African American girls face unique challenges in identity development, and African American mothers have the unique task of preparing them to face racism and sexism. This study examines specific socialization messages given to African American daughters by mothers and the relationship between gendered racial socialization and communication. Results suggest that mothers give a variety of messages, including self-determination, self-pride, and religion. Correlations are found between reports of communication patterns. Communication is found to be positively related to self-esteem in daughters. Socialization messages on embracing mainstream values are negatively related to self-esteem.
Barnes, H.L., & Olson, D.H. (1982). Parent-adolescent communication scale. In D. H. Olson et al. (Eds.), Family inventories: Inventories used in a national survey of families across the family life cycle (pp. 33-48). St. Paul: Family Social Science, University of Minnesota.
2.
Barnes, H.L., & Olson, D.H. (1985). Parent-adolescent communication and the Circumplex model. Child Development, 56, 438-447.
3.
Boykin, A.W., & Toms, F.D. (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). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
4.
Constantine, M.G., & Blackmon, S.M. (2002). Black adolescents' racial socialization experiences: Their relations to home, school, and peer self-esteem . Journal of Black Studies, 32, 322-335.
5.
Daniel, J.L., & Daniel, J.E. (1999). African-American childrearing: The context of a hot stove. In T. J. Socha & R. Diggs (Eds.), Communication, race, and family: Exploring communication in Black, White, and biracial families. LEA's communication series (pp. 25-43). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
6.
Daniel, J.K., & Effinger, M.J. (1996). Bosom biscuits: A study of African American intergenerational communication. Journal of Black Studies, 27, 83-200.
7.
Ferguson, I.B. (1999). African-American parent-child communication about racial derogation. In T. J. Socha & R. Diggs (Eds.), Communication, race, and family: Exploring communication in Black, White, and biracial families. LEA's communication series (pp. 45-67). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
8.
Frabutt, J.M., Walker, A.M., & MacKinnon-Lewis, C. (2002). Racial socialization messages and the quality of mother/child interactions in African American families. Journal of Early Adolescence, 22, 200-217.
9.
Greene, B.A. (1992). Racial socialization as a tool in psychotherapy with African American children. In L. A. Vargas & J. D. Koss-Chioino (Eds.), Working with culture: Psychotherapeutic interventions with ethnic minority children and adolescents (pp. 63-81). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
10.
Harrison, A.O., Wilson, M.N., Pine, C.J., Chon, S.Q., & Buriel, R. (1990). Family ecologies of ethnic minority children. Child Development, 61, 347-362.
11.
Henry, C.S., Sager, D.W., & Plunkett, S.W. (1996). Adolescents' perceptions of family system characteristics, parent-adolescent dyadic behaviors, adolescent qualities and adolescent empathy. Family Relations: Journal of Applied Family & ChildStudies, 45, 283-292.
12.
Hughes, D., & Chen, L. (1997). When and what parents tell children about race: An examination of race-related socialization among African American families. AppliedDevelopmental Science, 1, 200-214.
13.
Hughes, D., & Johnson, D. (2001). Correlates in children's expressions of parents' racial socialization behaviors. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 63, 981-995.
14.
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.
15.
McNair, L.D. (1992). African American women in therapy: An Afrocentric and feminist synthesis. Women and Therapy, 11, 5-19.
16.
Olson, D.H., & Gorall, D.M. (2003). Circumplex model of marital and family systems . In F. Walsh (Ed.), Normal family processes (3rd ed., pp. 514-547). New York: Guilford.
17.
Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
18.
Shorter-Gooden, K., & Washington, N.C. (1996). Young, Black, and female: The challenge of weaving an identity. Journal of Adolescence , 19, 465-475.
19.
Smetana, J.G., Abernathy, A., & Harris, A. (2000). Adolescent-parent interactions in middle-class African American families. Journal of Family Psychology, 14, 458-474.
20.
Socha, T.J., Sanchez-Hucles, J., Bromley, J., & Kelly, B. (1995). Invisible parents and children: Exploring African-American parent-child communication. In T. J. Socha & G. H. Stamp (Eds.), Parents, children, and communication: Frontiers of theory and research. LEA's communication series (pp. 127-145). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
21.
Stevenson, H.C. (1995). Relationships of adolescent perceptions of racial socialization to racial identity. Journal of Black Psychology , 21, 49-70.
22.
Stevenson, H.C., Cameron, R., Herrero-Taylor, T., & Davis, G. (2002). Development of the Teenage Experience of Racial Socialization Scale: Correlates of race-related socialization frequency from the perspective of Black youth. Journal of Black Psychology , 28, 84-106.
23.
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J.M. (1998). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
24.
Thomas, A.J., & Speight, S.L. (1999). Racial identity and racial socialization attitudes of African-American parents. Journal of Black Psychology, 22, 152-170.
25.
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.
26.
West, C.M. (1995). Mammy, Sapphire, and Jezebel: Historical images of Black women and their implications for psychotherapy. Psychotherapy, 32, 458-466.
27.
Wylie, R.C. (1989). Measures of self-concept. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
