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About this paper symposium
| Panel information |
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| Panel 2. Cultural Processes |
| Paper #1 | |
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| Out of the Mouths of Babes: Centering the Voices of Black Children’s Resistance and Resilience in the Face of Discrimination | |
| Author information | Role |
| Emilie P. Smith, Michigan State University, United States | Presenting author |
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Simone Bibbs, United States, Michigan State University Lavelle Gipson-Tansil, United States, Michigan State University Deborah J Johnson, United States, Michigan State University Angela Stepter, United States, State of Michigan |
Non-presenting author |
| Abstract | |
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Black children in the United States have been exposed to centuries of enslavement, discrimination, and stereotyping. They have suffered as part of families that were systemically discriminated against in employment, housing, schooling, and in the criminal justice and child welfare systems, adversely impacting their development (Garcia-Coll et al., 1996; Murray, 2019). In the words of Angela Davis, it is time to change the things we cannot accept. Martin Luther King Jr. reminds us, “the arc of the moral universe is long, but bends toward justice.” This difficult and nonlinear pathway is reflected in educational policies that outlaw diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. While dismantling oppressive systems is non-negotiable (Halgunseth et al., 2022), we must attend to the well-being of children while doing this critical work in antiracism and social justice. Community-engaged research is building upon protective processes to help Black parents and their children effectively cope with discrimination and promote positive mental health (Anderson et al., 2021; Coard, 2006; Murry et al., 2023). Research on parenting and racial-ethnic socialization (RES) explores the ways to promote a strong cultural identity and positive coping (Umana-Taylor & Hill, 2020; Wang et al., 2020). Among the available family support models for parents of elementary children, there are still fewer proportionately that are widely accessible and attuned to culturally relevant and antiracist premises (Smith et al., 2022). The current collaborative was built in partnership with a family program being widely and sustainably implemented nationally and internationally. This specific project is centered in the mission of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers, which combines providing afterschool programming (ASP) to youth with support for families. Parents feel qualitatively different about their connections to afterschool programs versus school and as such, these programs can serve as hubs to multiple supportive family resources. The current phenomenological study aimed to center the voices of children and their families in advancing culturally relevant family programs. Focus groups were conducted separately with 31 Black parents/caregivers (28 females, 3 males) and 39 children (Meanage = 7.67; Rangeage = 5 - 12, 54% girls, 46% boys), including some mixed-race families at the YMCA, a child development lab, and an independent Black school providing ASP. Approximately one-third of families had a household income below the federal poverty line. As focus groups with elementary-age children is still an innovative prospect: this session will share strategies for conducting child focus groups including artistic expression that honors and engages children’s voices. This presentation centers primarily on 2 questions, what parents teach children about, and “what is awesome and difficult about being a Black child.” Children were asked about their experiences of discrimination and coping mechanisms promulgated by their parents. Preliminary findings from our thematic analyses indicate that congruent with the RES literature, parents seek to impart a sense of positive identity. In 2023, our findings exhibit that children are still experiencing bullying frequently, not just socially but physically as well. For both boys and girls, some of this discrimination centers on their skin color and hair. Children are adopting multiple coping mechanisms, from ignoring and centering on positive identity, to fighting back, and standing up for themselves. These children display agency and protection of their parents by not sharing all their experiences and even exhibit compassion and protection of agitators from the ire of their parents. As past research has indicated that the identity and socialization processes begin for children prior to adolescence, it is important that we make space for their voices. “Out of the mouths of babes” are powerful and important messages to share in antiracism and resistance. |
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| Paper #2 | |
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| Children’s Responses to Experiences of Racism: Profiles of Resistance | |
| Author information | Role |
| Margaret O'Brien Caughy, University of Georgia, United States | Presenting author |
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Dominique La Barrie, United States, University of Georgia Mia Smith-Bynum, United States, University of Maryland |
Non-presenting author |
| Abstract | |
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Ethnic-racial socialization (ERS) is a crucial strategy to prepare minoritized children to effectively confront experiences of oppression. Significant research has documented ERS supports the socioemotional well-being of minoritized children (Wang et al., 2020). Despite calls to examine ERS as a bidirectional process unfolding within the context of the parent-child relationship (Smith-Bynum, 2023), research has not addressed children’s contribution to their own ERS. Using observations of dyadic ERS to identify different profiles of how minoritized children respond to racism, we predict children who actively resist oppression will be supported by active parental ERS and will display more optimal socioemotional well-being. Method: The sample included 81 children (Meanage = 11.09 years) and their parents drawn from a larger longitudinal study. About half (53%) were boys; 36% were Hispanic, 47% were Black, and 17% were multi-racial/multi-ethnic. Of the Hispanic caregivers, 63% were Spanish-dominant, and 34% were bilingual. Three-quarters of families had an income below the poverty level. Data collection occurred in homes, with research assistants matched by race/ethnicity and language preference. Child-parent dyads participated in the Racial Socialization Observation Task (RSOT, Smith-Bynum et al., 2016). For each of three vignettes, the dyad listened to a recording of a child having a racist encounter with an adult (a school counselor, a police officer, or a store clerk). Vignettes were the same for Black and