Replication and extension of the military family stress model: The after deployment adaptive parenting tools ADAPT4U study

The military family stress (MFS) model conceptualizes that wartime deployments and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms are associated with couple, parenting, and child adjustment difficulties. The aim of this study was to replicate and extend the military family stress model by examining the associations among deployment length, PTSD symptoms, marital functioning, parenting practices, and child adjustment in a replication sample of both National Guard and Reserve (NG/R) as well as active-duty service member families. The MFS model is extended to test whether these relationships vary between mothers and fathers. The sample included 208 families enrolled in a randomized controlled trial of a parenting program for military families (94.4% of fathers and 21.6% of mothers were deployed). Replicating the MFS model, we specified parenting, marital quality, and child adjustment as latent variables and conducted multi-group structural equation models. Parenting practices were positively associated with marital quality and child adjustment. PTSD symptoms were negatively associated with marital quality. The indirect effect from PTSD symptoms to parenting practices through marital quality was marginally significant. The indirect effect from marital quality to child adjustment through parenting practices was significant. There were no significant gender differences between the two structural models. This study provides empirical support for the MFS model. Results demonstrate that deployment-related stressors are significantly associated with parent and family functioning. Parenting programs for military families might effectively target similar risk processes among both mothers and fathers.     

Determinants of Harsh Parenting in Mexico

This paper presents a structural model of the determinants of harsh parenting among Mexican mothers. One hundred five mothers (46 from the community; 59 referred to agencies for child maltreatment) were recruited from Sonora (Northern) Mexico and interviewed. In this model the use of physical punishment was explained by (1) authoritarian parenting style (mothers' beliefs concerning the effective use of physical punishment and mothers' lack of disciplinary skills) and (2) family dysfunction (a latent variable constructed from reports of interspousal violence and the parents' use of alcohol and drugs). In addition, the indirect effects of demographic and historical variables on harsh parenting was included. The findings show that the most important factor influencing the use of physical punishment in these families was authoritarian parenting style, exerting a significant direct effect on the mothers' reports of their use of harsh punishment. Family dysfunction had an indirect effect through parenting style. Some sociodemographic variables also indirectly influenced the use of beliefs maternal punishment It is concluded that cultural beliefs play a major role in parenting within the framework of Mexican family relations.     

域外阴阳：近代南洋中医的理论创构及其意义

南洋华侨在当地生活中仍广泛使用中医药,一些国家和地区逐渐形成了具有相当规模与水平的中医药专业群体。南洋中医在应用中医药的同时,还根据中医的方土理论,探讨了中医药在当地应用的特色,他们通过与中国的比较,提出了中医理论是否适应于五洲万国的问题。以黎伯概为代表的医家,强调作为中医核心理论的阴阳五行学说,同样可适用于中国区域以外的地区,但也需要借鉴现代科学知识来更新与变革。南洋医家的探索,表明华侨不仅是传播中医的先导,也对中医药理论有创造性的发展。     

Understanding Transcultural Identity: Ethnic Identity Development of Asian Immigrant College Students during Their First Two Years at a Predominantly White Institution

The present study focused on the conflict of Asian immigrant students preserving their connections to the Asian ethnic culture, adapting to American cultural orientation, and redefining their ethnic identity during their first two years of college. Our findings revealed a complex interaction of six social environmental factors that contributed to the emergence of three ethnic identity patterns: bicultural identity, ethnicized identity, and transcultural identity. The implications of the study articulate the need for college educators to avoid viewing Asian immigrants as an ethnically homogenous group, and acknowledge the nuanced variations in Asian ethnic identity. Moreover, it is incumbent upon student affairs administrators to persevere in promoting a campus environment that minimizes the generational divide between Asian American and Asian immigrant students.     

The SF-36 Among Cambodian and Vietnamese Refugees: An Examination of Psychometric Properties

Among traumatized Cambodian (N=90) and Vietnamese (N=94) refugees attending a psychiatric clinic, the study examined the validity and psychometric properties of the Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36), a measure of self-perceived mental and physical health. In both patient samples, all eight SF-36 scales displayed excellent internal consistency (item-scale correlations and Cronbach's α). But, similar to other studies of Asian samples, (a) the Vitality (VT) scale did not separate from the Mental Health (MH) and General Health (GH) scales, as evidenced by item-scale and interscale correlations, and (b) the VT scale loaded as strongly (Vietnamese sample) or more strongly (Cambodian sample) than the MH scale on the so-called Mental Factor in a two-factor solution of the eight scales (with the GH scale also loading heavily on the same factor).     

