Application of the Minority Stress Theory: Understanding the Mental Health of Undocumented Latinx Immigrants

This paper applies the Minority Stress framework to data collected from an ongoing community-based participatory research project with health and social service agencies in Southeast Michigan. We examine the stressors and coping strategies employed by undocumented Latinx immigrants and their families to manage immigration-related stress. We conducted in-depth interviews with 23 immigrant clients at Federally Qualified Health Care Centers (FQHC) in Southeast Michigan and 28 in-depth interviews with staff at two FQHC's and a non-profit agency serving immigrants. Findings suggest that immigrants face heightened anxiety and adverse mental health outcomes because of unique minority identity-related stressors created by a growing anti-immigrant social environment. Chronic stress experienced stems from restrictive immigration policies, anti-immigrant rhetoric in the media and by political leaders, fear of deportation, discriminatory events, concealment, and internalized anti-immigrant sentiment. Though identity can be an important effect modifier in the stress process, social isolation in the immigrant community has heightened the impact of stress and impeded coping strategies. These stressors have resulted in distrust in community resources, uncertainty about future health benefits, delayed medical care, and adverse mental health outcomes. Findings provide a framework for understanding the unique stressors experienced by immigrants and strategies for interventions by social service agencies.     

An analysis of sustainable consumption practices through the role of the consumer behavior in the circular economy

Sustainable consumption analyses the choice of products to address environmental issues. In recent years, the circular economy model () has offered strategies as possible solutions to address the growing demand for action on climate justice. The success of a business model depends on understanding the consumer's role. The power of individual consumer actions is vital for minimizing the adverse impacts of climate change. Although the effectiveness of in the business sector has been studied, the literature has ignored the role of consumers in sustainable consumption practices through. Thus, using a survey technique, this quantitative study analyzed part of the theoretical model of Mostaghel and Chirumalla to analyze how awareness and consumer attitude significantly impact purchase intention and ethical purchasing behavior. The data analyzed through PLS-SEM reflected several theoretical implications in the forms of consumer behavior, a topic that has not been addressed in the literature.     

Using Racial Identity Theory to Explore Racial Mistrust and Interracial Contact Among Asian Americans

The purpose of this study was to examine the use of racial identity attitudes as predictors of racial mistrust (perceived interpersonal racism) of African Americans and other racial contact variables among Asian Americans. A packet consisting of the Visible Racial/Ethnic Group Members (VREG) Identity Attitudes Scale, Cultural Mistrust Inventory, Marlow‐Crowne Social Desirability Scale, Racial Contact Scale, and a demographic data sheet was administered to 160 participants. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that racial identity attitudes significantly predicted racial mistrust, overall group impression, 4 racial stereotypes, and 2 quality of racial contact variables in ways consistent with racial identity theory. Implications of the findings for Asian American psychology, counseling, and race relations research are discussed.     

Note on comparability of MicroCog test forms.

This study investigated the differences between the Standard and Short forms of MicroCog by comparing Domain scores for a clinical sample of 351 substance abusers which gave a significant difference between scores on the Spatial Processing Domain. Implications for research and clinical use are discussed.     

Severe stuttering associated with right hemisphere lesion

Following a right hemisphere stroke, a right-handed, 50-year-old male experienced a permanent dysfluency characterized by phoneme and syllable reiterations and, to a lesser extent, word and phrase reiterations. The reiterations occurred in initial, medial, and final positions and for all sentence elements (e.g., subject nouns, object nouns, verbs, modifiers). There was a notable loss of verbal automatisms (poems, songs, etc.). The patient's symptoms conform to the acquired stuttering syndrome described by A. Helm, R. Butler, and D.F. Benson (1978, Neurology, 28, 1159-1165).     

Education and Understanding Structural Causes for Group Inequalities

Group inequalities in the United States are most often attributed to the characteristics of the individuals who belong to these groups; thinking about structural causes of group inequalities is rare. This paper reviews cognitive, cultural, and systemic reasons for this bias. The efficacy of education as a way to increase structural thinking was investigated in two studies of college students' causal thinking about group inequalities. Both studies involved a course on intergroup relations that covered structural sources of racial or ethnic inequalities. Results supported hypotheses that the course would increase structural thinking about racial or ethnic inequality, and that structural thinking would generalize to inequalities not explicitly covered in the course. Both course content and active learning pedagogy were related to structural thinking about inequalities. Active learning was also related to applying structural thinking to targets of change.     

Effects of behavioral training on the functioning of a profoundly retarded microcephalic teenager with cerebral palsy and without language or verbal comprehension: A case study

In previous investigations (Jacobson, Berger, Bergman, Millham and Greeson, 1971; Jacobson and Greeson, 1972), it was reported that as a result of the use of a behavior modification program, preschool children from poverty backgrounds demonstrated rapid conceptual acquisition. In addition, the Ss increased from the dull-normal to the normal range of intellectual functioning within approximately 20 hr of program participation. Since the increases in IQ found were most pronounced for children of lowest IQ (IQs = 46–83), the investigators hypothesized that the program would prove to be useful with Ss of greater cognitive and behavioral deficits than the initial population investigated.The present study reports the use of a variant of the conceptual acquisition program with an institutionalized, profoundly retarded microcephalic teenager with chronic brain syndrome and cerebral palsy. Prior to the study the boy demonstrated neither language nor an ability to comprehend and follow verbal directions.     

Cognitive Processes in Close Relationships: Recent Findings and Implications for Counseling

Coinciding with the recent growth of professional interest in relationship counseling has been the emergence of important research on the cognitive processes of persons in close relationships. In this article the author reviews selected findings from this literature, which illuminate the attributional, self-evaluation, and self-verification processes of participants in close relationships, and discusses their implications for the counseling of distressed couples.     

Braille literacy as a human right: A challenge to the “inefficiency” argument against braille instruction

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) affirms a right to education for disabled persons and aims to ensure braille instruction for blind individuals. However, there is evidence that braille instruction is often circumvented or abandoned early in CRPD nations because it is perceived as an inefficient learning medium for blind students. This perception persists despite insufficient empirical evidence and a lack of understanding of the efficiency of reading versus listening for learning in sighted individuals. We therefore investigated the efficiency of learning written versus spoken words in blind and sighted samples. Participants (23 blind, 20 sighted) studied the written definitions of 70 rare English words in successive rounds, presented in conjunction with written or spoken wordforms. Blind participants learned with equal efficiency across modalities, whereas sighted participants learned spoken words more efficiently. The findings indicate the inefficiency argument against teaching braille is groundless, both because braille word learning is not less efficient than auditory word learning for blind individuals, and because reading is valued in the education of sighted individuals despite its apparent inefficiency in that population.     

Hope and the Academic Trajectory of College Students

Previous longitudinal studies of student hope have established a connection between how people think about the future and their college achievement. This study examined the role of hope in predicting the achievement and retention of college students while controlling for educational history and two other psychological constructs, academic self-efficacy and engagement. Hope, self-efficacy, engagement were all correlated with both the number of semesters enrolled and cumulative grade point averages (GPAs) for the first 4 years of college. Hope was the only factor that had unique effects when examining predictors simultaneously and controlling for academic history. Hope uniquely predicted the number of enrolled semesters, whether students returned for the 2nd semester of college, whether students graduated in 4 years, and students’ GPAs across 4 years of college. Results therefore indicate that hope was the most robust predictor of academic achievement in college after controlling for educational history. These findings point to a need to help students develop the capacity to initiate and sustain movement toward goals in the pursuit of higher academic achievement.