Changes in familial discussions among East Asian American families during the COVID-19 pandemic

Objective: We examined the degrees of change in familial discussions about racial issues (i.e., race, ethnicity, racism, and discrimination) due to the surge of anti-Asian discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic.Background: Asian American family racial-ethnic socialization that teaches the values, information, and perspectives about racial-ethnic group membership and race relations carry great implications for youth development. However, little is known about how anti-Asian sentiments may have contributed to the degrees of change in racial issues.Method: The participants included 143 second-generation East Asian American youth (e.g., Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Taiwanese) ages 11-18 years (M = 14.96, SD = 1.98). Youth were attending middle (38%) or high (62%) schools in the United States.Results: Latent profile analysis identified four profiles of degrees of change in familial discussions: (a) moderate change in racial discussions about other ethnicities, (b) much change in racial discussions, (c) moderate change in racial discussions about own ethnicities, and (d) little change in racial discussions.Conclusion: Our findings provide a snapshot of the ways East Asian American families' racial discussions are changing, which in turn shape youth's experiences in navigating their social contexts.Implications: The findings provide valuable directions for research and interventions to promote important racial discussion among East Asian American families.

Discussing Race: Pathways and Barriers to Critical Consciousness Development for Chinese American Youth

This dissertation project examines the interplay between Chinese American youth's racial socialization experiences and their critical consciousness development. Discussing Race pursues three central questions: 1) How do Chinese American youth develop an understanding of and response to systemic racism? 2) What implications might their racial socialization experiences have on their understanding and appreciation of their own racial/ethnic identity? 3) How might their racial socialization experiences influence their empathy for and solidarity with other marginalized communities? To investigate these questions, 76 high-school-aged youth (primarily Chinese American) based in Chicago were surveyed and interviewed throughout 2020-2021. Survey and interview questions focused on youths' past and recent race-related interactions across a variety of primary socializing settings (home, school, peers, online spaces, and Asian American-serving youth programs/groups), including how conversations and messages about race contributed to or complicated young people's understanding of systemic racism, positive ethnic-racial identity development, political engagement, and perceived relationship to other marginalized communities. The multi-stage analysis of the interview data followed a mixed grounded theory and thematic analysis approach.One of the central findings of the study is that Chinese American youth recognized the need and urgency to address racism, but were largely unsupported to do so because of pervasive flat narratives about Asian Americans as model minorities. As a result, many youth sought out resources to educate themselves and others as well as to advocate for their needs and the needs of other students of color. Specifically, social media, conversations with peers, and participation in Asian American youth groups and organizations served as consciousness-raising avenues.Despite youth's proactive efforts, experiencing racial invisibility throughout the COVID-19 pandemic appeared to complicate young people's critical consciousness development. The persisting silence around anti-Asian racism amidst a year of heightened racial animosity toward Asian communities, and following increased dialogue about racism encouraged by the Black Lives Matter movement, contributed to feelings of frustration for many youth and caused some to question the racial oppression of Asian Americans. Additionally, the lack of urgency and concern observed by young people problematically discouraged empathy for other marginalized communities and perpetuated ignorance about systemic racism.This finding underscores a critical missed developmental opportunity for Chinese American youth, in large part, because participants were afforded many opportunities throughout 2020 to learn about the experiences of Black communities. These sustained and in-depth learning opportunities encouraged the young people to engage in conversations about anti-Blackness with family members despite encountering a myriad of communication challenges and not having supports to navigate such conversations. Indeed, the unavailability of opportunities and resources to help youth develop an understanding how anti-Asian racism intersects with and reinforces the oppression of Black communities may inhibit critical consciousness development and anti-racist solidarity efforts.This project highlights the importance of not only disentangling the racialized experiences of Asian American youth from the experiences of other minoritized students but also highlighting the opportunities to help young people contextualize their experiences under White supremacy. Further, it calls attention to a need for schools and youth organizations to learn from and support existing anti-racist efforts led by young people. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Discussing Race: Pathways and Barriers to Critical Consciousness Development for Chinese American Youth

