Marital Processes and Parental Socialization in Families of Color: A Decade Review of Research

Research published during the past decade on African American, Latino, and Asian American families is reviewed. Emphasis is given to selected issues within the broad domains of marriage and parenting. The first section highlights demographic trends in family formation and family structure and factors that contributed to secular changes in family structure among African Americans. In the second section, new conceptualizations of marital relations within Latino families are discussed, along with research documenting the complexities in African American men's conceptions of manhood. Studies examining within‐group variation in marital conflict and racial and ethnic differences in division of household labor, marital relations, and children's adjustment to marital and family conflict also are reviewed. The third section gives attention to research on (a) paternal involvement among fathers of color; (b) the relation of parenting behavior to race and ethnicity, grandmother involvement, neighborhood and peer characteristics, and immigration; and (c) racial and ethnic socialization. The article concludes with an overview of recent advances in the study of families of color and important challenges and issues that represent research opportunities for the new decade.     

Asian Americans and Voting Participation: Comparing Racial and Ethnic Differences in Recent U.S. Elections

This research assesses the significance of race and ethnicity in the participation of Asian Americans in recent U.S. elections. It reviews the major characteristics of the nonwhite, multiethnic population in recent census surveys and discusses the necessity for voting behavior research to address effects of international migration on eligibility issues in voting participation. Results from analyzing U.S. Current Population Survey Voter Supplement files, 1994–2000, indicate that Asian Americans' apparent deficit in voting participation among voting‐age persons can be reduced, removed, or even reversed when restricting analyses only to eligible persons. Multivariate analyses controlling for a set of institutional, contextual, and individual factors show that being Asian and foreign born may have the net effect of increasing voting registration, while being U.S. born and Asian may have the contrary effect, compared to non‐Hispanic whites of comparable background. Nativity is not significant in impacting turnout among registered Asians as a whole, but U.S.‐born Asians are less likely to turn out compared to their white counterparts. Among other findings, being foreign born may enhance the registration likelihood for Chinese, Korean, and Asian Indian American citizens and the turnout likelihood of registered Korean Americans.     

Informatization, voter turnout and income inequality

In recent years, voter turnout has been decreasing in most industrial countries, and about 40% of all electors abstain from voting. This may affect income inequality and the GDP growth rate through a redistribution policy determined by majority voting. In this paper, we explore the reasons for this continuing decrease in voter turnout and assess its social costs. We conclude that informatization lowers voter turnout by generating an information overload, and that a decrease in voter turnout lowers GDP growth by limiting income redistribution.      

The Role of Contact and Information in Racial Attitude Change among White College Students*

While much research has been done on the determinants of change in prejudice among whites, relatively little is known about the process of change in contemporary racial attitudes, variously described as symbolic racism, laissez‐faire racism, or color‐blind racism. This article uses data from a sample of white college students to examine the impact of intergroup contact and exposure to information about racial issues on changes in contemporary racial attitudes and feelings toward blacks (a key component of prejudice), using Pettigrew's (1998) model of the process by which contact produces change in racial attitudes. Results provide support for Pettigrew's model, showing while contact is important in changing whites’ feelings about blacks, both contact and exposure to information about race are important predictors of changes in contemporary racial attitudes. A comparison of longitudinal and cross‐sectional models of contemporary racial attitudes suggests that contact, especially in setting with “friendship potential,” has an impact on attitudes both directly and indirectly, through providing avenues through which racial information can be obtained as well as by providing motivation to pay attention to it.     

Racial Profiling/Biased Policing

Media and legal attention to the issue of racial profiling in the United States intensified in the 1990s, with numerous studies from a wide range of jurisdictions revealing evidence of biased policing. This article briefly examines the history of biased policing in the United States, discusses the results of some of the more recent studies as well as studies of biased policing in other countries, and also devotes considerable attention to important theoretical and methodological issues in conducting research on racial profiling. These issues include how race/ethnicity should be coded, how to establish an appropriate denominator/benchmark in racial profiling studies, and what factors in addition to race/ethnicity need to be considered in analyses of bias in citations/arrests/and searches. Although attention to racial profiling waned somewhat after the September 11, 2001, attacks, recent events suggest a renewed interest in this problem.     

