Children's Ethnic-Racial Identity and Mothers' Cultural Socialization as Protective in Relations Between Sociocultural Risk Factors and Children's Internalizing Behaviors

• Published in: Cultural diversity & ethnic minority psychology 2023-10, Vol.29 (4), p.459-470
• Main Authors: Williams, Chelsea D., Bell, Ashlynn D., DeLaney, Eryn N., Umaña-Taylor, Adriana J., Jahromi, Laudan B., Updegraff, Kimberly A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Child; Child Attitudes; Child Behavior; Economic Disadvantage; Family; Female; Human; Humans; Internalization; Male; Mother-Child Relations; Mothers; Race and Ethnic Discrimination; Risk Taking; Social Identification; Socialization; Test Construction
• ISSN: 1099-9809; 1939-0106
• DOI: 10.1037/cdp0000619

Objectives: The present study examined whether sociocultural risk factors (i.e., mothers' risky behaviors, mothers' and grandmothers' ethnic discrimination, and family economic hardship) predicted children's internalizing behaviors. We also tested whether sociocultural protective factors, including children's positive ethnic-racial identity (ERI) attitudes and mothers' cultural socialization, moderated relations. Method: Participants were 182 5-year-old Mexican-origin children, their mothers, and grandmothers. Results: Findings indicated that children's positive ERI attitudes were protective, such that grandmothers' discrimination predicted children's greater internalizing at low levels of children's positive ERI attitudes, but this relation was not significant at high levels of children's positive ERI attitudes. Mothers' cultural socialization was also protective, such that mothers' risky behaviors predicted children's greater internalizing at low levels of mothers' cultural socialization, but this relation was not significant at high levels of mothers' cultural socialization. Economic hardship predicted children's greater internalizing and no variables moderated this relation. Conclusions: Findings highlight that mothers' engagement in risky behaviors, grandmothers' ethnic discrimination experiences, and family economic hardship contribute to children's greater internalizing behaviors. However, in some of these relations, children's positive ERI attitudes and mothers' cultural socialization are protective. In future research and programming, a consideration of the role of individual, family, and cultural factors will be important for addressing and reducing children's internalizing behaviors. Public Significance Statement Mothers' risky behaviors, grandmothers' discrimination, and family economic hardship were associated with children's mental health. However, children's positive views toward their ethnicity/race and their mothers' efforts to teach them about their culture may protect against the effects of risk factors on children's mental health.