A Life Domains Perspective on Acculturation and Psychological Adjustment: A Study of Refugees from the Former Soviet Union

The study articulates a contextual approach to research on acculturation of immigrants, suggesting that the relationship between acculturation and adjustment is dependent on the cultural demands of the life domains considered. Specifically, the study investigated the mediating effects of adjustment in occupational and social life domains on the relationship between acculturation and psychological adjustment for 391 refugees from the former Soviet Union. The study used bilinear measures of acculturation to the host (American) and heritage (Russian) cultures. Using Structural Equation Modeling, the study confirmed the hypothesized relationships, such that the positive effects of American acculturation on psychological adjustment were mediated by occupational adjustment, and the effects of Russian acculturation on psychological adjustment were mediated by satisfaction with co-ethnic social support. Psychological adjustment was measured in two ways, as psychological well-being, using a measure of life satisfaction, and as symptoms of depression and anxiety, using the Hopkins symptom checklist (HSCL). Life satisfaction served as a mediator between adjustment in occupational and social domains and HSCL, suggesting that it may be an intervening variable through which environmental stress associated with immigration contributes to the development of symptoms of mental disorder.     

Professional Counseling in Hong Kong

The authors provide an overview of recent developments in professional counseling as related to schools, career counseling, and community services in Hong Kong. The strategic position of counseling professionals, counseling associations, and counselor certification is discussed. The future development of counseling in Hong Kong is also considered.     

Effects of Minority Stress on Group Identification and Collective Action among Sexual Minorities: A Longitudinal Test of the Rejection-Identification Model

Minority stress remains pervasive in various aspects of life among sexual minorities. Driven by the awareness of social injustice, some sexual minority individuals may undertake collective action to counteract discrimination, but this does not apply to all members of sexual minorities. The present study used a prospective, longitudinal research design to examine how different dimensions of minority stress (i.e., perceived discrimination and internalized stigma) interact to affect group identification and collective action. A total of 628 sexual minority individuals in Hong Kong were involved in the study. The results showed that prior discriminatory experiences were positively associated with collective action at follow-up through increased levels of group identification and commitment to social justice. The moderating effect of internalized stigma was found in which perceived discrimination was not significantly related to group identification and collective action among those with high levels of internalized stigma. The study extends the literature on the rejection-identification model by understanding collective action as a form of group-level coping in the face of discrimination. It highlights the importance of fostering group identification, strengthening collective action, and mitigating internalized stigma among sexual minorities in psychological practice.

     

Evidence for a young adult face bias in accuracy and consensus of age estimates

Adults' face processing may be specialized for the dimensions of young adult faces. For example, young and older adults exhibit increased accuracy in normality judgments and greater agreement in attractiveness ratings for young versus older adult faces. The present study was designed to examine whether there is a similar young adult face bias in facial age estimates. In Experiment 1, we created a face age continuum by morphing an averaged young adult face with an averaged older adult face in 5% increments, for a total of 21 faces ranging from 0 to 100% old. Young and older adults estimated facial age for three stimulus age categories [young (morphs 0–30%), middle‐aged (morphs 35–65%), and older adult (morphs 70–100%)]. Both age groups showed the least differentiation in age estimates for young adult faces, despite showing greater consensus across participants in estimates for young faces. In Experiment 2, young and older adults made age estimates for individual young and older adult identities. Both age groups were more accurate and showed greater consensus in age estimates for young faces. Collectively, these results provide evidence for a bias in processing young adult faces beyond that which is often observed in recognition and normality/attractiveness judgment tasks.     

Impact of Well-being Interventions for Siblings of Children and Young People with a Chronic Physical or Mental Health Condition: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Siblings of children and young people with a chronic illness are at increased risk of poor psychological functioning. A number of studies have attempted to implement and evaluate interventions targeting the psychological well-being of this at-risk group. This systematic review summarises the evidence regarding psychological functioning of siblings following an intervention targeting their well-being. The meta-analysis considered behaviour and knowledge, two of the most frequently studied outcomes. The following databases were used: PsycINFO, EMBASE, CINAHL, PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science. Seventeen studies were eligible to be included in the systematic review and eight in the meta-analysis. Results from the systematic review reflected the inconsistency of intervention evaluations in this area with a high level of heterogeneity and a total of 23 outcomes considered across the 17 included studies. The meta-analysis estimated effect sizes using a standardised mean difference (SMD) approach. Pre-post analysis suggested significant improvement in behavioural outcomes and knowledge of their sibling’s health conditions with a SMD of ? 0.44 [95% CI (? 0.6, ? 0.29); p = 0.000] and 0.69 [(95% CI = 0.42, 0.96); p = 0.000], respectively. The SMD was not significant for behavioural outcomes when considering treatment–control studies. In conclusion, the findings suggest interventions for well-being have a positive effect on the psychological functioning of siblings of children and young people with a chronic illness, but their specificity needs to be established. There is a need for further, more methodologically robust research in this area.     

