Supporting Children and Youth in Multiracial Families in the United States: Racial-Ethnic Socialization and Familial Support of Multiracial Experiences

Multiracial youth experience social-psychological challenges that differ qualitatively from those that their parents encounter, and there is evidence to suggest that these experiences negatively affect development. Therefore, it is particularly important to consider what parent behaviors youth may find supportive of their experiences as multiracial individuals. In this article, we aim to center multiracial youth’s lived experiences in the racial-ethnic socialization literature, given the disproportionate attention that has been paid to parent reports of socialization behaviors. We use the critical multiracial theory as a framework to describe two overlapping, albeit distinct, constructs in parenting of multiracial youth, racial-ethnic socialization and familial support of multiracial experiences, and we highlight the importance of integrating these constructs in future research and in applied work. First, to contextualize the need for understanding familial support around race-related issues in multiracial families, we describe common social-psychological challenges that multiracial youth face. Then, we review recent evidence of different types of racial-ethnic socialization and familial support of multiracial experiences to demonstrate the importance of integrating these two emerging lines of inquiry for a more holistic understanding of the role of family support in multiracial youth development. We conclude the paper with directions for future research and recommendations for multiracial families and practitioners who work with these families to promote healthy development in the growing population of multiracial children.