Although research on African American family socialization is increasing, little is known about the beliefs, goals, and strategies of middle-class parents of young children. This study's aim was to address this research gap by examining three key aspects of parental socialization. First, the authors investigated whether and how African American mothers engage in racial socialization. Second, they examined the meanings of educational achievement to these mothers and how these meanings are conveyed through academic socialization. Third, the authors investigated which aspects of interdependence and independence these mothers promote in their children. Twelve mothers of 3- to 6-year-old children were interviewed, and 5 of these mothers participated in a focus group. Three themes were identified: (a) teaching children about African Americans' history and their ancestors' “struggle,” (b) promoting educational achievement to overcome barriers of racism, and (c) promoting autonomy while maintaining close family relationships. Implications for educators and family practitioners are discussed.
Atwelle, P., Lavin, D., Domina, T., & Levey, T. (2004). The Black middle-class: Problems, prospects, and puzzles. Journal of African American Studies, 8(1/2), 6-19.
2.
Bell, D. (1992). Faces at the bottom of the well: The permanence of racism. New York: Basic Books .
3.
Blumer, H. (1986). Symbolic interactionism: Perspective and method . Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
4.
Bogdan, R.C., & Biklen, S.K. (1992). Qualitative research for education (2nd ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
5.
Bowman, P.J., & Howard, C. (1985). Race-related socialization, motivation and academic achievement. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry , 24(2), 134-141.
6.
Boykin, A., & Toms, F. (1985). Black child socialization: A conceptual framework . In H. P. McAdoo & J. L. McAdoo (Eds.), Black children: Social, educational, and parental environments (pp. 33-51). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
7.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
8.
Caughy, M.O., O'Campo, P.J., & Muntaner, C. (2004). Experiences of racism among African American parents and the mental health of their preschool-aged children. American Journal of Public Health, 94(12), 2118-2124.
9.
Caughy, M.O., O'Campo, P.J., Randolph, S.M., & Nickerson, K. (2002). The influence of racial socialization practices on the cognitive and behavioral competence of African American preschoolers . Child Development, 73(5), 1611-1625.
10.
Cheatham, H.E. (1990). Empowering Black families. In J. B. Stewart & H. Cheatham (Eds.), Interdisciplinary perspectives on Black families (pp. 373-393). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.
11.
Coard, S.I., Wallace, S.A., Stevenson, H.C., & Brotman, L.M. (2004). Toward culturally relevant preventive intervention: The consideration of racial socialization in parent training with AfricanAmerican families. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 13(3), 277-293.
12.
Cole, M. (1996). Cultural psychology: A once and future discipline . Cambridge, MA: Belknap.
13.
D'Andrade, R. (1987). A folk model of the mind. In D. Holland & N. Quinn (Eds.), Cultural models in language and thought (pp. 113-148). New York: Cambridge University Press.
14.
Dixson, A.D., & Rousseau, C.K. (2005). And we are still not saved: Critical race theory in education ten years later. Race, Ethnicity, and Education, 8(1), 7-27.
15.
Everett, J. E., Chipungu, S. S., & Leashore, B. R. (Eds.). (1991). Child welfare: An Africentric perspective . New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
16.
Fan, X. (2001). Parental involvement and students' academic achievement: A growth modeling analysis. Journal of Experimental Education , 70(1), 27-61.
17.
Fantuzzo, J.F., Tighe, E., & Childs, S. (2000). Family Involvement Questionnaire: A multi-variate assessment of family participation in early childhood education. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92, 367-376.
18.
Few, A.L., Stephens, D.P., & Rouse-Arnett, M. (2003). Sister-to-sister talk: Transcending boundaries and challenges in qualitative research with Black women. Family Relations, 52(3), 205-215.
19.
Frabutt, J.M., Walker, A.M., & MacKinnon-Lewis, C. (2002). Racial socialization messages and the quality of mother-child interactions in AfricanAmerican families. Journal of Early Adolescence, 22, 200-217.
20.
Franklin, A.J., Boyd-Franklin, N., & Draper, C.V. (2002). A psychological and educational perspective on Black parenting. In H. P. McAdoo (Ed.), Black children: Social, educational, and parental environments (2nd ed., pp. 119-140). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
21.
Garcia Coll, C., Lamberty, G., Jenkins, R., McAdoo, H.P., Crnic, K., Wasik, B.H., et al. (1996). An integrative model for the study of developmental competencies in minority children. Child Development, 67, 1891-1914.
22.
Gilgun, J.F. (1995). Shared something special: The moral discourse of incest perpetrators. Journal of Marriage and Family, 57(2), 265-281.
23.
Hale-Benson, J. (1986). Black children: Their roots, culture, and learning styles (Rev. ed.). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
24.
Harrison, A.O., Wilson, M.N., Pine, C.J., Chan, S.Q., & Buriel, R. (1990). Family ecologies of ethnic minority children. Child Development, 61, 347-362.
25.
