Ego-centered network analysis of ethnic-racial socialization in families

ABSTRACT

Ethnic-racial socialization refers to the implicit and explicit ways individuals learn about race and ethnicity from family, media, community, and peers (Hughes et al., 2016). Ethnic-racial socialization is a central part of familial conversations for Black, Indigenous, and families of color. This research uses ego-centered network analysis to explore the different patterns and meaning-making in families when discussing issues of race and ethnicity. Overall, four family map types emerged from the data: expansive, concentrated, condensed, and balanced. In addition, participants described different themes according to their map type, overall demonstrating the multitude of ways ethnic-racial socialization manifests in families.

KEYWORDS:

• Ethnic-racial socialization
• ego-centered networks
• ethnicity-race

Notes

1 There was a control group to compare the effectiveness of the intervention that was excluded for this qualitative analysis. An aim of the overall project was to assess the extent to which completion of maps and verbal processing of maps was associated with secure ethnic-racial identity and well-being.