Youth-Directed Racial-Ethnic Socialization and Family Processes in Asian Immigrant Families

Document Type

Journal Article

Role

Author

Journal Title

Asian American Journal of Psychology

Volume

16

Issue

8

First Page

188

Last Page

202

Publication Date

6-2025

Abstract

Studies have examined racial–ethnic socialization (RES) in terms of top-down processes focusing on parent-directed RES and child outcomes. However, there is a paucity of research that examines youth-directed processes by which youth in immigrant Asian families socialize their parents about race relations in the United States, and how these are linked with family outcomes and broader immigrant family dynamics (i.e., culture brokering). Participants (N = 136) were 1.5 and second-generation Asian American youth who identified as ethnically Korean, Chinese, or Vietnamese between the ages of 18 and 26. They completed questionnaires and open-ended responses about RES strategies used in conversations with their Asian immigrant parents. Youths primarily endorsed justice-oriented RES strategies with their Asian immigrant parents that promote awareness of discrimination, equality, and cultural pluralism, with limited use of race-apprehensive strategies such as avoidance of outgroups or minimization of race. Culture brokering moderated the links between RES and family outcomes, with more adaptive associations between RES and family outcomes when there were lower levels of culture brokering in the family, and less adaptive associations at higher levels of culture brokering. The current research highlights the key role of Asian American youth in actively socializing their immigrant parents regarding race and racism. Future studies should continue exploring youth-directed RES strategies and adopt a bidirectional framework examining both youth and parent influences on racial–ethnic identity development, individual well-being, and family processes.

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