Integrating Immigrants into the Life of Canadian Urban Christian Congregations: Findings from a National Survey

In just one generation the cultural face of Canadian society has been transformed. The relative level of immigration has increased rapidly as has diversity among those immigrants. This article reports on the findings of a national survey that offers a baseline of how and to what extent local Canadian Christian congregations are responding to this cultural diversity. In particular, it explores how churches are integrating immigrants within the life of their local congregations. This article uses a systems change perspective to frame immigrant integration. This perspective emphasizes three requirements for change: vision, structure and processes that promote immigrant integration. Data was collected using an online survey of urban congregations in the nine urban Canadian communities having an immigrant population above the national average (20% foreign-born). Using these data this article explores the full range of immigrant integration efforts from the initial welcome to inclusion into congregational life. It describes the present status of immigrant integration, details reported successes and challenges and notes respondent suggestions for better integration. Results of this survey provide first-time baseline insights into how a range of urban Christian congregations from across Canada are presently responding to the Canadian immigrant reality.     

22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome: Attitudes towards Disclosing the Risk of Psychiatric Illness

22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome (22q11.2DS) is a common microdeletion syndrome with multisystem features. There is a strong association with psychiatric disorders. One in every four to five patients develop schizophrenia. Despite studies showing that early diagnosis and treatment are likely to lead to improved outcome, genetic counselors may be reluctant to discuss the risk of psychiatric illness. The aim of this research was to explore parental attitudes and genetic counselors’ perspectives and practice regarding disclosure of the clinical manifestations of 22q11.2DS, particularly the risk of psychiatric illness. We delivered a questionnaire to genetic counselors via established list-serves, 54 of which were completed. We also conducted interviews with four parents of adults with 22q11.2DS and schizophrenia. The majority of counselors and parents felt that the increased risk to develop a psychiatric illness is important to disclose. However, in the initial counseling session when the diagnosis was made in infancy genetic counselors were significantly less likely to discuss the risk of psychiatric disorders compared to other later onset features such as hypothyroidism (41?% vs. 83?%, p?=?0.001). When the diagnosis of 22q11.2DS was made in infancy, counselors’ responses in regard to timing of disclosure about psychiatric illnesses were fairly evenly divided between infancy, childhood and adolescence. In contrast, for other major features of 22q11.2DS, disclosure would predominantly be in infancy. The respondents reported that the discussion of psychiatric issues with parents was challenging due to the stigma associated with mental illness. Some also noted limited knowledge about psychiatric illness and treatment. These results suggest that genetic counselors could benefit from further education regarding psychiatric illness in 22q11.2DS and best strategies for discussing this important subject with parents and patients.     

The use of self-talk during elite cricket batting performance

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to qualitatively investigate the use of self-talk during cricket batting performance through an innovative approach that allowed for within performance responses to be examined.Design and methodFive elite cricketers were interviewed alongside edited video footage of their batting innings. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to gather in-depth information and explanations about the participants' use of self-talk during each critical incident.Results and conclusionsThe findings of this study highlighted the use of instructional and motivational self-talk as a fluctuating continual narrative that enhanced skill execution, self-efficacy and focus of attention, whilst reducing performance anxiety. In particular, the athletes described the effectiveness of self-determined self-talk on their performance. Specifically, they advocated self-talk that narrowed their attentional focus and redirected their thoughts to performance-related cues during periods of declining performance.     

Probable PTSD and Impairment in Witnesses of Work-Related Fatalities

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, steel, oil, and mining are among the nation's most dangerous industries. This study assessed probable posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depressive symptoms, life functioning, and well-being in a unique sample of 89 members of the United Steelworkers who reported directly witnessing an occupational fatality. Of the sample, 25.8% reported symptoms consistent with probable PTSD, while 21.3% reported symptoms consistent with subthreshold PTSD. These two groups differed significantly from the non-PTSD group on measures of depressive symptoms, well-being, and life functioning. These findings highlight the further need for assessment and intervention for workers exposed to fatalities.     

Using Brief Academic Assessments to Determine Generalization Strategies

This study examined the utility of brief academic assessments to identify effective generalization procedures for individual students. Specifically, the study built on the proposal that brief assessments of antecedent and consequence manipulations can identify the most effective generalization strategy for individual students. The design was an alternating treatments design nested within a multiple baseline across six students. Students learned how to solve a set of multiplication facts using a common strategy while spontaneous generalization to other sets of facts was measured. Next, researchers determined whether an antecedent- or consequent-based generalization strategy would be more effective for increasing generalization across multiplication skills and conducted an extended analysis with an alternating treatment phase to confirm results of the brief assessment. Results indicated that the assessment correctly identified the most effective generalization strategy for five of the six students.     