Grassroots spirituality: What it is,why it is here,where it is going,by Robert K. Forman

Among Asian Americans, particularly within immigrant communities, religious leaders are respected and sought out for support and guidance. There is a need to examine how religious leaders, especially within non-Christian faiths, identify persons and ascribe meaning and attributions to mental health concerns. The aim of this paper was to address this knowledge gap by exploring the perceptions of five Vietnamese American Buddhist leaders in regards to mental illness. Using qualitative analytic techniques we identified appearance, behaviours, and cognitive impairments that leaders interpreted as indicators of a mental health condition. Religious leaders cited messy and overly adorned outer appearance, aggressive and violent behaviours, and abnormal cognitive functioning as indicative of mental health problems. They attributed mental illness to a variety of causes: daily stressors, mind-body imbalance, karma, virtuous deeds, and spiritual possession. Findings inform strategies for faith-based initiatives and mental health service delivery to religiously affiliated Asian Americans.     

Moving Forward with Systems of Care: Needs and New Directions

The articles in this Special Issue on system change within systems of care (SOCs) provide guidance regarding strategies for modifying SOCs to address the needs of different populations, and ways for changing systems to support more positive child and family outcomes. This paper frames central needs, unanswered questions, and issues that remain for those working to implement SOCs. Specific needs and new directions considered include: (1) rigorous implementation-focused research to identify the necessary and sufficient elements of SOCs and the primary practice approach currently used in SOCs, wraparound; (2) applied research to assess SOCs and document their effectiveness in non-standard or non-traditional settings (i.e., non-mental health settings, including child welfare, juvenile justice, local housing authorities); (3) controlled outcome studies for school-based wraparound initiatives; (4) research to document the effectiveness of the family support efforts that are part of most SOCs; and (5) attention to context, for families, service providers, and collaborative implementation efforts, by researchers and providers alike. Progress in these areas can inform well-targeted system change efforts in the context of SOCs, a critical need given changes in federal funding for these initiatives.     

A new threat in the air: Macroeconomic threat increases prejudice against Asian Americans

Macroeconomic conditions have long been suspected of increasing hostility toward ethnic outgroups. Integrating prior work on macroeconomic threat with recent threat-based models of prejudice, the current work employs an experimental approach to examine the implications of economic threat for prejudice toward ethnic outgroups. In Study 1, participants primed with an economic threat (relative to a non-economic threat and neutral topic) reported more prejudice against Asian Americans, an ethnic group whose stereotype implies a threat to scarce employment opportunities. In addition, economic threat led to a heightened state of anxiety, which mediated the influence of economic threat on prejudice against Asian Americans. Study 2 replicated and extended these findings by demonstrating that economic threat heightened prejudice against Asian Americans, but not Black Americans, an ethnic group whose stereotype does not imply a threat to economic resources. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for understanding the role of macroeconomic conditions in potentiating antisocial responses to particular outgroups.     

Enculturation and Attitudes Toward Intimate Partner Violence and Gender Roles in an Asian Indian Population: Implications for Community-Based Prevention

This study examined the relationships among enculturation, attitudes supporting intimate partner violence (IPV-supporting attitudes), and gender role attitudes among one of the largest Asian Indian population groups in the US. Data were collected via computer-assisted telephone interviews with a random sample of Gujarati men and women aged 18–64 in Metropolitan Detroit. Using structural equation modeling, we modeled the effects of three components of enculturation (behavior, values, and community participation) on gender role attitudes and IPV-supporting attitudes among married respondents (N = 373). Analyses also accounted for the effects of respondent age, education, religious service attendance, perceived financial difficulty, and lengths of residence in the US. The second-order, overall construct of enculturation was the strongest predictor of IPV-supporting attitudes (standardized B = 0.61), but not gender role attitudes. Patriarchal gender role attitudes were positively associated with IPV-supporting attitudes (B = 0.49). In addition to the overall effect of the enculturation construct, two of the components of enculturation had specific effects. “Enculturation-values” had a specific positive indirect association with IPV-supporting attitudes, through its relationship with patriarchal gender role attitudes. However, “enculturation-community participation” was negatively associated with IPV-supporting attitudes, suggesting the importance of community-based prevention of IPV among this immigrant population group.     

The influence of family routines on the resilience of low-income preschoolers

Using data from the Birth to Three Phase (1996–2001) of the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project, we investigated whether family routines at 14, 24, and 36 months play a role in the development of children's self-regulation and cognitive ability at 36 months. The moderating effects of child sex and race/ethnicity were also examined. Analyses revealed that routines do matter for child outcomes; concurrent routines appear to be critical for fostering self-regulation at 36 months, whereas early routines may be important for children's later cognitive ability. Second, the effects differed by child sex, with early routines having a stronger association for girls and concurrent routines having a stronger association for boys. Associations also varied by race/ethnicity such that routines appear to matter slightly more for African–American children than European–American and Hispanic children. Implications of these findings with respect to strength-based interventions for low-income preschoolers and their families are discussed.