Racial Socialization as a Mechanism for Positive Development Among African American Youth

This review considers the relation between racial socialization and positive youth development in African American families. A central premise is that positive youth outcomes (competence, confidence, character, connection, and caring) are often directly supported through traditional racial socialization messages (such as cultural socialization, preparation for bias, self-worth, and egalitarianism). The review draws contrasts between the more prevalent risk and resilience models and positive youth development, and makes recommendations for future research directions. KEYWORDS—positive youth development; racial socialization; African American youth As a theoretical framework, positive youth development (PYD) provides a refreshing perspective on the social and emotional development of youth. Rather than focusing on the risks associated with development, PYD promotes the study of ‘‘what is going right’’ (Morrissey & Werner-Wilson, 2005, p. 67), emphasizing personal assets and positive engagement (Larson, 2000). PYD may also include prosocial behavior, belief in the future, and spirituality. This perspective stands in contrast to traditional notions of success. An adolescent may be a good student and stay out of trouble, but may lack the skills needed to thrive as an adult and become an active citizen (Catalano, Berglund, Ryan, Lonczak, & Hawkins, 2002). PYD emphasizes that all youth are capable of thriving if they are supported by contexts that provide Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Ashley B. Evans, Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1043; e-mail: [email protected]. a 2012 The Authors Child Development Perspectives a 2012 The Society for Research in Child Development DOI: 10.1111/j.1750-8606.2011.00226.x Volume 6, Number 3, 2 opportunities for developing their unique skills and strengths (Damon, 2004). Despite the fact that these features make the approach particularly relevant for African American children, whose development researchers often view from a deficit perspective (McLoyd, 2006), very little research has addressed the importance of PYD in this population. Moreover, PYD studies rarely consider culture-specific assets such as racial identity, the larger African American community, or parents’ racial socialization (Catalano et al., 2002). The predominant literature on youth of color places them within a discourse on ‘‘at-risk’’ populations, emphasizing pathology and failure (Hagen, Pacynski, Sprang, Torvinen, & Petiprin, 2010; McLoyd, 2006). Although resiliency research has led to a focus on protective attributes in both youth and families, the reduction or prevention of negative outcomes does not equate to positive development. Further, although considerations of family factors important for positive outcomes is an explicit focus on much of the work on resilience (e.g., Masten & Coatsworth, 1998), those family processes unique to ethnic minority families have not received sufficient attention in this research. Thus, we are left with little insight into normative processes leading to PYD in African American youth. We begin with a brief review of the literature on PYD among African American youth. Then we discuss the potential role of families as promoters of PYD in these youth’s lives. Finally, we discuss some additional considerations essential to reframing our research agendas in terms of PYD among youth of color. POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF AFRICAN