The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships of acculturative stress and ethnic identity to depressive symptomatology and suicidal ideation in college students. The SAFE Acculturative Stress Scale, Multi-Group Ethnic Identity Measure, Beck Depression Inventory, and Beck Suicide Scale were administered to 452 college students. The authors found that acculturative stress and ethnic identity moderated the depression-suicide ideation relationship for African American but not European American college students. Given that vulnerability toward suicidal thoughts is increased for African American college students who report symptoms of depression accompanied by either high-acculturative stress or poor group identity, these culturally relevant factors should be included in protocol for suicide risk assessment.

Against the background of rising rates of obesity in children and adults in the USA, and modest effect sizes for obesity interventions, the aim of the present narrative review paper is to extend the UNICEF care model to focus on childhood obesity and its associated risks with an emphasis on the emotional climate of the parent-child relationship within the family. Specifically, we extended the UNICEF model by applying the systems approach to childhood obesity and by combining previously unintegrated sets of literature across multiple disciplines including developmental psychology, clinical psychology and nutrition. Specifically, we modified the extended care model by explicitly integrating new linkages (i.e. parental feeding styles, stress, depression and mother's own eating behaviour) that have been found to be associated with the development of children's eating behaviours and risk of childhood obesity. These new linkages are based on studies that were not incorporated into the original UNICEF model, but suggest important implications for childhood obesity. In all, this narrative review offers important advancements to the scientific understanding of familial influences on children's eating behaviours and childhood obesity.

This article investigates the relationship between psychological distress, acculturation, and help-seeking attitudes among people of African descent (N ϭ 130). Psychological distress was measured using the Global Severity Index from the Brief Symptom Inventory (L. R. Derogatis & N. Melisaratos, 1983), acculturation was measured using the Measurement of Acculturation Strategies for People of African Descent (E. M. Obasi, 2005), and help-seeking attitudes were measured using the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help scale (E. H. Fischer & J. I. Turner, 1970). Overall, as psychological distress increased, attitudes toward seeking professional psychological services became more negative. The negative relationship between psychological distress and confidence in therapist was significantly stronger for participants who expressed a cultural maintenance of traditional beliefs. Future directions for this body of research are discussed.

This paper describes the development of the Measurement of Acculturation Strategies for People of African Descent (MASPAD), a bidimensional instrument designed to assess acculturation strategies (i.e., Traditionalist, Integrationist, Assimilationist, and Marginalist). Two studies were conducted to describe the development of the MASPAD and to assess its psychometric properties. Data were collected from 367 African American participants in Atlanta, GA; Columbus, OH; Los Angeles; and New York City, NY. The MASPAD consistently produced scores with adequate reliability and independent raters provided initial evidence for face and content validity. Pearson correlation coefficients supported the purported orthogonality of the MASPAD subscales. The MASPAD was found to be a significant predictor of cultural worldview and values. The bidimensional model of acculturation theorized to exist in the MASPAD was supported with a confirmatory factor analysis on data collected from 831 participants. Future directions for this body of research are discussed.

This study examined the prospective relations of adolescents’ perceptions of discrimination and their genetic status with increases in conduct problems. Participants were 461 African American youths residing in rural Georgia (M age, wave 1 = 15.5 years) who provided three waves of data and a saliva sample from which a polymorphism in the SCL6A4 (5-HTT) gene promoter known as the 5-HTTLPR was genotyped. Data analyses using growth curve modeling indicated that perceived discrimination was significantly related to the slope of conduct problems. As hypothesized, interactions between perceived discrimination and genetic status emerged for male but not female youths. Compared with those carrying two copies of the long allele variant of 5-HTTLPR, male youths carrying one or two copies of its short allele variant evinced higher rates of conduct problems over time when they perceived high levels of racial discrimination. These findings are consistent with resilience and differential susceptibility propositions stating that genes can both foster sensitivity to adverse events and confer protection from those events.

Objectives: About 65%-87% of substance use disorder patients smoke cigarettes, compared to 14% of the general adult population. Few substance use treatment centers (SUTCs) have comprehensive tobacco-free workplace (TFW) policies or offer tobacco interventions. Taking Texas Tobacco Free (TTTF) implements an evidence-based TFW program in SUTCs, including at the Billy T. Cattan Recovery Outreach Center (BTC). We present a mixed methods case study of BTC's TTTF implementation, success factors, and challenges. Methods: TTTF provided policy development assistance, training, treatment resources, and technical assistance over ∼9 months. Implementation was tailored using mixed methods. Quantitative data included surveys to stakeholders (Nmax = 7), a pre- and post-training questionnaire assessing knowledge gain, and reported quantities of tobacco use assessments (TUAs) administered and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) provided. Qualitative data included stakeholder focus groups and interviews (18 participants). Results: All employees reported TFW policy compliance. Employees exhibited a 20% knowledge gain. Clinicians increased self-report of NRT provision and tobacco cessation counseling. During implementation, BTC administered TUAs to 171 patients and dispensed NRT to 70 of 110 tobacco-using patients. Conclusion: Qualitative findings contextualized quantitative outcomes. TTTF implementation changed clinician attitudes, knowledge, and practices regarding tobacco treatment, facilitating patient quit attempts.

This study describes the development of the Worldview Analysis Scale (WAS), an instrument designed to assess the way in which people perceive, think, feel, and experience the world. Four studies were conducted to describe the scale development of the WAS and to assess its psychometric properties. Eight hundred sixteen African, African American, European, European American, and multiethnic participants served as the validation sample. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses provided evidence for seven subscales: materialistic universe, spiritual immortality, communalism, indigenous values, tangible realism, knowledge of self, and spiritualism. MANOVA analyses found evidence for cultural differences in worldview at the ethnic level of analysis. Results indicated favorable reliability, validity, and factor structure indices for the WAS. Applications of the WAS in culturally competent research, training, and psychotherapy are discussed.

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