Ethnic-Racial Exploration, Implicit Familial Socialization, and Critical Action among Black and Latina Adolescent Girls

• In Event: Ethnic-Racial Identity and its Links to Critical Consciousness, Socialization, and Diversity

Abstract

Many Black and Latina girls’ first messages about their ethnic-racial identity (ERI) come from their families through implicit (covert) and explicit (overt) racial socialization. Previous studies suggest that these messages contribute to ERI exploration, and ability to cope with racial discrimination. Both experiences of racialization and racial discrimination serve as an entry point for critical action (like activism), linking ERI and critical consciousness (CC) in youth development. For Black and Latina girls, ERI and CC phenomena are likely also intertwined with multiple social identities, namely race, gender, and migration status. Thus, we draw on quantitative data from the Hope Resilience Action Study, to examine associations among implicit familial racial socialization, ERI exploration, and Black and Latina girls’ community activism. More specifically, we investigate whether implicit familial racial socialization moderates the relationship between experiences of gendered racism and community activism. We analyzed survey data with 315 Black (n = 158), Latina (n = 154) and Afro Latina (n = 3) (adolescent girls (n = 282) and gender expansive youth (age 13-17) from the southern United States of America. Girls responded to indices of familial racial socialization messages, ERI exploration, gendered racism (i.e., stereotypes of being angry, objectification, being silenced and marginalized, assumptions of being strong), and community activism (low and high-risk activism, and political engagement).

Inferential statistics determined differences between community activism based on gender; moreover, there were significant differences in implicit familial socialization based on race and migration status (see Table 1). Hierarchical linear regressions (HLR) were used to examine how ERI exploration and covert familial socialization messages contributed to community activism. For each model, we entered all key study variables and covariates (i.e., race, gender, migration status) at step 1. Step 2 included interactions between each type of gendered racism and covert familial racial socialization messages (see Table 2). For all girls across HLR models, findings demonstrated that greater engaged in ERI exploration was associated with more community activism. Furthermore, the first HLR demonstrated a positive association between low-risk activism and both implicit familial racial socialization, and stereotypes of being angry; there were significant differences based on race and gender. The second HLR demonstrated that high-risk activism was associated with the interaction between implicit familial racial socialization and stereotypes of being angry. Similarly, there were significant differences based on race, gender, and migration status. In the final model, political engagement was associated with the interactions between implicit familial socialization messages and both stereotypes of being angry as well as experiences of being silenced and marginalized.

These results suggest that ERI exploration and aspects of familial racial socialization contribute to Black and Latina girls’ critical action in response to gendered racism. Specifically, ERI exploration predicted community activism. Covert familial racial socialization messages moderated the relationship between girls’ experiences gendered racism (being stereotyped as angry or being silenced and marginalized) and different types of community activism. These findings have important implications for educators and scholars who aim to support Black and Latina girls’ CC development and coping with gendered racism.

Authors

• Taina Belinda Quiles, University of Virginia - Charlottesville
  Presenting Author

• Channing Mathews, University of Virginia

• Seanna Leath, Washington University in St. Louis