White Italian Parents’ Ethnic‐Racial Socialization and Young Children's Prosocial Behavior Toward Outgroup Peers

ABSTRACT White parents adopt various ethnic‐racial socialization (ERS) approaches that shape children's understanding of race and ethnicity, sometimes fostering awareness of ethnic‐racial inequalities and encouraging positive attitudes toward individuals from diverse backgrounds, and sometimes perpetuating a dominating perspective of whiteness as an invisible, natural privilege that is assumed while “othering” non‐White racial and ethnic groups. Whereas a growing body of research has examined ERS among White parents in the United States, less is known about these dynamics in European contexts, where ethnic‐racial relationships are increasingly salient. To address this gap, we examined ERS among White Italian parents and its association with children's prosocial behavior toward outgroup peers. The study involved 296 White Italian parents and their preschool children, recruited from different regions of Italy. Parents completed an adapted Italian version of the White Racial Socialization Questionnaire (WRSQ), assessing three ERS approaches: Conscious, Discussion‐hesitant, and Evasive. Children's prosocial behavior was measured through parental reports and a sticker‐sharing task, in which children were asked to share resources with ingroup and outgroup peers. Factor analysis confirmed three dimensions in our adapted version of the WRSQ. Results from a path analysis, controlling for children's age, sex, and parent education, showed positive and significant associations between parents’ conscious ERS and their children's prosocial behavior toward outgroup peers, as reflected in both parental reports and the sticker‐sharing task. Conversely, parents’ evasive and discussion‐hesitant approaches were not significantly related to their children's prosocial behavior toward outgroup peers. No significant associations emerged between ERS approaches and prosocial behavior toward ingroup peers. Findings provide further evidence for the role of parental ERS in young children's interpersonal behavior, providing valuable insights for fostering inclusive social development in early childhood.