Message Received: Concordance Between Parents and Children in Perceptions of Messages About Race and Ethnic Identity Development

• Published in: Cultural diversity & ethnic minority psychology 2023-10, Vol.29 (4), p.471-481
• Main Authors: Caughy, Margaret O'Brien, Anderson, Leslie A., Contreras, Mariah M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Black or African American; Black People; Child; Childhood Development; Ethnic Identity; Female; Hispanic or Latino; Human; Humans; Identity Formation; Latinos/Latinas; Male; Parent-Child Relations; Parents; Racial Identity; Social Identification; Socialization
• ISSN: 1099-9809; 1939-0106
• DOI: 10.1037/cdp0000606

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the agreement between African American and Latinx parents and their school-age children regarding the amount of ethnic-racial socialization (ERS) parents provided and relations to youth ethnic-racial identity development. Method: The sample included 353 parents and their 10-11 year-old children (57% Latinx; 55% boys), who both completed surveys 1 year apart. Latent difference scores were used to quantify agreement between parents and youth and to examine the relation between agreement and family and child characteristics including youth ethnic-racial identity development. Results: Parents reported higher levels of ERS than children, and differences were greater for preparation for bias than cultural socialization. Higher levels of cultural socialization and greater discrepancies between parent and youth reports were associated with greater ethnic-racial identity development 1 year later. Greater discrepancies in report of bias preparation were associated with less ethnic-racial identity development, but this effect was not significant once the impact of parent-reported bias preparation was accounted for. Conclusion: Incorporating both parent and youth reports of ERS provides a more complete picture of these practices and associated outcomes. Implications for the study of ERS and clinical intervention are discussed. Public Significance Statement Minoritized parents routinely strive to increase their child's understanding of their group's cultural history and how to cope with discrimination. Less is known regarding how well school-age children incorporate these messages from parents. Findings indicate that differences in school-age children's perceptions of ethnic-racial socialization are associated with differences in ethnic-racial identity development.