Racism and Human Development

This book addresses the lifelong effects of racism, covering its social, psychological, family, community and health impacts. The studies brought together in this contributed volume discuss experiences of discrimination, prejudice and exclusion experienced by children, young people, adults, older adults and their families; the processes of socialization, emotional regulation and construction of ethnic-racial identities; and stress-producing events associated with racism. This volume intends to contribute to a growing international effort to develop an antiracist agenda in developmental psychology by showcasing studies developed mainly in Brazil, the country with the largest black population in the world outside of Africa. Racism as an ideology that structures social relations and attributes superiority to one race over the others have developed in different ways in different countries. As a response to the 2020 social and health crisis, some North American developmental psychologists have started promoting initiatives to openly challenge racism. This book intends to contribute to this movement by bringing together studies conducted mainly in Brazil, but also in Germany and Norway, that adopt a racially informed approach to different topics in developmental psychology. Racism and Human Development intends to be an inspiration to students, scholars and practitioners who are seeking tools and examples of studies of race and racism from a developmental perspective. The establishment of an antiracist agenda in developmental psychology will never be possible without a commitment to the study of race as an indispensable social marker of human ontogeny in any society. This book is another step towards racial equity and towards a developmental science that leaves no one behind. Foreword: Antiracist Developmental Research in Brazil 5 Acknowledgments 8 Contents 9 About the Editors and Contributors 11 Editors 11 Contributors 12 Chapter 1: Opening Chapter 14 Racism and the Brazilian Experience 16 Contexts of Development and Their Relationship with Racism 17 Final Thoughts 19 References 20 Chapter 2: Race and Gender Relations in Developmental Psychology 22 Introduction 22 Growing Hand in Hand with Structural Inequality 23 Adolescent Experiences in Contexts of Racism and Sexism 26 Final Considerations 30 References 30 Chapter 3: “It Is Repulsive: There Is Swearing Because of the Color of the Skin and Hair”: Experiences, Psychosocial Effects, and Confronting Racism by Children and Adolescents in a Capital in Northeastern Brazil 33 Introduction 33 What Some Studies on Childhood Racism Say 35 Of the Paths and Challenges of Production of This Research: Methodological Issues 38 Results and Discussion 40 Perceptions and Meanings Attributed to Racism by Children and Adolescents 40 Discrimination and Racism Experiences 42 Repercussions and Possibilities for Confronting Racism 44 Final Considerations 48 References 49 Chapter 4: Emotion Socialization and Developmental Outcomes in Black Children: Relations with Ethnic-Racial Socialization 52 Introduction 52 Emotion Socialization, Ethnic-Racial Socialization, and Developmental Outcomes in Black Populations 53 Racism, Ethnic-Racial Socialization, and Black Children’s Social-Emotional Development in Brazil 55 Method 56 Participants 56 Procedures and Measures 56 Results 57 Preliminary Analysis 57 Mediation Role of Children’s Emotional Self-Regulation in the Relation Between Unsupportive Maternal Practices and Children’s Externalizing Problems 58 Discussion 59 References 60 Chapter 5: Violence, Structural Racism, and Their Relation to Health Outcomes of Black Brazilian Youth 64 Introduction 64 Health Data on Black Youth in Brazil 65 Homicides 65 Non-lethal Violence 67 Homeless Youth 68 Access to Healthcare and the Health Services 69 Implications for the Study of Youth Health and Development 71 Final Considerations 72 References 73 Chapter 6: Racism in the Family and Constitution of the Subject 78 Introduction 78 Mariana and the Study and Mariana in the Study 79 Mariana’s Story: Racist Violence Within the Home 81 The Family: The Members and Races 81 Racial Places and Correspondences in the Family Dynamics 82 Mariana’s Formation: Racism and Racial Identity 85 Hair as a Passage: From Suffering to Recognition 88 Considerations 92 References 93 Chapter 7: Structural Racism and the Transition to Adulthood of Black and White Brazilians 94 Introduction 94 Impacts of Racism on Human Development 95 Manifestations of Racism in Brazil 98 Method 99 Instruments 99 Results 100 Discussion 103 Final Considerations 106 References 108 Chapter 8: The Relationship Between Racism and the Self-Efficacy Beliefs of Black People 112 Introduction 112 Racism 113 Racism and School 114 Self-Efficacy 115 Method 116 Participants 116 Instruments 117 Data Analysis 118 Results 118 Conclusion 120 References 121 Chapter 9: The Cost of Looking Different: Racism, Mental Health and Human Development of Migrants of African Descent 124 Introduction 124 Racism and Mental Health 125 Racism and Trauma 126 Racism, Anxiety and Depression 126 Racism and Personal Control 127 Racism and Human Development 128 Vicarious Effects of Racism 130 Direct Effects of Racism 131 Nature of Racism and Discrimination Against Africans in Germany 134 A Synopsis of Racial Discrimination Among African Migrants in Germany (Idemudia, 2006; Idemudia & Boehnke, 2010) 135 Conclusion 136 References 139 Chapter 10: Character, Diversity Values, and Civic Engagement Among Norwegian Youth 144 Introduction 144 The Virtue of Character 145 Character, Interpersonal Competence, Anti-racism, and Civic Engagement 146 The Norwegian Context 149 This Chapter 150 Methods 150 Character and Civic Engagement: Empirical Findings 152 Discussion 153 Implications and Conclusions 157 References 158 Chapter 11: Racism and Stressful Events Among Black Elderly People 161 Introduction 161 Illness and Care 163 Violence, Death, and Mourning 165 Final Considerations 169 References 169 Chapter 12: Intersectionalities and Old Age: Ageism in the Crossroads of Race, Gender, and Age 173 Introduction 173 Ageism in Intersectionality 175 Ageism and Other Prejudices in the Life in Long-Term Care Facilities: Spatial Policies from the Inside Out 178 Conclusions 179 References 180 Index 183