Racial/ethnic socialization for White youth: What we know and future directions

Teaching and talking about race and ethnicity with children and adults is especially important in racially diverse societies. This process has been coined racial/ethnic socialization (RES). Despite the importance of RES, we still know very little about how this process unfolds in the lives of White youth. Thus, from a social, cognitive, and developmental perspective, the authors summarize findings from empirical research and theory on RES for White youth across stages of development—early childhood through young adulthood. Since RES is linked with cross-group attitudes (e.g., less bias, prejudice, stereotyping) and behaviors (e.g., inclusion), we highlight future directions for research and discuss applications for existing findings for an increasingly diverse society.

Duke Scholars

Author Sarah Elizabeth Gaither Psychology & Neuroscience