Psychology

Examining feasibility, acceptability, and participant experiences of an anti-racist parenting intervention for White U.S. parents

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Many White parents engage in minimal discussion of race and racism with their children, instead engaging in color-evasive practices that communicate that race is unimportant and that White people are racially neutral. Even White parents who express a commitment to anti-racist parenting frequently struggle to act on this commitment and feel underprepared to do so. The current mixed methods pilot study focused on the feasibility, acceptability, and participant experiences of an intervention ("CounterACT") that aimed to address this gap in White U.S.-based parents' skills and knowledge. Participants in the study were 27 White U.S.-based parents of 4- to 6-year-old White children who completed pre- and postintervention surveys as well as postintervention interviews. Findings suggest that the CounterACT model was feasible and acceptable. Parent self-report further suggests that CounterACT had beneficial effects on parenting, parents' beliefs regarding White privilege, and children's critical reflection. Parents reported positive experiences of CounterACT, particularly group components of the intervention. Key elements of participants' experience included learning to understand their own and their children's experience of Whiteness; learning to better tolerate and regulate emotional discomfort; connecting with others for motivation, accountability, and learning; and approaching racial socialization with greater intentionality. However, parents also experienced limits in their progress toward anti-racist parenting. Many indicated a desire for more concrete guidance and greater support enacting what they were learning in their own parenting. A particular concern was how to discuss White racial identities effectively. Our discussion highlights the implications of these findings for future work in this area. (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Publication Title

The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry

Publication Date

2024

Volume

94

Issue

1

First Page

33

Last Page

47

ISSN

1939-0025

DOI

10.1037/ort0000703

Keywords

commitment, intervention, orthopsychiatry, parents, Whites, parenting, antiracism, racial and ethnic socialization, adulthood

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS