Although culture influences all human beings, there is an assumption in American psychology that culture matters more for members of certain groups. This article identifies and provides evidence of the cultural (mis)attribution bias: a tendency to overemphasize the role of culture in the behavior of racial/ethnic minorities, and to underemphasize it in the behavior of Whites. Two studies investigated the presence of this bias with an examination of a decade of peer reviewed research conducted in the United States (N = 434 articles), and an experiment and a survey with psychology professors in the United States (N = 361 psychologists). Archival analyses revealed differences in the composition of samples used in studies examining cultural or noncultural psychological phenomena. We also find evidence to suggest that psychologists in the United States favor cultural explanations over psychological explanations when considering the behavior and cognition of racial/ethnic minorities, whereas the opposite pattern emerged in reference to Whites. The scientific ramifications of this phenomenon, as well as alternatives to overcome it, are discussed in detail. (PsycINFO Database Record

The field of psychology is coming towards a critical juncture; scholars are increasingly recognizing that race, ethnicity, and culture play important roles in their fields of study, but do not always have the language to integrate race and culture into their own work. Furthermore, common conceptions of race may systematically exclude those from multiple racial and ethnic backgrounds in favor of fixed and discrete racial categories that ultimately perpetuate white supremacy. Meanwhile, as the Multiracial population of the US is growing at an unprecedented rate, psychologists need language to acknowledge this population in their studies and pursue research to advance the field’s knowledge of this diverse group and its many subpopulations. In an attempt to educate psychologists across subfields and disciplines, we provide a detailed account of preferred terms related to race and ethnicity with emphasis on ways to think about and talk about Multiracial populations in the United States. While preferred terms may change across time, the aim of this paper is to provide psychologists with the tools to begin nuanced and necessary discussions about how race informs their research and the populations they work with in uniform and non-stigmatizing ways. By highlighting terminology related to those of multiple racial and ethnic backgrounds, we demystify and legitimize these rapidly-growing but often hidden populations. Different perspectives on various terms are provided throughout to set psychologists on the path to beginning more race-conscious conversations and scientific inquiries into the experiences of Multiracial Americans and those from other marginalized racial-ethnic groups.

The current manuscript provides a critical review of family communication in multiethnic-racial and interfaith families. The review specifically focuses on differences related to religious and ethnic-racial identity, given that both are salient aspects of self-concept tied to psychosocial well-being, exist in a sociocultural environment characterized by racialized structures and systems of privilege, have been problematized through a deficit approach, and have implications for how to constructively address religious and ethnic-racial differences outside of the family. We begin by defining the three core concepts: (a) interfaith, (b) multiethnic-racial, and (c) family. We then discuss our methodology for selecting and reviewing empirical research and provide a synthesis of findings for each family type. We specifically address how interfaith then multiethnic-racial families communicate to address socialization and identity development, integrate differences, and combat bias. We conclude with a critical summary, arguing that interfaith and multiethnic-racial families are more accurately characterized through their strengths rather than difficulties. We point to limitations of current work, namely that research is largely based on Western perspectives on race/ethnicity and Ibrahimic religious traditions, that children and adolescent perspectives are relatively absent, and that the research tends to primarily focus on communication between couples or in parent-child relationships rather than extended family networks. Trajectories for future research include a focus on the manner in which communication surrounding identity and difference impacts self-concept and psychosocial well-being as well as contextualizing experiences of multiethnic-racial and interfaith families within the sociocultural environment. Our articulated conceptual landscape and synthesis of the research shed light on these complex relationships and encourage ongoing scholarship on these relatively understudied family forms.

Multiracial families are becoming increasingly common in the United States, yet there is a dearth of research examining how parents of Multiracial youth provide support for navigating challenges associated with being mixed race in a monocentric society. The purpose of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of the parental support strategies that Multiracial emerging adults perceived to be helpful in their own development. Twenty Multiracial emerging adults (50% female, mean age = 20.55) with diverse Multiracial heritages were interviewed about conversations they had with their parents regarding their racial experiences throughout their childhood. Critical supplementary analysis using constructivist grounded theory identified three themes of parental support (i.e., connection support, discrimination support, and Multiracial identity expression support) and informed a conceptual model demonstrating relationships between environmental context, parent characteristics, family dynamics, risks, and identity development. Findings are discussed in terms of implications for researchers and practitioners serving Multiracial families.

As Asian Americans continue to be one of the fastest growing populations in a rapidly diversifying United States (Lee, 2015), understanding how Asian American parents socialize their children about race and racism and how this contributes to development remains an important question (Chang, 2016; García Coll et al., 1996). Using a sample of 228 Asian American emerging adults (70% female, Mage = 20.23), we examined profiles of parental racial-ethnic socialization messages and their relationships with racial-ethnic identity and social connectedness outcomes. Results suggested 3 profiles. The guarded separation socialization group reported receiving the most frequent messages about maintaining their heritage culture and avoiding outgroups. The passive and active integration socialization groups also received frequent messages about maintaining heritage culture, but very few messages about avoiding outgroups or minimizing the significance of race. The active integration socialization group received the most messages about becoming American, treating everyone equally, and respecting diverse cultures, compared to the passive integration socialization group, which reported receiving few of these messages. Participants in the active integration profile reported significantly higher levels of cognitive clarity and affective pride regarding their racial-ethnic identity compared to the other two profiles, while individuals in the passive and active integration profiles reported significantly higher levels of social connectedness than those in guarded separation profile. These findings highlight the importance of using a holistic lens to understand Asian American youths' perceptions of how their parents engage in racial-ethnic socialization across multiple domains. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).