Family stressors predict negative psychological outcomes for immigrant adolescents, yet little is known about how such stressors interact to predict school outcomes. The purpose of this study was to explore the interactive role of family stressors on school outcomes for newcomer adolescent immigrants. Using a convergent parallel mixed-methods design, we used quantitative methods to explore interactions between family separation, acculturative family conflict, and family life events to predict 2 school outcomes, academic achievement (via grade point average [GPA]), and externalizing problems (student- and teacher-reported). The sample included 189 newcomer immigrant public high school students from 34 countries of origin. Quantitative measures included the Multicultural Events Scale for Adolescents, Family Conflicts Scale, and the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA). Qualitative data were collected through a semi-structured interview. Quantitative results found that more family life events were associated with lower GPA, but this association was weaker for participants who had been separated from their parents. More family conflict was associated with more externalizing symptoms (both youth- and teacher-reported). However, the association between family conflict and teacher-reported externalizing symptoms was found only among participants reporting a greater than average number of life events. Qualitative results show that separation from extended family networks was among the most stressful of experiences, and demonstrate the highly complex nature of each family stressor domain. At a time when immigration is rapidly changing our school system, a better understanding of early risk factors for new immigrants can help teachers, administrators, and mental health practitioners to identify students with greatest need to foster behavioral, academic, and emotional well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record

Training professional psychologists in a time of increasingly complex diversity-related issues requires innovative approaches to teaching cultural competency and cultural humility at the doctoral level. However, there is currently little empirical evidence to support effective teaching techniques in cultural competency training. To address this pedagogical need, the authors implemented and tested the utility of a 2-stage, developmental approach to using cultural formulation (CF) assignments. Students in a doctoral-level course on cultural competency were given a CF assignment at the course midpoint and a second assignment at the end of the academic term. Students were given extensive feedback after CF1, with the goal of providing direction for improvement of their cultural considerations in CF2. Using a thematic content analysis approach, each set of CF assignments were coded into themes demonstrating core competencies for cultural competence and cultural humility, and tallied to assess improvement in levels of competency across the 2 assignments. Results demonstrated several emergent themes: perspective taking, acknowledging intersections of identity, cultural self-awareness, scientific mindedness, and unsupported cultural statements. Related tallies reflect an overall improvement between the 2 assignments. This article therefore provides support for the use of 2-stage CF assignments as a tool for developing and measuring dimensions of cultural competence and cultural humility. Limitations and implications of the findings for clinical training are discussed.

As the access to create media continues to expand, issues related to the desensitization of police violence, stereotyped language (racial baiting), and implicit bias within the criminal justice system are brought to the forefront highlighting the negative and harmful relationships between the criminal justice system and Black communities. In order to address these issues on a national scale, a call to action is made for psychologists to assist in restructuring the understanding of the relationship of violence, cognition, and media in order to advocate for social justice. Psychological research on the topics are discussed as well as how the field of psychology can inform training within police departments and the communities they serve.

No abstract