No abstract

Coping in the context of racial-ethnic discrimination is often framed as an individualistic process, where the focus is on how the individual deals with the racialized stressor to mitigate its negative effects. However, individuals exist within social contexts including the family and coping processes may operate interdependently as well. Further, racialized stressors have the potential to disrupt the entire family system, regardless of whether the experience in that moment is shared among all its members. Despite these realities, few studies have considered how Latinx youth and their parents may cope together in the face of racial-ethnic discrimination. To address this gap, we analyzed focus group data from Mexican-origin adolescents (n = 17; M age = 12.8; 71% girls) and their parents (n = 17; M age = 42.8; 82% mothers) to explore the coping strategies used in response to racial-ethnic discrimination. An inductive thematic analysis identified a broad range of coping strategies representing both individualistic and interdependent approaches to deal with racial-ethnic discrimination. Strategies included (a) reframing (with pride) and ignoring an encounter, (b) standing up for oneself, (c) talking issues out, (d) problem-solving together, and (e) protection tactics. These findings provide evidence for the ways in which Mexican-origin families help adolescents cope with racial-ethnic discrimination and offer a glimpse as to how adolescents may help their families cope as well. Future research is needed to further explore the interdependent nature of coping as Latinx family members protect and support one another in the face of pervasive racialized stressors.

Objectives: Based on the conceptual overlap between shift-&-persist (S&P) and culturally based strategies (critical civic engagement [CCE] and spiritually based coping), this study tests whether associations between these three previously disparate strategies are attributable to the existence of a higher-order coping construct: culturally informed S&P. Methods: Among 364 diverse minoritized youth (M age = 18.79, 85.2% female), we tested for the existence of this higher-order factor through confirmatory factor analysis. Results: We found theoretical and empirical support for the existence of a higher-order factor structure and for our higher-order factor-culturally informed S&P. Culturally informed S&P promotes fewer depressive symptoms as a main effect in addition to completely protecting against the negative impact of discrimination on depressive symptoms when culturally informed S&P is high. Conclusions: The current study illustrates relations between three previously distinct coping strategies through their association with culturally informed S&P. Results highlight culturally informed S&P's promotive and protective effects in the face of ethnic-racial discrimination. Implications for subsequent study of culturally based coping are discussed. Public Significance StatementCulturally based shift-&-persist is a coping construct that captures the multiple culturally based ways youth may cope with racialized stress. Culturally informed shift-&-persist may promote psychological well-being (i.e., fewer depressive symptoms) among minoritized youth and fully protect them against the negative effects of discrimination.

Indian Americans are an under researched population within the racial-ethnic socialization (RES) literature, and very little is known about how Indian American immigrant families navigate these conversations. To fill this gap in the literature, the present study explored parent and youth perspectives of RES processes in Indian American families. A total of six focus groups were conducted with 13 adolescents (mean age = 13.6; 60% girls) and 15 parents (mean age = 42.0; 62% mothers). Inductive thematic analysis of focus group transcripts revealed that cultural socialization and the lack of preparation for bias were the most salient RES messages Indian American parents provided their adolescents. Parents' messages related to cultural socialization heavily centered on cultural and ethnic pride. These pride messages were often consistent with the model minority stereotype. Despite many parents and adolescents reporting experiencing discrimination, parents typically refrained from providing preparation for bias messages. Parents' perspectives also revealed a shared difficulty in discerning when an event was racially discriminatory. When parents did provide coping with discrimination messages, these messages most often encouraged adolescents to simply "avoid it" or "ignore it." Consequently, adolescents reported feeling ill-prepared to face racial-ethnic discrimination, indicating an unmet need for timely and helpful preparation for bias messages.What is the public significance of this article? Very little is known about how Indian American immigrant families navigate conversations around racism and discrimination. Along with identifying several facets of racial-ethnic socialization (RES) messages, the study highlights the discrepancy between possible reservations held by the parents and the need for RES messages voiced by the adolescents. These findings call attention to the complexity and importance of further studying RES within Indian American communities.

Critical civic engagement (CCE) refers to interpersonal, community, and political actions to combat and cope with racial inequity. While discrimination and identity are well-known drivers of civic engagement, it is less well-known how parental preparation for bias socialization, which teaches Black youth how to cope with unequal social systems, works in concert with discrimination and identity to predict CCE. Furthermore, there are several ways individuals may be civically engaged, and these factors may be differentially associated with the various types of CCE. This study uses a sample of 186 Black college students (M age = 18.72, age range = 18-29; 86% female) to examine how discrimination, ethnic-racial centrality, and preparation for bias socialization interact to differentially predict interpersonal, communal, and political CCE. Discrimination was associated with political CCE, whereas both discrimination and racial centrality were associated with greater communal CCE. A three-way interaction between discrimination, centrality, and preparation for bias socialization predicted greater interpersonal CCE. Findings highlight the importance of attending to sociocultural factors when supporting Black college student activists in public minority-serving institutions. Public Policy Relevance StatementExperiencing discrimination is cross-sectionally associated with greater civic engagement to address social injustice among Black college students at a majority-minority institution. For communal civic engagement, valuing Blackness as a central part of oneself played a role. For interpersonal civic engagement, both race-central identity and having received preparation from parents on how to cope with racism were important.