Thesis advisor: Janet E. Helms / African American parents engage in ethnic-racial socialization practices, which may foster their youths’ racial identity and critical consciousness development, each of which may decrease youths’ race-related stress. The few studies that have examined the relationships between African American youths’ perceived parental ethnic-racial socialization practices and their racial identity or critical consciousness have used inconsistent conceptualizations of racial identity. No studies have compared the effectiveness of different kinds of perceived parental socialization practices on critical consciousness development, nor has previous research demonstrated that critical consciousness is related to reduced stress. In the present study, the perceived parental strategies of Cultural Socialization and Preparation for Bias were investigated to determine how they were related to racial identity and critical consciousness development. Also, effects of racial identity and critical consciousness on racial stress were studied. African American youths, ages 18-24 years (N=139), completed a demographic questionnaire, perceived ethnic-racial socialization measures, a racial identity measure, critical consciousness measures and a measure of race-related stress. Multivariate multiple regression analyses revealed that parental Cultural Socialization was related to lower levels of Preencounter (conformity), Post-Encounter (confusion), and higher levels of Internalization (self-actualizing) racial identity statuses, and to critical consciousness dimensions of Critical Reflection and Political Efficacy, but lower levels of Critical Action. Parental Preparation for Bias only predicted Preencounter. Critical Reflection was related to high levels of Cultural Race-Related Stress, was negatively related to Institutional Race-Related Stress, and was not related to Individual Race-Related Stress. Each of the other critical consciousness dimensions was related to higher levels of at least one type of race-related stress, rather than lower levels. Immersion/Emersion was related to high levels of all three types of race-related stress. Implications of the findings are that (a) parental Cultural Socialization strategies may be most useful for promoting racial identity and critical consciousness, (b) parental strategies may encourage all aspects of critical consciousness except political action, and (c) with only a couple of exceptions, racial identity and critical consciousness were related to higher stress. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology.

I developed and tested a model of relationships between primary caregiver ethnic identity and religiosity, primary caregiver experiences of discrimination stress, parent-child relationships, adolescent ethnic identity and religiosity, and their impact over time on adolescent academic orientation and positive future outlook. The sample consisted of youth and their families participating in an ongoing family centered intervention trial in a northwest metropolitan area. The theoretical frameworks that guided this study were Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory, sociocultural theory, social identity theory, and critical race theory. The hypotheses regarding the relationships between key variables and supported by the aforementioned theoretical frameworks were evaluated using analysis of variance techniques and structural equation modeling. Study findings suggest that parental identity and cultural socialization influence adolescent religiosity and ethnic identity in early adolescence. Primary caregivers' sense of ethnic identity and religiosity directly impact cultural socialization of their children, which in turn influences adolescent identity development. The parent-child relationship plays a predominant role in positive youth outcomes (i.e., academic orientation and positive future outlook) above and beyond adolescent ethnic identity and religiosity considerations. Implications of the present study for both research and practice are discussed.

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Ethnic Racial Socialization (ERS) is a specific form of socialization that African-American parents use to respond to culturally specific challenges (James, Coard, Fine & Rudy, 2018). A large component of expanding the ERS process requires including Gendered Racial Socialization (GRS) dimensions by exploring gendered racial micro aggressions and discerning differences. Additionally, it is important to note that a thorough review of the ERS literature confirmed the lack of empirical research on ERS and paternal figures (Priest et al., 2016). As such, this pilot study, is an initial investigation to explore ways in which African American fathers are socializing their daughters to address gendered racial microaggressions. Through in-depth semi-structured interviews, results will include messages that are transmitted, modes of transmission and concerns pertaining to gendered racial microaggressions their daughters will experience. By shedding light on this construct, African-American fathers could be equipped with better effective ERS practices geared at the varied experiences their African American daughters endure.

Doctor of Philosophy / Ethnic Racial Socialization (ERS) is the process Black parents utilize to convey attitudes and beliefs about the meaning of race and ethnicity, teach their children what it means to be an ethnic/racial minority and equip their children with the skills to cope with racial discrimination (Neblett, Cooper, Banks, et. al, 2013). This process includes culture specific messages, artifacts and modeled behavior that provide a toolbox of which Black children can pull from when enduring racial experiences. Research suggests ERS has the ability to act as a protective factor against negative outcomes, such as low self-esteem, anxiety and depression among minority children (Reynold and Gonzales-Backen, 2017). In this study, I examined how particular experiences influence how Black fathers engage in ERS. This qualitative study explored how Black fathers' race-related social experiences shape their ERS processes through semi-structured interviewing. This study was informed by Critical Race Theory and Extended Family Systems Theory. Grounded Theory methodology was utilized. In this study, I aimed to address the following overarching research question: How do Black fathers' social experiences shape the way they engage in ERS with their children? Twenty-two participants from fifteen states and the District of Columbia participated in this study. The data from this study suggests that fathers' race-related social experiences regarding racism and discrimination shapes their worldviews. In turn, fathers' worldviews influence the messages transmitted to their children about living in a racially charged environment. Results from this study indicate a need to examine family processes in Black families within a context where race and racism have a more central role (James, Fine, and Rudy, 2018). Through the emphasis of Black fathers' situated context, this research highlights the social context of fathers with differing experiences and worldviews that all contribute to the ERS process. This research has implications for the field and implications for families and practitioners who work with children and families.

