Sequences of drug involvement in African-American and Puerto Rican adolescents.

This study examined stages in drug involvement of 695 African-American and 637 Puerto Rican adolescents. Analysis indicated that adolescents progress through several stages of drug involvement: beer/wine, cigarettes or hard liquor, then marijuana, and, finally, illicit drugs other than marijuana. The sequence of drug involvement for both ethnic groups appears to be both unidimensional and cumulative.     

Individual and group CBT and IPT for Puerto Rican adolescents with depressive symptoms

This study compared individual (I) to group (G) formats of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) for the treatment of depression in adolescents. One hundred and 12 Puerto Rican adolescents were randomized to four conditions (CBT-I, CBT-G, IPT-I, IPT-G). Participants were assessed at pretreatment and posttreatment with structured interviews to establish diagnosis and with self-report measures to assess treatment outcome. The results suggest that CBT and IPT are robust treatments in both group and individual formats. However, CBT produced significantly greater decreases in depressive symptoms and improved self-concept than IPT. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Family therapy for bulimia nervosa in adolescents: an exploratory study

Family therapy has only rarely been reported as a treatment for bulimia nervosa and not specifically’for adolescents. This account describes family therapy with eight adolescents who suffered from bulimia nervosa. Change was measured by assessing symptomatic behaviours and global measures of family and social function prior to treatment and again one year later. At reassessment there was a significant reduction in bulimic behaviours although many had some continuing symptoms. Some aspects of the therapy are described and implications for further study of treatment for adolescent bulimia are discussed.     

Puerto Rican Gangs: A Historical Overview

This article presents the problem of gangs on the island of Puerto Rico from a historical, economical, and political perspective. Some Puerto Rican historians are convinced that the gang problem in Puerto Rico is due to the political ambiguity and human rights violations of prison inmates (F. Picò, 1998).     

Ethiopian immigrants' racial identity attitudes and depression symptomatology: an exploratory study

The relationship between depression and racial identity attitudes of Ethiopian immigrants in the United States was investigated. A total of 101 participants completed the Tedla-Hopkins Symptoms Checklist-15 (a depression measure) and the Racial Identity Attitudes Scale-Amharic and gave demographic information, including a brief measure of their reference group. A positive correlation was found between preencounter attitudes of racial identity (in which one denies oneself membership into one's race) and depression and between preencounter attitudes and reference group identification. Depression was best predicted by education level. Individuals who endorsed preencounter attitudes of racial identity, in which one denies oneself membership into the Black race (pro-White/anti-Black attitudes), were not only more likely to identify Europeans as their reference group but were also significantly more likely to be depressed.     

A framework for studying minority youths' transitions to fatherhood: the case of Puerto Rican adolescents

A theoretical framework is proposed for studying minority young men's involvement with their babies that combines the integrative model of minority youth development and a life course developmental perspective with Lamb's revised four-factor model of father involvement. This framework posits a relationship between demographic and family background variables (such as education, employment, income, and family of origin) and fatherhood outcomes moderated by personal characteristics (such as sex-role ideology, acculturation, risk taking, and alienation) and mediated by definitions of fatherhood, life priorities normative for the culture under study, and sexual behavior. Once there is an acknowledged infant, a father's involvement is influenced by child characteristics, perceived fathering competence, social support, and quality of the relationship with the mother.     

Puerto Rican youth speaks out: SOME QUOTATIONS

In April 1971 11 lively and perceptive Puerto Rican young people met with guest editor Uvaldo Palomares for a discussion. Nine of the young people were in high school and two were enrolled in universities in the New York City area. All of them were involved in the Aspira Club Federation¹, whose aim is to enlighten and encourage Puerto Rican students to attain the educational level to which they aspire. First Palomares explained to the group that he was preparing a special issue of this journal and would like their opinions about counselors. Then he asked them to respond to the following questions: (a) Are there problems that are special to the Puerto Rican? What do you think is the present situation? (b) What are some positive characteristics of Puerto Ricans that counselors and teachers usually don't know about? (c) Why don't counselors or teachers generally recognize these things? (d) What can they do to overcome this problem? What follows here are frank, forthright responses relating to a great variety of concerns, from culture and stereotyping to poverty and tokenism. The interview has been edited by Geraldine Palomares, who is a consultant at the Human Development Training Institute in San Diego.     

