TITLE: Ethnic-Racial Socialization in Early Childhood: Scoping Review Protocol
AUTHORS: Erica E Coates, Charles S. Dorris MLIS, Alison B McLeod, Kaela Farrise

[DESCRIPTION]
Objective: This scoping review aims to assess the state of the literature on ethnic-racial socialization (ERS) during the early childhood period. We seek to synthesize information regarding the prevalence of ERS in early childhood, the nature of these messages, and the optimal combination of message content and frequency for ERS to be a protective factor for children’s development.  
Introduction: Family ERS describes the process of caregivers transmitting messages about race and ethnicity to their children, yet there is limited research on ERS during early childhood. There is mixed research regarding the outcomes associated with caregivers’ use of ERS, with some strategies being favorable for childrens’ developmental outcomes while others are associated with negative behavioral consequences. Assessing the state of the literature on ERS in the early childhood period is crucial to guide future research and to integrate ERS effectively into parenting interventions. 
Inclusion criteria: Children from ages birth to 8 who live in the US will be the intended population for this scoping review, using predominantly caregivers’ reports on their use of ERS and children’s development. ERS among this population will be the focus of this scoping review.  
Methods: Following PRISMA's reporting guidelines, we plan to search MEDLINE, Embase, APA PsycInfo, and Web of Science for English language, peer-reviewed studies. We will include all year-ranges that are indexed within each database. Eligibility screening (title/abstract and full-text) and data extraction will be completed by at least two independent reviewers and conflicts will be resolved as a team. Bibliographic information and key study characteristics from included studies will be collected using a tool that will be developed through an iterative process. 

[STEPS]
SECTION: Introduction
1. Caregivers use ethnic-racial socialization (ERS) to transmit information about race and ethnicity to their children (Hughes et al., 2006). Research on ERS has increased over the past 20 years but has mostly focused on ERS with older children and adolescents (see Umaña‐Taylor & Hill, 2020 for a review). Despite this, existing research indicates that ERS is prevalent in the early childhood period. Studies show that ERS is associated with positive developmental outcomes for young children (Caughy et al., 2002; Caughy et al., 2006; Caughy et al., 2011). Hughes et al. (2006) first identified the most frequently practiced and researched ERS strategies with children: Cultural socialization (i.e., racial pride) are messages teaching children to take pride in their cultural heritage; Preparation for bias (i.e., racial barriers) prepares children for experiences of ethnic-racial discrimination; Promotion of mistrust teaches children to be cautious of interracial interactions; Egalitarianism (i.e., silence about race) messages encourage children to value individual characteristics over their own and others’ racial-ethnic identities, with silence about race being a form of egalitarianism that avoids conversations about race and racial discrimination (Hughes et al., 2006).  

Research indicates that certain messages are more beneficial for children’s cognitive and social development while others may cause unintended negative effects. For example, cultural socialization has been associated with greater problem solving skills while preparation for bias has been associated with children’s increased anxiety and sadness (Caughy et al., 2002; Caughy & Owen, 2015; Osborne et al., 2021). Understanding how often parents are using ERS and the effects these messages have on young children’s development is imperative given that in early childhood, children begin to interpret their racial-ethnic identity, understand others’ perceptions of race and ethnicity, and develop attitudes regarding race-based limitations and opportunities (Bowman & Howard, 1985). Research indicates that parents underestimate their children’s ability to understand conceptions of race which causes them to delay discussing it until they perceive children to be developmentally ready, which is much later than children are aware of and acting on, or responding to, racial prejudice (Ambady et al., 2001; Sullivan et al., 2021).  

The scoping review aims to synthesize existing literature on ERS during the early childhood period. By reviewing studies that focus on caregivers’ use of ERS with their young children, the influence of ERS on children’s developmental outcomes, and the most effective combination of messages for fostering young children’s healthy development, our review will provide an overview of the current state of research while also identifying the gaps in knowledge in order to inform future research directions. Ultimately, a comprehensive understanding of these factors will inform interventions that support caregivers in their optimal use of ERS with young children, promoting children’s positive developmental outcomes.  
SECTION: Review Questions
2. 1) What is known about ERS in the early childhood period, and what gaps exist for future research
2) What are the most common forms of ERS in early childhood, and how do these messages influence children’s development?  
SECTION: Eligibility Criteria
3. Participants: Children aged 0 to 8 and their caregivers.  

