Minority stress and health: Implications for lesbian,gay, bisexual,transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) young people

Historically, the pathologization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) orientations shaped research and professional practice, while the impact of stigma was not considered. Within a minority stress conceptualization however, stigma-related prejudice and discrimination experienced by LGBTQ people constitute chronically stressful events that can lead to negative health outcomes. Minority stress has been linked to psychological distress among gay men and lesbians and may contribute to elevated rates of distress frequently observed among LGBTQ youth. This study explored the impact of minority stress on psychological distress among LGBTQ youth in Ireland. Measures assessing three components of minority stress (sexual identity distress, stigma consciousness, and heterosexist experiences) were administered online to LGBTQ youth aged 16–24 years (N = 301). Each minority stressor had a significant independent association with distress. Stepwise regression analyses identified the linear combination of minority stressors as significantly predictive of distress [F(3,201) = 30.80, p ≤ 0.001]. Results suggest that the oppressive social environment created through sexual/transgender identity-related stigma negatively impacts on the well-being of LGBTQ youth. These findings have implications for health professionals and policy makers interested in the concerns of LGBTQ youth experiencing difficulties related to minority status and will facilitate the development and tailoring of interventions aimed at reaching those most at risk.     

A randomised controlled trial of the effectiveness of writing as a self-help intervention for traumatic injury patients at risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder

The study investigated the effects of writing and self-help information on severity of psychological symptoms in traumatic injury patients at risk for developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Patients attending Accident and Emergency (A & E), were screened for Acute Stress Disorder and randomised to an information control group (n = 36) or a writing and information group (n = 31). Participants in both groups received an information booklet one-month post-injury. Participants in the writing group also wrote about emotional aspects of their trauma during three 20-min sessions, five to six weeks post-injury. Psychological assessments were completed within one month and at three and six months post-injury. There were significant improvements on measures of anxiety, depression and PTSD over time. Differences between groups on these measures were not statistically significant. However, subjective ratings of the usefulness of writing were high. In conclusion, the results do not currently support the use of writing as a targeted early intervention technique for traumatic injury patients at risk of developing PTSD.     

Early morphological processing is morphosemantic and not simply morpho-orthographic: A violation of form-then-meaning accounts of word recognition

Many studies have suggested that a word’s orthographic form must be processed before its meaning becomes available. Some interpret the (null) finding of equal facilitation after semantically transparent and opaque morphologically related primes in early stages of morphological processing as consistent with this view. Recent literature suggests that morphological facilitation tends to be greater after transparent than after opaque primes, however. To determine whether the degree of semantic transparency influences parsing into a stem and a suffix (morphological decomposition) in the forward masked priming variant of the lexical decision paradigm, we compared patterns of facilitation between semantically transparent (e.g., coolant—cool) and opaque (e.g., rampant—ramp) prime—target pairs. Form properties of the stem (frequency, neighborhood size, and prime—target letter overlap), as well as related—unrelated and transparent—opaque affixes, were matched. Morphological facilitation was significantly greater for semantically transparent pairs than for opaque pairs. Ratings of prime—target relatedness predicted the magnitude of facilitation. The results limit the scope of form-then-meaning models of word recognition and demonstrate that semantic similarity can influence even early stages of morphological processing. The research reported here was supported by National Institute of Child Health and Development Grant HD-01994 to Haskins Laboratories.     

The relationship between violence and youth suicide indicators among Asian American and Pacific Islander youth

The literature documents a relationship between interpersonal violence and suicide. One tool used to understand interpersonal violence is the Power Wheel, developed from clinical experience and originally used in domestic violence education. We examine the relationship between Teen Power and Control Wheel domains and suicidal indicators (seriously considered suicide, made a suicide plan, and attempted suicide) among Asian American and Pacific Islander high school students, in terms of both victimization and perpetration. Data from a 2007 survey of two multi-ethnic high schools on the island of O'ahu, Hawai'i were used. The survey assessed interpersonal youth violence and a multitude of risk and protective factors. It found that females were significantly more likely to seriously consider suicide and attempt suicide, compared to males. There were no statistically significant differences in seriously considering suicide, making a suicide plan, and attempting suicide by ethnic group, employment status, or hours worked per week. Using the Wheel, we found that all dimensions for victimization and perpetration were associated with the three suicidal indicators. However, the magnitude of this association was dramatically higher for victims than for perpetrators. School- and healthcare-based prevention strategies should ensure that both suicide and violence intervention components are addressed. Professionals who work with youth should be trained to feel comfortable, confident, and competent in discussing suicide and violence, and be willing and capable to assess and intervene.     

