A Multi-Method Examination of Asian American Parents and Adolescents’ Ethnic-Racial and Civic Socialization

Abstract

During the COVID-19 outbreak, the racialization of the pandemic refueled and intensified interpersonal and collective racial prejudice against Asian Americans, adversely impacting these families’ adjustment in both shorter and longer terms. In addition, the police murder of George Floyd in 2020 ignited an increase in momentum for the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, which led many Asian Americans to reflect on systemic racism and their social positioning. Amidst this critical racial reckoning, ethnic-racial and civic socialization within the family context can shape the way children and adolescents view themselves as minoritized individuals and how they navigate the racialized landscape and address social inequity issues in the United States. Therefore, across three papers, this dissertation project broadly aimed to understand how Asian American families’ ethnic-racial and civic socialization is shaped and associated with adolescents’ civic engagement. Briefly, the first paper examined the association between Chinese American parents’ racial discrimination experiences and their maintenance of their heritage culture and concealing their Chinese heritage and connection ethnic-racial socialization during the COVID-19 pandemic, the mediating role of parents’ psychological well-being, the moderating role of family support, and the potential variations in these associations among parents with children across three developmental stages. The second paper focused on the mediating role of Chinese American parents’ civic socialization in the association between their interpersonal racial discrimination experiences and their adolescent’ community and political engagement. The potential exacerbating role of parents’ concerns about structural racism was explored. Finally, the third paper explored Asian American adolescents’ ethnic-racial and civic beliefs and responses to anti-Asian hate and the BLM movement during discussions with their parents. Moreover, within-group patterns among Chinese, Filipino, and Korean American adolescents’ responses, reasons, and their associations with their critical consciousness were examined. Together, the three studies made important empirical and theoretical contributions to the field by revealing: (1) underlying mechanisms in the association between racial discrimination and Asian American parents’ ethnic-racial and civic socialization and their adolescents’ civic engagement; (2) Asian American families’ resilience in the context of the rise in anti-Asian hate and racial tension; and (3) Asian American adolescents’ contributions to parent-adolescent discussions about race and social change. The present dissertation project has significant practical implications and calls for efforts to address systemic racism to ensure conscious-raising systems that can facilitate the positive development and thriving of Asian American children, adolescents, and families.