Perceived Ethnic-Racial Socialization, Ethnic Identity, and Social Competence Among Asian American Late Adolescents

This study extends the research on parental ethnic-racial socialization to Asian American late adolescents (N = 166). The authors specifically examined the factor structure, frequency, and correlates of a perceived ethnic-racial socialization measure. Ethnic identity was also hypothesized to function as a mediator in the relationship between perceived cultural socialization and social competence. The results supported a 3-factor model of perceived ethnic-racial socialization that included cultural socialization-pluralism, promotion of mistrust, and preparation for bias. Exploratory analyses revealed that ethnic-racial socialization messages were reported by large proportions of participants and were related to a number of demographic variables. The authors further found that perceived promotion of mistrust messages were inversely associated with social competence. They also found that perceived cultural socialization-pluralism was significantly related to social competence through ethnic identity. Results support the importance of perceived ethnic-racial socialization for Asian American development.