How racism-related stressors influence parenting styles and child development

How racism-related stressors influence parenting styles and child development Professor Deborah Winders Davis discusses the impact of stress, particularly racism-related stressors, on the health and parenting behaviors of low-income and Black families. Stress is known to be associated with health outcomes, especially for individuals from low-income and Black families. (1,2) Since race is a social construct, the associations between stress, health, and development may be attributable to being low-income, experiencing discrimination, or both, rather than to being Black. While the effects of individual stressors have been examined, (1,3,4) less is known about the effects of cumulative stressors, especially as they relate to racism or the underlying mechanisms of action. Individual-level interventions have had limited effectiveness. (5) Therefore, when considering the effects of racism and discrimination on parents and parenting behavior, systemic interventions are critically important. (5) Future research is needed to identify effective systemic interventions aimed at eliminating policies and practices that negatively impact the health and wellbeing of parents and children. (5)