How positive and negative contact experiences relate to identification and acculturation of persons with a migration background: Differentiating between majority,minority, and religious group identity

Badea, Jetten, Iyer, and Er-Rafiy proposed a model that specifies immigrants’ experienced rejection by majority and minority groups and social identification with these groups as predictors of their acculturation attitudes. The present research tested an extended version of this model by assessing (i) both positive and negative contact experiences with majority and minority groups, (ii) social identification with these groups and religious groups, and (iii) acculturation attitudes. We surveyed individuals with Greek (N = 186) and Turkish (N = 138) migration background living in Germany. The proposed model yielded a good fit with the empirical data and showed that positive and negative contact with majority and minority groups predicted minority members’ acculturation attitudes, mediated via identification with the majority, minority, and religious group. Our findings support the extended model and contribute to a broader understanding of contact–identification–acculturation links in the context of migration.     

Intuitive Political Theory: People's Judgments About How Groups Should Decide

Societies must make collective decisions even when citizens disagree, and they use many different political processes to do so. But how do people choose one way to make a group decision over another? We propose that the human mind contains an intuitive political theory about how to make collective decisions, analogous to people's intuitive theories about language, physics, number, minds, and morality. We outline a simple method for studying people's intuitive political theory using scenarios about group decisions, and we begin to apply this approach in three experiments. Participants read scenarios in which individuals in a group have conflicting information (Experiment 1), conflicting interests (Experiment 2), and conflicting interests between a majority and a vulnerable minority who have more at stake (Experiment 3). Participants judged whether the group should decide by voting, consensus, leadership, or chance. Overall, we find that participants prefer majority‐rule voting over consensus, leadership, and chance when a group has conflicting interests or information. However, participants' support for voting is considerably diminished when the group includes a vulnerable minority. Hence, participants showed an intuitive understanding of Madison's concerns about tyranny of the majority.     

Stress in Relation to Anxiety and Depression Among Racial/Ethnic Minority Women: The Differential Impact of Cultural Mismatch on Somatic and Cognitive Symptoms

The study examined the interactive effects of stress and cultural mismatch, as evidenced by low independent self‐construal, in relation to cognitive/somatic symptoms of anxiety and depression among racial/ethnic minority women. Results showed that stress and independent self‐construal work synergistically to differentially affect cognitive, rather than somatic, symptoms of anxiety and depression. Findings highlight the importance of investigating the interplay between stress and contextual factors to improve current treatment models for marginalized groups. El estudio examinó los efectos interactivos del estrés y la discordancia cultural, probados por un bajo autoconcepto independiente, en relación con los síntomas cognitivos/somáticos de la ansiedad y la depresión entre mujeres de minorías raciales/étnicas. Los resultados mostraron que el estrés y el autoconcepto independiente trabajan en sinergia para afectar diferencialmente a los síntomas cognitivos, no así a los somáticos, de la ansiedad y la depresión. Los hallazgos subrayan la importancia de investigar la interacción entre el estrés y los factores contextuales para mejorar los modelos de tratamiento actuales para grupos marginalizados.     

An Ethical Imperative: Effectively Reducing SGM Disparities Utilizing a Multi-Level Intervention Approach

Health disparities for sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations are well documented and manifest systemically. Mental health professionals have begun working to address these disparities, demonstrating efforts to more effectively define and increase competency in SGM health and by adapting existing evidence-based interventions to more effectively target the unique needs of the SGM community. While such efforts are necessary, they inadequately address the systemic nature of the problem, placing an unnecessary burden on SGM individuals to tolerate systemic discrimination, injustice, and inequality. The current special series attempts to address this gap by featuring papers that describe multilevel (e.g., micro, mezzo, macro) intervention approaches to reduce SGM health disparities. We argue that advocacy is inherent to the work, and we hope that this special series will empower mental health professionals to engage in multilevel, systemic interventions as an ethical imperative.     