Hill, N.E. (1997). Does parenting differ based on social class? African American women's perceived socialization for achievement. American Journal of Community Psychology, 25(5), 675-697.
26.
Hill, N.E. (2001). Parenting and academic socialization as they relate to school readiness: The roles of ethnicity and family income. Journal of Educational Psychology, 93(4), 686-697.
27.
Hill, N.E., & Taylor, L.C. (2004). Parental school involvement and children's academic achievement. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 13(4), 161-164.
28.
Hill, S.A. (2001). Class, race, and gender dimensions of child rearing in AfricanAmerican families. Journal of Black Studies, 31(4), 494-508.
29.
Hill, S.A., & Sprague, J. (1999). Parenting in Black and White families. Gender and Society, 13(4), 480-502.
30.
Ho, E.S., & Willms, D.J. (1996). Effects of parental involvement on eighth grade achievement. Sociology of Education, 69(2), 126-141.
31.
Holland, D., & Quinn, N. (1987). Cultural models in language and thought. New York: Cambridge University Press.
32.
Hughes, D. (2003). Correlates of African American and Latino parents' messages to children about ethnicity and race: A comparative study of racial socialization. American Journal of Community Psychology, 31(1/2), 15-33.
33.
Hughes, D., & Chen, L. (1997). When and what parents tell children about race: An examination of race-related socialization among AfricanAmerican families. Applied Developmental Science, 1, 200-214.
34.
Hughes, D., & Chen, L. (1999). The nature of parents' race-related communications to children: A developmental perspective. In L. Balter & C. S. Tamis-LeMonda (Eds.), Child psychology: A handbook of contemporary issues (pp. 467-490). Philadelphia: Psychology Press/ Taylor & Francis.
35.
Jackson, K., & Remillard, J.T. (2005). Rethinking parent involvement: African American mothers construct their roles in the mathematics education of their children. School Community Journal, 15(1), 51-73.
36.
Jeynes, W.H. (2003). A meta-analysis: The effects of parental involvement on minority children's academic achievement. Education and Urban Society, 35(2), 202-218.
37.
Johnson, D. (2001). Parental characteristics, racial stress, and racial socialization processes as predictors of racial coping in middle childhood . In A. M. Neal-Barnett, J. M. Contreras, & K. A. Kerns (Eds.), Forging links: African American children clinical developmental perspectives (pp. 57-74). Westport, CT : Prager.
38.
Kagitçibasi, Ç. (1996). The autonomous-relational self: A new synthesis. European Psychologist, 1(3), 180-186.
39.
Kagitçibasi, Ç. (2005). Autonomy and relatedness in cultural context: Implications for self and family. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 20(10), 1-20.
40.
Keith, T.Z., Keith, P.B., Troutman, G.C., Bickley, P., Trivette, P., & Singh, K. (1993). Does parental involvement affect eighth-grade student achievement? Structural analysis of national data. School Psychology Review, 22(3), 474-496.
41.
Ladson-Billings, G., & Tate, W. (1995). Toward a critical race theory of education. Teachers College Record, 97(1), 47-68.
42.
LeVine, R.A., Dixon, S., LeVine, S., Richman, A., Leiderman, P.H., Keefer, C., et al. (1994). Childcare and culture: Lessons from Africa . New York: Cambridge University Press.
43.
Lincoln, Y.S., & Guba, E.G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
44.
Luster, T., & McAdoo, H.P. (2002) Family and child influences on educational attainment: A secondary analysis of the High/Scope Perry preschool data. In H. P. McAdoo (Ed.), Black children: Social, educational, and parental environments (2nd ed., pp. 141-174). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
45.
Markus, H., & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98, 224-253.
46.
Marshall, S. (1995). Ethnic socialization of African American children: Implications for parenting, identity development, and academic achievement . Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 24, 377-396.
47.
McAdoo, H.P. (2002a). African American parenting. In M. H. Bornstein (Ed.), Handbook of parenting: Vol. 4. Social conditions and applied parenting (pp. 47-58). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
48.
McAdoo, H.P. (2002b). The village talks: Racial socialization of our children. In H. P. McAdoo (Ed.), Black children: Social, educational, and parental environments (2nd ed., pp. 47-55). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
49.
McKay, M.M., Atkins, M.S., Hawkins, T., Brown, C., Lynn, C.J. (2003). Inner-city African American parental involvement in children's schooling: Racial socialization and social support from the parent community. American Journal of Community Psychology , 32(1/2), 107-114.
50.
McWright, L. (2002). African American grandmothers' and grandfathers' influence in the value socialization of grandchildren. In H. P. McAdoo (Ed.), Black children: Social, educational, and parental environments (2nd ed., pp. 27-44). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
51.
Miles, M.B., & Huberman, A.M. (1984). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook (2nd ed.). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
52.
Mosley-Howard, G.S., & Evans, C.B. (2000). Relationships and contemporary experiences of the African American family: An ethnographic case study. Journal of Black Studies, 30(3), 428-452.
53.
