Ethno‐Religious Socialization Among Majority and Minority Group Children in a Post‐Conflict Society

ABSTRACT Families vary in the extent to which they socialize their children about their racial or ethnic identities (i.e., family ethnic socialization). Research on family ethnic socialization has primarily been done in the United States, and there, researchers have established at least four dimensions of socialization (cultural, preparation for bias, promotion of mistrust, and egalitarianism). We adapt and extend existing measures to understand how Catholic (historically the minority group) and Protestant (historically the majority group) parents socialize their children in the post‐conflict society of Northern Ireland. Across three timepoints ( N = 192; 87% mothers; 94% White), we assessed ethno‐religious socialization in Northern Ireland. We documented variability between families in each subscale but found little evidence for systematic linear change. Further analyses showed that each subscale was uniquely related to theoretically relevant antecedents and/or consequences (i.e., strength of identity, perceived victimhood, nervousness in intergroup contact, and child prosocial behaviors).