How Parental Socialization Relates to Children’s Emotions and Prosocial Behavior toward Refugee Newcomers

• In Event: Hearing Both Sides: Understanding Refugee Newcomers’ Resettlement in Canada and South Korea

Abstract

Parental socialization practices are believed to contribute to the emergence of out-group prejudice in early and middle childhood (Degner & Dalege, 2013). To date, relatively little research has examined how the implicit and explicit messages parents convey about others may impact their children’s emotional and behavioral responses to out-group members. We addressed this gap by investigating associations between parental socialization practices (implicit and explicit) and children’s feelings about and prosocial behaviors toward out-group peers (i.e., refugees). We focused on refugee newcomers because they represent a highly marginalized group (Hadfield et al., 2017); thus, generating knowledge regarding children’s responses to newcomers can inform initiatives to promote inclusion within diversified societies.

A sample of 6-, 9-, and 12-year-old children (N =168, 51% female) and their caregivers was drawn from a highly monocultural region in Canada. Children were randomly assigned into one of two conditions in which they were asked to imagine they had chosen not to share a desirable treat with either an in-group member (peer from their neighborhood) or an out-group member (newcomer peer). We then asked them to report how expected to feel following the hypothetical transgression (open-ended emotion) and how strongly they would feel that way (emotion rating). Guilt-related emotions (e.g., sadness, anger, guilt) were combined with intensity ratings to create a 5-point guilt rating scale (0= none to 4= very strong). Prosocial behavior was measured by giving children the opportunity to donate (or not) up to 6 chocolate coins to a newcomer child in need. Caregivers self-reported a) their own prejudice toward newcomers (reverse coded; i.e., implicit socialization) and b) how frequently they engaged in conversations with their children about newcomers (0 = never, 6 = always; i.e., explicit socialization).

We found age group differences in emotion intensity within the out-group condition, F(2, 80) = 6.10, p < .01, such that 6-year-olds reported less guilt-related emotions than 12-year-olds, p < .001 (see Figure 1). Further, there was a condition by age effect, such that 6-year-olds reported higher levels of guilt-related emotions in the in-group than out-group condition, t(59) = 3.01, p < .01 (Figure 1). When assessing how implicit socialization practices relate to children’s emotions, we found that greater caregiver prejudice was related to lower levels of guilt-related emotions after not sharing with an out-group peer, b = -.80, p < .01, 95% CI = [-1.30, -.31], but relation was found for in-group peers, b = .05, p = .50, [-.48, .57]. Finally, explicit socialization practices were associated with children’s prosocial behavior: the more caregivers reported talking to their children about newcomers, the more coins their children donated to newcomers in need, b = .05, p < .01, [.02, .08].

These findings shed light on the role of parental socialization in shaping children’s emotions and behaviors toward refugee newcomers. Targeting both implicit and explicit socialization practices may be most effective in preventing and decreasing discrimination amongst children.

Authors

• Joanna Peplak, University of California - Irvine
  Presenting Author

• Alyssa Bottoni, University of Toronto
  Non-Presenting Author

• Marc M Jambon, University of Toronto
  Non-Presenting Author

• Tina Malti, University of Toronto
  Non-Presenting Author