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The Role of Race and Ethnicity in Parental Ethnic-Racial Socialization: A Scoping Review of Research

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Abstract

Over the past 35 years, ethnic-racial socialization (ERS) has been a widely studied topic in psychological and cultural research. Most popular among the populations that ERS research centers are Black/African American families and youth. However, a small, but emerging body of research on the ERS processes of other racial/ethnic groups suggest that ERS is not limited to Black/African American families. Recently, scholars have begun to ask more critical questions regarding the differential effects of ethnic-racial socialization on non-Black youth’s psychological development. Therefore, the current review of research draws together studies on Black/African American, Biracial, Latinx, Asian American, and White American families to demonstrate the role of racial/ethnic group identification in soliciting the exchange of ERS messages from parents to children. The methodology used to execute this review follows a modified framework which includes four key phases of searching and selecting appropriate studies. From three multidisciplinary and psychological databases, 24 studies were selected based on the inclusion criteria set by the researcher. The studies discussed in this scoping review all revealed how racial/ethnic group identification solicits the exchange of ERS messages from parents to children in some way.

Highlights

  • 24 research studies revealed that the dynamic nature of a family’s ethnic/racial identification drives the types and frequency of certain ethnic-racial socialization messages communicated from parents to children.

  • Black/African American families have an extensive history of prioritizing conversations that prepare Black youth for racial bias.

  • ERS studies centering Latinx and Asian American families revealed that generational/immigration status was an important factor for what types of ERS messages were discussed in those households.

  • White American families were more likely to engage their children in egalitarian socialization to reinforce the idea that everyone is the same and possesses equal opportunities to succeed.

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  1. University of California, Los Angeles, 457 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Carlisa Simon

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Table 1

Table 1 Methodological characteristics of empirical studies that assess ERS in various racial/ethnic groups
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Simon, C. The Role of Race and Ethnicity in Parental Ethnic-Racial Socialization: A Scoping Review of Research. J Child Fam Stud 30, 182–195 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-020-01854-7

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