Internal Realism,Religious Pluralism and Ontology

Internalist pluralism is an attractive and elegant theory. However, there are two apparently powerful objections to this approach that prevent its widespread adoption. According to the first objection, the resulting analysis of religious belief systems is intrinsically atheistic; while according to the second objection, the analysis is unsatisfactory because it allows religious objects simply to be defined into existence. In this article, I demonstrate that an adherent of internalist pluralism can deflect both of these objections, and in the course of so arguing, I deploy a distinction between “conceptual-scheme targetability” and “successful conceptual-scheme targeting”.

Monotone Quantifiers Emerge via Iterated Learning

Natural languages exhibit many semantic universals, that is, properties of meaning shared across all languages. In this paper, we develop an explanation of one very prominent semantic universal, the monotonicity universal. While the existing work has shown that quantifiers satisfying the monotonicity universal are easier to learn, we provide a more complete explanation by considering the emergence of quantifiers from the perspective of cultural evolution. In particular, we show that quantifiers satisfy the monotonicity universal evolve reliably in an iterated learning paradigm with neural networks as agents.     

Integrated,Family‐based,Partial Hospital Treatment for Complex Pediatric Illness

This paper describes a unique treatment program for complex pediatric illness. The Hasbro Children's Partial Hospital Program uses a family systems orientation, integrated care, and a partial hospital setting to treat children with a wide range of pediatric illnesses that have failed outpatient and inpatient treatments. We have treated more than 2000 children with at least 80 different ICD‐9 diagnoses. The multidisciplinary treatment team functions as a meta‐family for children and their families who present with illness and family beliefs that impede successful outcomes with standard care. The three features: family systems orientation, integrated care, and partial hospital setting, hopefully interact to create an environment that helps families expand and modify their explanatory models regarding participating in effective medical care. The goal of treatment is for both children and their parents to feel empowered to take control of the illness. Parents completing standardized measures at intake describe their children and families as experiencing significant emotional distress, low levels of general family functioning, and poor quality of life. Although the children are described as having distinct behavioral differences, the families are described as responding to the experience of a seriously ill child in similar ways. A treatment program that addresses the noncategorical aspects of how families respond to illness while addressing the specific diseases of the children can allow children and their families to respond favorably to treatment.     

Transracial adoptees bridging heritage and national cultures: Parental socialisation,ethnic identity and self‐esteem

Transracial adoptees represent a specific group of immigrants who experience unique immigration processes that bring them face‐to‐face with two cultural backgrounds: that of their heritage culture on one hand and that of their national culture on the other hand. However, there is a scarcity of studies focused on the way these processes unfold within adoptive families. This study was aimed at exploring how transracial adoptees cope with the construction of their ethnic identity. Administering a self‐report questionnaire to 127 transracial adoptees and their mothers, for a total of 254 participants, we first investigated the association between mothers' cultural socialisation (enculturation and preparation for bias strategies) and adoptees' ethnic identity (i.e. ethnic identity exploration and ethnic identity affirmation dimensions). We then investigated whether ethnic identity affects self‐esteem by testing the hypothesis that national identity moderates the relationship between ethnic identity and self‐esteem. Results revealed that mothers' enculturation (but not their preparation for bias) supported adoptees' ethnic identity exploration, which in turn was positively associated with ethnic identity affirmation. Moreover, we confirmed the moderation effect: ethnic identity affirmation enhanced the level of self‐esteem, but only for those adoptees who perceived a higher degree of national identity affirmation.     

Acculturation Conflict,Cultural Parenting Self‐Efficacy,and Perceived Parenting Competence in Asian American and Latino/a Families

Parents from immigrant backgrounds must deal with normative parenting demands as well as unique challenges associated with acculturation processes. The current study examines the independent and interactive influences of acculturation conflict and cultural parenting self‐efficacy (PSE; e.g., parents’ confidence in instilling heritage, American, and bicultural values in their children) on perceptions of general parenting competence. Using data from 58 Asian American and 153 Latin American parents of children in grades 6–12, ethnic differences were also explored. Results suggest that lower acculturation conflict is associated with higher perceptions of general parenting competence for both Asian and Latin American parents. Higher cultural PSE is associated with higher perceived general parenting competence for Latino/a parents only. One significant interaction was found, and only for Asian Americans, whereby the negative association between acculturation conflict and perceptions of parenting competence was weaker for those who felt efficacious in transmitting heritage messages. Results are discussed in light of clinical implications and the need for further recognition and study of culturally relevant factors and frameworks among families from immigrant backgrounds.     

Applications of social cognitive theory to the career development of women of color

This article provides a review of the literature on the educational and career development of women of color within the context of social cognitive career theory (Lent, et al, 1994 and Lent, et al, 1996). Specifically, possible gender, ethnic, racial, and cultural influences on career self-efficacy and outcome expectations are explored to delinate the potential mechanisms whereby ethnicity, culture, and ethnic and racial identity development, in interaction with gender, affect career choice and adjustment. Suggestions for future research on social cognitive career theory and the career development of women of color are presented.     

A multidimensional, multilevel examination of mother and father involvement among culturally diverse Head Start families

In this study we examined the relationships between family demographics and level of satisfaction with school contact as possible determinants of multiple dimensions of family involvement in early childhood education. Participants included 171 urban, Head Start parents (108 mothers and 63 fathers). Results revealed that for mothers, having less than a high school education was negatively associated with levels of home-school conferencing. For fathers, primary language spoken in the home was associated with both levels of home-school conferencing and school-based involvement, with Polish- and Spanish-speaking fathers participating less compared with their English-speaking counterparts. In addition, fathers of boys reported higher levels of home-school conferencing. Involvement at school was significantly associated with level of satisfaction with school contact for both mothers and fathers. Multilevel analyses revealed parent gender and satisfaction as the most salient predictors of involvement at the level of the family. Implications for future research, as well as family involvement practice and policy, are discussed.     

Sowing Patriotism,But Reaping Nationalism? Consequences of Exposure to the American Flag

The American flag is a frequently displayed national symbol in the United States. Given its high visibility and importance, the present research examines the consequences of exposure to the flag on Americans' sense of national attachment. We hypothesized that the flag would increase patriotism, defined as love and commitment to one's country, and nationalism, defined as a sense of superiority over others. Two experimental studies supported the idea that the American flag increased nationalism, but not necessarily patriotism. The discussion focuses on the practices surrounding the American flag and its implications for the reproduction of American national identity.     

Sociocultural factors, resilience, and coping: Support for a culturally sensitive measure of resilience

This investigation presents 1) a literature review concerning how adversity and resilience influence the development of youth from diverse cultural backgrounds; 2) an examination of measures of resilience with regard to cultural factors that relate to the nature of coping and resilience among young adults from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds; and 3) the exploration of aspects of cultural resilience: childhood stressors, global coping, adaptive coping, maladaptive coping, and sociocultural support. Results for 305 college age women indicated that cultural factors were related to measures of these five aspects of resilience. Childhood stressors were experienced differentially by individuals from different racial/ethnic and social class status backgrounds, supporting proposals that ecological aspects, notably cultural background and experiences, influence the development of resilience. A conceptual framework illustrating how culture contributes to resilience and coping is presented. Implications for the development of a measure of cultural resilience and its usefulness for developmental community interventions are discussed.