Effects of Racial and Ethnic Socialization on Parent-Child Relationships in Biracial Households

Abstract

Identity development is heavily impacted by the provision of racial and/or ethnic socialization from one’s parents. For biracial individuals, it is possible to be exposed to multiple types of racial and/or ethnic socialization and learning how to balance these different identities can be challenging. Using the emergent design of grounded theory with race/ethnicity being a primary level of importance, the current study seeks to understand reasons for parents choosing to expose their child to different types of racial and/or ethnic socialization and how this impacts their relationship with the child. Interviews with ten self-identifying biracial young adults were conducted and responses were analyzed, revealing that reasons for provision of socializations were impacted by historical events, parental lived experiences, and phenotypic presentation of the child. Quotes are based on personal experiences of participants and do not speak for general populations. Study limitations are noted and suggestions for future research are listed.