Developing preventive mental health interventions for refugee families in resettlement

In refugee resettlement, positive psychosocial outcomes for youth and adults depend to a great extent on their families. Yet refugee families find few empirically based services geared toward them. Preventive mental health interventions that aim to stop, lessen, or delay possible negative individual mental health and behavioral sequelae through improving family and community protective resources in resettled refugee families are needed. This paper describes 8 characteristics that preventive mental health interventions should address to meet the needs of refugee families, including: Feasibility, Acceptability, Culturally Tailored, Multilevel, Time Focused, Prosaicness, Effectiveness, and Adaptability. To address these 8 characteristics in the complex environment of refugee resettlement requires modifying the process of developmental research through incorporating innovative mental health services research strategies, including: resilience framework, community collaboration, mixed methods with focused ethnography, and the comprehensive dynamic trial. A preventive intervention development cycle for refugee families is proposed based on a program of research on refugees and migrants using these services research strategies. Furthering preventive mental health for refugee families also requires new policy directives, multisystemic partnerships, and research training.     

Ontology,Ontologies, and Science

Philosophers frequently struggle with the relation of metaphysics to the everyday world, with its practical value, and with its relation to empirical science. This paper distinguishes several different models of the relation between philosophical ontology and applied (scientific) ontology that have been advanced in the history of philosopy. Adoption of a strong participation model for the philosophical ontologist in science is urged, and requirements and consequences of the participation model are explored. This approach provides both a principled view and justification of the role of the philosophical ontologist in contemporary empirical science as well as guidelines for integrating philosophers and philosophical contributions into the practice of science.     

Social-emotional aspects of quality of life in multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory auto-immune disease of the central nervous system. It leads to many impairments including physical, cognitive, psychological, and social challenges. Our study examined gender and cultural associations with quality of life (QoL), personal characteristics, and benefits from having MS among those with MS. The study was conducted in Austria and the United States. The sample included 128 participants, 64 in each country, of whom 78 were women and 50 were men aged between 20 and 57 years. We used standard statistical tests, including analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) and partial correlations for the analysis of quantitative data. For the qualitative part of the survey we used semi-structured interviews, which we transcribed and coded to identify categories in the answers for qualitative analyses. Austrian participants with MS perceived a higher social-emotional QoL in comparison to American participants. American participants expressed a higher self-esteem in comparison to Austrian participants. Men reported a lower ability to express love than women. Independent of sex/gender and nationality, participants reported benefits through the disease, especially with regard to improved compassion, mindfulness, improved family relations and lifestyle gains. The qualitative interviews revealed additional gender differences for coping with the illness; and in experiences, expectations, and challenges related to MS. These insights can be used to develop targeted psychological and social support interventions aimed toward improving social-emotional QoL for persons with MS.     

Connecting the self to traumatic and positive events: links to identity and well-being

Self-event connections in autobiographical narratives help integrate specific episodes from memory into the life story, which has implications for identity and well-being. Previous research has distinguished differential relations between positive and negative self-event connections to psychological well-being but less research has examined identity. In this study, examining self-event connections in emerging adults’ narratives, 225 participants narrated a traumatic and an intensely positive experience and completed questionnaires assessing identity development and well-being. Participants who described more negative connections to self overall had higher psychological distress and identity distress, compared to those who described fewer negative connections. Participants who described positive connections to the self in traumatic events were more likely to have lower psychological distress, higher post-traumatic growth, and higher identity commitment, whereas positive connections in positive events was related to higher identity exploration and marginally higher post-traumatic growth. These findings contribute to a growing body of literature that suggests linking autobiographical memories to self can have differential effects on identity and well-being depending on the valence of the event and the connections made.     

Parent Management of Organization,Time Management,and Planning Deficits among Adolescents with ADHD

Organization, Time Management, and Planning (OTP) problems are a key mechanism of academic failure for adolescents with ADHD. Parents may be well positioned to promote remediation of these deficits; yet, almost nothing is known about OTP management behaviors among parents of middle and high school students with ADHD. In a sample of 299 well-diagnosed adolescents with ADHD, a measure of parental OTP management was psychometrically validated. Latent Class Analysis was conducted to detect distinct patterns of parental OTP management and yielded four unique classes: Parental Control (18.7 %), Parent-Teen Collaboration (20.4 %), Homework Assistance (20.4 %), and Uninvolved (40.5 %). Logistic Regression analyses indicated that maladaptive parental OTP strategies were related to higher levels of parent and adolescent psychopathology. Parental OTP management did not relate to current adolescent OTP skills or GPA, indicating that parents did not select OTP management strategies in immediate response to adolescent functioning. Implications for parent-directed intervention are discussed.     

Determinants of Citation in Epidemiological Studies on Phthalates: A Citation Analysis

Science and Engineering Ethics - Citing of previous publications is an important factor in knowledge development. Because of the great amount of publications available, only a selection of studies...     

In the Wake of the Great Recession: Economic Uncertainty,Communication, and Biological Stress Responses in Families

The impact of spouses' communication about economic uncertainty on biological stress responses was examined. The sample included 82 Latino and Caucasian couples and one of their adolescents. Wives with low economic uncertainty experienced the greatest cortisol increase to a stressful discussion with their spouse, while wives with high economic uncertainty experienced a blunted cortisol response. Husbands with high economic uncertainty exhibited a low, unresponsive cortisol pattern. Wives who experienced elevated cortisol used more corumination and had low community support. The amount parents talked about their financial worries to their adolescent was not associated with the adolescent's mental health or biosocial markers, but the parents' economic uncertainty and corumination with each other were negatively associated with their own mental health.