Using Interpreters in Mental Health Counseling: A Literature Review and Recommendations

Limited understanding of the challenges inherent in counselor‐interpreter collaboration may potentially result in inadequate or ineffective mental health services. To provide guidelines for effective mental health assistance of clients who are English language learners, the authors review the literature regarding the partnership between counselors and interpreters. Suggestions for collaborative practices, including pre‐ and postsession directives, are included. Una comprensión limitada de los desafíos inherentes a la colaboración entre consejero e intérprete podría dar como resultado un servicio de salud mental inadecuado o ineficaz. Con el propósito de ofrecer pautas para una asistencia eficaz a la salud mental de aquellos clientes que están aprendiendo inglés, los autores revisan la literatura sobre la asociación entre consejeros e intér‐pretes. Se incluyen sugerencias para prácticas de colaboración, incluyendo directivas para antes y después de las sesiones.     

Socialization tactics and newcomer adjustment: A meta-analytic review and test of a model

One of the most popular and often studied topics in the organizational socialization literature is Van Maanen and Schein’s [Van Maanen, J., & Schein, E. H. (1979). Toward a theory of organizational socialization. In B. M. Staw (Ed.), Research in organizational behavior (Vol. 1), pp. 209-264. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.] theory of organizational socialization tactics. Over 30 studies on socialization tactics have been conducted in the past 20 years. In this meta-analysis, we examine the relationships between six socialization tactics and various indicators of newcomer adjustment as well as the moderating effects of study design (cross-sectional vs. longitudinal), measurement scale (use of complete vs. modified tactics scale), and type of newcomer (recent graduates vs. other newcomers). Our results indicate that institutionalized socialization tactics were negatively related to role ambiguity, role conflict, and intentions to quit, and positively related to fit perceptions, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, job performance, and a custodial role orientation. We also found that the social tactics (serial and investiture) were the strongest predictors of adjustment outcomes. The results also indicated that the relationships between the tactics and outcomes were stronger for recent graduates compared to other newcomers; cross-sectional designs compared to longitudinal designs; and when Jones’ [Jones, G. R. (1986). Socialization tactics, self-efficacy, and newcomers’ adjustments to organizations. Academy of Management Journal, 29, 262-279.] complete scales were used compared to modified versions. Support was also found for a mediation model of newcomer adjustment in which role conflict, role ambiguity, and fit perceptions partially mediate some of the relationships between the socialization tactics and distal outcomes of adjustment. The implications of these results for research and practice are discussed.     

Experiences of a Course on the Culture of Whiteness in Counselor Education

This study examined counseling students' experiences of a group course on the culture of Whiteness. The students reported changes in their White racial identities that included a new awareness of personal race, racial privileges, and a commitment to antiracism. Course tenets cited by students as promoting learning are included. Este estudio examinó las experiencias de un grupo de estudiantes de consejería de un curso sobre la cultura de la Blancura. Los estudiantes informaron de un cambio en su identidad racial Blanca que incluía una renovada conciencia personal sobre la raza, los privilegios raciales y un compromiso con el antirracismo. Se incluyen los principios del curso que los estudiantes citaron como promotores del aprendizaje.     

Task‐Related Factors that Influence the Spontaneous Use of Diagrams in Math Word Problems

Diagrams are effective tools for problem solving. However, previous findings indicate that students generally do not use diagrams spontaneously. This study examined task‐related factors that may influence the spontaneity of diagram use. Experiment 1 compared two possible explanations: the first, that the length‐relatedness of the story context of the problem (i.e. whether it involves the measurement of length) determines the likelihood of diagram use; and the second, that the cognitive cost of transforming the situation described in the word problem to an abstract diagrammatic representation is the more important factor. Four math word problems, differing in their story context and structure, were administered to eighth‐grade Japanese students (n = 125) to solve. The results provide support for the cognitive transformation cost explanation. The results of experiment 2, in which the problems were administered to students in both Japan (n = 291) and New Zealand (n = 323), confirm this finding. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Intolerance of Uncertainty and Health-Related Anxiety in Youth amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: Understanding and Weathering the Continuing Storm

The COVID-19 pandemic is a public health crisis that continues to impact individuals worldwide. While children may be less susceptible to severe medical complications, they are nonetheless vulnerable to stress and anxiety associated with the pandemic. However, current understanding of psychological functioning and potential strategies to mitigate distress amid a pandemic is naturally limited. Consequently, this article is an attempt to fill that gap. Existing literature on pandemics, health-related anxieties, intolerance of uncertainty, and psychopathological sequelae is summarized within the context of the COVID-19 outbreak. Conclusions from the empirical data and emerging theoretical models are reviewed and synthesized. Finally, several potentially engaging and effective examples of developmentally appropriate interventions targeting intolerance of uncertainty and health-related anxieties in pediatric patients during the peri- and post-pandemic periods are described.

     

Reinstating higher order properties of a study list by retrieving a list item

In two experiments, we looked at the role of higher order list properties in episodic recall. A probabilistic paired-associate paradigm was used in which each cue was repeatedly paired with two different targets. This paradigm permitted us to cue for a target that had been studied with that cue in the last list, or to cue for either of the two targets that had been repeatedly paired with that cue, although neither the cue nor either of its two targets had been studied in the last list. In Experiment 1, the higher order property was whether all of the targets in a given list were animal names or vegetable names. In Experiment 2, the higher order property was whether all of the pairs in a list were associatively related or unrelated. The assumption was that if participants were using these higher order properties when they retrieved a target that had been studied in the last list, they would also use these properties when recalling in response to a cue that had been studied in other lists but not in the most recent list. The results supported the use of both kinds of higher order properties in episodic access. They also showed that these higher order properties were reinstated by retrieving a target, and were then used in the next memory access operation. The questions of why the retrieval of a target would reinstate a higher order list property and how these very different higher order list properties aid in episodic access were also discussed.     

Interoceptive sensitivity predicts sensitivity to the emotions of others

Some theories of emotion emphasise a close relationship between interoception and subjective experiences of emotion. In this study, we used facial expressions to examine whether interoceptive sensibility modulated emotional experience in a social context. Interoceptive sensibility was measured using the heartbeat detection task. To estimate individual emotional sensitivity, we made morphed photos that ranged between a neutral and an emotional facial expression (i.e., anger, sadness, disgust and happy). Recognition rates of particular emotions from these photos were calculated and considered as emotional sensitivity thresholds. Our results indicate that participants with accurate interoceptive awareness are sensitive to the emotions of others, especially for expressions of sadness and happy. We also found that false responses to sad faces were closely related with an individual's degree of social anxiety. These results suggest that interoceptive awareness modulates the intensity of the subjective experience of emotion and affects individual traits related to emotion processing.