Times are displayed in (UTC-04:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada) Change
About this paper symposium
| Panel information |
|---|
| Panel 2. Cultural Processes |
| Paper #1 | |
|---|---|
| The Building Our Bonds Authentically (BOBA) Project: Conversations about Asian American Identity among Parents and Teens | |
| Author information | Role |
| Cindy H. Liu, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, United States | Presenting author |
|
Tiffany Yip, USA, Fordham University Ritika Rastogi, USA, Brigham and Women's Hospital Lijuan Wang, USA, University of Notre Dame Linda Charmaraman, USA, Wellesley College Chris Hahm, USA, Boston University |
Non-presenting author |
| Abstract | |
|
Background: There remain very few studies that focus exclusively on Asian American (AA) parent racial socialization (i.e., how they convey values, expectations, and information about race and discrimination to children). The literature suggests that AA parents are more likely to engage in cultural socialization (i.e., preservation and transmission of cultural values and practices, language, and history), while minimizing messages involving race, bias, and discrimination. AA parents, especially those who are 1st generation (i.e., immigrants), do not have the lived experience of growing up as a racial minority and may not have encountered overt or subtle discrimination experiences. Some AA parents do not find discrimination to be a concern. The BOBA Project is an on-going Massachusetts-based study that examines racial socialization processes across domains (parents, teens, peers, social media). The key feature of the BOBA Project is a Zoom-based discussion activity guided by a facilitator within which parents and teens together reflect on three hypothetical race-related incidents. Following the provision of basic guidelines, families are asked to share with each other in a discussion (5-min/vignette) on how they would react in those situations. Acknowledging the challenges of talking about a potentially challenging issue, the protocol was designed to be comfortable and informative for Asian American parent-teen dyads. We report preliminary survey data (quantitative) and open field responses (qualitative) regarding reflecting the importance and subsequent actions from talking about race among AA parents and teens. Method: To date, we have enrolled 172 participants out of an anticipated 466. Inclusion criteria include ethnically-Chinese parents (18 born in the US and 68 born in Asia) and their 12-to-18-year-old adolescent who is also of Chinese heritage (71 born in the US and 15 born in Asia); 11 of the teens identified as biracial. Participants completed a survey 1-week after the facilitated Zoom-based discussion (parents n=82, teens n=70). Results: For the majority of participants, conversations continued beyond the one-hour Zoom session. Approximately 70% of parents and teens discussed the session immediately after it ended, with 1 out of 3 parents and 1 out of 5 teens reporting that discussion took place again within the week. More than half of all parents and teens told another family member about the discussion, and reported thinking more about their reaction and that of their family member. Approximately 76% of parents and 66% of teens indicated that they would likely talk again with their family member about challenging topics related to race. An overwhelming majority of parents reported the session to be valuable (96.3%), informative (91.3%) and that they would recommend the discussion task to other parents (95.0%). The majority of teens also reported the session to be valuable (81.4%), informative (75.7%), and that they would recommend the task to other teens (73.9%).Open field responses from both parents and teens suggesting that participants engaged in perspective taking, shared understanding, and even more, relational bonding as a result of the session. Discussion: Although the positive participant feedback regarding study participation is promising, we contextualize these findings with other sources of data (e.g., sharing from our youth advisory board) to identify challenges in family conversations about Asian racism and identity. We will describe outreach efforts, including barriers to enrollment including practical and conceptual issues in research participation among Chinese American families. With additional data processing and analysis of the discussion content by the time of the presentation, we will share behavioral observations to better understand racial socialization processes that may be particularly unique to Asian Americans. |
|
| Paper #2 | |
|---|---|
| One Talk at a Time: Engaging Asian American Parents in an Racial Ethnic Socialization Intervention | |
| Author information | Role |
| Gabriela Livas Stein, University of Texas - Austin, United States | Presenting author |
|
Gabriela Livas Stein, University of Texas at Austin, USA Lisa Kiang, Wake Forest University, USA Stephanie Irby Coard, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, USA Paula Sanchez Hernandez, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, USA Valerie Salcido, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, USA Frances Lobo, University of Texas at Austin, USA |
Non-presenting author |
| Abstract | |
|
