Ethnic-Racial Identity and Ethnic-Racial Socialization Competency: How Minoritized Parents "Walk the Talk"

Objectives: Ethnic-racial identity (ERI) has important implications for individual psychosocial functioning as well as familial processes. For example, parents' ERI can shape children's developmental contexts through ethnic-racial socialization (ERS). Yet, existing research has tended to focus on the content or frequency of socialization messages themselves rather than on internal factors like socialization competence. Such competence, as reflected through confidence, skills, and stress, represents critical dimensions that permeate the socialization process and can impact the delivery of messages. The present study examines whether parents' ERI (i.e., private regard, centrality, exploration) is related to perceptions of their socialization competence. Method: Data from 203 Black, 194 Asian American, and 188 Latinx parents (N = 585, M-age = 44.46 years, SD = 9.14, 59.70% mothers) of adolescents between the ages of 10-18 were collected via Qualtrics panels. Results: Across all parents, private regard, centrality, and ethnic-racial exploration were positively associated with perceived confidence and skills in engaging in ERS. Regard was additionally associated with lower socialization stress. Conclusions: The results point to consistent benefits of ERI in helping parents navigate ERS, furthering the understanding of ERI's developmental implications through parents' comfort with and ability to "walk the talk" with their children.