The study’s goal was to understand Asian American adolescents’ experiences with discussing anti-Asian racism with their parents during the COVID-19 pandemic, and their perceptions of the support they received from their parents and other sources. Responses to three open ended questions in a survey completed by 309 Asian American adolescents between the ages of 14 and 18 were collected using Qualtrics Panels. Seventeen Asian ethnicities were represented in the sample, and the majority were U.S. born; 145 (46.9%) participants identified their gender as male, 156 (50.5%) identified as female, four (1.3%) identified as gender non-conforming, two (0.6%) chose not to answer, and one (0.3%) wrote in “unsure.” Data was analyzed using a consensual qualitative research - modified approach, which is appropriate for short narratives from larger samples. Findings identified five themes for anti-Asian racism discussions (i.e., silent socialization, vicarious discrimination socialization, preparation for bias, promotion of mistrust, and colorblind socialization), four themes for family support (i.e., direct support, indirect support, wish for more race-conscious support, and colorblind support), and three other sources of support (i.e., friends, social media and Internet, and school). Implications for practitioners and policymakers are discussed.

Ethnic-racial minority youths receive ethnic-racial socialization (ERS) messages from a myriad of agents across family and school settings. However, the current literature has limited frameworks to describe the intersections of family and school ERS or the interactive influence of family and school ERS on youth outcomes. Guided by ecological system theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) and cultural discontinuity hypothesis (Ogbu, 1982), the proposed conceptual model describes patterns of congruent or dissonant family-school ERS. In the model, family-school congruence is conceptualized as two-dimensional encompassing alignment in the ERS message content conveyed to youth and continuity in the process through which ERS messages are transmitted to youth at home and school. Youth’s family-school ERS experiences were categorized into adaptive and maladaptive profiles that influence adolescent ethnic-racial identity development, academic outcomes, and well-being. The proposed model also outlines elements (i.e., approach, attitudes, atmosphere, and action) of family-school partnership as means of increasing congruence in family-school ERS. This integrative conceptual model, connecting the well-established family ERS literature and the burgeoning school ERS research, informs future directions of ERS research and has practical implications for promoting positive youth development and reducing ethnic-racial disparities.

White parents often avoid having explicit conversations about race or racism with their children or take a “color evasive” approach, teaching children that “everyone is equal”. This approach is harmful when children are surrounded by disparities and may contribute to the development of racial bias. This project examined the feasibility and acceptability of a newly developed anti racist training for white parents of preschool aged children. The curriculum is based on existing theory and empirical evidence regarding ethnic racial socialization, anti racist development, prejudice development, and mindful parenting. The program teaches parents specific, developmentally appropriate racial socialization language and activities to be used in interactions with young children. Results include survey and focus group feedback from 22 program participants (primarily white mothers, n=19) and 2 program facilitators. The presentation will discuss strengths, challenges, and lessons learned from the pilot study. Examples of strengths include high parent interest and engagement and positive participant feedback. Challenges include helping parents overcome the pervasiveness of white dominant culture (e.g., perfectionism, sense of urgency) and avoidance of topics related to power and privilege. Lessons learned include building facilitator skills for navigating group dynamics, and assessing participant and facilitator readiness for self reflective anti racist work.

The purpose of this study is to examine how cultural socialization and preparation for bias influence perseverance through challenges in undergraduate ethnic minority student leaders at predominantly white institutions. This is a qualitative study performed through the method of portraiture. Three ethnic minority student leaders who attended the same predominantly white institution in the southeastern region of the United States were interviewed about any discrimination they faced in leadership. One is the student body president, one is the president of the black student association, and one is a member of the student government. Some emergent themes from these interviews are the preservation of cultural values, a sense of resilience, and a duty to create an environment that is safe and inviting for other BIPOC students at the university. They have all attributed these themes to instances of cultural socialization and preparation for bias from family members prior to attending college.