“Taking Back Our Country”: Tea Party Membership and Support for Punitive Crime Control Policies

The Tea Party Movement (TPM) emerged shortly after the 2008 election, with members rallying behind the call to “take back our country.” Many observers suggest that the movement represents, in part, a racialized backlash against the election of Barack Obama, the nation's first black president, motivated by perceived threats to the racial hierarchy. Racial threat theory predicts that if the TPM is motivated by and reinforces racial concerns, racialized support for punitive crime policies that disproportionately impact blacks should be higher among Tea Partiers. Drawing on recent national survey data, this study tests this prediction. The results show that TPM membership is positively associated with punitiveness and that this relationship is mediated, in part, by Tea Partiers’ animus toward blacks. We discuss the import of these findings for competing accounts of the TPM, racial threat theory, and the argument that the United States has become a “post‐racial society.”     

The Injurious Relationship Between Racial Microaggressions and Physical Health: Implications for Social Work

ABSTRACT

In recent years, the study of racial microaggressions (or subtle forms of racial discrimination) has increased significantly in the social sciences, particularly highlighting the negative impact of racial microaggressions on individuals’ mental health. Despite this, there is a dearth of literature that has examined the relationship between racial microaggressions and physical and psychological health. Using two self-reported measures—the Racial and Ethnic Microaggressions Scale (REMS) and the RAND 36-Item Short Form Health Survey—with a diverse group of participants (N = 277), results suggest that racial microaggressions are significantly correlated with poorer health conditions. Furthermore, racial microaggressions were found to predict various types of physical health conditions, such as general health problems, pain, lower energy levels, and fatigue. Finally, different types of microaggressions (e.g., microaggressions in school or the workplace, environmental microaggressions) were found to be predictors of specific health issues. Implications for social work are discussed.     

No Lloro Pero me Acuerdo: Hidden Voices in a Psychological Model

Research on loss of land for Northern New Mexican Hispanos and clinical work with La Raza populations indicated a connection between past and present historical and psychological issues, motivating the development of the multidimensional model of Hispano attachment to and loss of land. The model, however, did not entirely capture the abuse leveled on Hispanos and lacked inclusion of similar experiences among other La Raza populations. This article exposes events embedded in the model—patterns, voices, and coping strategies—that provide a glimpse of more than 400 years of collective historical trauma sustained by La Raza and that is based on a Manifest Destiny colonization, beginning with the conquest of Mexico and running to current racial profiling. It also describes the evolution of the model to include the overarching La Raza population.     

Klasseneinflüsse auf das Wahlverhalten und die Wahlbeteiligung

The thesis of a declining impact of social class is widely accepted in the social sciences. A central tenet of this thesis is that in particular the impact of social class on voting has declined. Despite a plethora of empirical studies concerning this issue the mechanisms leading to this postulated decline have been relatively less explored. The current paper investigates the thesis of a substitution between class effects on voting and class effects on turnout. Under study are the United States of America and the Federal Republic of Germany. Using multinomial logit and logistic regression models for both countries a decline in class voting could be observed, but class effects on turnout increased in both countries. More specifically, the propensity to vote relatively to the non-manual classes has declined among the manual classes. In conjunction with the observation that class voting is higher among the manual classes this result supports the theory that the decline of class voting is due to an increasing political frustration within the manual classes. This reasoning suggests a substitution between class effects on voting and turnout.     

Social Exchange and The Progression of Sexual Relationships in Emerging Adulthood

Research has extensively examined matching on race and other characteristics in cohabitation and marriage, but it has generally disregarded sexual and romantic relationships. Using data from the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we examine the tempo of key transitions in the recent relationships of young adults aged 18 to 24. We focus on how the racial mix of partners in relationships is associated with the timing to sex, cohabitation, and marriage. We find evidence that relationships between white men and minority women proceed more rapidly than relationships involving other racial combinations from romance to sexual involvement and from sexual involvement to cohabitation. Our findings have important implications for social exchange perspectives on mate selection.     

Racial inequality and social control: Historical and contemporary patterns in the U.S. South

Research dealing with disproportionate criminality, arrest, and incarceration among African Americans has tended to emphasize cultural, familial, and structural differences between racial groups while at the same time neglecting patterns and processes of race‐ and class‐based antagonism and subordination that are central, especially in the case of the U.S. South historically. We attempt to address this limitation by posing a model of the contemporary black‐white arrest differential across counties of one southern state. The model itself takes into consideration class‐ and race‐based subordination processes and their impact on local levels of stratification and arrest. Results suggest the continuing influence of racial competition and class dynamics. Racial competition enhances the arrest gap by disproportionately increasing unemployment and family dissolution among African Americans. The existence of a strong and concentrated traditional elite is shown to depress the racial gap, presumably by increasing poverty, unemployment, and family dissolution for both groups or by shaping what it means to go to jail, especially for blacks. In general, the arguments and findings presented suggest that criminological literature and theorizing should take note of local racial and political‐economic processes that, through the perpetuation of race and class inequality, reproduce disparate patterns of criminality, arrest, and incarceration.     