Murray, C.B., & Mandara, J. (2002). Racial identity development in African American children: Cognitive and experiential antecedents. In H. P. McAdoo (Ed.), Black children: Social, educational, and parental environments (2nd ed., pp. 73-96). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
54.
Murray, C.B., Strokes, J.E., & Peacock, M.J. (1999). Racial socialization of African American children: A review. In R. L. Jones (Ed.), African American children, youth and parenting. Hampton, VA: Cobb & Henry.
55.
Murry, V.M., & Brody, G.H. (2002). Racial socialization processes in single-mother families: Linking maternal racial identity, parenting, and racial socialization in rural, single-mother families with child self-worth and self-regulation . In H. P. McAdoo (Ed.), Black children: Social, educational, and parental environments (2nd ed., pp. 97-115). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
56.
Ogbu, J. (1994). Racial stratification and education in the United States: Why inequality persists. Teachers College Record, 96, 264-298.
57.
Oyserman, D., Coon, H.M., & Kemmelmeier, M. (2002). Rethinking individualism and collectivism: Evaluation of theoretical assumptions and meta-analysis . Psychological Bulletin, 128(1), 3-72.
58.
Parke, R.D., & Buriel, R. (1998). Socialization in the family: Ethnic and ecological perspectives. In N. Eisenberg (Ed.), Handbook of child psychology: Vol. 3. Social, emotional, and personality development (5th ed., pp. 463-552). New York: Wiley.
59.
Peters, M.F. (1985). Racial socialization of young Black children. In H. P. McAdoo & J. L. McAdoo (Eds.), Black children: Social, educational, and parental environments (pp. 159-173). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
60.
Peters, M.F. (2002). Racial socialization of young black children. In H. P. McAdoo (Ed.), Black children: Social, educational, and parental environments (2nd ed., pp. 57-72). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
61.
Phinney, J.S., Kim-Jo, T., Osorio, S., & Vilhjalmsdottir, P. (2005). Autonomy and relatedness in adolescent-parent disagreements: Ethnic and developmental factors. Journal of Adolescent Research, 20(1), 8-39.
62.
Rogoff, B. (2003). The cultural nature of human development. New York: Oxford University Press.
63.
Rumelhart, D.E., McClelland, J., & the PDP Research Group (1986 ). Parallel distributed processing: Explorations in the microstructure of cognition: Vol. 1. Foundations. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
64.
Sanders, M.G. (1997). Overcoming obstacles: Academic achievement as a response to racism and discrimination. Journal of Negro Education, 66(1), 83-93.
65.
Seidman, I.E. (1991). Interviewing as qualitative research: A guide for researchers in education and the social sciences. New York: Teachers College Press.
66.
Solorzano, D., Ceja, M., & Yosso, T. (2000). Critical race theory, racial microaggressions, and campus racial climate: The experiences of African-American college students . Journal of Negro Education, 69(1-2), 60-73.
67.
Spencer, M.B. (1983). Children's cultural values and parental child rearing strategies. Developmental Review, 3, 351-370.
68.
Spencer, M.B. (1990). Parental values transmission. In J. B. Stewart & H. Cheatham (Eds.), Interdisciplinary perspectives on Black families (pp. 111-130). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.
69.
Staples, R., & Boulin Johnson, L. (1993). Black families at the crossroads: Challenges and prospects. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
70.
Stevenson, H.C., Reed, J., & Bodison, P. (1996). Kinship social support and adolescent racial socialization beliefs: Extending the self to family. Journal of Black Psychology , 22(4), 498-508.
71.
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1994). Grounded theory methodology: An overview. In N. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.) Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 273-285). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
72.
Suizzo, M.-A. (2007). Parents' goals and values for children: Dimensions of independence and interdependence across four U.S. ethnic groups. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 38, 506-530.
73.
Suizzo, M.-A., Chen, W.-C., Cheng, C.-C., Liang, A., Contreras, H., Zanger, D., et al. (in press). Parental beliefs about young children's socialization across U.S. ethnic groups: Coexistence of independence and interdependence . Early Child Development and Care.
74.
Super, C.M., & Harkness, S. (1986). The developmental niche: A conceptualization at the interface of child and culture. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 9(4), 545-569.
75.
Tatum, B.D. (2004). Family life and school experiences: factors in racial identity development of Black youth in White communities. Journal of Social Issues, 60(1), 117-135.
76.
Thomas, A.J. (2000). The impact of racial identity on African-American childrearing beliefs. Journal of Black Psychology, 26(3), 317-329.
77.
Thornton, C.H. (2004). Value orientations: a study of black college students . College Student Journal, 38(1), 103-111.
78.
Thornton, M.C., Chatters, L.M., Taylor, R.J., & Allen, W.R. (1990). Sociodemographic and environmental correlates of racial socialization by Black parents. Child Development , 61, 401-409.
79.
Triandis, H.C. (1995). Individualism and collectivism. Boulder, CO: Westview.
80.
Weisner, T.S. (2002). Ecological pathways, family values, and parenting . Parenting: Science and Practice, 2(3), 325-334.
