Racial Stress, Social Support, and Racial Socialization Among Rural Black Mothers: Associations With Preschoolers' Executive Functioning

Abstract

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.