Adaptation of parent-child interaction therapy for Puerto Rican families: a preliminary study

This study examines how parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) was adapted for Puerto Rican parents of children aged 4-6 with hyperactivity and other significant behavior problems. Four steps were followed: (1) translation and preliminary adaptation of the treatment manual, (2) application of the treatment to 9 families as part of an exploratory study using repeated measures, (3) treatment revision and refinement, and (4) in-depth interviews with parents (n=15) and clinical psychologists (n=5) from Puerto Rico who provided feedback on treatment process and components. Throughout this process, cultural elements and modifications were recommended to be incorporated into the treatment protocol. Both quantitative and qualitative results suggest that PCIT seems to be an acceptable intervention for this population, with some minor changes. Parents reported a high level of satisfaction, a significant reduction in children's externalizing behavior problems, and reduction of parenting stress and improvement in their parenting practices. Psychologists also evaluated positively the treatment protocol and recommended its use. Results from this study may inform clinicians and researchers who work with Latino families about relevant issues to be considered to promote their participation in behavioral family interventions and to enhance their acceptability and effectiveness.     

Illicit drug use and risky sexual behavior among African American and Puerto Rican urban adolescents: the longitudinal links

The authors assessed whether (a) early illicit drug use predicted later risky sexual activity, (b) early risky sex predicted later illicit drug use, and (c) common factors affected both risky sexual behavior and illicit drug use. African American and Puerto Rican youth completed questionnaires in their classrooms at Time 1 (T1) and face-to-face interviews with the authors in their homes 5 years later at Time 2 (T2). Logistic regression analyses showed the association between T1 illicit drug use and T2 risky sexual activity and between T1 risky sexual behavior and T2 illicit drug use. With few exceptions, T1 illicit drug use was associated with all of the T2 risky sexual behaviors. After controlling for demographic factors, the authors found that multiple sex partners at T1 was not related to illicit drug use at T2. Condom use at T1 was related to illicit drug use at T2, whereas sexually transmitted diseases and adolescent pregnancy were not related to this drug use. The findings indicated that assessments of and treatments for substance use should focus on the risky sexual behaviors that seem to accompany illicit drug use.     

Negotiation training and interpersonal development: an exploratory study of early adolescents in Argentina.

This paper reports findings from an exploratory outcome study of the Program for Young Negotiators training model with early adolescents in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Youth between the ages of 10 and 15 years (135 females, 70 males) were assessed before and after negotiation training, based on two measures of psychosocial attitudes and behavior. On the Five Factor Negotiation Scale (Nakkula & Nikitopoulos, 1999a), an increase in overall negotiation attitudes and behavior was found, with particularly large increases in the domains of conflict-based perspective taking and behavioral approaches to conflict resolution. On the Relationship Questionnaire, Schultz and Selman's (1999) structural developmental measure of psychosocial competence, stronger than expected changes were found in overall competence, with fairly equal changes in the primary domains of interpersonal understanding, interpersonal skills, and the personal meaning of relationships. Finally, students who presented a pretest thought-action gap marked by a high level of interpersonal understanding relative to their level of interpersonal skill increased substantially more in negotiation attitudes and behavior than did students manifesting a gap in the opposite direction. Implications regarding who benefits most from negotiation training are discussed.     

Predictors of stress in adolescents: an exploratory study of pregnant and of parenting females

A study of 152 adolescents enrolled in school-based programs for pregnant and parenting youth in Colorado in 1987-88 found no differences in overall stress levels between these two groups; however, salient predictors of stressful life events for pregnant teens were not the same as those for teen mothers. The mean age of study subjects was 16.5 years (range 14-19 years); most were living with a parent rather than the child's father. The dependent variable, level of stress, was measured through use of an abbreviated Life Events Questionnaire. Independent variables were assessed through administration of the Inventory of Social Supportive Behaviors, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and the Adolescent Coping Orientation for Problem Experiences scale. Of the 5 sources of stress measured (family, accidents, autonomy, deviance, relocation, and distress), only stress related to accidents differed significantly between pregnant and parenting adolescents. For pregnant adolescents, self-esteem was the only significant predictor of the overall level of stress; among parents, the only significant predictor was objective social support. Among adolescents, self-esteem was associated with more frequent use of social support and coping strategies. For parenting adolescents, self-esteem was correlated with the frequency of use of social support, satisfaction resulting from such use, and frequent use of coping strategies. Overall, the independent variables of social support, self-esteem, coping, and age were stronger predictors of stress in pregnant than in parenting adolescent females. This finding suggests that parenting teens may have successfully negotiated the multiple transitions involved in this new stage of the life-cycle. An important implication of this study is the need to design separate counseling components of school-based programs for pregnant versus parenting adolescents rather than to use a single curriculum.     

Spirituality and religiosity as predictors of depression and suicidal ideation: an exploratory study

In a sample of 149 undergraduate students, measures of religiosity and spirituality were positively associated with measures of depression, mania, and past suicidal ideation.     

