Parental Racial Socialization as a Moderator of the Effects of Racial Discrimination on Educational Success Among African American Adolescents

• Published in: Child development Vol. 83; no. 5; pp. 1716 - 1731
• Main Authors: Wang, Ming-Te, Huguley, James P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.09.2012; Wiley Blackwell; Wiley-Blackwell
• Subjects: Academic achievement; Achievement; Adolescent; Adolescents; African American culture; African American studies; African Americans; African Americans - psychology; Aspiration; Biological and medical sciences; Black American people; Child development; Cognition; Cultural assimilation; Developmental psychology; Discrimination; Education; Educational Status; EMPIRICAL ARTICLES; Faculty; Female; Females; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gender differentiation; Gender discrimination; Grade point average; Grades (Scholastic); Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Motivation; Outcomes of education; Parenting style; Parents; Parents & parenting; Parents - psychology; Peer Group; Peer groups; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Racial discrimination; Racial socialization; Racism; Racism - psychology; Social biases; Social Identification; Social interaction; Socialization; Teacher-student relationship; Teachers; Teenagers; East coast; Human; Parental behavior; Academic achievement; Ethnic group; Parent child relation; Social development; Social interaction; Follow up study; Adolescent; Family environment; Predictive factor; Racism; Socialization; African American
• ISSN: 0009-3920; 1467-8624; 1467-8624
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2012.01808.x

This study investigated whether parental racial socialization practices moderated the relation between racial discrimination in school and adolescents' educational outcomes. Using data from a longitudinal study of an economically diverse sample of 630 African American adolescents (mean age = 14.5) from a major East Coast metropolis, the results revealed that cultural socialization attenuated the effect of teacher discrimination on grade point average (GPA) and educational aspirations, as well as the effect of peer discrimination on GPA. Also, preparation for bias and cultural socialization interacted to make unique contributions to African American adolescents' educational outcomes. Finally, there was some evidence that teacher discrimination was more detrimental to the academic engagement of African American males than females. Implications for research and practice are discussed.