EMBRace: Developing a Racial Socialization Intervention to Reduce Racial Stress and Enhance Racial Coping among Black Parents and Adolescents

• Published date: 01 March 2019
• Author: Howard C. Stevenson,Riana E. Anderson,Monique C. McKenny
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12412
• Date: 01 March 2019

EMBRace: Developing a Racial Socialization

Intervention to Reduce Racial Stress and Enhance

Racial Coping among Black Parents and

Adolescents

RIANA E. ANDERSON*

MONIQUE C. McKENNY

†

HOWARD C. STEVENSON

‡

Researchers have illustrated the deleterious psychological effects that racial discrimina-

tion has exerted on Black Americans. The resulting racial stress and trauma (RST) from

experiences with discrimination has been linked to negative wellness outcomes and trajec-

tories for Black youth and families. Racial socialization (RS)—defined as the verbal and

nonverbal messages that families use to communicate race to their children—can be a cul-

tural strength and has been associated with positive outcomes in Black youth. Further-

more, the Racial Encounter Coping Appraisal and Socialization Theory (RECAST)

encourages the frequent and competent use of RS between family members to cope with the

negative impact of RST. Guided by RECAST, the purpose of this article is to describe the

development of the Engaging, Managing, and Bonding through Race (EMBRace) interven-

tion targeting the RS practices between Black adolescents and families. The authors

explore current research on RST, discuss why traditional coping models for stress are inad-

equate for racially specific stressors, highlight RECAST as a burgeoning racial coping and

socialization model, and describe how RS can be used as a tool to intervene within Black

families. This is followed by a detailed description of the development and use of the

EMBRace intervention which seeks to reduce RST through RS psychoeducation and prac-

tice, stress management, and the promotion of bonding in Black families. This article aims

to serve as an example of a culturally relevant RS intervention for Black families who may

benefit from clinical treatment for psychological distress from racially discriminatory

encounters.

Keywords: Racial Socialization; Discrimination; Black Families; Intervention; Stress

Management; Coping

Fam Proc 58:53–67, 2019

*School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.

†

School of Education, University of Miami, Miami, FL.

‡

Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Riana E. Anderson, School of Public

Health, University of Michigan, 3822 SPH I, 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI 48109. E-mail:

rianae@umich.edu.

The authors are incredibly grateful for the tremendous hard work and long days put forth by the full

development team: Dr. Kelsey Jones, Dr. Jason Javier-Watson, Dr. Lloyd Talley, Nneka Ibekwe, Jeff

Baker, and Steve Delturk. Additionally the authors also thank clinicians, community partners, #TeamEM-

BRace, and, with greatest gratitude, EMBRace families.

53

Family Process, Vol. 58, No. 1, 2019 ©2018 Family Process Institute

doi: 10.1111/famp.12412