Coping strategies and psychological distress: Prospective analyses of early and middle adolescents

Administered measures of coping, life events, and anxiety and depression to junior high and senior high school samples on two occasions, separated by a 5-month interval. Factor analyses supported the creation of coping subscales for problem solving, cognitive coping, social entertainment, physical exercise, and peer support. A one-item index of parental support was also included in the analyses. The coping subscales showed moderate temporal stability. Mothers' reports of their children's coping provided only marginal support for the validity of the adolescents' self-reports. Prospective regression analyses of the early adolescent data revealed that problem-solving coping was negatively related to depression, and that social entertainment coping was negatively related to anxiety. The prospective effects for the middle adolescents' coping were nonsignificant. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the measurement of adolescent coping strategies and research on the relation between these strategies and psychological functioning.     

Discrimination and Puerto Rican children's and adolescents' mental health

Two studies of Puerto Rican youths' development on the U.S. mainland examined the consequences of perceived racial/ethnic discrimination on mental health. In Study I, children were found to have a low likelihood of perceiving discrimination, whereas in Study 2, nearly half of the adolescent sample reported perceiving racial/ethnic discrimination. Although both groups scored high on multiple indicators of mental health, perceiving discrimination and worrying about discrimination were negatively associated with some dimensions of self-esteem and positively associated with depression and stress. Adolescents were aware of negative stereotypes about Puerto Ricans, and nearly half of them related discriminatory instances. Results suggest that both perceiving discrimination and anxiety regarding discrimination can serve as risk factors for the mental health of this population.     

Archetypes and Spirits: A Jungian Analysis of Puerto Rican Espiritismo

In this paper a comparison is made between Jung's approach to healing with a traditional healing system practised in Puerto Rico, called ‘Espiritismo’. Jungian psychology and ‘Espiritismo’ have several strong similarities in their conception of the therapeutic process, similarities which suggest that the healing process itself has generic properties which can be found in several therapeutic systems. In addition, by analysing Jung's development as a healer, it is possible to draw parallels between his development as a psychotherapist and the process of becoming a spiritist healer. In both healing systems, a transpersonal dimension is recognized as an integral element in the healing process. In ‘Espiritismo’, the suffering individual has to confront the spirit world; in analytical psychotherapy the patient has to confront the collective unconscious. This parallel was explicitly recognized by Jung in his autobiography when he compared the collective unconscious with the land of the dead. For Jung, knowledge of the figures of the unconscious enormously facilitates the individuation process; in ‘Espiritismo’ it is necessary to know the spirit world and to establish a relationship with the spirits. In Jungian psychology, healing is a process of ‘exorcizing’ some types of complexes or integrating others to consciousness. On the other hand, spiritist healers ‘exorcize’ ignorant spirits in order to heal a client or help him/her to identify spirit guides. In both systems, healing is essentially a process of establishing a dialogue with a transpersonal dimension (archetypes or spirits). Healing in ‘Espiritismo’ and Jungian psychology is a process of transcending the limited perspective of the ego (the ‘material world’) in order to experience a much broader reality (spiritual world or collective unconscious). Both systems emphasize the need to work with resources beyond the boundaries of the ego and to connect with forces that belong to a different reality.     

Effects of incentives in web-based prevention for adolescents: Results of an exploratory field study

This study examines if the willingness of adolescents to participate in a web-based prevention program can be increased by providing an incentive for participation. Eighth graders (n = 166) were instructed to work on an online stress-prevention program via the internet from home. A subgroup of n = 80 subjects from three school classes were told that they would take part in a raffle if they completed the program. The remaining n = 86 participants (again three classes) served as a control group. The school classes were randomly allocated to the training conditions. During the 8-week intervention period, compliance rates were recorded by means of an online tracking system. In addition, self-reported compliance and training acceptance were assessed. The application of an incentive had considerable effects on retention rates, on training acceptance and self-assessed effectiveness of the intervention. Adolescents in the ‘incentive condition’ completed three times as many program lessons as control subjects did, and–as their self-reports suggest–they worked as attentively. Validity of self-reported compliance was higher among participants of the incentive group and they reported significantly higher program acceptance. As a consequence, the application of incentive systems is recommended for future implementation of web-based prevention programs targeting adolescents.     

Correlates of aggression in African American and Puerto Rican children

The authors examined a cross-sectional interrelationship of psychosocial domains as they relate to aggression in a group of African American and English-speaking Puerto Rican children living in New York City. The population included 80 biological children of African American and Puerto Rican young adults who had been participating in the authors' ongoing longitudinal study, and 77 mothers or mother substitutes (rearing mothers) of those children. The authors performed hierarchical multiple regression analysis. The results indicated that (a) the child's personality and maternal attributes were significantly related to the child's aggression, despite control on all of the other domains and (b) the ethnic identification and discrimination domain was no longer related to the child's aggression with control on the mother-child relationship domain or on the child's personality domain. The findings have implications for clinical practice and public policy.