Psychotherapy for the Spectrum of Sexual Minority Stress: Application and Technique of the ESTEEM Treatment Model

Converging evidence points to minority stress as a risk factor that predisposes sexual minority individuals to a variety of negative psychosocial health outcomes, particularly depression and anxiety, substance use, and sexual risk-taking. This paper outlines the techniques and theoretical underpinnings for implementing an emerging empirically supported psychotherapy designed to target the transdiagnostic mechanisms linking sexual minority stress with these outcomes. We outline the essential therapeutic principles, psychoeducation content, as well as session- and homework-based activities that can be adapted for a variety of presenting problems that originate from, and are exacerbated by, minority stress via transdiagnostic minority stress processes. As the development and dissemination of this therapeutic model is still within its early stages, we review the intervention’s empirical support thus far and outline potential directions for future development and dissemination via individual, clinic-based, and societal channels.     

Personal value preferences,group identifications,and cultural practices of Palestinian Israelis working in close contact with Jewish Israelis

The present study investigates the connection between personal value preferences, group identifications, and cultural practices among Palestinian Israelis working in close contact with the Jewish population in Israel. One hundred twenty-two Palestinian Israelis participated in the study. The participants were employed in different professional positions in the Tel Aviv Metropolitan area and were recruited to the study using the snowball technique. A stronger national identification was associated with a higher preference for the security and conformity values, and a lower preference for the humility values. A stronger ethnic identification was associated with a lower preference for the security, power, and stimulation values. Group identifications mediated the connection between personal value preferences and cultural practices. A longer time working in close contact with the majority group and less frequent visits home were associated with a greater adherence to the majority group’s cultural practices but not with adherence to the ethnic group’s practices and not with the group identifications.     

心理韧性对汉区少数民族预科生手机依赖的影响:有调节的中介效应

本研究提出一个有调节的中介模型,考察了社交焦虑在心理韧性与汉区少数民族预科生手机依赖间的中介作用,及该过程是否受感觉寻求的调节。采用心理韧性问卷、社交焦虑问卷、感觉寻求问卷和手机依赖问卷对622名汉区少数民族预科生进行调查。结果显示：（1）心理韧性对汉区少数民族预科生手机依赖有负向影响;（2）社交焦虑对心理韧性与汉区少数民族预科生手机依赖的关系具有部分中介效应;（3）汉区少数民族预科生感觉寻求对社交焦虑的中介作用具有调节作用,调节了中介过程的后半路径。因此,心理韧性对汉区少数民族预科生手机依赖的影响是有调节的中介效应。     

The Impact of Cumulative Minority Stress on Cognitive Behavioral Treatment With Gender Minority Individuals: Case Study and Clinical Recommendations

For sexual minority individuals (i.e., lesbian, gay, and bisexual [LGB] persons), minority stress includes experiences of discrimination, expectations of rejection, internalized negativity, and concealment of identity. Sexual minority stress has been linked to various negative mental health outcomes (e.g., depression, anxiety), and levels of psychiatric comorbidity are high among LGB people. However, little is known about the extension of minority stress models to gender minority individuals (i.e., transgender and gender nonconforming persons) and its impact on mental health in this particular group. Further, the influence of gender minority stress on the delivery and outcome of traditional cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) approaches is unclear. A case study of CBT for chronic depression with a young, transgender individual is presented. This case study highlights potential barriers that may arise with gender minority clients when implementing evidence-based clinical interventions in the context of an individual’s minority stress history. Implications for cognitive-behavioral treatments with gender minority individuals and recommendations for clinicians and researchers are discussed.     

Asian American career development: A qualitative analysis

This study used a modified version of consensual qualitative research design to examine how contextual, cultural, and personal variables influence the career choices of a diverse group of 12 Asian Americans. Seven domains of influences on career choices emerged including family, culture, external factors, career goals, role models, work values, and self-identity. Furthermore, several overarching themes were discovered that expressed elements of many of these domains. These themes highlighted the pervasive and influential role that both culture and family of origin play in the construction of meaning that these Asian American participants made from their career choices. Implications of these domains and themes and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

湘西少数民族原始宗教伦理的现代审视

湘西少数民族原始宗教作为文化原型,已化为民风民俗,进入当代民族民间文化生活。对湘西少数民族原始宗教伦理的文化特性、道德选择及其精神内核的现代审视,必须坚持中国化马克思主义宗教观,批判地发掘其当代价值。