CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Black parents who experienced higher levels of appropriated racial oppression — defined as shaping one’s behavior and self-concept around dominant cultural norms of whiteness — were less likely to transmit positive, culturally protective messages that affirmed racial pride and self-worth to their adolescent children, a recent study found.
However, these effects were moderated by skin tone, becoming more pronounced among lighter-skinned parents and teens, said first author Shardé McNeil Smith , a professor of human development and family studies and of African American studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Funded by the National Science Foundation and published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships , the study was co-written by then-research coordinator Jaden Anderson and Shawn C.T. Jones , a professor and the director of the counseling psychology program, both of Virginia Commonwealth University; and U. of I. graduate students Anisa Codamon and Chelsea S. Alexander.
The findings raise troubling questions about the generational effects of racial oppression and how it may hamper parents’ ability to instill resilience, cultural pride and other protective qualities that prepare youths for navigating a racialized society, Smith said.
“We know that Black parents engage in parenting practices that help their children if and when they encounter racial discrimination, but we find that parents’ own racialized worldview can impact their ability to transmit positive messages that are empirically found to promote well-being,” Smith said. “Interestingly, our research found that this is particularly apparent for parents and youth with lighter skin tones.”
The study included 201 pairs of Black parents — 75% of whom were the mothers — and their adolescent children who were part of the Ethnic and Racial Dynamics in Black Families project. About 15% of the adults were the children’s fathers and the remainder were other relatives who were the children’s primary caregivers such as grandparents or aunts. The adults’ average age was about 43 while the adolescents’ average age was about 15. The majority of the adults were college-educated, having earned two-year or four-year college degrees or master’s, doctoral or professional degrees, according to the study.
The adults’ levels of appropriated racial oppression were assessed with a 24-item scale that examined their emotional responses to being a member of their race, negative perceptions of their racial group and beauty standards such as their perceptions of attractiveness or superiority associated with skin tones. In addition, the scale measured the adults’ patterns of thinking about the consequences and implications of discrimination, their childhood history with racial/ethnic socialization experiences and their racism-related levels of stress.
Likewise, the adolescents’ perceptions of their parents’ or caregivers’ racial or ethnic socialization messages and behaviors during the prior year were assessed. These included the adults’ emphasizing racial pride and unity; instilling self-worth and positive feelings toward other Black people; discussing racial inequalities and coping strategies; promoting interracial understanding and coexistence among Black and white people; and the adults’ activities or behaviors related to Black culture, such as buying the teen Black toys or games. In addition, the teens were asked about their parents’ or caregivers’ negative messaging, such as disparaging Black people.
Participants’ perceptions of their own and others’ skin tones were assessed using the New Immigrant Survey Skin Color Scale, an instrument used by researchers to explore the effects of racial prejudice based on skin tone. The adults and teens compared their skin tones to those of people in photographs and rated themselves on a 1 to 10 scale, ranging from the lightest to the darkest possible skin, according to the study.
The team found that parents with higher levels of appropriated racial oppression were less likely to cultivate self-worth and racial pride in their children or convey messages about racial equality and inequalities, according to the teens’ responses on the surveys. These adults also were more likely to focus on negative messages, the teens reported.
“The adults’ and their teens’ skin tones — but not gender — also played a role, in that parents who reported greater appropriated racial oppression were less likely to discuss racial barriers with their children who had light or medium skin tones,” Smith said. “Parental skin tone was a significant moderator too, in that adults with light or medium skin tones were less likely to discuss egalitarian topics such as fairness and equality or to promote self-worth in their children. However, we found that this relationship became nonsignificant among parents with darker skin.”
Smith said the findings suggest that appropriated racial oppression may reflect a form of internalized disempowerment that undermines parents’ ability to affirm their child’s racial identity and engage in culturally affirming socialization practices that are protective, promote resilience and prepare young people for navigating societal oppression.
Parents who have internalized anti-Blackness may also internalize mainstream attitudes about discussing racial topics within their families by avoiding these issues altogether, the team hypothesized.
“These disruptions in racial-ethnic socialization may have long-term effects on youths’ racial identity development and psychological well-being, particularly in contexts where racial pride, resilience and preparation for bias become critical for coping with discrimination,” Smith said. “The moderating role of lighter skin tones on racial socialization practices also underscores the importance of considering intragroup diversity within Black families. Having lighter skin — which is often associated with proximity to whiteness — may influence parents’ perceptions of racial threats and the necessity of preparing their children for racialized experiences.”
The findings challenge those of prior studies that indicated that parents who internalized racial oppression would be more likely to engage in compensatory behaviors such as downplaying race or emphasizing equality, the team wrote. Instead, the team hypothesized that these individuals may be more likely to reject ideas about racial equality in order to better fit into a racially stratified society that rewards those who conform to white ideologies, behaviors and standards of beauty.
“By illuminating the psychological and sociocultural mechanisms that influence racial-ethnic socialization, our study highlights the importance of addressing internalized oppression in efforts to support Black families,” Smith said. “Interventions that help parents process and resist appropriated racial oppression may be key to fostering resilience and racial pride in the next generation. At the same time, it is imperative that efforts extend beyond individual parents and families to address the structural and institutional conditions that perpetuate the racial oppression that parents may ultimately internalize.”
Journal of Social and Personal Relationships
Survey
People
Linking parents’ appropriated racial oppression to their racial-ethnic socialization practices: An intergenerational examination among Black parent-child dyads
2-Jun-2026
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.