Striving for a culturally responsive process in training health professionals on Asian American and Pacific Islander youth violence prevention

The quality of youth violence prevention practice is dependent on the quality of education and training of professionals who will care for disadvantaged and/or underserved youth. The authors propose that culturally responsive youth violence prevention curricula, focused on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, should: 1) target institutions that train health professionals likely to serve Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders; 2) promote the professional development of Asian American and Pacific Islander students and enhance all students' comfort in addressing behavioral, social, and cultural concerns; 3) cover specific issues relevant to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, including the role of acculturative stress, socioeconomic hardship, and other risk factors that may account for mental health disparities; and 4) continuously engage researchers, educators, and community stakeholders in cooperatively and creatively applying new knowledge to clinical challenges. The authors summarize resources for youth violence prevention education that have been used for training healthcare professionals in a multicultural context.     

Reduced right hemisphere activation in severely abused violent offenders during a working memory task: An fMRI study

This study uses functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to address two important gaps in our knowledge of brain functioning and violence: (1) What are the brain correlates of adults in the community who have suffered severe physical abuse early in life and who go on to perpetrate serious violence in adulthood? (2) What characterizes those who experience severe physical abuse but who refrain from serious violence? Four groups of participants recruited from the community (controls, severe physical child abuse only, serious violence only, and severely abused, seriously violent offenders) underwent fMRI while performing a visual/verbal working memory task. Violent offenders who had suffered severe child abuse show reduced right hemisphere functioning, particularly in the right temporal cortex. Abused individuals who refrain from serious violence showed relatively lower left, but higher right, activation of the superior temporal gyrus. Abused individuals, irrespective of violence status, showed reduced cortical activation during the working memory task, especially in the left hemisphere. Brain deficits were independent of IQ, history of head injury, task performance, cognitive strategy, and mental activity during the control task. Findings constitute the first fMRI study of brain dysfunction in violent offenders, and indicate that initial right hemisphere dysfunction, when combined with the effects of severe early physical abuse, predisposes to serious violence but that relatively good right hemisphere functioning protects against violence in physically abused children. Aggr. Behav. 27:111–129, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

A comparison of recollective memory and source monitoring

Participants in recognition memory experiments are often asked for additional information about their memories after each positive recognition response. Two experiments were conducted that were identical, except that the first asked participants to make remember/familiar judgments about the items they recognized, and the second asked them to make source judgments. The similarity between the recollection and source judgment data has implications for measurement issues and theory development.     

AN ANALYSIS OF THE PROCEDURAL COMPONENTS OF SUPPORTED EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMS ASSOCIATED WITH EMPLOYMENT OUTCOMES

This study examined the relation between the procedural components of supported employment programs and employment outcomes for 120 individuals with disabilities. These individuals were involved in supported employment programs established through the Utah Supported Employment Project. The results suggest that successful implementation of supported employment services led to ongoing employment of study participants in community work sites, increased wages, and ongoing opportunities for workers to interact with nondisabled peers. In addition, several procedural components were found to be strongly associated with successful employment outcomes for workers. Results of the study are discussed in terms of the training needs of supported employment program staff and future research for the dissemination of a cohesive technology of supported employment.     

The University of South Florida homograph norms

Norms were collected to determine the relative dominance of different meanings of homo-graphic words. Forty-six subjects wrote down the first word that came to mind for each of 320 homographs. Each homograph, the number of times each meaning was given, and the specific associates are made available. In addition, correlations with other norms are presented.