Dealing With Discrimination: Parents' and Adolescents' Racial Discrimination Experiences and Parenting in African American Families

Objectives: Survey data of 155 Midwestern African American adolescents (M-age = 13.25, 54.8% female) and their parents were assessed to examine whether parents' racial discrimination experiences and adolescents' gender moderated the association between adolescents' racial discrimination experiences and involved-vigilant parenting. Methods: Path analyses were conducted with racial discrimination and gender at Wave 1 predicting parenting at Wave 2, controlling for Wave 1 parenting and demographic variables. Results: Boys with high levels of racial discrimination experiences and who had parents with low racial discrimination experiences had declines in involved-vigilant parenting. There were no significant differences in involved-vigilant parenting by level of racial discrimination experience among girls. Conclusions: The results indicate that parenting may depend on both parents' and adolescents' racial discrimination experiences and characteristics.