Eye-movement patterns in face recognition are associated with cognitive decline in older adults

The Hidden Markov Modeling approach for eye-movement data analysis is able to quantitatively assess differences and similarities among individual patterns. Here we applied this approach to examine the relationships between eye-movement patterns in face recognition and age-related cognitive decline. We found that significantly more older than young adults adopted “holistic” patterns, in which most eye fixations landed around the face center, as opposed to “analytic” patterns, in which eye movements switched among the two eyes and the face center. Participants showing analytic patterns had better performance than those with holistic patterns regardless of age. Interestingly, older adults with lower cognitive status (as assessed by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment), particularly in executive and visual attention functioning (as assessed by Tower of London and Trail Making Tests) were associated with a higher likelihood of holistic patterns. This result suggests the possibility of using eye movements as an easily deployable screening assessment for cognitive decline in older adults.     

Parental Involvement in Primary School Education: its Relationship with Children’s Academic Performance and Psychosocial Competence through Engaging Children with School

The benefits of parental involvement in children’s education have been well established but increasing evidence suggests that overparenting may have adverse effects on children. The question of whether excessive parental involvement hinders children’s academic and psychosocial development warrants further investigations. This study examined the associations of parental educational involvement at home and in school with academic performance and psychological health of 507 Chinese Grade 3 schoolchildren in Hong Kong. Parents reported on their level of involvement in children’s schooling and their children’s psychosocial issues. Children were surveyed to determine their school engagement, and their Chinese language and mathematics attainment was assessed. We also explored the underlying mechanism by testing children’s engagement with school as a mediator of the relationships. Our results showed that home-based parental educational involvement was positively associated with children’s language competence and psychosocial wellbeing, and the associations were linked through engaging children with school. However, the benefits reached a plateau at higher level of parental involvement in children’s learning at home. School-based parental involvement had an indirect effect on children’s prosocial behavior through school engagement. These findings highlight the significance of optimal level of parental involvement in children’s education at home for children’s development.     

Shyness,Loneliness Avoidance,and Internet Addiction: What are the Relationships?

Given that shyness has been consistently linked to Internet addiction in youth, an examination into the mediating effect of a desire to avoid loneliness on the shyness–Internet addiction link could offer potential insights into a possible explanatory mechanism as well as directions for Internet addiction prevention and intervention in young adulthood. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate the mediating role of loneliness avoidance in the relationship between shyness and Internet addiction among 286 youth Internet users. Shyness was significantly and positively correlated with loneliness avoidance and Internet addiction. In addition, loneliness avoidance was significantly and positively correlated with Internet addiction. Most importantly, loneliness avoidance may predispose shy youth to become addicted to the Internet. Theoretical and practical implications of the research findings for youth wellness are addressed in this study.     

Personality Assessment: A Competency–Capability Perspective

This article begins by reviewing the proficiency of personality assessment in the context of the competencies movement, which has dominated health service psychology in recent years. It examines the value of including a capability framework for advancing this proficiency and enhancing the quality of personality assessments, including Therapeutic Assessment (Finn &; Tonsager, 1997 Finn, S. E., &; Tonsager, M. E. (1997). Information-gathering and therapeutic models of assessment: Complementary paradigms. Psychological Assessment, 9, 374–385. doi:10.1037//1040-3590.9.4.374[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), that include a personality assessment component. This hybrid competency–capability framework is used to set the stage for the conduct of personality assessments in a variety of contexts and for the optimal training of personality assessment. Future directions are offered in terms of ways psychologists can strengthen their social contract with the public and offer a broader array of personality assessments in more diverse contexts and by individuals who are both competent and capable.