A Pilot Test Of The Raising Antiracist Kids Intervention Program For Parents With Children In Middle Childhood
Restricted (Penn State Only)
- Author:
- Mayfield, Keiana Taschel
- Graduate Program:
- Human Development and Family Studies
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- June 28, 2022
- Committee Members:
- Robert Roeser, Major Field Member
Timothy Brick, Major Field Member
Susan McHale, Chair & Dissertation Advisor
Gregory Fosco, Major Field Member
Maithreyi Gopalan, Outside Unit & Field Member
Charles Geier, Professor in Charge/Director of Graduate Studies - Keywords:
- family-based intervention
middle childhood
family socialization
racial socialization
prejudice reduction
parenting
race
antiracism socialization - Abstract:
- Children as young as three years old harbor racial biases, and these biases are strongly associated with their social context (Raabe & Beelmann, 2011). As the most proximal social environment for most children, families are the epicenter of socialization during childhood and early adolescence (Degner & Dalege, 2013). To begin dismantling systems of racial oppression, the implicit and explicit socialization practices that perpetuate the racialized norms and ideologies at the core of United States society must be targeted and altered. Raising Antiracist Kids (RAK) is an online skills-based parenting intervention aimed ultimately at decreasing systemic racism in the United States by promoting parents’ antiracist socialization knowledge, efficacy, and practices. Targeting the parents and caregivers of children between 5 and 11 years old, the RAK intervention educates participants about three dimensions of antiracist socialization — racial bias recognition, cultural appreciation, and awareness of privilege — that are enacted through three parenting practices— modeling behaviors and attitudes, coaching and instructing, and orchestrating children’s activities and exposures (Hughes et al., 2006; Parke & Buriel, 2006). In this pilot study, 86 parents enrolled in the RAK intervention and completed pre- and post-intervention surveys about their experiences with the RAK intervention and their antiracist socialization knowledge, efficacy, and practices. This dissertation had two primary aims. First, this study assessed participants’ evaluations of the feasibility of intervention delivery and acceptability of the RAK intervention to participants. Second, this study assessed the effectiveness of the RAK intervention on participants’ perceptions of changes in their antiracist socialization knowledge, efficacy, and practices, as well as their exhibited change from before to after the intervention in their antiracist parenting practices and antiracist parenting self-efficacy. Findings provided support for both of the aims of this dissertation. In relation to the first aim, findings with large effect sizes supported the RAK intervention’s feasibility and acceptability based on participant ratings. In relation to the second aim, findings demonstrated favorable impacts on participants’ perceptions of change, as well as exhibited change from before to after intervention participation. Specifically, findings provided support for participants’ perception of improvements in their antiracist socialization knowledge, efficacy, and practices after their intervention participation. Moreover, analyses examining exhibited changes in participants’ antiracist parenting practices and antiracist parenting self-efficacy revealed significant increases from before to after intervention participation. Overall, findings provide consistent support for the feasibility, acceptability, and impact of the RAK intervention. Beyond the findings supporting the RAK intervention’s feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness, this study also makes several more general contributions: First, the findings provide evidence for the expansion of prejudice and bias reduction programs into family contexts via family-based interventions. Second, the findings extend the scope of the racial socialization literature to include antiracist socialization. Third, the study provides support for the application of both family socialization theory and social cognitive theory to better understanding of race-oriented processes within family contexts. Finally, building on its theoretical and empirical contributions, this dissertation and its findings suggest several directions for future evaluations of the RAK intervention and the fields of family studies and prevention science.