Ethnic‐racial socialization and ethnic minority youth's hair cortisol concentration

Abstract Despite the plethora of evidence on the association of parental ethnic‐racial socialization (ERS) and ethnic minority youth's mental health, the physiological stress‐response mechanism that may explain such link has been rarely studied. In the current study, we investigated the relations between parental ERS and youth's chronic physiological stress, indexed by hair cortisol concentrations (HCC). Forty‐eight Black and 38 Latino youth ( M age = 12.18 years, SD = 1.50) in the United States and their parents participated in the study. Parents reported ERS in terms of enculturation and preparation for bias. Youth's hair samples were collected and analysed for HCC. Results revealed that parental enculturation was significantly associated with lower levels of HCC. The importance of parental ERS in relation to ethnic minority youth's stress physiology is discussed.