Parental Racial Socialization in Asian and Asian American Families

• In Event: Parent Racial-Ethnic Socialization among Asian American Families

Abstract

Introduction
Parental transmission of message about race, known as parental racial socialization, buffers the adverse impacts of racial discrimination (Cheeks et al., 2020; Hughes, et al., 2006). However, Asian and Asian American parents rarely discuss race with their children (Atkin & Yoo, 2020). However, less is known about factors that impact parental racial socialization in Asian and Asian American families. The present qualitative study aims to understand parental racial socialization in Asian and Asian American families. Three research questions are proposed: (1) What are parents’ and children’s discrimination experiences before and during the COVID-19 pandemic? (2) How do parents and children discuss race at home? (3) What is the role of family and schools in racial conversations?

Method
This qualitative study used a convenience sampling to recruit participants through social media, Asian and Asian American forums, and online groups. Twenty-six Asians and Asian Americans were interviewed to understand their racial discrimination and parental racial socialization experiences. Participants self-identified as being from East, Southeast, and South Asian descent. They represented diverse immigration and generation statuses, genders, and ages. The first round of interviews was conducted in mid-2020. The second round of interviews were conducted in late 2021 and early 2022. Each interview took approximately 90 to 120 minutes. Interviews were conducted in English, Chinese, and Indian. Deductive and inductive coding methods were used for data analysis (Saldaña, 2021).

Results
Participants described that anti-Asian racism became more violent during the pandemic, and they reported hypervigilance of safety and fear of harassment. Participants who grew up in the US shared that they experienced racial discrimination at a young age and throughout their lives. Their heritage culture was ridiculed, and the sense of belonging was questioned. They also explained that the model minority myth disguised institutional racism and discouraged them from confronting racism.
Parents who grew up in US had more experience with racial discrimination and understood the importance of racial socialization for their children to combat racism. They provided many examples about speaking about race in their families. In comparison, immigrant parents were not equipped with knowledge to help their children understand and respond to racism. They reported not knowing when and how to approach the racial topics in a developmentally appropriate way. Most immigrant parents advised their children to leave the situation and not confront racial discrimination. Additionally, racial socialization 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 anti-Asian discrimination. 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. All participants urged schools to include Asian American history in curriculum.

Significance
This study examines racial discrimination experiences and parental racial socialization in Asian and Asian American families. It will inform educators and communities to better support Asian and Asian American families through preparing parents and children for racial conversations.

Authors

• Peggy A. Kong, Drexel University

• Xinwei Zhang, Yale University
  Presenting Author

• Anuradha Sachdev, East Stroudsberg University

• Nino Dzotsenidze

• Xiaoran Yu, Lehigh University