Latinx Parents’ Perception of Discrimination and Ethnic/Racial Socialization Predict Their Elementary School Children’s Perceptions of Discrimination

The present study examined whether Latinx parents’ perceptions of personal discrimination and perception of biases against Latinx people in the United States, along with their engagement with their elementary school children, predicted their conversations with their children about discrimination, and whether those conversations were related to children’s own perceptions of school-based discrimination. The study consisted of phone interviews with Latinx immigrant parents (n = 66, 71% mothers) from a predominantly White community and school-based interviews with their third and fourth grade children (n = 66). The children’s first interviews were conducted in the spring of one school year, parental interviews were conducted over the mediating summer, and children’s second interviews were conducted in the following school year. Results indicated that parents’ perception of bias against Latinos predicted their conversations about discrimination with their children, but this effect was moderated by parental engagement, such that perceptions of discrimination only predict conversations about discrimination among highly engaged parents. Furthermore, children whose parents talked about discrimination more frequently were more likely to report perceiving discrimination from peers and teachers, over and above their earlier perceptions of discrimination.