Applying the Evidence We Have: Support for Having Race Conversations in White U.S. Families

Popular press articles have advocated for parent–child conversations about race and racism to prevent children from developing racial biases, yet empirical investigations of the impact of racial socialization in White U.S. families are scarce. In an article published in Perspectives on Psychological Science in 2020, Scott et al. warned that, given the lack of empirical evidence, parents might actually do more harm than good by talking to their children about race. In this comment, we draw upon the literature on (a) racial socialization, (b) parenting and parent–child discourse, and (c) the role of nonverbal communication in parental socialization to inform our understanding of parents’ ability to engage in race-related conversations in the absence of empirical guidance. We also highlight emerging evidence of the potential benefits of these conversations (even if parents are uncomfortable). In sum, the wealth of existing literature suggests that parents can successfully navigate challenging conversations with their children—which tends to result in better outcomes for children than avoiding those conversations. Thus, although we support Scott et al.’s call for researchers to develop more empirical research, we part with the authors’ assertion that researchers need to wait for more sufficient evidence before providing recommendations to White parents—we believe that the time for White families to begin talking about race and racism is now.

Gender differences in inhibitory control as assessed on simple delay tasks in early childhood: A meta-analysis

Bjorklund and Kipp (1996) hypothesized that due to selection processes operative during human evolution, females have an inborn advantage over males in the ability to suppress inappropriate responses on tasks in the behavioral and social domains. To test this hypothesis, a meta-analysis was conducted on gender differences on simple delay tasks in which the participant is required to wait for a “go” signal before making an approach response to an enticing stimulus. The meta-analysis was performed on 113 effect sizes derived from 102 studies of 21,378 children who ranged in age from 1 year to 9 years and who lived in at least 15 countries. As hypothesized, girls exceeded boys in delay ability, with the gender differences being small in magnitude (Hedges’ g = .25–.26). The female advantage in delay ability held for both U.S. and non-U.S. samples of children. Further analyses found that girls outperformed boys on each of four simple delay tasks. Although the magnitude of the gender difference on the individual simple delay tasks did not differ as a function of age, the age ranges covered were narrow. Discussion focuses on two issues: (a) whether gender differences in delay ability can be explained by a factor other than inhibitory control and (b) whether parental socialization processes can explain the gender differences in delay ability. The evidence reviewed does not provide substantial support for either of these possibilities.

The impact of sexual education and socialization on sexual satisfaction, attitudes, and self-efficacy

This study examined the relation between school-based sexual education and parental messages about sex received in adolescence, and sexual attitudes and experiences in young adulthood. Participants—99 Canadian undergraduate students aged 17–25 years—reported that their sexual education largely focused on traditional topics (e.g., negative health outcomes, physiology, etc.), while social and emotional topics were less likely to be formally covered. Parental sexual socialization that was more comfortable and accepting of teen sexuality was related to more permissive sexual attitudes in young adults, but was unrelated to self-efficacy or sexual satisfaction. When all variables were examined using hierarchical regression, sexual education and parental socialization did not predict sexual satisfaction. However, mediation analysis revealed an indirect effect of sexual self-efficacy on the relation between sexual education and sexual satisfaction. More comprehensive and higher-quality sexual education increased sexual self-efficacy, which was then related to higher sexual satisfaction beyond the role of gender and relationship status. This provides insight into the mechanism by which sexual education in Canada may impact sexual satisfaction. The influence of parental socialization and school-based sexual education are apparent and complementary. Both sources of information and values (parents/school) offered benefits for young adults’ positive sexual attitudes, but school-based education appears to be key. How sexual education is delivered (e.g., if teachers are knowledgeable and comfortable discussing topics) may be even more important than the content itself. These findings suggest that prioritizing teacher training to improve their comfort with delivery of sexual education programming would improve adolescents and young adults’ sexual lives.

Differential Associations Between Parents' Versus Children's Perceptions of Parental Socialization Goals and Chinese Adolescent Depressive Symptoms

Although prior studies have demonstrated the associations between parental socialization goals and parenting practices, as well as parenting practices and adolescent depressive symptoms, respectively, research examining the comprehensive developmental pathways among these constructs (i. e., the path from parental socialization goals to parenting practices to adolescent depressive symptoms) is scarce, especially in the Chinese context. Grounded in the integrative model of parenting, this study investigated the associations between parental socialization goals and adolescent depressive symptoms by examining the indirect pathways through parents' autonomy support and psychological control as well as the moderating effect of educational stage. In Study 1, 345 Chinese adolescents and their primary caregivers completed a measure on parental socialization goals. Adolescents also reported on their depressive symptoms. Results showed that children who reported more self-development parental goals showed fewer depressive symptoms. However, parents' reports of goals or child-parent perceptual discrepancies were not related to children's depressive symptoms. Drawing on this finding, 424 middle school and 301 high school Chinese adolescents completed measures regarding parental socialization goals, autonomy support, psychological control, and their own depressive symptoms in Study 2. Results showed that parental autonomy support linked the associations of self-development and achievement-oriented parental goals and children's depressive symptoms among middle school students, whereas parental psychological control linked such associations among high school students. Our findings provide a more holistic view on how parents' socialization goals are related to children's depressive symptoms via their parenting practices. We also discussed the practical implications for the clinical work regarding adolescent depressive symptoms.

Educational Attainment Has a Causal Effect on Economic, But Not Social Ideology: Evidence from Discordant Twins

In this article, we examine the nature of the relationship between educational attainment and ideology. Some scholars have argued that the effect of education on political variables like ideology is inflated due to unaccounted-for family factors, such as genetic predispositions and parental socialization. Using the discordant twin design and data from a large sample of Danish twins, we find that after accounting for confounders rooted in the family, education has a (quasi)-causal effect on economic ideology, but not social ideology. We also examine whether the relationship between education and economic ideology is moderated by levels of economic hardship in the local context where individuals reside. We find that the (quasi)-causal effect of education on economic ideology increases in economically challenged areas.

Pengaruh Self Control, Financial Literacy Dan Parental Socialization Terhadap Saving Behavior

The purpose of this study is to find out about the influence of self control, financial literacy, parental socialization can affect saving behaviour. This study uses the generation Z at Jakarta as many as 219 respondents and analyzed with SmartPLS 3.2.8. Those samples are collected with google form and use convenience sampling method. The results of this study indicate that self control, financial literacy and parental socialization can affect saving behavior and all of these variable have positive relationship toward saving behaviour.Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui dan menganalisis pengaruh kontrol diri, literasi keuangan dan sosialisasi orang tua terhadap perilaku menabung. Penelitian ini menggunakan sampel yaitu pada generasi Z di Jakarta sebanyak 219 responden dan dianalisa dengan SmartPLS 3.2.8. Sampel diperoleh melalui google form dan pemilihan sampel yang digunakan adalah teknik convenience sampling. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa kontrol diri, literasi keuangan dan sosialisasi orang tua memiliki pengatruh terhadap perilaku menabung dan seluruh variabel memiliki hubungan yang positif terhadap perilaku menabung.