Muslim American Adolescents’ Experiences of Discrimination and Intergroup Relationship Attitude: The role of Socialization and Maternal Warmth

• In Event: Facilitators or Gatekeepers: The Roles of Parents and Teachers in Children’s and Adolescents’ Intergroup Interactions

Abstract

Intergroup relationship attitudes are the cognitive and affective processes that affect how individuals think and interact with those who are not members of their same group (Hogg, 2013). For Muslim American adolescents (MAA) whose religious group is often perceived to be incompatible with the mainstream U.S. society, intergroup relationships can act as the sources of identity protection and promote cultural understanding. However, religious discrimination, which conveys the majority group’s rejection of their minoritized religious group, can create a hostile environment and negatively impact MAAs' intergroup relationship attitudes (Baysu et al., 2014). More religious discrimination can lead to parents’ greater engagement in preparation for bias practices in an attempt to provide their children with ways to handle injustice (Christophe et al., 2022). Although such practices can help adolescents navigate discrimination and form better intergroup attitudes (Tran & Lee, 2011), messages regarding the potential bias and discrimination they may encounter could also lead to maladjustment by inducing fear and anxiety in adolescents (Saleem et al., 2020). The broader emotional climate within which these specific socialization messages are delivered may modulate the effect of these messages (Smith-Bynum et al., 2016), and is therefore, important to examine. The present study aimed to explore whether: (1) MAAs’ perceptions of maternal preparation for religious bias mediated the association between their experiences of religious discrimination and intergroup relations, and (2) maternal warmth moderated the association between preparation for bias and intergroup relations.

Participants included 226 MAAs (Mage=16.7 years, SDage=1.5; 59% female), who reported on their religious discrimination experiences (Way,1997), perceptions of maternal preparation for bias practices (Hughes & Johnson, 2001), maternal warmth (Nelson et al., 2001), and attitudes toward intergroup relationship (Geldhoff et al., 2013) through an online survey (see Table 1 for descriptive statistics and intercorrelations).

Results from a moderated mediation analysis (Figure 1) indicated that adolescents’ religious discrimination experiences were positively associated with their perceptions of maternal preparation for religious bias, b=0.32, SE=0.11, p=.003, which were in turn positively associated with adolescents’ intergroup relationship attitude, but only when maternal warmth was high, b=0.05, SE=0.03, p=.034. The direct effect from religious discrimination to intergroup relationship attitude was not significant, b=-0.09, SE=0.08, p=.284.

When MAAs experienced religion-based discrimination, their mothers may attempt to prepare their children for such experiences by engaging in conversations that raise awareness about potential barriers or hostile situations their adolescents may encounter due to their religion (Bebiroglu et al., 2013). Importantly, preparation for religious bias socialization messages can facilitate MAAs' greater likelihood of interacting with individuals from other ethnic-cultural-religious backgrounds and to respect their values and beliefs, but only when these messages are coupled with a warm parenting climate. Messages regarding potential bias and injustices MAAs may encounter within a supportive parenting socialization context can help adolescents feel safe, supported, and empowered to address these negative experiences and manage more diverse intergroup encounters. These findings have important implications for family-based programs that foster supportive family processes, which further contribute to positive intergroup relationships for MAAs.

Authors

• Hatice Gursoy, University of Maryland - Baltimore County
  Presenting Author

• Hyun Su Cho, University of Maryland - Baltimore County

• Charissa S. L. Cheah, University of Maryland - Baltimore County