Background: Asian American youth benefit from targeted parental racial-ethnic socialization (RES) conversations that aim to foster a strong, positive racial-ethnic identity (REI) and help prepare youth to cope with experiences of discrimination (Juang et al., 2017). Yet, parents struggle to provide balanced messages that instill cultural pride and teach skills necessary to cope with and navigate discrimination (Hughes et al., 2006). Models of RES explicate the importance of parents exhibiting skills and confidence in initiating RES conversations as well as youth feeling capable of coping with future discriminatory events (Anderson & Stevenson, 2019). Targeting parental motivation, skills, and confidence in having sustained RES conversations that lead to an Asian American child’s sense of competence and efficacy in handling racialized stressors can be a key avenue to address inequitable mental health outcomes. We present engagement data from an RCT trial testing the effectiveness of a video-based RES intervention (One Talk at a Time; OTAAT) with Asian American parents and their middle school youth. OTAAT targets parent processes that are necessary to have effective RES conversations while attending to the specific content and context of discriminatory experiences for Asian American families through social modeling. Method: We are currently in the field recruiting families into our OTAAT intervention (n=33 of 104). Thus far, we have 26 mothers and 7 fathers with 31 parents being foreign born (7 youth were foreign born). In terms of ethnicity, the majority of parents are Chinese (75%) with the remaining parents identifying as Cambodian (3%), Korean (6%), Taiwanese (9%), and Vietnamese (6%). The vast majority of parents hold a graduate or professional degree (73%) with another 18% having a Bachelor’s degree. There was some variability in income with 30% of the sample reporting incomes between $50,000-100,000, 18% between $100,000-150,000 and 45% reporting more than $150,000. The majority of the sample spoke a language other than English at home (66%). Results: For families who have received the OTAAT intervention, about equal numbers report having both cultural socialization and preparation for bias conversations (around 70%). However, 71% report wanting to learn more about having effective preparation for bias conversations relative to 7% wanting to target cultural socialization conversations underscoring the perceived need of OTAAT. The top two barriers to these conversations reported by parents were: a) hoping their child would assimilate with peers and not focus too much on race and b) not knowing where to start or what to say. Furthermore, although parents reported that these conversations were important (mean=8.10 on a 1-10 scale), parents felt less confident that they would be able to prepare themselves to have these conversations (mean=6.12 on a 1-10 scale). For preparation for bias conversation, parents reporting wanting to focus more on responding to vicarious discrimination (79%), peer discrimination (71%), discrimination from other adults (57%), and responding to hate speech or crimes on media/social media (50%). In particular, parents wanted to focus more on opening the conversation (64%) and helping youth develop coping skills, problem-solving and role playing (71%). Parents also wanted to have more confidence and control their own reaction when engaging in these conversations (57%). Despite low levels of confidence at the start of the intervention, parents reported significantly greater readiness for these conversations after completing OTAAT. Discussion: Although our engagement data is promising, we will discuss the multiple challenges in conducting community-engaged research with Asian American populations targeting RES processes. Implications for future RES interventions will also be discussed. |
|
| Paper #3 | |
|---|---|
| Disentangling Daily, Yearly, and Stable Associations between Cultural Socialization and Youth Outcomes | |
| Author information | Role |
| Yijie Wang, Michigan State University, United States | Presenting author |
|
Qi Huang, USA, Michigan State University Daeun Kim, USA, Michigan State University Youchuan Zhang, USA, Michigan State University Mingzhang Chen, USA, Michigan State University |
Non-presenting author |
| Abstract | |
|
Background. Ethnic/racial socialization is an important component of socialization that can promote positive youth outcomes for ethnically/racially minoritized youth within a diverse society (Hughes et al., 2006; M. T. Wang et al., 2020; 2021). More recent evidence highlights the importance of considering cultural socialization across contexts (e.g., within family, in peer groups; Y. Wang & Lin, 2023) and as a dynamic, situational construct (Smith-Bynum et al., 2016; Y. Wang et al., 2022). However, it remains unknown how cultural socialization may be associated with youth outcomes at varying time scales. To address this gap, the current study examined daily, yearly, and stable associations between cultural socialization (family, peer) and positive youth outcomes at emotional, social, and academic domains, using two-wave, daily diary data collected from a U.S. sample of ethnic/racial minority youth. We also included social support (family, peer) as a covariate to tease out the unique effects of cultural socialization. Method. Participants were 144 high school students (54% female, 45% male, 1% other gender; 56% Black, 19% Latinx, 7% Asian, 6% Native, 12% Other race; based on youth reports) from an urban public school district in the Midwest United States. Two-week daily diary data were collected when participants were in 9th grade (N = 138; Mage = 14.57, SD = 0.74) and again in 10th grade (N = 122). Daily survey completion rate was 90% at W1 and 91% at W2. Each day before going to bed, participants completed a brief survey, assessing cultural socialization from family and peers (6 items each; Wang et al., 2015), social support from family and peers (2 items each; Wills, 1986), positive mood (4 items; Yip, 2016), prosocial behaviors (Kanacri et al., 2017), and school belong (Gottfredson, 1984) on that day. Covariates were included at the within-person (Level 1), within-wave (Level 2), and between-person (Level 3) levels. Results. We conducted three-level models in a structural equation modeling framework in Mplus 