Describing Spiritual Growth in an Online Religious Education Course

This research examined the phenomenon of spiritual growth in students taking an online religious education course at Brigham Young University–Idaho. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 students who reported positive gains in spirituality as a result of the course. Students described their experience in the online course and the factors that contributed to their success.

Results suggest participants took a great deal of ownership in their own spiritual growth. Although it seems likely participants were already highly self-directed, aspects of the online experience appeared to encourage self-direction. The course design was flexible enough for research participants to explore ideas on their own while also being structured enough to provide a guided experience. Online instructors acted as guides and facilitators, playing a less prominent role than face-to-face instructors. Frequent engagement in and reflection through writing appeared to be important for students’ spiritual growth, whereas online interactions with other students seemed to have minimal impact. However, some responses suggested online interaction with peers was an area with potential for greater influence.     

Parent–Child Informant Discrepancy is Associated with Poorer Treatment Outcome

In child clinical psychology, parent and child reports are typically used to make treatment decisions and determine the effectiveness of treatment. However, there are often moderate to large discrepancies between parent and child reports, and these discrepancies may reflect meaningful information about the parent, the child, and the parent–child relationship. Additionally, parent–child discrepancy may predict treatment outcome. This study examined parent–child discrepancy in a sample of 62 children (10.15±1.26 years old) with prominent social competence deficits and mixed diagnoses who were treated with a resilience-based, cognitive–behavioral group therapy program (the Resilience Builder Program) in a private clinical setting. Further analyses were conducted to investigate whether parent–child discrepancy related to treatment outcome. Consistent with the literature, prominent parent–child discrepancy was found across domains, with parents generally reporting more severe symptomatology. Treatment with the Resilience Builder Program resulted in significant improvement in parent report of multiple domains of functioning, including resilience, social skills, and emotion and behavior regulation. Importantly, larger parent–child discrepancy at the start of therapy was predictive of poorer overall treatment response. Given its impact on therapeutic effectiveness, these results suggest that parent–child disagreement regarding the child’s impairment at the onset of therapy is worthy of assessment prior to treatment, and may itself be a topic worthy of targeting in treatment.     

Trauma‐Informed Care for Individuals with Serious Mental Illness: An Avenue for Community Psychology's Involvement in Community Mental Health

Individuals with serious mental illness are at particularly high risk for trauma; however, service environments with which they interact may not always be trauma‐informed. While community mental health and other human services settings are moving toward trauma‐informed care (TIC) service delivery, a variety of TIC frameworks exist without consensus regarding operationalization, thereby leading to challenges in implementation. TIC is principle‐driven and presents substantial overlap with community psychology values and competencies, including ecological frameworks, second‐order change, empowerment, and citizen participation. One way to address barriers to TIC implementation is to draw on the strengths of the field of community psychology. With a particular emphasis on the applicability of TIC to individuals with serious mental illness, this paper identifies key implementation issues and recommends future directions for community psychologists in clarifying the service framework, its adaptation to specific service contexts, and improving delivery through consultation and evaluation. Community psychologists may work with various disciplines involved in the TIC field to together promote a more conscious, actionable shift in service delivery.     

Stranger at the gate: the effect of the plaintiff's use of an interpreter on juror decision-making

There exists a substantial literature examining the effect on juror decision-making of extraneous demographic characteristics of plaintiffs and defendants. In most of these studies, members of groups that are perceived as being minorities or as belonging to one of a variety of outgroups (lower socioeconomic status, immigrants) are treated more harshly by jurors, or are perceived as being less deserving or credible. In this study, the authors examine treatment by jurors of a relatively less well investigated outgroup: that of the non-English speaker. An experiment was conducted in which actual jurors in a large urban county were randomly assigned to view a videotape of a civil case. Three versions of the videotapes were identical except that, on one, the plaintiff required an interpreter to communicate and it is approximately three minutes longer than the other two. On the other two versions, the plaintiff spoke English, but differed in ethnicity (Hispanic or Anglo). The findings showed that the non-English-speaking plaintiff did not fare worse than the English speakers, and, in fact, was awarded higher mean damages than either of the English speakers.