Wu Qiong, Zhang Xinyun Kaikai, Opara Chioma, Cui Ming, Ralston Penny
Department of Human Development and Family Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA.
Fam Process. 2025 Sep;64(3):e70068. doi: 10.1111/famp.70068.
Racial stress significantly affects Black mothers and their children. To cope, mothers often use racial socialization strategies, such as preparation for bias, cultural socialization, and promotion of mistrust, to help their children manage race-related stress. Guided by the Racial Encounter Coping Appraisal and Socialization Theory, this study investigated the relations among racial stress, social support, and racial socialization among low-income, rural Black mothers and their associations with preschoolers' executive functioning. The study utilized data from 437 Black mothers and their preschool-aged children. Mothers reported their social support over 3 years, as well as racial stress and racial socialization practices. Preschoolers' executive functioning was assessed using a series of laboratory tasks. Findings from a path model indicated that both racial stress and social support predicted the use of racial socialization strategies. Notably, social support was linked to higher cultural socialization under high racial stress. Additionally, maternal racial stress moderated the relations between racial socialization and child executive functioning: preparation for bias was associated with lower executive functioning under high maternal racial stress, and promotion of mistrust was linked with lower executive functioning under low stress. The study highlights the importance of age-appropriate, context-sensitive racial socialization strategies and the need for supportive networks to enhance positive outcomes for Black mothers and children in racially stressful environments.
种族压力对黑人母亲及其子女有显著影响。为了应对，母亲们经常使用种族社会化策略，比如为偏见做准备、文化社会化以及培养不信任感，来帮助她们的孩子应对与种族相关的压力。在种族遭遇应对评估与社会化理论的指导下，本研究调查了低收入农村黑人母亲的种族压力、社会支持和种族社会化之间的关系，以及它们与学龄前儿童执行功能的关联。该研究使用了437名黑人母亲及其学龄前儿童的数据。母亲们报告了她们三年来的社会支持情况，以及种族压力和种族社会化实践。学龄前儿童的执行功能通过一系列实验室任务进行评估。路径模型的结果表明，种族压力和社会支持都预测了种族社会化策略的使用。值得注意的是，在高种族压力下，社会支持与更高水平的文化社会化相关。此外，母亲的种族压力调节了种族社会化与儿童执行功能之间的关系：在母亲高种族压力下，为偏见做准备与较低的执行功能相关，而在低压力下，培养不信任感与较低的执行功能相关。该研究强调了适合年龄、符合情境的种族社会化策略以及支持性网络对于在种族压力环境中提升黑人母亲和儿童积极结果的重要性。