Downward Mobility of Women from White-Collar Employment: Determinants and Timing by Race

This study uses data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to assess the minority vulnerability thesis, which maintains there are racial differences among women in the determinants of, and timing to, downward mobility from white-collar employment. In accord with the theory, a racialized continuum emerges along both issues. The route to downward mobility for African Americans is relatively broad based and unstructured by traditional stratification-based causal factors, that is, human capital, background socioeconomic status, and job/labor-market characteristics, and they are quickest to experience downward movement. The route to downward mobility for whites is relatively narrow and structured by stratification-based causal actors, and they are the slowest to experience downward movement. Along both issues, Latinas occupy an intermediate position between African Americans and whites. Implications of the findings for understanding of racial inequality in white-collar employment are discussed.     

Exploring racial and ethnic differences in recreational drug use among gay and bisexual men in New York city and Los Angeles

Reported rates of recreational drug use among gay and bisexual men are currently rising. Although there has been much empirical research documenting current trends in drug use among gay and bisexual men, little research has empirically contrasted differential rates across urban epicenters, while even less has addressed racial or ethnic variation (between and within cities). This knowledge is essential both for the development of effective culturally-sensitive health education prevention/services and for understanding drug use prevalence among urban epicenters. Using the men's data gathered from large-scale gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) community events in New York and Los Angeles in the fall of 2003 and spring of 2004 (N = 2,335), this study explored racial and ethnic variance in the use of methamphetamine, cocaine, MDMA/ecstasy (methylenedioxy-methamphetamine), ketamine, GHB (gamma-hydroxy-butyrate), marijuana, and nitrate inhalants (poppers) among gay and bisexual men both between and within cities (NYC and LA). Levels of recent drug use were fairly consistent between New York City and Los Angeles; however there was some between and within city racial and ethnic variance. In particular, Asian/Pacific Islander men were among those least likely to report use of some drugs. Findings suggest substance use in the gay community permeates geographic boundaries in addition to some racial and ethnic boundaries such that interventions targeting drug-using gay and bisexual men should appropriately attend to racial and ethnic diversity within communities.     

CHANGE IN VOTING TURNOUT, 1952-1972

The relationship of age to voting turnout over a 20-year periodis analyzed in a multivariate model with controls for causalcovariates and "period" and "cohort" effects. The observed curvilinearpattern of turnout with age remains after holding rival factorsconstant, but the apparent curvilinearity of cohort membershipdisappears. Instead, a pattern of decreasing turnout among successivelyyounger birth cohorts is found, suggesting differences in thepolitical socialization of voting obligations between the nineteenthand twentieth centuries.     

Racial Salience and the Consequences of Making White People Uncomfortable: Intra‐Racial Discrimination,Racial Screening,and the Maintenance of White Supremacy

Most sociological research on racial discrimination has had an “inter‐racial” focus. That is, researchers have been principally concerned with the disparate treatment that people of color receive relative to Whites in different social contexts. However, recent theoretical work emerging from legal studies suggests that an alternative conception of “intra‐racial” discrimination exists that extends beyond colorism. This theory of intra‐racial discrimination stipulates that many organizations in the “post‐racial” era desire some measure of racial diversity. Yet, in their efforts to achieve this racial diversity they screen people of color based on their degree of racial salience. Whether a given person of color is hired, promoted, or in the case of college admissions, accepted, is a function of whether or not Whites within the organization consider them racially palatable, or not overly concerned with race. This creates an incentive for people of color to work their identity to allay any concerns among Whites that they may be too racially salient. In this paper I critically review this work and attempt to further buttress its claims by highlighting how this process has clear historical precedent. I conclude by showing how the audit method can be used to empirically examine this practice contemporarily.     

