Family matters: The influence of parental racial-ethnic socialization on the adoption of colorism

Empirical evidence demonstrates that African American children are exposed to colorist ideology at a young age. At the same time, parents teach their children how to navigate a racialized society through a series of practices that may celebrate Blackness and promote positive cross-racial relationships. Despite these dynamics simultaneously being displayed in the African American community, the relation between colorism ideals and racial-ethnic socialization practices is unclear. Guided by the Cultural Asset and Skin Tone Trauma frameworks, the present study fills this gap by identifying: (a) the association between racial-socialization practices (i.e., racial pride, egalitarianism, and socialization behaviors) and youths’ adoption of colorism ideals (i.e., impression formation, attraction, affiliation, and upward mobility) and (b) whether this association varied by demographic characteristics (i.e., youth skin tone or gender). Utilizing data from 201 Black youth (Mage = 14.96, 55% female), a series of hierarchical linear regressions were conducted to examine the link between parental racial-ethnic socialization practices and adolescent colorism adoption. Findings revealed that messages of racial pride and egalitarianism from parents were negatively associated with youth adoption of colorism ideals whereas parents’ socialization behaviors were not associated with colorism ideals. This trend was found regardless of adolescent gender or skin tone. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Human Dvlpmt & Family Studies

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2022

Author dc:creator

• Sutton, Naya Cheyenne

Contributors dc:contributor

• McNeil Smith, Shardé
• Barton, Allen

• discrimination
• adolescents

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2022 Naya Sutton

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/115454

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F115454