The role of family ethnic-racial socialization in early childhood among minoritized populations: An integrative review

Ethnic-racial socialization (ERS), the process through which children learn about race and ethnicity, is often influenced by family. While ERS plays a role in adolescent ethnic/racial identity development, little is known about its impact during early childhood. An integrative review of the literature was conducted to understand the role ERS has in children’s early years, specifically in regards to 1) the extent and strategies used, 2) family demographic and socio-environmental correlates of engaging in ERS, and 3) the positive and negative psychosocial child outcomes of engagement in these practices. PsycINFO, PubMed, and Web of Science were used to conduct the search with terms related to ERS and early childhood. Articles were included in the review if they were published in peer-reviewed journals; were original, empirical quantitative research; participants were minoritized children and/or their parent(s) or adult caregiver(s), identified as any race/ethnicity besides White, Non-Hispanic; and minoritized children were within the early childhood age range (i.e., 0–5) at the baseline visit. Data were extracted and synthesized from 21 articles. Study characteristics revealed that ERS processes in minoritized families, most commonly cultural socialization, begin as early as 2.5 years old. Correlates of this process and child outcomes are summarized. Additionally, overlaps and differences between studies are highlighted. Findings demonstrate the importance of family ERS in early childhood and contribute to the literature by addressing the longstanding exclusion of racially and ethnically minoritized families from research, underscoring their inclusion as essential to better understanding the impact of ERS in diverse family contexts.