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xviii, 150 p. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / This dissertation examined how cultural influences transmitted within the familial context impact the psychological adjustment of ethnic minority youth through the development of an observational measure of ethnic-racial socialization. Specifically, a behavioral observational paradigm and companion coding system were developed to examine ethnic-racial socialization processes among 140 American Indian, African American and European American adolescents and their families. Despite its interactional nature, to date there are no observational measures of ethnic-racial socialization, highlighting the important contributions of this study. This study was conducted in a series of phases. Phase I consisted of measurement development through use of qualitative data. Qualitative information from cultural informants was incorporated to develop two observational paradigms (observed family discussions on Family Culture and Coping with Discrimination) and an accompanying coding system. Phase II examined the underlying factor structure of this observational measure through confirmatory and exploratory factor analytic techniques. The Discrimination Paradigm derived the ethnic-racial socialization dimensions: (a) Proactive Preparation, (b) Racial Awareness, (c) Promotion of Mistrust, and (d) Other Group Orientation. The Family Culture paradigm derived: (a) Cultural Socialization, (b) Ethnic Heritage Exploration, (c) Family Centeredness, and (d) Spiritual Involvement. In Phase III correlational analyses supported convergent and ecological validity of the observed dimensions for American Indian and African American youth, but not European American youth. Phase IV examined the mediational effects of the observed measures, suggesting that among American Indian and African American youth, observed ethnic-racial socialization is central to the relationships between family context, discrimination, ethnic identity and youth adjustment. In Phase V, moderation effects indicated that only for American Indian youth, observed ethnic-racial socialization significantly reduced the impact of discrimination on youth adjustment. Last, Phase VI analyses revealed that observed dimensions uniquely contributed to adolescent problem behavior above and beyond the effect of discrimination and familial contextual factors among American Indian and African American youth. In sum, these findings support the reliability and validity of the observed ethnic-racial socialization measures, and suggest its promising capability to efficiently capture important, observable, transactional familial processes of ethnic-racial socialization that are integral to the development of cultural resilience. / Adviser: Thomas, J. Dishion

abstract: The overarching goal of this dissertation was to contribute to the field’s understanding of young children’s development of ethnic-racial identification. In particular, Study 1 presented the adaptation of three measures that are developmentally appropriate for assessing young children’s ethnic-racial attitudes, ethnic-racial centrality, and ethnic-racial knowledge, and tested the psychometric properties of each measure. Findings from Study 1 provided limited initial support for the construct validity and reliability of the measures; importantly, there were many differences in the descriptives and measurement properties based on the language in which children completed the measures. In addition to measurement of ethnic-racial identification, Study 2 used the measures developed in Study 1 and tested whether Mexican-origin mothers’ adaptive cultural characteristics (i.e., ERI affirmation, ethnic-racial centrality, and involvement in Mexican culture) when children were 3 years of age predicted greater cultural socialization efforts with children at 4 years of age and, in turn, children’s ethnic-racial identification (i.e., children’s ethnic-racial attitudes, ethnic-racial centrality, ethnic-racial knowledge, and identification as Mexican) at 5 years of age. Furthermore, children’s characteristics (i.e., gender and skin tone) were tested as moderators of these processes. Findings supported expected processes from mothers’ adaptive cultural characteristics to children’s ethnic-racial identification via mothers’ cultural socialization across boys and girls, however, relations varied by children’s skin tone. Findings highlight the important role of children’s individual characteristics in cultural socialization and young children’s developing ethnic-racial identification over time. Overall, given the paucity of studies that have examined ethnic-racial identification among young children, the results from Study 1 and Study 2 have the potential to stimulate growth of knowledge in this area. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Family and Human Development 2016

The current study investigated the role of racial identity dimensions (racial centrality and private regard), academic identity, and parent socialization (specifically, academic and ethnic/racial socialization: cultural socialization and preparation for bias) in promoting success among a diverse sample of Black students. The study aimed to examine how parent socialization and academic identity mediated the relationship between racial identity dimensions and academic achievement. Data was collected nationwide from 685 Black students through an online survey conducted in Spring 2022. Path models were employed to explore the relationship between racial identity dimensions and academic achievement. To account for contextual factors, the analyses incorporated academic identity and parent socialization (academic and ethnic/racial socialization, including cultural socialization and preparation for bias) as mediators, while gender was considered as a moderator. However, the mediation analyses did not yield statistically significant results, highlighting the need for further research to investigate the nuanced relationship between these factors. In addition to the path models, supplementary analyses were conducted, including bivariate correlations and exploratory factor analyses of the scales used: Identification with Academics (IAS, Osborne, 1997), Identification with School Questionnaire (ISQ, Voelkl, 1996), Education Socialization Scale (ESS, Bempechat et al., 1999), and Parent Ethnic/Racial Socialization (PERS, Hughes & Chen, 1999). The results of the exploratory factor analyses and subsequent evaluation of psychometric properties revealed inconsistencies between the factor structures suggested by previous studies and the current study for the Identification with Academic, Identification with School Questionnaire, and Education Socialization Scale. This suggests the need for further refinement and validation of these measurement instruments. However, the exploratory factor analysis of the Parent Ethnic/Racial Socialization scale aligned with existing literature, indicating its appropriateness for use with Black students. Bivariate correlation analyses demonstrated small-to-moderate relationships that were consistently observed across most variables. Academic identity demonstrated a strong and significant correlation with private regard and a moderate and significant correlation with racial centrality. GPA demonstrated a moderate and significant correlation with academic identity and private regard and a small but significant correlation with racial centrality and parent academic socialization. Students who endorse a stronger academic identity and racial identity (private regard and racial centrality) are more likely to have better academic outcomes, including higher GPA. Furthermore, the findings related to parent academic socialization suggest that parental support and engagement may continue to have some influence on the academic performance of Black students, even in adulthood. The implications of the findings were such that fostering a strong academic identity and a positive racial identity contributed to better academic outcomes for Black students. Further, the findings highlight the sustained influence of parental support and engagement on the academic performance of Black students, even as they transition into adulthood. This underscores the significance of ongoing parental involvement throughout a student's educational journey. / School Psychology