Poster #87 - A Qualitative Analysis of Parents’ Civic Socialization and Chinese American Adolescents’ Civic Engagement during COVID-19

• In Event: Poster Session 07

Abstract

Parents’ civic socialization facilitate adolescents’ civic engagement and political participation (Diemer, 2012; White & Mistry, 2016). Recent studies have revealed that parents’ messages about culture, race, and ethnicity go hand in hand with sociopolitical socialization among communities of color (Pinetta et al., 2020; Martinez et al., 2022) because their lived experiences are often intertwined with everyday stressors of racism. During COVID-19, learning about racial discrimination experiences or viewing anti-Asian incidents through national media coverage have heightened fear and perceptions of racism among Asian American communities (Cheah et al., 2020), which could evoke more family sociopolitical discussions (Wang et al., 2022). However, less is understood regarding how these civic socialization messages and strategies occur during everyday activities in Asian American families and what propels parent-adolescent conversations or enact sociopolitical behaviors in the context of heightened sociopolitical hostility.
Guided by the integrative conceptual framework for the development of Asian American children and youth (Mistry et al., 2016) and activity theory (Cole, 2005; Vygotsky, 1978), we examined Chinese American parents’ and adolescents’ responses to sociopolitical issues (e.g., anti-Asian discrimination, the Black Lives Matter protest, capitol riots), potential family discussion, and their reasons for talking to their child about sociopolitical issues.
The present study draws on semi-structured interviews conducted April-to-May 2021 from 55 Chinese American parents (Mage = 47.69 years, SD = 5.56, 91% first-generation, 82% mothers) with adolescents at ages 12-17 (Mage = 14.56 years, SD = 2.12, 55% girls). The transcribed interviews were coded in Nvivo (v. 12) with thematic analysis using deductive and inductive qualitative approaches (Braun & Clarke, 2006; Roberts et al., 2019), and inter-rater reliabilities across six coders were good (κ’s = .76-.86). Coders explored themes on modes of civic engagement, civic socialization strategies, goals, and factors impacting a sense of caring and community responsibility, each with subthemes.
Chinese American parents’ responses showed community services/involvement as the most frequently mentioned mode of civic engagement (65% parents, 73% adolescents – both reported by parents), along with parents’ political participation (47%) and adolescents’ civic learning activities in school (20%). Results yielded five civic socialization strategies and seven socialization goals (Table 1). Findings revealed how these socialization processes are embedded within everyday family activities (e.g., conversations about the news at the dinner table); our analysis captured the families’ use of and reference to cultural tools (e.g., books, ballots, hashtags) mediating these interactions, with consequences for adolescents’ civic and sociopolitical development. The key factors facilitating parent-adolescent conversation about sociopolitical issues or civic engagement were proximity, sense of contribution, and emotional responses (Table 2). While the national attention propelled awareness of the severity of the issue and related conversations, participants’ collective identity, experiences of discrimination, and geographic proximity (e.g., protests happening in their neighborhood) led to engagement in community action.
This study advanced our understanding of Asian American families’ civic socialization within the context of heightened racial hostility and illustrated familial civic socialization processes around informal activities. Findings have implications for informing culturally relevant ways to facilitate community responsibility and action in Asian American families.

Authors

• Yeram Cheong, University of Maryland, College Park
  Presenting Author

• Janisa Hui, University of Maryland - College Park

• Priya Bhayana

• Vi Bui, University of Maryland

• Yuqing Lei, University of Maryland, College Park

• Jiangyue Li, Columbia University

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

• Cixin Wang, Unversity of Maryland