"Uncle is in a Better Place": How Black Parents? Loss Socialization Themes Influence Child Wellbeing
Creators: name: Burris, Imani
Publisher: name: My University
Year: 2024
Subjects: subject: Black American
subject: Parent-child loss socialization
subject: family loss
subject: child wellbeing
subject: Psychology
subject: FOS: Psychology
subject: Social Sciences

description: Black Americans have some of the highest mortality rates among all racial groups in the U.S. Consequently, Black families contend with the loss of family members more often than families of other racial groups, which negatively impacts the wellbeing of Black children. Little is known about how Black families navigate loss to positively shape child wellbeing. This dissertation investigates the strategies that Black parents utilize to socialize their children around recent family losses. I develop a two-pronged thematic framework to theorize the process of loss socialization within Black families. The framework proposes that loss socialization among Black parents encompasses two overarching facets: 1.) Facilitation of Understanding, including themes of Spirituality, Cycle of Life, and End of Suffering; and 2.) Provision of Support, including themes of Emotional Support and Informational Support. Further, the degree to which each theme is utilized – and affects child wellbeing – varies by parent gender, child gender, and social class (i.e., socioeconomic status, or SES). Overall, I anticipated that mothers (vs. fathers), parents of girls (vs. boys), and parents lower (vs. higher) in SES would be more likely to use Spirituality and End of Suffering, whereas fathers, parents of boys, and parents higher in SES would be more likely to use Informational Support. I also expected that Cycle of Life would undermine child wellbeing, whereas Spirituality, End of Suffering, Emotional Support, and Informational Support would influence child wellbeing improvements. Lastly, I predicted that the effects of all themes, except Cycle of Life, would vary by gender and SES. Using a mixed-methods approach across two samples of Black parents (total N = 581) who recently experienced the loss of a family member, the present dissertation examined the prevalence of loss socialization themes and their effects on child wellbeing. Regarding prevalence, Black parents largely relied on three themes – Spirituality (39.37%), Cycle of Life (21.27%), and End of Suffering (14.03%) – to facilitate understanding of a recent family loss, and two themes – Informational Support (11.31%) and Emotional Support (10.41%) – to provide support to their children following the loss (Study 1). Demographically, mothers (vs. fathers) and parents of girls (vs. boys) were more likely to use End of Suffering and Spirituality explanations, respectively, while parents higher (vs. lower) in SES were more likely to provide Informational Support. Mothers (vs. fathers) and parents lower (vs. higher) in SES were also more likely to use Spirituality and End of Suffering. In sum, the prevalence of most themes varied significantly by parent gender, child gender, and socioeconomic status. Regarding effects on wellbeing, Cycle of Life was associated with negative changes in child wellbeing, whereas Informational Support was associated with improvements in child wellbeing. The effects of Spirituality, Cycle of Life, Informational Support, and Emotional Support were moderated by parent/child gender and SES. Spirituality and Emotional Support among fathers and parents higher in SES predicted wellbeing improvements. For parents of boys and parents lower in SES, Cycle of Life and Informational Support predicted improvements in child wellbeing. The present research is the first to develop a comprehensive framework for understanding Black family loss socialization while considering cultural factors. Considering the disproportionate rates at which Black families experience loss, this framework is vital to develop so that scholars and practitioners can better serve the communities who are most affected by death.