Parent-Child Interaction and the Development of Racial Group Identity and Self Concepts of Preschool Children / Harriette McAdoo and John L. McAdoo.

This study focuses on three areas: (1) mother-child and father-child verbal and nonverbal interactions; (2) racial differences in parent-child interactions, children's self esteem and children's racial attitudes; and (3) relationships between parenting style and children's feelings of self-worth and racial preferences. Subjects were 40 black and 44 white volunteer intact, middle income, suburban families with a preschool child. Each family was rated as in Class I or Class II of the Hollingshead-Redlich Socioeconomic Status (SES) scale. Seven data collection instruments were used, three with parents and five with children. Five separate interviews were conducted with each family. Interviewers were matched with parents by race, sex, and SES. Among the findings, mother-father comparisons indicate that white fathers were more nurturant than white mothers on both verbal and nonverbal levels. Black mothers were higher than black fathers on nonverbal interactions. Child data show that the children as a group had positive self concepts and that self concept and race attitude were not related in either group. Intercorrelations of parenting style and child data reveal that black parents as a team were clearly either nurturant or restrictive. In white families fewer statistical relationships were found. Those found differed from black patterns. In all families, children initiated more interactions with verbally restrictive parents. (Author/RH)

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