Workplace racial composition is an important factor for Black parents’ communication of racial socialization messages

Racial discrimination is a pernicious and ever-present stressor in Black families’ lives. One common method that Black parents use to try to protect their children from the adverse health outcomes associated with racial discrimination is through communicating racial socialization messages that convey information about race and the meaning of racial group membership (Hughes et al., 2006). The most common types of racial socialization messages address cultural socialization (i.e., highlighting the role of culture, tradition, heritage, and racial group membership) and preparation for bias (i.e., discussing race, racism, and injustice; Hughes et al., 2006; Stevenson & Arrington, 2009). Because these messages have significant socioemotional implications for Black adolescents’ well-being (Neblett et al., 2012), understanding what factors are associated with Black parents’ communication of these messages is crucial. In a study recently published in Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychologyopens in new window, Lorraine E. Scott and Fatima Varner explored how the parent–adolescent gender dyad (e.g., mothers of boys, fathers of girls) and the racial composition of familial contexts (i.e., neighborhood, school, workplace) influenced the relationship between parent and adolescent racial discrimination experiences and parental communication of racial socialization messages.

The authors used path analyses to test the relationship between parent-reported adolescent and personal experiences of racial discrimination and how parent–adolescent gender and neighborhood, school, and workplace racial composition moderated this relationship in a national sample of 565 Black parents in the United States. They found that parents who reported personal experiences of racial discrimination communicated more frequent cultural socialization messages to their adolescents. However, both parent-reported personal and adolescent experiences of racial discrimination were directly associated with more frequent preparation-for-bias messaging. Parents who worked with many Black people communicated more frequent cultural socialization messages to their adolescents. Parents who reported experiencing racial discrimination and worked in spaces with few Black people communicated more frequent preparation-for-bias messages. Gender and the racial composition of school and neighborhood populations did not affect how parents discussed race with their adolescents.

This research provides further evidence of the importance of eliminating anti-Black racism, given its far-reaching and cross-generational implications. It also justifies the need for future research to examine how racial composition and gender are associated with Black families’ psychosocioemotional outcomes. Finally, it highlights the need for culturally, racially, and ethnically diverse and equitably inclusive workplaces. Currently, many organizations and institutions are reassessing or eliminating their policies related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI; “The War on DEI,” 2023). However, by demonstrating that Black parents’ race-related experiences in their workplaces are influencing how they teach their children about race and race relations, this study attests that workplace DEI efforts do matter.

This article is in the Social psychology and social processes topic area.

Hughes, D., Rodriguez, J., Smith, E. P., Johnson, D. J., Stevenson, H. C., & Spicer, P. (2006). Parents’ ethnic–racial socialization practices: A review of research and directions for future study. Developmental Psychology, 42(5), 747–770. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.42.5.747opens in new window

Neblett, E. W., Jr., Rivas-Drake, D., & Umaña-Taylor, A. J. (2012). The promise of racial and ethnic protective factors in promoting ethnic minority youth development. Child Development Perspectives, 6(3), 295–303. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1750-8606.2012.00239.xopens in new window

Scott, L. E., & Varner, F. (2023). Who, what, and where? How racial composition and gender influence the association between racial discrimination and racial socialization messages. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 29(4), 447–458. https://doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000611opens in new window

Stevenson, H. C., & Arrington, E. G. (2009). Racial/ethnic socialization mediates perceived racism and the racial identity of African American adolescents. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 15(2), 125–136. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015500opens in new window

The war on DEI. (2023, July 26). INSIGHT Into Diversity. https://www.insightintodiversity.com/the-war-on-dei/opens in new window

Lorraine E. Scott, MA, is a 5th-year doctoral candidate in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin. Her research centers on intersectionality in context, such that she examines the various interactions between social identities and social context and the socioemotional implications that these interactions have for Black people. Her research sits at the theoretical and methodological intersections of Black studies, human development, sociology, psychology, and demography.

Fatima Varner, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin. Her major research interests include the roles of ethnicity, gender, and context in parenting, family processes, and adolescent outcomes. She is especially interested in the pathways through which racial discrimination and other race-related stressors influence parenting and adolescents’ academic achievement and well-being in Black families. In addition, she studies how contextual factors and coping influence African American parents’ psychological well-being.