Parent Perspectives about the Impact of Contemporary Events on Youth: Themes across Racial/Ethnic Groups with Implications for Schools

Background and Purpose: The COVID-19 lockdown introduced the merger of school and home for many youths and their families. Concurrently, racial tension in the U.S. rapidly grew as the murder of George Floyd and the attempted insurrection on the U.S. capitol became headline news. Parents had to navigate complex discourse with their youth during these contemporary events. Our qualitative study explores parents’ perceptions of their families’ responses to these external stressors.

Methods: Six focus groups were held with parents (N = 30) as part of Healing Illinois, a statewide initiative to promote racial equity. The focus groups were organized by race: majority White, and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) only. Semi-structured questions were asked on the impacts of contemporary events on youth identity and socioemotional well-being, and schools. Qualitative thematic analysis was conducted to identify and describe emergent themes across the racial composition of the focus groups.

Results: Four themes emerged from the qualitative data. 1.) Parenting didactics to navigate contemporary events: BIPOC parents discussed interpersonal differences and politics with their children (“at this stage we're kind of teaching, you know self-respect and also respect for...differences that you may see and other people”) while White parents experienced challenges with these discussions (“I don't know if that was a good move”). 2.) Family strong emotions and trauma: BIPOC parents shared pain that their youth felt when people voted for a candidate whose words and actions harmed immigrants and communities of color (“he was...hurt that...people were voting for...this guy who...said such horrible things about immigrants”). White youth experienced anxiety (“he was worrying about our candidate not winning and what would happen if the other guy won”). Both BIPOC and White parents shared social isolation related to COVID-19 lockdowns was traumatizing (“I...cannot imagine how my son feels going through this kind of trauma”). 3.) Civic engagement and responsibility: All parents reported that youth were motivated for civic engagement and responsibility, which was notably stronger than years past (“I do feel the younger generation is more involved and more informed”). 4.) Schools’ responsibilities to youth: BIPOC parents felt schools should have accountability for racism and spaces for youth to share experiences with racism (“they don't have anywhere to express themselves and you know we don't know what the outcomes may be”). White parents expressed a similar sentiment, advocating for increased accountability for discrimination, cultural competency, and improved civic education (“kids need to be educated. They don't know, like for example, Democratic party, Republican, liberals and so on”).

Conclusions and Implications: Findings demonstrate that parents grappled with how to address youth’s socioemotional well-being during contemporary events. BIPOC families experienced racism-based trauma and stress, and many White parents had to maneuver racial conversations with limited support and resources. All parents shared youths experienced trauma and stress related to social isolation during COVID-19. This work indicates the need for increased mental health supports in schools and resources to support parents having difficult conversations, such as those about racism and civic participation.