A longitudinal mediation analysis of the effect of Aboriginal Australian mothers’ experiences of racism on children’s socio-emotional well-being

Abstract

Objectives: It is known that parental experiences of racism are associated with poorer mental health in children. However, little is known about how racism is intergenerationally transmitted in Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (hereafter referred to as Aboriginal) persons. The present study aimed to explore the effect of Aboriginal mothers’ experiences of racism on children’s socio-emotional well-being mediated by parenting sense of competence. Method: Pregnant Aboriginal Australian women (N = 160, mean age = 24.6, SD = 5.4) reported their experiences of racism using the Measure of Indigenous Racism Experiences instrument, and completed a follow-up survey five years later, reporting their sense of parenting competence using the Parenting Sense of Competence scale and their child’s socio-emotional well-being using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. A single causal mediation analysis was used to examine the effects while accounting for confounding variables (mother’s age, education, and socioeconomic status). Results: Mothers who experienced racism were at a 28% increased odds of their five-year-old child experiencing socio-emotional problems, 95% CI [0.55, 2.98]. This effect was not mediated by sense of parenting competence, despite an effect between parenting competence and children’s socio-emotional well-being (OR = 0.44, 95% CI [0.19, 1.06]). Conclusions: The findings suggest that maternal experiences of racism have a longitudinal effect on their children’s socio-emotional well-being, and this effect is not mediated through the mothers’ sense of parenting competence. These findings highlight the importance of reducing experiences of racism as these have far-reaching effects across generations on socioemotional well-being.