Multiracial and Multicultural Children's Discrimination Attributions: Antecedents and Consequences

Albuja, Analia, Piscataway NJ

Investigators

Abstract

This award is provided as part of NSF's Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE) Postdoctoral Research Fellowships (SPRF) program and is supported by SBE's Social Psychology program. The goal of the SPRF program is to prepare promising, early career doctoral-level scientists for scientific careers in academia, industry or private sector, and government. SPRF awards involve two years of training under the sponsorship of established scientists and encourage Postdoctoral Fellows to perform independent research. NSF seeks to promote the participation of scientists from all segments of the scientific community, including those from underrepresented groups, in its research programs and activities; the postdoctoral period is considered to be an important level of professional development in attaining this goal. Each Postdoctoral Fellow must address important scientific questions that advance their respective disciplinary fields. Under the sponsorship of Dr. Sarah Gaither at Duke University, this postdoctoral fellowship award supports an early career scientist investigating how parents teach their multiracial and multicultural children about race and culture, and how this socialization influences children’s detection, awareness, and internalization of identity-related discrimination. This work examines colorblind socialization, which de-emphasizes race and culture as meaningful groups, and essentialist socialization, which holds that because racial and cultural groups have underlying defining essences, these groups are fixed and meaningful. Though past work has highlighted the pivotal role of racial and cultural socialization for minority children, very little research has examine the socialization of multiracial and multicultural families (those with either parents of different racial backgrounds, or at least one immigrant parent), who reflect the fastest growing youth populations in the U.S. Indeed, the multiracial population grew by nearly 50% between the 2000 and 2010 censuses, and approximately 46% of multiracial people are under 18 years old. Similarly, 26% of children had at least one immigrant parent in 2017. Moreover, children’s socialization and preparation for bias may influence the way children interpret challenges to their identities through identity questioning (being asked questions such as, What are you?) and identity denial (being told to identify differently). Given that these experiences have negative consequences for adults, it is critical to explore the antecedents of these attributions earlier in development. This project integrates social psychological research on identity denial and questioning with developmental research on parent socialization and discrimination attributions to explore the antecedents and consequences of multiracial and multicultural children’s discrimination attributions for identity denial and questioning. Three studies (1) examine the racial/cultural socialization practices of parents with multiracial and multicultural children to explore the frequency of colorblind and essentialist socialization, (2) test multiracial and multicultural parents’ and children’s colorblindness and essentialism as antecedents of children’s discrimination attributions, (3) explore discrimination attributions with samples of younger children (ages 5-7 years) and older children (ages 12-14 years) to explore developmental differences, and (4) measure the outcomes of making discrimination attributions for identity denial and questioning on children’s mood and well-being. Given that discrimination attributions are associated with poorer academic performance, greater depression and anger, these findings can aid future interventions to support the healthy development of multiracial and multicultural children. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.