Who, What, and Where? How Racial Composition and Gender Influence the Association Between Racial Discrimination and Racial Socialization Messages

Objectives: This study investigated the moderating roles of contextual racial composition (neighborhood, school, and job) and parent-adolescent gender dyads on the relation between familial racial discrimination experiences and parental racial socialization messages. Method: The analytic sample included 565 Black parents (Mage = 44.7; 56% mothers, 44% fathers) who reported on their personal and adolescents' racial discrimination experiences and their communication of cultural socialization and preparation for bias messages. Results: Regression analyses in a structural equation modeling framework (path analyses) revealed that parents who personally experienced more racial discrimination or were in workplaces with more Black people communicated higher cultural socialization messages. They communicated high preparation for bias messages when reporting personal and adolescent racial discrimination. Racial discrimination experiences were positively related to preparation for bias messages among parents who worked in jobs with fewer Black people but were unrelated among parents working with more Black people. Multiple-group analyses indicated no gender differences in these associations. Conclusions: The findings demonstrate that Black parents vary in their racial socialization messages based on their family's contexts and experiences. The findings highlight the importance of parents' work contexts for adolescent development and family processes. Public Significance Statement Familial racial discrimination experiences inform Black mothers' and fathers' discussions about race with their adolescents. These messages differ according to the perceived amount of Black people in the workplace but not the neighborhood and school or parent and adolescent gender.