Beyond What Is Said: Generic Language in Parent-Child Conversations and Children's Racial Bias

Growing up in the United States means developing within a context shaped by structural racism. There is, however, substantial variation in how families talk (or do not talk) about it. The present study examined naturalistic parent-child conversations about social inequality and race. Conversations were collected remotely from 124 children (ages 4-8; 16% Asian, 20% Black, 13% multiracial, 14% Latine, 35% white, 2% unspecified; 57% female, 42% male, 1% other) and their parents from across the United States. When explicitly prompted to discuss race, families from different racial backgrounds addressed similar topics, including antiracist messages, social disparities, and fairness. However, they differed in how these messages were expressed: Black families used more specific (vs. generic) references to race, whereas non-Black families of color used more generic (vs. specific) references (with white families falling in between). Importantly, the form of these messages-but not their content-predicted white children's anti-Black racial biases. These findings suggest that how families reference race may be an important and overlooked contributor to the development of racial bias. SUMMARY: Naturalistic conversations about race and inequality were collected from 124 parent-child dyads; children aged 4-8 years old. Families who used more generic (vs. specific) references to race had children with more anti-Black attitudes. Results highlight the importance of parent-child conversations about race in preventing the formation of racial biases during early childhood.