“Race was something we didn't talk about”: Racial Socialization in Asian American Families

Abstract

Objective Our goal was to explore racial socialization practices in Asian American families during a time of heightened racial tension. Background Asian Americans hold a complex racial position in the United States, made even more complicated by an increase in public protests regarding socioracial injustices in the United States experienced by racial minority groups. Discussions about race and ethnicity occur within Asian American families but often focus on cultural heritage rather than awareness of discrimination and the historical roots of racism. Method Our study used an inductive–deductive thematic analysis to collect data from 12 Asian American young adults. Semistructured interviews queried participants' experiences with racial socialization in their nuclear families and their own racial identity. Findings Qualitative analysis revealed the following themes: (a) Participants received limited messages regarding racial issues, (b) participants engaged in “bottom‐up” racial socialization and taught their parents about race, and (c) participants felt left out of society's racial dialogue. Conclusion During this time of heightened racial tension, Asian American young adults struggle to find their place, despite wanting to participate in community building. Implications Without strong Asian American racial socialization practices in families, young adults must educate themselves and initiate racial meaning‐making in their families.

Asian American parents’ experiences of stress, discrimination, and mental health during COVID-19.

“…Given the high rates of concerns about discrimination, clinicians working with AA individuals can provide support by acknowledging the mental health distress associated with discrimination fears, even if an individual has not experienced discrimination directly. Studies have found that AA parents tend to be reactive in their discussions around race; that is, discussing race and discrimination experiences typically are done if/when a negative incident occurred (Woo et al, 2020; Young et al, 2020). Clinicians working with AA families can provide resources and strategies for their AA parents to speak about race and discrimination with their children.…”

Acknowledging Anti‐Blackness, Overlooking Anti‐Asian Racism: Missed Developmental Opportunities for Chinese American Youth

“…Although previous research suggests that parents play a vital role in the sociopolitical development in adolescents of color (Diemer, 2012; Diemer et al., 2009), there is a dearth of research on how this may differ across racial/ethnic minority groups, particularly for Asian American youth. In contrast to other youth of color, Asian American youth often do not have opportunities to discuss and process their racial identity development with their family members (Young et al., 2021). Moreover, for second‐generation youth, there tends to be a bottom‐up approach to racial socialization (i.e., children teaching parents about race) in Asian American families which is in contrast to processes of racial socialization in other racial/ethnic minorities (Young et al., 2021).…”

“…In contrast to other youth of color, Asian American youth often do not have opportunities to discuss and process their racial identity development with their family members (Young et al., 2021). Moreover, for second‐generation youth, there tends to be a bottom‐up approach to racial socialization (i.e., children teaching parents about race) in Asian American families which is in contrast to processes of racial socialization in other racial/ethnic minorities (Young et al., 2021). To compensate for lack of familial support, Asian American youth may turn to peer support when exploring racial identity and sociopolitical development.…”

Asian Americans’ Emerging Racial Identities and Reactions to Racial Tension in the United States

“…This often occurred with dorm-mates rather than family members and resulted in college being a time of deeper racial identity development and understanding. Racial socialization amongst peers may make up for the lack of racial socialization that we found in Asian American families in our previous work (Young et al, 2020). However, participants also normalized racism as just part of how the world works, and thus something they have to endure.…”

“…Finally, in the context of the current events happening in the US, such as the sharp increase in race-related hate crimes (U.S. Department of Justice, 2016), understanding how parents socialize their children to understand these important issues early on will be critical to the development of their children. Our previous research has shown that Asian American parents do not talk to their children about racial issues, despite evidence that their children were recipients of explicit comments about their race (Young et al, 2020). Studies of Asian American identity should continue to look beyond the transmission of heritage culture to include racial conversations in families which is equally as relevant, pressing, and salient to Asian American families today.…”