Hispanic children for the counselor and police vignettes. For Black children, the store vignette was of a clerk following a child and questioning his/her presence, and for Hispanic children, the vignette involved a cashier saying negative things about Hispanics in the presence of the child’s mother, who doesn’t speak English. Dyads discussed how they would handle each situation for five minutes, and discussions were video-recorded. Videos were coded for nine parent dimensions (recognition of racial bias, scaffolding, critical consciousness raising, rejection of stereotypes, cultural pride socialization, egalitarianism, suggestions for coping, supportive of child ideas, advocate for child, encourages respect for authority, addresses physical safety, addresses well-being) and nine child codes (recognition of racial bias, recognition of injustice, rejection of stereotypes, egalitarianism, solutions for coping, respectful of parent suggestions, affection toward parent, child agency, and negative affect). Codes ranged from 1 (Low) to 5 (High), and interrater agreement based on 35% double-coding was high. Child ethnic identity was measured with the MEIM (Phinney, 2007), and child depressive symptoms were measured with the CDI (Kovacs, 2011). Results: Child and parent codes were averaged across vignettes. Latent profile analysis of the RSOT child codes revealed a three-group solution (see Figure 1). The largest group (n = 43, 53%, “Racially Aware”) were most likely to not only identify the vignette as unfair but as racially biased and to reject stereotypes about their own ethnic group. This group also generated the highest number of strategies for coping, displayed high levels of agency, and had very positive relationships with their parent. The second largest group (n = 33, 41%, “Racially Unaware”) also displayed positive relations with their parent but were least likely to recognize racial bias, showed less agency during the discussion, and generated fewer strategies than the Racially Aware group. The smallest group (n = 5, 6.2%, “Depressed Mood”) displayed the lowest engagement, less positive relations with parents, and the most negative affect. The Racially Aware group reported greater Ethnic Identity Search, and the Depressed Mood group reported more depressive symptoms (Table 1). Parents only differed in the degree of support provided for children’s suggestions, with Racially Aware group parents providing the most support. Results will be discussed in terms of how minoritized children can be supported to resist stereotypes and experiences of oppression. |
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| Paper #3 | |
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| Ethnic/Racial Discrimination and Substance Use Intention in Early Adolescence: The Buffering Role of Sleep | |
| Author information | Role |
| Yijie Wang, Michigan State University, United States | Presenting author |
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Zhenqiang Zhao, United States, Fordham University Youchuan Zhang, United States, Michigan State University Elizabeth Jelsma, United States, University of Houston Jinjin Yan, United States, Fordham University Tiffany Yip, United States, Fordham University |
Non-presenting author |
| Abstract | |
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Background. Sleep is fundamental to adolescents’ adjustment across domains (Owens et al., 2014; Shochat et al., 2014). There is evidence documenting the buffering role of sleep for the deleterious influence of ethnic/racial discrimination on adolescents’ psychosocial and academic well-being (El-Sheikh et al., 2022). However, limited research has investigated whether and how sleep may function as a bio-behavioral regulator to protect adolescents’ substance use-related outcomes within the context of ethnic/racial discrimination. Using national, longitudinal data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, the current study addressed this empirical gap in the literature by investigating the interactive effect of sleep and ethnic/racial discrimination for adolescents’ intention to use substance, one of the strongest predictors of subsequence substance use behaviors (Owotomo et al., 2020). Method. The analytic sample included 1,650 ethnically/racially minoritized youth (Mage = 11.50 years old; 51% female; 49% Latinx, 20% Black, 22% Multiracial, 9% Other such as Asian and Native youth), who had at least six days of sleep data over 3 weeks at Wave 3 of the ABCD Study. One child was randomly selected from each participating family. Sleep was assessed by Fitbit Charge HR2 actigraph watches at two-year follow up. We calculated the mean level and variability of sleep duration over 3 weeks. Ethnic/racial discrimination was assessed at Wave 3 by 7 items from the Perceived Discrimination Scale (Phinney et al., 1998). Substance use intention was assessed at Waves 3 and 4 by 9 items developed by the ABCD Study based on well-established measures, capturing youth intention to use alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco products. Covariates included sociodemographic (age, sex, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, nativity, SES, family structure) and contextual (religion, psychopathology, school adjustment) factors that are relevant for substance use. Results. We conducted path analyses in Mplus 8.9. All analyses were nested by study sites. Missing data were handled by the Full Information Maximum Likelihood (FIML) method. Results (Table 1) showed that, controlling for substance use intention at Wave 3, adolescents who reported higher levels of ethnic/racial discrimination and shorter average sleep duration on at Wave 3 also reported greater substance use intention subsequently at Wave 4. Moreover, there was a significant interaction between ethnic/racial discrimination and average sleep duration (see Figure 1) such that discrimination only predicted greater substance use intention among adolescents who had lower than average sleep (one SD below the mean; β = .13, p < .001) but not for those who had longer than average sleep (one SD above the mean; β = -.01, p = .79). No significant effects were observed for sleep duration variability. Discussion. The current findings highlighted sleep duration as as a protective factor alleviating the influence of ethnic/racial discrimination on substance use among ethnic/racial minoritized youth. Policies and programs can be designed to promote sleep health (e.g., delaying school start time, designing sleep health curricula) among minoritized youth as an innovative approach to help youth combat racism and discrimination. |
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Listening to Children’s Voices: Racial Coping Resilience and Child Well-being
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Paper Symposium
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| Session Title | Listening to Children’s Voices: Racial Coping Resilience and Child Well-being |