African American Fathers' Racial Socialization Patterns: Associations with Racial Identity Beliefs and Discrimination Experiences

Existing parenting frameworks have suggested that fathers' developmental histories and social experiences are important determinants of their parenting practices. Few studies, however, have examined how the larger racial context is related to the parenting and socialization practices of African American fathers. Using a profile-oriented approach, this investigation examines how fathers' racial identity beliefs (racial centrality and regard) and discrimination experiences are associated with race-related socialization patterns identified by Cooper, Smalls, Neblett, and Banks (2014). Participants were 166 African American fathers (M = 32.20, SD = 8.24) of adolescents (M = 12.60, SD = 2.20). Latent profile analyses identified five distinct racial socialization patterns among fathers: (a) infrequent racial socializers, (b) negative racial socializers, (c) positive racial socializers, (d) low race salience socializers, and (e) race salience socializers. Results indicated that racial socialization patterns were distinctively associated with African American fathers' racial identity and discrimination experiences. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.