The relationships between religiosity,stress, and mental health for Muslim immigrant youth

Acculturation, or the process of change that takes place as a result of intercultural contact, can cause a range of stressors. The task of managing this acculturative stress is particularly difficult for Muslim immigrants in Western contexts due to the global rise of Islamophobia. Research investigating the experiences of young migrant Muslims has found inconsistent results regarding the moderating influences of religious identity and religious practices on the relationship between stress and mental health. The current study examined whether levels of religiosity interacted with distinct forms of acculturative stress in the prediction of depression and well-being for Muslim youth in New Zealand. Results painted a complex picture of the relationships between religiosity and mental health, finding that greater religiosity is generally positive for youth outcomes, but it also carries the risk lowering levels of mental health through its interactions with acculturative stress.     

Psychological Trauma,Christ’s Passion,and the African American Faith Tradition

This article argues that Christ’s passion/crucifixion functioned within the African American psyche as a religious narrative and symbol that uniquely addressed the severe trauma they underwent during the Middle Passage and slavery by enabling them to experience the presence of God in the depths of extreme suffering. Christ’s passion/crucifixion mirrored their experience of racial oppression and, thereby, provided a critique of the system and actors that perpetuated it. The Spiritual “Were You There?” is interpreted in this light. This correspondence between the African American’s historical experience and the narrative symbol of Christ’s passion/crucifixion helps explain their conversion to Christianity.     

Implementation of a Culture-Specific Intervention for a Native American Community

Psychiatric services provided to Native Americans should be culturally relevant and integrated with the values and beliefs of the culture since Native Americans use Western health care as a last resort. Reduced utilization of services may be the result of cultural beliefs that sickness or illness comes from disharmony with oneself, one's community, and nature. Treatment entails resolving the disharmony and restoring a state of balance and integration. Western psychiatric services have not usually provided active psychiatric treatment, while simultaneously encouraging participation in native ceremonies and traditions of healing. For 3 years, the Wyoming State Hospital has offered Sweat Lodge ceremonies administered by the Wind River Reservation as part of a pattern of working together to improve the care of Native Americans admitted to the facility. Results indicate increased utilization of hospital services as well as increased patient and tribal satisfaction, improved health care outcomes, and reduced length of stay. This report argues that culturally specific and sensitive treatment interventions provide a concrete and specific benefit to the population which is targeted.     

Neighborhood Poverty, Social Capital, and the Cognitive Development of African American Preschoolers

In this investigation, we examine the impact of the ecological context of the residential neighborhood on the cognitive development of children by considering social processes not only at the family-level but also at the neighborhood-level. In a socioeconomically diverse sample of 200 African American children living in 39 neighborhoods in Baltimore, we found that neighborhood poverty was associated with poorer problem-solving skills over and above the influence of family economic resources and level of positive parent involvement. Sampson has theorized that neighborhood poverty affects child well-being by altering levels of neighborhood social capital as well as family social capital. Although we found that indicators of neighborhood and family social capital were associated with cognitive skills, these factors did not explain the association between neighborhood poverty and problem-solving ability. Implications for future research in the area of neighborhoods and child development are discussed.     

On the Edge of Diversity: Bringing African Americans and Latinos Together in a Neighborhood Group

This article describes challenges we encountered when organizing a group of African Americans and Latinos in a community where ethnic tensions had been normative. We relate how the first author, a Caucasian with a university affiliation, entered this diverse community and employed ethnographic methods in an attempt to understand it. The ethnography provides a context for the principal challenge we encountered: ensuring that the group had ethnic balance. Focusing on the group's first meeting, we describe the uncertainty of whether our work would be helpful or harmful to the community. We conclude with reflections on the gaps between science and practice in diverse communities; the utility and limits of ethnography; the multiple ecological levels of influence on the community; dilemmas around a White male taking proactive stances while trying to empower a group consisting mostly of women of color; and the influence of values we brought to the community.     

Exploring the Complexities of Familism and Acculturation: Central Constructs for People of Mexican Origin

We examined the relationships between three dimensions of familism: importance of family, family support, and family conflict with acculturation, assessed orthogonally (Mexican and American cultural contributions assessed independently), and the relative contribution these factors make to psychological adjustment among 248 (124 women, 124 men) adults of Mexican origin. After controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, positive associations were found between importance of family and the biculturalism of Mexican and American cultural identity; family support and Mexican cultural identity; but no associations between family conflict and level of acculturation. Psychological well-being was positively associated with Mexican cultural identity and family support, whereas psychological distress was associated with greater family conflict and lower family support. The greater relative contribution of Mexican cultural identity to familism and well-being, and the importance of assessing acculturation orthogonally are discussed. This research was supported in part by a Minority Supplement to National Institute of Mental Health Grant MH47193 to the Research Center on the Psychobiology of Ethnicity, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and by a research award from Pitzer College to Norma Rodriguez.     

Qualitative Study of Suicidality and Help-Seeking Behaviors in African American Adolescents

This qualitative study explores adolescents’ perceptions of help-seeking behaviors in the context of a hypothetical suicide crisis. Cauce and colleague’s (2002, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 70, 44–55) model was used to examine help-seeking behaviors in 3 domains: problem recognition, decision to seek help, and selection of helpers. Forty-two church-going African American adolescents participated in 1 of 6 focus groups that discussed ways to help a hypothetically suicidal student in a vignette. Findings suggest that although the majority of youth had been exposed to a suicidal peer (76%), they were unsure of the seriousness of suicide as a problem in the African American community. The findings suggest that youth were less comfortable with formal interventions in school, religious institutions or traditional mental health settings. However, youth were open to community-based programs that could be located in school, church or community settings if helpers were: young adults, empathic listeners, non-judgmental, maintained confidentiality, and viewed as “natural helpers”. Implications for developing church-based suicide interventions are discussed. This study was supported by a K-01 Career Development Award from NIMH     

Islamophobia and the therapeutic dialogue: Some reflections

In the atmosphere of fear and controversy that surrounds Muslims at this moment in time it is hardly surprising that they feel unable to voice their fears and concerns openly. Added to this is the fact that Muslims already underutilize mental health services (Patel et al., 2000 Patel, N, Bennett, E, Dennis, M, Dosanjh, N, Matitani, A, Miller, A and Nadirshaw, Z. 2000. Clinical Psychology: ‘Race’ and ‘Culture’: A training manual, Leicester: The British Psychological Society.  [Google Scholar]). In the counselling arena four distinct aspects of the counselling relationship are affected. First, the therapeutic alliance, second, the socio-political context in which counselling occurs, third, the awareness of personal characteristics and competencies that facilitate multicultural counselling and, finally, the training requirements of multicultural counsellors. This paper seeks to consider each of these aspects of the therapeutic encounter with regard to Muslim clients.     

Active and Avoidant Coping and Coping Efficacy as Mediators of the Relation of Maternal Involvement to Depressive Symptoms among Urban Adolescents

Our study tested an extension of the social resource model in an urban sample of 129 African American and 114 European American adolescents. Maternal involvement was positively related to the use of active and avoidant coping strategies among youth of both ethnicities. Additionally, use of active coping strategies was related to greater coping efficacy, which, in turn, was associated with less depressive symptomatology. For African Americans, avoidant coping was related to greater coping efficacy, which, in turn, was associated with less depressive symptoms. For European Americans, avoidant coping was not significantly related to coping efficacy. Our findings underscore the importance of examining developmental models across ethnic/racial groups and suggest that adolescent mental health programs may benefit from culturally sensitive attention to coping beliefs and practices.