8.10. Separate models were fitted for family and peer cultural socialization due to potential collinearity. At the within-person level (i.e., daily associations), on days when youth reported greater family and peer cultural socialization than their typically levels, they also reported higher levels of positive mood, prosocial behaviors, and school belonging than their typically levels on the same day. However, these positive effects were generally not observed at the within-wave level (i.e., yearly associations), indicating that when youth reported increases in their family and peer cultural socialization from 9th to 10th grade, they did not simultaneously reported increases in their positive outcomes over the same time. Similarly, there were no significant associations at the between-person level (i.e., stable associations) with one exception: youth who reported greater family and peer cultural socialization than their peers also reported more positive mood. In contrast, family and peer social support was more consistently associated with positive youth outcomes across daily, yearly, and stable associations. Discussion. Results suggested that the benefits of cultural socialization, whether from one’s family or peer groups, may be particularly salient on a more immediate time scale (e.g., on a daily basis). It is possible that cultural socialization is used by parents and peers in everyday life to help youth navigate specific ethnic/racial encounters. Future research is needed to better understand why daily fluctuations in cultural socialization did not translate into long-term youth outcomes, and whether this process may look different for subgroups of ethnically/racially minoritized youth (e.g., depending on their socio-demographics and school contexts). |
|
| Paper #4 | |
|---|---|
| Perspective from Parent-Teen Study Participants on Asian American Racial Socialization | |
| Author information | Role |
| Lu Lei and Vivian Wang, Community Members from Lexington, Massachusetts, United States | Presenting author |
| Abstract | |
|
We are two family members, a mother and a daughter, that proposed to share our experiences with racial socialization in this research symposium. In our presentation, we plan to share our background, experiences communicating with each other about our Asian American identity, and lessons learned through our participation in the BOBA project. The Parent Perspective: I was born in China. My studies brought me to Germany and my work brought me to the U.S. where I now live with my family. Growing up, I had very limited exposure to conversations about racial tensions or issues. In spite of ethnic conflict in Tibet, Xinjiang and other regions, the government-controlled media censured all voices that suggested a racial disharmony. I learned from this early period that we need to openly discuss the difficult topics of race and inequality. In the 90s, I studied in Germany and it was my first time living in a majority white society as an Asian minority. This is a democratic society seeking redemption for its genocide past and a racial integration with minority workers, but it was still hard for foreign born “guests” to stay, let alone develop a fulfilling career. Racism and inequality are still linked in various forms, including race stereotypes. During my long career in the high tech industry, the stereotype of Asians being good workers but bad leaders has been prevalent. The BOBA project provided me and my daughter with a unique context to discuss racial identity and inequality through the survey, interview conversation and reflection on the hypothetical situations. These topics are important for us in this multifaceted society with enormous promises and deep-rooted problems, but oftentimes we don’t find time for discussion with busy daily schedules. Through our participation in BOBA, these discussions become regular and we find a new channel of communication. The Teen Perspective: I am a second generation Chinese American teenager who was born and raised in America. My immigrant parents, multicultural upbringing, and town and school environment, are all factors which have influenced the way I perceive my Asian American identity. Though I grew up in a town with a large Asian population, I encountered racial stereotypes in my daily life, most notably the form of the model minority myth. In our sharing, I will cover how these encounters influenced my understanding of what it means to be Asian American. I will discuss how I grappled with the stereotypes of being Asian American versus the realities of my Asian American upbringing, and how I came to be able to share these thoughts with my mom. Talking about race was and still is challenging and unusual within my family. In my experience, race is often viewed as an awkward and difficult topic of discussion that people tend to avoid if possible. The BOBA Project was one way my mom and I were able to talk about our racial identity in a productive manner. By discussing hypothetical scenarios related to race and relating these scenarios to our lived experiences, I learned a lot about my mom and about myself. I realized that, though I understand my mom’s journey as an immigrant, we never had a conversation about what that journey meant to her and how she felt along the way. Overall, I think this guided discussion made our bond stronger because, after hearing about experiences that I’ve never heard my mom talk about before, I felt that I could better understand her perspective going forward. |
|
⇦ Back to session
Everyday Experiences in Asian American Racial-Ethnic Socialization: Research Considerations for Informing Practice
Category
Paper Symposium
Description
| Session Title | Everyday Experiences in Asian American Racial-Ethnic Socialization: Research Considerations for Informing Practice |