Concept: ERS and its associated dimensions of cultural socialization (racial pride), preparation for bias (racial barriers), promotion of mistrust, and egalitarianism (silence about race), and/or the influence of ERS on children’s development will be explored in this scoping review. 

Context: This scoping review focuses on ERS within the context of the United States during the early childhood period, drawing on mostly community samples. 

Types of Sources: Peer-reviewed journal articles, both qualitative and quantitative, that are written in the English language and were published in the United States which focus on ERS in the early childhood period will be included in the review. Secondary research, articles that have no full text availability, and articles with unspecified age ranges that use descriptors indicating that the sample age may have moved beyond early childhood will be excluded from the search. During the screening process, studies will be excluded if separate analyses for the early childhood period are not conducted. 
SECTION: Methods
4. The proposed scoping review will be conducted in accordance with the framework outlined by Arksey and O'Malley (Arksey & O’Malley, 2005) and further refined by Levac et al. (2010), and we plan to follow the reporting guidelines set forth in the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) (Tricco et al., 2018). 

Search Strategy  
The search strategy will aim to locate published peer-reviewed studies. An initial limited search of MEDLINE and APA PsycInfo was undertaken to identify exemplar articles on the topic. The text words contained in the titles, abstracts, and author-supplied keywords of relevant articles, and the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) used to describe the articles, were used to develop a full search strategy for MEDLINE via Ovid (see Appendix #1). The search strategy, including all identified keywords and Subject Headings, will be adapted for each included database and/or information source. The reference lists of all included sources of evidence will be screened for additional studies. The databases to be searched include MEDLINE, Embase, APA PsycInfo, (all via Ovid), and Web of Science Core Collection. 

Study/Source of Evidence selection 
Following the searches, all identified citations will be imported into EndNote 20 (Clarivate Analytics, PA, USA) and duplicates removed. The resulting citations will be uploaded to Rayyan for screening (Ouzzani et al., 2016). Following a pilot test, titles and abstracts will then be screened by two independent reviewers for assessment against the eligibility criteria for the review. The full text of selected citations will be assessed in detail against the eligibility criteria by two or more independent reviewers. Reasons for exclusion of sources of evidence at full text that do not meet the inclusion criteria will be recorded and reported in the PRISMA Flow Diagram. Any disagreements that arise between the reviewers at each stage of the selection process will be resolved through discussion. The results of the search and the study inclusion process will be reported in full in the final scoping review and presented in the PRISMA Flow Diagram. 

Data Extraction 
Data will be extracted from papers included in the scoping review by two or more independent reviewers using a data extraction tool developed by the reviewers. The data extracted will include bibliographic details about each article (i.e., author, year of publication, publication type, study design, etc.) in addition to demographic information regarding the participants (i.e., children and their caregivers), concept (i.e., factors related to ERS), context (i.e., geographic location, etc.), and other key findings relevant to the review question. The draft data extraction tool will be modified and revised as necessary during the process of extracting data from each included article. Any modifications will be detailed in the scoping review. Any disagreements that arise between the reviewers will be resolved through discussion as a team. If needed, authors of papers will be contacted to request missing or additional data. 

Data Analysis and Presentation 
The data will be presented in diagrammatic and/or tabular form; a narrative summary will accompany the tabulated results. 
SECTION: Funding
5. Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number KL2TR001432. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. 
SECTION: Appendix #1
6.  
Ovid MEDLINE Demo Date Searched   Concept Search String Results 1 (((racial* OR cultural* OR ethnic* OR discriminat*) ADJ3 (sociali*)) OR (prepar* ADJ1 bias) OR egalitarianism OR cultural pride OR (silence ADJ1 race) OR (promot* ADJ1 mistrust)).ti,ab,kf. OR  ((Socialization/ OR Parent-Child Relations/ OR Mother-Child Relations/ OR Adaptation, Psychological/) AND (Racism/ OR Prejudice/))   2 (child OR children OR infant* OR preschool OR toddler* OR elementary school* OR kindergarten*).ti,ab,kf. OR Child/ OR Child, Preschool/ OR exp Infant/ OR Child Behavior/ OR Infant Behavior/ OR Problem Behavior/ OR Child Behavior Disorders/ OR Child Development/ OR Child Psychiatry/ OR Psychology, Child/   Combo 1 AND 2   Limits AND English.lg. AND NOT (exp Geographic Locations/ NOT exp United States/) AND NOT (Comment OR Editorial OR Preprint).pt.   Total