A Grounded Theory Approach to Understanding White Families’ Race-Conscious Conversations

• In Event: Parent-Child Interactions and Marginalized Contexts: The Role of Race, Gender, and Discrimination Experiences

Abstract

Introduction: Despite children’s early understanding of race, white parents often avoid having explicit conversations about race or racism with their children (Abaied & Perry, 2020; Sullivan, 2022). White parents that do discuss race often take a “color-evasive” approach, teaching children that “everyone is equal” (Hagerman, 2014; Pahlke, 2012). This approach is harmful when children are surrounded by disparities; the mismatch between adults’ messages to children and the social realities of inequity contribute to the development of implicit racial bias starting in early childhood (Skinner et al., 2017). In response, scholars have begun offering research-based recommendations aimed at helping white parents initiate anti-racist conversations (Perry et al., 2022; Wu et al., 2022). Little is known, however, about how parents implement these practices. Given the transactional nature of parent-child interactions (Sameroff, 2009), the present study examined the bidirectional processes that influence the quality and content of these conversations. Understanding these processes—and the factors that influence them—is critical for advancing research on white families’ racial socialization and the reduction of prejudice formation in children.

Method: Using pilot data from a six-week anti-racist training for white parents (n=10), we explored how parent-child conversations about race and racism unfold, including how parents process and make sense of those interactions. This training assists parents of three- to six-year-old children in developing skills to: (1) initiate conversations with their children about race; (2) grasp and capitalize upon teachable moments; and (3) reflect on the ways in which their conversations challenge or support white privilege. The intervention was developed from existing theories and empirical evidence regarding racial-ethnic socialization (RES) (Pahlke, 2021), anti-racist development (Hazelbaker et al., 2022), prejudice development and reduction (Aboud, 2008; Devine et al., 2017), and mindful parenting (Duncan et al., 2009). The program teaches parents specific, developmentally-appropriate racial socialization language and activities to be used in family interactions with young children. These activities are paired with skills training (e.g., mindfulness) for handling emotionally salient interactions. Using a grounded theory approach (Charmaz, 2006), we analyzed data from multiple sources—including parents’ written self-reflections, audio/video recordings of parent-child conversations and activities, and parents’ self-reported survey responses—to understand the transactional nature of white families’ RES practices. By March 2023, data from an additional 10-15 participants will be collected and analyzed using constant comparison.

Results: Through initial coding, three categories emerged that appeared to influence the quality and outcomes of race-related conversations: child-level factors, parent-level factors, and parent-child relationship factors (see Table 1). These three categories often appeared in relation to each other. For example, parents’ perfectionism [parent factor] often led to lower quality engagement with children [parent-child factor], which led to less child interest in the topic [child factor]. Together, these results illuminate the dynamic and nuanced nature of white families’ conversations about race and racism. This is the first step in informing a theoretical framework of anti-racist parent-child interactions, which has the potential to improve well-being for families of all races/ethnicities by strengthening color-conscious parenting practices and in turn reducing prejudice formation in white children.

Authors

• Margaret L. Kerr, University of Wisconsin - Madison
  Presenting Author

• Inés Botto, University of Wisconsin - Madison