Racial Socialization and Racial Identity: African American Parents' Messages About Race as Precursors to Identity

• NCJ Number: 226023
• Journal: Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 38 Issue: 2 Dated: February 2009 Pages: 189-203
• Author(s): Enrique W. Neblett Jr.; Ciara P. Smalls; Kahlil R. Ford; Hoa X. Nguyen; Robert M. Sellers
• Date Published: February 2009
• Length: 15 pages
• Grant Number(s): 5 R01 MH61697-02; BCS-9986101
• Sponsoring Agency: National Science Foundation; National Institute of Mental Health
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study used two waves of data in examining relationships among patterns of racial socialization (the transmission of parents’ world view about race and ethnicity to their children) and racial identity (self-concept related to racial membership) in a sample of 358 African-American adolescents (60 percent female).

Abstract

Generally, the African-American adolescents in this sample reported receiving a wide range of messages from their parents regarding race, and they engaged in various socialization activities with their parents. Three patterns of racial socialization were identified. The two largest clusters (“high” and “moderate positive”) consisted of adolescents who reported a parental emphasis on messages of racial self-pride and self-worth. Messages of racial barriers and equality as well as socialization behaviors were also significant components of racial socialization in these groups, particularly for the high-positive cluster group. The distinction between these two groups is largely based in the relative frequency of various racial socialization messages. The third pattern of racial socialization, the “low-frequency” group, consisted of the adolescents whose parents engaged in little to no explicit racial socialization; i.e., their parents made a conscious decision not to focus on race with their children as an explicit racial socialization strategy. The study found that racial socialization patterns by the adolescents’ parents influenced the shaping of the adolescents’ racial identity. The high and moderate positive groups tended to feel their race to be a core part of their identity (“racial centrality”). This self-concept brings with it a sense of the uniqueness and cultural distinctiveness of the African-American experience (“nationalist ideology”). On the other hand, youth whose parents did not focus on race may not view their race as important for their self-concept or view themselves as being culturally distinctive because of their race, such that being African-American is not different than being American (“assimilationist ideology”). 3 tables, 1 figure, and 49 references