Documentation Status Socialization as an Ethnic-racial Socialization Dimension

Incorporating the Experience of Mixed-status Latinx Families

Bibliographic Data

ID12967415
AuthorsFernanda L Cro (0000-0002-0770-9464, University of Michigan, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume16
Issue1
Pages264-279
Publication date2022-01-24
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueStudies in Social Justice (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1911-4788 • E-ISSN: 1911-4788
PublisherBrock University Library (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.26522/ssj.v16i1.2464
OpenAlexW4207050621
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited43

Ethnic-racial socialization (ERS) serves as a protective factor in the development of minority children. However, few studies have focused on mixed-status Latinx families to include the broad expression of their ethnic-racial socialization practices centering on their immigration experiences as they teach their children the risks and restrictions of having undocumented status. These parents adapt their ERS in accordance with their experiences of stress, fear, and discrimination, all of which shape the type and frequency of their socialization messages. Through documentation status socialization, Latinx parents forewarn their children of the inequities associated with their ethnic-racial group and undocumented status, including possible family separation. They also teach children about nativity differences and the attendant privilege of having documented status. This manuscript highlights insights to be gained by considering documentation status socialization as an ERS dimension within Latinx families. Learning about the specific ERS practices of such an understudied group is a social justice issue with important implications for understanding how these families might adapt and respond to their social context, especially amidst a political environment that engenders fear and isolation throughout their community. Including documentation status socialization in the ERS literature is a crucial step towards developing a deeper understanding of how the structural and social forces operating within the lives of undocumented immigrants impact normative family processes that ultimately exert an influence on their children’s development. A discussion on implications for practitioners and service providers working with this population is also included

Context (archaeology · Documentation · Ethnic group · Immigration · Political science · Privilege (computing · Socialization · Sociology · Early Childhood Education and Development · Law · Migration, Health and Trauma · Psychology · Racial and Ethnic Identity Research · Social Psychology

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Open DOIOpen Access