Research project Intergenerational meaning-making on racism: an intersectional study in a segregated urban context

The aim with the study is to investigate how racism is understood and negotiated intergenerationally between youth, aged 15 to 25, and parents.

In recent years, reports from both government agencies and civil society organizations have shown that children in Sweden are affected by racism from an early age, both through their interpersonal encounters and through unequal living conditions in society. These reports themselves reflect a growing societal interest in issues of racism, and in this case, specifically how racism impacts children and young people. Taken together, and in line with previous research and reports, they demonstrate that racism is part of the everyday lives of children and youth in Sweden from an early age.

International research simultaneously shows that parents of children who experience racism play a crucial role in how children can be prepared to handle situations where they may be subjected to various expressions of racism. Such parental support can, among other things, prevent children and young people from internalizing a negative view of their own identity, which could otherwise harm their development and health. Research also indicates that parents whose children are not exposed to racism often approach the topic differently compared to families who have direct experiences of marginalization – for example, they may talk about racism in different ways, less frequently, or sometimes not at all.

With the aim of contributing knowledge to this important societal issue, the project focuses on examining how young people aged 15 to 25 and parents in different types of socio-economic residential areas in Sweden’s metropolitan regions make sense of racism. This will be studied through interviews with young people and parents from diverse backgrounds and structural conditions.

The project framework can be situated in relation to the lack of Swedish research on how children and young people affected by racism – and their parents –make sense of and handle racism. Furthermore, international research has primarily focused on parents’ role in preparing and supporting their children in relation to their experiences of racism. By studying how young people and parents in different kinds of families mutually construct meaning about racism, based on their respective understandings and experiences, the project also highlights the active role of young people in making sense of and negotiating the meaning of racism with their parents. The project’s results thereby provides a scientific contribution while also being significant in relation to an intergenerational perspective on racism as a societal phenomenon – which also underscores the societal relevance of conducting this research.

Principal supervisor: Rickard Jonsson

Supervisor: Kalle Berggren