Shades of American Identity: Implicit Relations between Ethnic and National Identities

The issue of ethnic diversity and national identity in an immigrant nation such as the USA is a recurrent topic of debate. We review and integrate research examining the extent to which the American identity is implicitly granted or denied to members of different ethnic groups. Consistently, European Americans are implicitly conceived of as being more American than African, Asian, Latino, and even Native Americans. This implicit American = White effect emerges when explicit knowledge or perceptions point in the opposite direction. The propensity to deny the American identity to members of ethnic minorities is particularly pronounced when targets (individuals or groups) are construed through the lenses of ethnic identities. Implicit ethnic–national associations fluctuate as a function of perceivers' ethnic identity and political orientation, but also contextual or situational factors. The tendency to equate being American with being White accounts for the strength of national identification (among European Americans) and behavioral responses including hiring recommendations and voting intentions. The robust propensity to deny the American identity to ethnic minority groups reflects an exclusionary national identity.     

El,Baal, and Allah

This article compares the appropriations of the divine names El and Baal into the Yahwistic faith in ancient Israel with the Christian use of the word “Allah” in contemporary Indonesia. This study finds that, like El and Baal, “Allah” can function as both an appellative and personal name in contemporary Indonesia. However, the term “Allah” in Indonesia is at a crossroads to develop either to be more generic, like El, or to be more personal, like Baal. Learning from the peaceful appropriation of El as a generic name and the polemical appropriation of Baal as a personal name in ancient Israel, Indonesian Christians need to advocate the use of the name Allah as an appellative because it may prevent unnecessary conflicts in the Christian–Muslim relationship in Indonesia. Furthermore, the use of the common word “Allah” in Indonesia to refer to the supreme being is crucial for promoting interreligious dialogue between Islam and Christianity.     

Multi-Informant Assessment of High-Achieving Students’ Behavioral and Emotional Strengths

Journal of Child and Family Studies - Multi-informants, such as parents and teachers, are commonly considered as resources when evaluating students’ emotional and behavioral skills. This...     

Prediction of Suicide Intent in Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal Adolescent Inpatients: A Research Note

The relationship among depressive symptoms, anxiety, hopelessness, and suicidal intent was explored in a group of 77 adolescents who had been hospitalized after attempting suicide. Regression analyses indicated that hopelessness was the only significant predictor of suicide intent in Caucasian patients, and depressed mood was the only significant predictor in the Aboriginal group. Clinicians should be aware that measures of hopelessness may be of limited value in assessing suicidal risk in Aboriginal adolescents.     

Medical Confidentiality Ethics: The Genesis of an Islamic Juristic Perspective

Journal of Religion and Health - The Sharī?ah affords considerable concern for human emotions, with its rulings seeking to remove the deliberate and accidental types of harm that may be...     

Family Functioning and Attachment Among Young Adults in Western and Non-Western Societies

Abstract

Family functioning (FF) is associated with patterns of adults’ close relationship attachment, which works differently in western and non-western societies. In this study, the relationship between FF and attachment (A), as well as the difference in relationship between FF and A across western and non-western societies were examined. A total of 600 young adults (294 males, 306 females) were recruited from western and non-western societies through the SurveyCircle and social media and communication applications. The data was analyzed using PLS-SEM and multigroup analysis, and the results showed that in western and non-western societies, family adaptability and cohesion were significantly associated with anxiety, close, and depend attachments. Unexpectedly, higher family adaptability was associated with higher anxiety attachment. The associations among family adaptability and cohesion with anxiety, close, and depend attachments showed that the strengths of the relationships are significantly different in western and non-western societies, except for the association between family cohesion and anxiety. Based on these results, the cultural differences in terms of FF and young adults’ close relationship attachment were presented for future research, family therapy, and the society.