Strong ethnic group affiliation and connection may serve a protective function for psychosis risk in racially discriminating environments and contexts among REM young adults. The possible social benefits of strong ethnic identification among REM youth who face racial discrimination should be explored further in clinical high-risk studies.

Recent empirical research suggests that having a strong ethnic identity may be associated with reduced perceived stress. However, the relationship between perceived stress and ethnic identity has not been tested in a large and ethnically diverse sample of immigrants. This study utilized a multi-group latent class analysis of ethnic identity on a sample of first and second generation immigrants (N = 1603), to determine ethnic identity classifications, and their relation to perceived stress. A 4-class ethnic identity structure best fit the data for this immigrant sample, and the proportion within each class varied by ethnicity, but not immigrant generation. High ethnic identity was found to be protective against perceived stress, and this finding was invariant across ethnicity. This study extends the findings of previous research on the protective effect of ethnic identity against perceived stress to immigrant populations of diverse ethnic origins.

Background: Research primarily conducted in Europe find high neighborhood ethnic density (i.e., proportion of own ethnic group) lessens risk of psychotic symptoms among racial and ethnic minorities; however, most studies measure ethnic density through crude demarcations in geographic data only at illness onset which may miss meaningful variation from the perspective of residents. The present study is the first in the U.S. to examine whether changes in perceived ethnic density from childhood are associated with psychotic-like experiences (PLE).Methods: A Northeastern U.S. urban undergraduate sample of 1330 racial and ethnic minorities completed a self-report inventory of PLE, the Prodromal Questionnaire, and indicated their racial and ethnic neighborhood composition before and after age 12. One way analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) adjusted for age, family poverty, racial and ethnic group, immigrant status, and lifetime cannabis use, compared PLE across ethnic density categories and change.Results: Racial and ethnic minorities who grew up in a neighborhood (before age 12) predominantly inhabited by a different group of color (e.g., being Black in a predominantly Asian neighborhood) endorsed significantly more PLE than those who grew up in racially concordant, mixed, or predominantly White neighborhoods. In addition, those reporting a change in perceived neighborhood ethnic density after age 12 endorsed significantly more PLE than those reporting no change. Conclusion:Racial dynamics among people of color in urban neighborhood U.S. contexts may create psychological challenges in the social environment. The developmental timing of demographic changes in neighborhoods may influence stress processes that enhance risk for PLE.

The present study sought to determine whether dissociative experiences mediated the relationship between traumatic life events and attenuated positive psychotic symptoms in a non-treatment-seeking sample of racial and ethnic minority young adults. Participants (n = 549) completed a self-report inventory for psychosis risk (i.e., the Prodromal Questionnaire; R. L. Loewy, C. E. Bearden, J. K. Johnson, A. Raine, & T. D. Cannon, 2005), from which a total number of attenuated positive psychotic symptoms was assessed. Participants also completed a checklist of potentially traumatic life events and a traumatic dissociation scale. Hierarchical linear regression models and bootstrapping results indicated that dissociation mediated the relationship between traumatic life events and attenuated positive psychotic symptoms. Stratified analyses of Black, Asian, and Hispanic subgroups revealed that full mediation was only evident in the Black subgroup of young adults. Partial mediation was found among the Hispanic group, and no mediation occurred in the Asian subgroup. For the latter, traumatic life events were not significantly associated with dissociative experiences. A dissociative response style may be particularly relevant to trauma-exposed Black young adults exhibiting subclinical psychotic experiences and less so for Asian young adults. Trauma-induced dissociative experiences should be assessed further in clinical high-risk studies, especially among Black traumatized youth.

The Chinese immigrant community faces multiple barriers to quality cancer care and cancer survivorship. Meaning-centered psychotherapy (MCP) is an empirically-based treatment shown to significantly reduce psychological distress while increasing spiritual well-being and a sense of meaning and purpose in life in advanced cancer patients. However, it has not yet been adapted for racial and ethnic minority populations for whom the concept of "meaning" may likely differ from that of westernized White populations. In this study, we conducted a community needs assessment to inform the cultural adaptation of MCP for Chinese patients with advanced cancer, in accordance with Bernal et al. ecological validity model and the cultural adaptation process model of Domenech-Rodriquez and Weiling. We conducted interviews until saturation with 11 key Chinese-serving community leaders and health professionals with a range of areas of expertise (i.e. oncology, psychology, palliative care, cancer support services), to examine community needs, priorities, and preferences within the context of the MCP intervention. Sessions were audio recorded and transcribed. The research team analyzed the transcripts using Atlas.ti. Six frequently occurring themes were identified. Interviewees described the role of the family, traditional Chinese values, cancer stigma, and social norms (e.g. saving face) in adapting MCP. Researchers and clinicians should consider the role of the family in treatment, as well as specific social and cultural values and beliefs in adapting and delivering MCP for Chinese patients with advanced cancer.

No abstract

No abstract

Objectives In the United States, medically underserved populations, such as ethnoracially underrepresented groups, the limited English proficient (LEP), and the unemployed, may be vulnerable to poor functioning in cancer survivorship. The present study examined whether race/ethnicity, LEP status, and unemployment status were associated with poor health‐related quality of life (HRQL) in four domains (physical, social, emotional, and functional well‐being (FWB)) in a diverse, low socioeconomic status (SES) sample of cancer patients. Methods The sample included 1592 ethnoracially diverse, low SES, primarily foreign‐born adult oncology patients participating in an enhanced patient navigation program in 11 New York City hospital‐based cancer clinics. This secondary cross‐sectional analysis of program intake data examined bivariate associations between sociodemographic and clinical factors and poor HRQL (Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy‐General scores ≤70). Factors found to be related to poor HRQL (at p < 0.05) were entered into logistic regressions with overall HRQL and the four HRQL subscales as outcomes. The Benjamini‐Hochberg Procedure controlled for potentially inflated type‐I error rate due to multiple comparisons. Results All three predictor variables (race/ethnicity, LEP status, and unemployment status) were significantly associated with increased odds of reporting poor FWB. Specifically, non‐Hispanic White and Hispanic cancer patients had 2.7 and 1.5 times the odds of reporting poor FWB than non‐Hispanic Black patients. The unemployed had 1.4 times the odds of reporting poor FWB than their employed or retired counterparts. Limited EP patients had 1.4 times the odds of reporting poor FWB than EP participants. Non‐Hispanic Black patients evidenced significantly lower odds of reporting poor HRQL across all subscale domains compared with other ethnoracial groups. Conclusions LEP and unemployed individuals were more likely to report poor FWB, which may indicate that the most marginalized cancer patients face significant barriers to adequate functioning. Interventions that promote functional abilities (i.e., activities of daily living, self‐care, and work retention) and policies and programs that reduce systemic inequality and address social determinants of health may aid in improving HRQL for these underserved groups in survivorship. Non‐Hispanic Black cancer patients were less likely than other groups to report poor physical, social, emotional, and FWB. Identifying protective factors in this group may aid in efforts to improve HRQL for all patients.