This dissertation project examines the interplay between Chinese American youth's racial socialization experiences and their critical consciousness development. Discussing Race pursues three central questions: 1) How do Chinese American youth develop an understanding of and response to systemic racism? 2) What implications might their racial socialization experiences have on their understanding and appreciation of their own racial/ethnic identity? 3) How might their racial socialization experiences influence their empathy for and solidarity with other marginalized communities? To investigate these questions, 76 high-school-aged youth (primarily Chinese American) based in Chicago were surveyed and interviewed throughout 2020-2021. Survey and interview questions focused on youths' past and recent race-related interactions across a variety of primary socializing settings (home, school, peers, online spaces, and Asian American-serving youth programs/groups), including how conversations and messages about race contributed to or complicated young people's understanding of systemic racism, positive ethnic-racial identity development, political engagement, and perceived relationship to other marginalized communities. The multi-stage analysis of the interview data followed a mixed grounded theory and thematic analysis approach.One of the central findings of the study is that Chinese American youth recognized the need and urgency to address racism, but were largely unsupported to do so because of pervasive flat narratives about Asian Americans as model minorities. As a result, many youth sought out resources to educate themselves and others as well as to advocate for their needs and the needs of other students of color. Specifically, social media, conversations with peers, and participation in Asian American youth groups and organizations served as consciousness-raising avenues.Despite youth's proactive efforts, experiencing racial invisibility throughout the COVID-19 pandemic appeared to complicate young people's critical consciousness development. The persisting silence around anti-Asian racism amidst a year of heightened racial animosity toward Asian communities, and following increased dialogue about racism encouraged by the Black Lives Matter movement, contributed to feelings of frustration for many youth and caused some to question the racial oppression of Asian Americans. Additionally, the lack of urgency and concern observed by young people problematically discouraged empathy for other marginalized communities and perpetuated ignorance about systemic racism.This finding underscores a critical missed developmental opportunity for Chinese American youth, in large part, because participants were afforded many opportunities throughout 2020 to learn about the experiences of Black communities. These sustained and in-depth learning opportunities encouraged the young people to engage in conversations about anti-Blackness with family members despite encountering a myriad of communication challenges and not having supports to navigate such conversations. Indeed, the unavailability of opportunities and resources to help youth develop an understanding how anti-Asian racism intersects with and reinforces the oppression of Black communities may inhibit critical consciousness development and anti-racist solidarity efforts.This project highlights the importance of not only disentangling the racialized experiences of Asian American youth from the experiences of other minoritized students but also highlighting the opportunities to help young people contextualize their experiences under White supremacy. Further, it calls attention to a need for schools and youth organizations to learn from and support existing anti-racist efforts led by young people. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Connecting research, children's media, and identity during the U.S. Black Lives Matter movement

The article reflects on the issue of connecting research, children's media, and identity during the U.S. Black Lives Matter movement. One striking notion circulating during the COVID-19 pandemic is that personal and professional boundaries and identities have been tested, even eliminated. Before COVID-19, working completely from home had been uncommon for U.S. academics;now homes are workspaces for many. Social scientists uphold objectivity in their work, but presently, perhaps we all can understand how personal needs and health can affect, or even deter, the research we produce. Yet, for scholars like me - biracial Black, raising minoritized children, navigating realms of both privilege and need, a former teacher of Black and Latinx students, studying ways to use and design media to promote positive outcomes for marginalized youth - work has always been profoundly and inherently personal. The crises of 2020 have not altered that reality, only made it more salient. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Perceived discrimination, ethnic identity, and ethnic-racial socialization in Chinese immigrant families before and after the COVID-19 outbreak: An exploratory natural experiment.

Emerging research from the United States indicates that people with an East Asian background experience COVID-19-related racial discrimination. There is some (although not consistent) evidence that these discrimination experiences can in turn have psychological and behavioral consequences, such as strengthening one's ethnic identity and influencing parents' ethnic-racial socialization practices. The current study presents a unique natural experiment examining self-reported perceived discrimination experiences, ethnic identity, and ethnic-racial socialization among 80 Chinese immigrant mothers in the Netherlands before and after the COVID-19 outbreak (39 mothers recruited before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and 41 during). The main findings from our exploratory analyses indicated an impact of the pandemic with higher (subtle) discrimination and stronger ethnic identity among Chinese immigrant mothers living in the Netherlands, highlighting how personal experiences related to intergroup processes have changed as a result of the COVID-19 crisis in the European context.

Learning about discrimination during childhood: Implications for racial trauma among Asians and Asian Americans during the pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: Although the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a sharp rise in anti-Asian hate crimes, limited data exist on racial trauma and its effects on Asian Americans. The current study investigated how racial discrimination and parental ethnic-racial socialization (cultural socialization, preparation for bias, and promotion of mistrust) were associated with racial trauma among Asian Americans in young adulthood. Increased cultural socialization and preparation for bias in childhood were hypothesized to be associated with lower levels of racial trauma, whereas increased racial discrimination and promotion of mistrust were hypothesized to predict higher levels of racial trauma. METHODS: Based on a retrospective report of young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic, this longitudinal nationwide study within the United States examined 133 Asian and Asian American young adults ages 18-30 who participated in an online survey regarding ethnic identity, childhood ethnic-racial socialization practices, racial discrimination-related experiences, and racial trauma. RESULTS: Lifetime discrimination, but not COVID-19-related discrimination, was associated with higher levels of racial trauma. Greater levels of preparation for bias during childhood predicted lower levels of racial trauma in young adulthood. Contrary to the hypothesis, greater levels of cultural socialization predicted higher levels of racial trauma. Promotion of mistrust was not associated with later racial trauma outcomes. CONCLUSION: The current study underscores the long-term impacts of parent-child discussions about racism (i.e., preparation for bias) to address racial trauma in young adulthood. Future research should further examine cultural socialization to determine its effects on racial trauma among Asian Americans.