How Culture Impacts the Dissemination and Implementation of Innovation: A Case Study of the Families and Schools Together Program (FAST) for Preventing Violence with Immigrant Latino Youth

We consider how culture impacts the translation of research into practice, focusing on the culture of the client and the culture of the agency implementing selected programs. We build on lessons learned from a pilot study of an evidence-based family-school partnership, Families and Schools Together (FAST), to prevent youth violence with low-income, immigrant Latino families in Southern California. We examine the impact of cultural characteristics on the translation of this innovation into practice at the community level, relying on an interactive systems framework developed recently by Wandersman and colleagues (2008, American Journal of Community Psychology, 41(3–4), in press) discussed in this issue. As we point out, the culture of the client and the culture of the agency can facilitate or impede connections within and across these interactive systems.     

Assessing readiness for change in adolescents with eating disorders

The Readiness and Motivation Interview (RMI) is a semistructured interview measure of readiness and motivation to change that can be used for all eating disorder diagnoses. The RMI has demonstrated excellent psychometric properties and has both clinical and predictive utility in adult samples. This study examined the psychometric properties of the RMI in a younger population, namely, 12- to 18-year-old girls with eating disorders. Study participants (N = 65) completed the RMI and measures of convergent, discriminant, and criterion validity. Adolescents with eating disorders were able to conceptualize and articulate their readiness for change and to report the extent to which change efforts were for themselves versus for others. RMI readiness profiles across eating disorder symptom domains in adolescents were comparable to those in adults, with higher reported readiness to change binge eating than to change dietary restriction or compensatory strategies. Differences in internal consistency between adult and adolescent samples are discussed. Interviewing adolescents early in treatment about readiness may assist clinicians in forming an alliance with this difficult-to-engage population, while also providing valuable information for treatment planning.     

Depression and Anxiety in Roman Catholic Secular Clergy

A nationally selected random sample of Roman Catholic secular priests was investigated using the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Form Y. Additionally, a Self-Report Inventory requested information regarding participants' demographics as well as four categories of predictor variables (i.e., Vocational Satisfaction, Social Support, Spiritual Activities, Physical Environment) potentially associated with depression and anxiety. The study yielded a return rate of 64%. Secular clergy reported significantly greater depression and anxiety (both state and trait) than are reported in the general population. Low Vocational Satisfaction was found to be predictive of depression as well as both state and trait anxiety. Additionally, low Social Support was found to be predictive of state and trait anxiety. When the significant predictor variables were conceptually collapsed, it appeared that both people and place were significantly related to Roman Catholic secular priests' experience of depression and anxiety.     

Long-term ability to interpret facial expression after traumatic brain injury and its relation to social integration

There is considerable evidence that individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) experience problems interpreting the emotional state of others. However, the functional implications of these changes have not been fully investigated. A study of 13 individuals with severe TBI and an equal number of matched controls found that TBI participants had significantly more difficulty interpreting facial expression and matching emotions to social situations. A significant relationship was also established between social integration and ability to interpret facial expression for TBI participants. These results support the inclusion of therapy targeting this area within rehabilitation programs for individuals with TBI.     

Single prolonged stress disrupts retention of extinguished fear in rats

Clinical research has linked post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with deficits in fear extinction. However, it is not clear whether these deficits result from stress-related changes in the acquisition or retention of extinction or in the regulation of extinction memories by context, for example. In this study, we used the single prolonged stress (SPS) animal model of PTSD and fear conditioning procedures to examine the effects of prior traumatic stress on the acquisition, retention, and context-specificity of extinction. SPS administered one week prior to fear conditioning had no effect on the acquisition of fear conditioning or extinction but disrupted the retention of extinction memories for both contextual and cued fear. This SPS effect required a post-stress incubation period to manifest. The results demonstrate that SPS disrupts extinction retention, leading to enhanced fear renewal; further research is needed to identify the neurobiological processes through which SPS induces these effects.