Microaggressions, Parenting, and Preschoolers’ Development in a Diverse Context

• In Event: 2-129 - Caregiver-child Interactions: Associations with Physiological Processes and Self-Regulation in Children

Integrative Statement

Individuals belonging to racial and ethnic minority groups may experience racial microaggressions, which are subtle statements and actions that convey negative messages to people of color in unconscious ways (Nadal, 2011). Research on microaggressions has been growing, with studies noting, for example, that adolescents’ experience with microaggressions is negatively related to their sleep quality (Huynh & Gillen-O’Neal, 2016). Yet, there has not been extensive study on parents’ experience with microaggressions and its role in their children’s adjustment (for an exception, see Gassman-Pines, 2015). Stress associated with the experience of microaggressions may jeopardize children’s development via impacts on parenting quality (Morris et al., 2007). Parents’ stress has been linked to children’s lower self-regulation (i.e., the ability to control one’s own emotion, attention, and behavior; Harmeyer, Ispa, Palermo, & Carlo, 2016), and lower self-regulation has been associated with reduced sleep quality (Kadzikowska-Wrzosek, 2018).
The current study takes steps toward better understanding the role of parents’ experiences with microaggressions in children’s development. First, we hypothesize that such microaggressions and the stress associated with these experiences will be negatively related to parenting quality. Second, we expect that higher parenting quality will be linked to preschoolers’ better self-regulation and fewer sleep problems.
Data were drawn from surveys with teachers and parents whose children attended a Head Start preschool program in a large Midwestern city (n =18, see Table 1). Questions on microaggressions were based on the Racial and Ethnic Microaggression Scale (Nadal, 2011) and the Racial Microaggression Scale (Torres-Harding et. al., 2012). The survey also included items from the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire (Robinson et. al., 1995). Both parents and teachers rated children’s self-regulation (using the self-control subscale from the Social Skills Rating System (Gresham, & Elliot, 1990)) and sleep (using sleep problem items from the Child Behavior Checklist/1.5-5 (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2000)).
First, in line with our hypotheses, parents’ microaggression experiences were associated with authoritarian parenting (r = .52, p = .03). In addition, there was a correlation between stress associated with microaggressions and authoritarian parenting styles (r = .53, p = .02). Stress related to microaggressions was linked to more permissive parenting at a marginal level (r = .43, p = .08) as well.
Second, as expected, authoritarian parenting and children’s self-regulation were related (r = -.51, p = .03; see Figure 1). Also, there was a correlation between permissive parenting and preschoolers’ sleep problems (r = .55, p = .02). Lastly, children’s self-regulation was marginally associated with their sleep problems (r = -.42, p = .08).
Results suggest that microaggressions may be negatively related to children’s adjustment, via parenting style. Next steps include analyzing teacher reports of children’s self-regulation and sleep problems, as well as examination of parents’ answers to open-ended questions on race, ethnicity, culture, and parenting. Despite its small sample size, this study moves us toward enhancing our knowledge of children’s development in sociocultural contexts. Our discussion will address the importance of studying microaggressions in greater detail and the need for mixed methods in this area of research.

Authors

• Zahra Naqi, Loyola University Chicago
  Non-Presenting Author

• Kelsey Johnson-Davis, Loyola University Chicago
  Non-Presenting Author

• Christine Li-Grining, Loyola University Chicago
  Presenting Author