Black adults' childhood race socialization experiences, psychological functioning, and race -related outcomes.

Abstract

Black parents transmit messages about what being Black means to protect and prepare their children for the implications of race as a stratification status. Previous studies suggest that Black parents' race socialization messages influence their children's attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors, and are related to children's psychological functioning. This dissertation examined the relationship between Black adults' childhood race socialization experiences and their psychological function and racial attitudes over two points in time. One important addition to this study was the examination of agreement between parents and their adult children on reports of parental race socialization messages, and the influence of agreement or lack of agreement on children's psychological functioning and racial attitudes. This study used data from the Three-Generation Family Study conducted in conjunction with the 1979--80 National Survey of Black Americans (NSBA) by the Program for Research for Black Americans at the University of Michigan. Specifically, data from two generations: parents (Generation 2) and their adult children (Generation 3). The total number of parent-child dyads was 725. Multiple indicators measured psychological functioning. (e.g. life satisfaction and self-esteem) and racial attitudes (e.g. public regard, private regard, and political mobilization). Parents reported on the most important message they transmitted to their children regarding race. And adult children reported the most important message they received from their parents during childhood. These race socialization messages were coded into six broad, mutually exclusive categories based on previous literature: (a) individual pride, (b) racial group pride, (c) deference to, and fear of Whites, (d) humanitarian, (e) Whites are prejudiced, and (f) no messages. Little agreement was found between parents' and their children's reports of parental race socialization messages. Messages transmitted by parents and received by children had independent relationships with children's psychological functioning and racial attitudes. Children's reports of the messages they received from parents were more strongly related to their psychological functioning and racial attitudes than parents' reports of the messages they transmitted to their children. The content of parental race socialization messages differentially related to adult children's psychological functioning and racial attitudes. Little influence on children's outcomes were found over an eight year period.