Parents' color-conscious racial socialization and adolescents' racial attitudes: the moderating role of parental psychological control

Introduction The present two-wave longitudinal study examined the relation between White U.S. parents' color-conscious racial socialization for African Americans and adolescents' racial attitudes, and explored how parental psychological control might moderate this relation. Method Participants included 412 White U.S. adolescents (42% girls; Mage = 15.63 years, SD = 1.24) and their primary caregivers (52% mothers). They completed online questionnaires, with parents reporting on their color-conscious racial socialization at Time 1, and adolescents providing measures of their perception of parents' psychological control at Time 1, color-blind attitudes, and racial prejudice at both time points, ~16 months apart. Results Our findings revealed that parents' color-conscious racial socialization for African Americans was negatively associated with adolescents' negative racial attitudes. Additionally, parental psychological control moderated this relation: the negative association was evident only when parents exhibited low or average levels of psychological control. Discussion This study highlights the crucial role parents play in shaping their adolescents' racial attitudes and underscores the necessity of an autonomy-supportive environment to enhance the success of parents' color-conscious socialization practices. Understanding these dynamics is essential for developing effective interventions to reduce racial biases and foster inclusive attitudes among adolescents.