The Compassion Strategy: Race and the Gender Gap in Campaign 2000

Recent studies have shown that social "compassion" issues, andnot those directly linked to women’s interests, seem todrive the gender gap in presidential vote choice. Some of thesecompassion issues are associated with the plight of racial minoritiesin the media and in the minds of average citizens. Drawing ontheories of gender role socialization, we predict that traditionalpartisan stands on racial issues may help to explain the gendergap. Specifically, we hypothesize that the gap emerges becausemen and women react differently to cues about how compassionatecandidates are toward vulnerable social groups. In one experiment,we manipulate news information regarding George W. Bush’scommitment to blacks versus women. The gender gap is maximizedwhen Bush takes the traditional Republican stance, while itis reduced significantly when Bush espouses a more moderateposition. The gender gap is unaffected by variation in the positionthat Bush takes on women’s issues. In another experiment,we also find that the gender gap emerges when traditional partisanappeals are racialized. Finally, exposure to the 2000 RepublicanNational Convention, with its message of racial inclusion, boostedevaluations of Bush among women but not men.     

Children's exposure to paternal imprisonment: Incidence, evolution, and correlates among young nonmarital children

Although the well-being of nonmarital children has been the focus of recent public policy developments and academic research, relatively little is known about the risk of paternal imprisonment among these children. Particularly in a context of declining public assistance, the unprecedented imprisonment rate may place additional stress on nonmarital children if a substantial portion of their fathers are incarcerated and therefore unable to provide support. Research on this topic has been impeded by methodological difficulties, such as the lack of representative data on nonmarital children's fathers, and inaccurate or insufficient information on fathers' incarceration. Using unique combined administrative data sets from Wisconsin that largely overcome these methodological obstacles, I provide improved estimates of paternal imprisonment risk among young nonmarital children. I distinguish between point-in-time and cumulative risks and assess the length of paternal imprisonment, first considering only biological fathers and then also including the mothers' other partners. I also estimate the risks separately by socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. Results suggest that nonmarital children face a high risk of paternal imprisonment, a substantial proportion also face an elevated risk of lengthy paternal imprisonment, and the racial disparity in risk is significant.     

Does SNAP serve as a safety net for mothers facing an economic shock? An analysis of Black and White unwed mothers' responses to paternal imprisonment

In an era of increasing economic insecurity and declining welfare assistance, scholars and policy makers have increasingly recognized the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, also known as food stamps) as an important safety net for disadvantaged families facing a loss of income. Research on welfare and race has found that SNAP use is more frequent among Black families than White families. However, scholars have overlooked another potential source of race-based variation in the use of SNAP: differences in how Black and White mothers use SNAP as a safety net when facing an economic shock such as fathers' imprisonment. Analyses using difference-in-difference-in-difference methods suggest that while Black mothers generally receive a higher level of SNAP benefits than White mothers, SNAP benefit increases following fathers' imprisonment are less effective in compensating for the loss of income among Black mothers than among White mothers. Additional analyses, including a propensity score matching model, produce consistent results. The racial difference in income shock to families caused by paternal imprisonment does not account for this racial disparity. These findings highlight an important mechanism through which an income shock such as paternal imprisonment can produce particularly negative consequences for Black children.     

Racism and pride in attitudes toward confederate symbols

In this essay, I describe and evaluate the contemporary debate over support for Confederate icons. This debate is often stylized as “heritage” versus “hatred.” In this debate, one side alleges that their favored Confederate symbols represent pride in Southern-Confederate identity, whereas the other urges that Confederate symbols represent racial hatred and white supremacy. I argue that the “heritage versus hatred” framing that typifies the public debate and the academic literature is not helpful. Additionally, the literature has largely ignored the views of Black Southerners, who have far more negative attitudes toward Confederate symbols compared to whites. Thus, many works implicitly assume a distinctly white southern past. Together, these shortcomings mean that existing research has likely overestimated overall public support for Confederate symbols and overstated the importance of Southern pride or heritage in informing that support, while at the same time underestimating the extent to which racial animus undergirds pro-Confederate views among whites.     

Racial Resentment and Attitudes Toward the Use of Force by Police: An Over‐Time Trend Analysis

On the heels of recent police shootings of an unarmed Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, Walter Scott in North Charleston, South Carolina, and the death of Freddy Gray in Baltimore, Maryland, that stoked racial tensions, this article examines how beliefs about race and racial inequality influence whites’ attitudes toward the use of force by the police since the mid‐1980s. Our main dependent measure is a composite index (“Police Force Index”) constructed from four survey items from the 1986–2012 National Opinion Research Center's General Social Survey (GSS). Results show that (1) beliefs about race do indeed significantly predict whites’ attitudes toward police use of force, and more importantly, (2) this effect has remained constant since the mid‐1980s. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of these findings and suggestions for future research.