32nd Annual UMBC McNair Research Conference

A growing body of literature has suggested that ethnic-racial socialization (ERS) is a protective factor for biracial youth as it provides youth with skills to face different adversities like racial discrimination, ultimately improving their psychological well-being. Various types of ERS exist (e.g., verbal, non-verbal, etc) across different levels (e.g., parent-child, household/family) but some have been overlooked in research. This study sought to bridge this gap by exploring ERS at the family level and determining whether it relates to depressive symptoms among biracial black-white adolescents and emerging adults. The study examined if (a) family ERS around multiracial and monoracial black topics related to depressive symptoms differently and (b) any developmental differences were present in the association between family ERS and depressive symptoms. We predicted a negative relationship between both forms of Family ERS and depressive symptoms. The methods included a secondary analysis with three multiple linear regression models conducted in SPSS Version 28. Findings indicated significant negative associations between both forms of Family ERS and depressive symptoms in biracial black-white young people. Developmental differences also emerged in these associations. The results explore the potential role that Family ERS may have regarding depressive symptoms in biracial black-white young people.