Racial Socialization Practices Among African American Fathers: A Profile-Oriented Approach

Employing a latent profile analytic approach, this investigation identified racial socialization patterns among African American fathers. In addition, this study explored whether profiles varied by father and child sociodemographic characteristics. Participants were 166 African American fathers (M = 32.20, SD = 8.26) of adolescents (M = 12.60, SD = 2.20). Analyses revealed that a 5-cluster solution fit the data most optimally. Identified profiles were (a) infrequent racial socializers, (b) negative racial socializers, (c) positive racial socializers, (d) low race salience socializers, and (e) race salience socializers. Results provided partial support for sociodemographic variation across racial socialization. Implications for multidimensional perspectives on African American fathers' racial socialization practices are discussed.