parents’ race-related experiences (i.e., history of RS, racial identity, experiences with racial discrimination). Generally, the Multifaceted and More Competent profile consisted of caregivers who were older than those in the other two profiles. There was also a trend for these caregivers (Multifaceted and More Competent) to report higher income than those in the other two profiles. Interestingly, caregivers in the Unengaged and Moderately Competent profile reported receiving less RS in childhood than those in the other two profiles. Numerous differences emerged across profiles for several dimensions of racial identity, including racial centrality, racial public and private regard, and nationalist and assimilationist ideology. Lastly, associations between these profiles and both youth and parent psychological problems were revealed. Specifically, compared to the other two profiles, the Negative, Less-Competent, and Stressed profile exhibited, 1) youth with higher-rated psychological problems; 2) parents with higher-rated depressive and anxiety symptoms; and, surprisingly, 3) parents with higher-rated social wellbeing. The emergence of these varied profiles, the identification of factors that differentiate these profiles, and the associated mental health symptoms, extends our understanding of RS and highlights the importance of considering Black parents’ notions of feeling confident, skillful, and not stressed as they navigate such a vital developmental process for their youth and adolescents.

Authors

• Shawn Christopher Tracey Jones, Virginia Commonwealth University
  Presenting Author

• Riana Elyse Anderson, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
  Non-Presenting Author

• Howard C Stevenson, University of Pennsylvania
  Non-Presenting Author