Abstract

Class inequality in the United States has reached levels not seen since the late 1920s. This inequality has been linked to numerous harmful societal outcomes and may be particularly detrimental for children, who often experience limited intergroup contact with individuals from different social class backgrounds. Drawing on Social Identity Theory and the significant role parents play in shaping children's social environments, this study examined how White and Black parents' changes in perceived social class from childhood to adulthood relate to the ways they prioritize exposing their children to different social class environments (N = 702, U.S. sample). Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) was used to identify distinct class identity change (CIC) profiles and examine differences across emergent parent groups. Results indicated that latent profile structure and demographic predictors of profile membership differed significantly across racial groups. Additionally, significant differences emerged across profile groups in parental prioritization of children's exposure to social class environments. In particular, parents belonging to higher social class profiles were generally more likely to prioritize exposure to high-class environments for their children. These findings suggest that parental perceptions of social class are closely intertwined with diversity exposure behaviors and parenting practices and further underscore the importance of examining how social class experiences and parenting behaviors may operate differently across racial groups in the United States.

Degree

MS

College and Department

Family, Home, and Social Sciences; Family Life

Rights

https://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/

Date Submitted

2026-06-20

Document Type

Thesis

Keywords

social class identity, child socialization, latent profile analysis

Language

english

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