Profiles of White Nationalist Beliefs and Parenting in Conservative Parents: Implications for Adolescent Beliefs and Well‐Being

INTRODUCTION: Despite the growing threat of far-right extremist and White nationalist beliefs in the United States, little is known about parenting factors associated with the development of these beliefs during adolescence. Using a person-centered approach, this study examined how parental ideological beliefs, psychological control, and anger expression co-occur and how these patterns are associated with adolescents' ideological beliefs and socioemotional adjustment. METHODS: Participants were 414 conservative White parents and their adolescent children from the United States. Adolescents were 45.5% female and averaged 15.28 (SD = 1.41) years of age. Parents reported on White nationalist and prejudicial beliefs, psychological control, and anger expressiveness. Adolescents reported on their own ideological beliefs and socioemotional competence. Latent profile analysis was used to identify distinct configurations of parental beliefs and parenting characteristics. RESULTS: Four distinct parent profiles emerged and were differentially associated with adolescent outcomes. Profiles characterized by higher levels of White nationalist and prejudicial beliefs were associated with similar ideological beliefs among adolescents. When these parental beliefs co-occurred with greater psychological control and anger expression, adolescents also reported poorer socioemotional adjustment. CONCLUSIONS: Findings demonstrate that parental ideological beliefs are associated with similar beliefs during adolescence and suggest that the broader parenting context may have implications for adolescent adjustment. Results highlight the importance of considering both parental beliefs and parenting behaviors in understanding the intergenerational transmission of extremist ideologies.