Secondary migration and relocation among African refugee families in the United States

The purpose of this study was to understand the secondary migration and relocation of African refugees resettled in the United States. Secondary migration refers to moves out of state, while relocation refers to moves within state. Of 73 recently resettled refugee families from Burundi and Liberia followed for 1 year through ethnographic interviews and observations, 13 instances of secondary migration and 9 instances of relocation were identified. A family ecodevelopmental framework was applied to address: Who moved again, why, and with what consequences? How did moving again impact family risk and protective factors? How might policies, researchers, and practitioners better manage refugees moving again? Findings indicated that families undertook secondary migration principally for employment, affordable housing, family reunification, and to feel more at home. Families relocated primarily for affordable housing. Parents reported that secondary migration and relocation enhanced family stability. Youth reported disruption to both schooling and attachments with peers and community. In conclusion, secondary migration and relocation were family efforts to enhance family and community protective resources and to mitigate shortcomings in resettlement conditions. Policymakers could provide newly resettled refugees jobs, better housing and family reunification. Practitioners could devise ways to better engage and support those families who consider moving.     

Changes over time from baseline poor self-rated health: for whom does poor self-rated health not predict mortality?

The aim of this study was to understand for whom and why poor self-rated health (SRH) is a less valid predictor of longevity or future health by examining the predictors of decline in health among people with poor baseline SRH. The sample included 409 participants in the Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Study of the old-old (75+) in Israel, who were self-respondents and rated their health as poor at baseline and their status was known at follow-up 3.5 years later: deceased/moved to proxy interview/remained in poor SRH/or improved SRH. Baseline measures included self-reported medical status, physical, cognitive, psychological and social functioning. Findings showed that less decline in health was predicted by less difficulty in physical and cognitive functioning at baseline and by a more active physical and social life, after controlling for socio-demographics. Most of the predictors retained a unique contribution in a multivariate model, suggesting that engagement in meaningful activities serves as an indicator of better health and longer survival even within a group of old-old people in poor health. It may reflect greater social support, contribute to fitness and/or provide a sense of mastery, which could explain similar findings regarding gender and race/ethnicity groups for whom SRH is a less potent predictor of mortality.     

Social rank, interpersonal trust and recall of parental rearing in relation to homesickness

This study set out to explore the relationship between recall of parental rearing, social rank, interpersonal trust and homesickness. Eighty-nine first year undergraduates (59 women and 30 men) living away from home and attending the University of Derby completed a set of questionnaires in their sixth week in the first semester at university. Results indicate that recall of supportive parenting is associated with lower homesickness, favourable social rank and greater interpersonal trust. Conversely, recall of parental rejection correlated with great homesickness, feeling inferior to others, and lower interpersonal trust. Two separate multiple regression analyses revealed that both the parental rearing variables, and the social rank and interpersonal trust variables, produced significant models in the prediction of homesickness scores. Mediation analysis suggests that whilst recalling one’s parents as rejecting is directly associated with increased homesickness, it may also generate feelings of inferiority that may lead to distress when moving into new environments.     

Applicability increases the effect of misattribution on judgment

Feelings and cognitions influence judgment through attribution. For instance, the attribution of positive feelings and cognitions to a stimulus leads to a positive judgment of that stimulus. We examined whether misattribution is moderated by the applicability of a distractor to the judgment question. For instance, when are people more likely to attribute to a target person the affective and cognitive experiences triggered by a kitten – when trying to judge the person’s cuteness or trustworthiness? The kitten triggers experiences specifically relevant to cuteness, but people might more easily suspect the kitten’s potential influence when judging cuteness rather than trustworthiness. Using the Affect Misattribution Procedure, we found that applicability increases the effect of misattribution on valenced judgments. The results emphasise the importance of specific information (rather than only general valence) in attribution and suggest that high applicability of distractors to the judgment question does not elicit effective correction.     

Recent research on children’s testimony about experienced and witnessed events

Research on memory development has increasingly moved out of the laboratory and into the real world. Whereas early researchers asked whether confusion and susceptibility to suggestion made children unreliable witnesses, furthermore, contemporary researchers are addressing a much broader range of questions about children’s memory, focusing not only on children’s frailties but also on their competencies. In this review, we emphasize work on factors that promote the retrieval and accurate recounting of experienced or witnessed events and the implications of these findings for forensic interview practices. Research shows that children are capable of providing accurate information about their experiences, although their ability to convey the information is affected not only by the qualities of their memories, but also by the types of retrieval mechanisms employed and the quality of the communication between them and their interlocutors. We thus discuss several characteristics of to-be-remembered events that affect memory and are relevant to children’s recall in applied settings; retrieval conditions and their effects on the amount and accuracy of the information that children report; and research on investigative interviews conducted in forensic contexts. Because many of the variables that influence memory are age-related, developmental changes in children’s ability to accurately report, and recount their experiences are highlighted.     

Attachment Style and Family Functioning as Discriminating Factors in Eating Disorders

This study sought to examine the extent to which family environment and attachment styles are concurrently related to eating disorders. The Adult Attachment Scale and the Family Environment Scale were administered to 25 anorexic and 33 bulimic female patients at intake in an eating disorder clinic, and 37 age-matched female controls. Eating disorder patients were found to be less secure, more avoidant, and more anxious than controls. The families of eating disorder patients were found to be less cohesive, expressive, and encouraging of personal growth than were controls. Low encouragement of personal growth and uncertain attachment styles may be manifestations of family difficulties in supporting the child during the process of separation individuation, and exploration of the outside world.     

“Anticipating” Gibson’s <Emphasis Type="Italic">The Passion of the Christ</Emphasis>: The controversy over Cecil B. De Mille’s <Emphasis Type="Italic">The King of Kings</Emphasis>

Cecil. B. De. Milles epic production The King of Kings (1927), though not the first to recreate a Passion Play, raised first a quiet and then a more public Jewish outcry, which lead to rancor and, eventually, changes, if minor, in the film. The Anti-Defamation League also reached an agreement with the Motion Picture Producers Association allowing it to preview potentially problematic films. Jews were especially outraged at De Milles pernicious portrayal of Caiaphas, but saw the film in its entirety as arousing anti-Semitism. De Mille himself felt misunderstood. By contrast, Mel Gibsons, The Passion of the Christ (2004), which uses cinema realite to create a sense of horror, evoked an immediate public uproar, although with no concessions on Gibsons part. Following the story of reactions to The King of Kings compared to reactions to The Passion of the Christ provides important perspective on the evolving Jewish self image in the United States between 1927 and today.     

Sequential Down Syndrome Screening: The Importance of First and Second Trimester Test Correlations when Calculating Risk

Down syndrome screening can be particularly effective when both first and second trimester tests are performed. However, the counseling of women who have received sequential first and second trimester screening can be problematic. We evaluated an approximation where the post-test risk from the first trimester screening is used as the new a priori risk for the second trimester screening. The approximation disregards between-trimester test correlations. The Down syndrome detection rate based on the approximation (90.2%) would be close to that obtained when all correlations were considered (90.8%) but the false positive rate would be 26% higher (3.9% versus 3.1%, respectively). For any particular woman, the use of the approximation could result in highly inaccurate risks. We conclude that the correlations that exist between first and second trimester screening tests preclude the use of second trimester risks derived from the direct product of separate first and second trimester screening. Counseling issues in the delivery of sequential screening are discussed.