This study investigated the relationship between college students’ perception of race-related barriers in career and educational development and their immediate (first-semester grade point average [GPA]) and long-term academic performance (4-year cumulative GPA) and the role of parents’ instrumental and emotional support in moderating such effects. Participants were 820 undergraduate students at a Mid-Atlantic university in the United States. Path analysis of the proposed moderated mediation model indicated that (1) perception of race-related barriers was significantly and negatively correlated with students’ 4-year cumulative GPA, (2) parents’ instrumental support negatively predicted students’ 4-year GPA, whereas emotional support positively predicted students’ 4-year GPA, and (3) parental emotional support significantly buffered the negative direct effect of race-related barriers on students’ 4-year GPA. Research and practical implications were discussed.

Research in clinical supervision has primarily focused on the contribution of supervisors to training outcome. However, peers may also play a significant role in trainees' development, particularly during group supervision. Fifty-three trainees from 10 supervision groups completed measures of peer relationship, supervisory working alliance (SWA), supervision satisfaction (SAT), and counseling self-efficacy (CSE) at three time points during a 20-week counseling practicum at a department clinic in Hong Kong. Multilevel modeling was conducted to test the hypothesis that both peer relationship and SWA contribute to SAT and CSE. The path model results showed that higher within-and between-trainee SWA was associated with higher SAT, and higher between-trainee SWA was associated with higher CSE. Better within-and between-trainee peer relationship was associated with higher CSE, but not with SAT. Thus, when peer relationship and SWA were entered as predictors into the same analysis and allowed to control for each other's effects, they each have unique contributions to the outcome of group supervision. Implications for training and supervision research are discussed. Public Significance StatementClinical training often takes place in groups. This study provides evidence that supervisors and peers have unique contributions to training outcomes in group supervision. This study lends support to the recommendation that when designing training programs, attention should be paid to the quality of peer relationships in addition to supervisory relationships.

We employed a culturally modified objectification framework to examine a culture-specific mechanism of risky compensatory substance use (alcohol, anabolic-androgenic steroids) associated with gendered racism (GR) among Asian American men (AAM). Using data from 424 AAM, structural equation modeling was conducted to examine our proposed model in which GR was hypothesized to predict substance use through three mediators: GR → internalization of Western muscularity ideals → shame (body-related and interpersonal) → drive for muscularity → substance use. Results suggested partial support of our proposed model. GR indirectly predicted substance use via both internalization-(GR → internalization → drive for muscularity → substance use) and shame-driven (GR → shame → drive for muscularity → substance use) pathways. Multigroup analysis demonstrated that our findings were held for the earlier generation (1st and 1.5 generation) AAM. For later generation (1.75, 2nd generation, and beyond) AAM, shame was not a significant mediator and GR was indirectly associated with substance use only through the internalization and drive for muscularity pathway. Implications for practice and research are discussed. Public Significance StatementAsian American men (AAM) may engage in risky alcohol use and steroid use to compensate for their experiences of GR that make them seen as less "manly" and emasculated. GR was found to drive AAM to internalize Western male appearance ideals that in turn increased their preoccupation with muscularity and engagement in alcohol and steroid use to express and align with White hegemonic masculinity norms in the society. Additionally, GR was also found to increase AAM's shame for being treated as falling short of society's expectations and body image ideals, which in turn also increased drive muscularity and compensatory substance use as means to relieve the shameful feelings.

This study aimed to investigate the multilevel factor structure of the therapist and client versions of the 12-item Working Alliance Inventory-Short Revised (WAI; Hatcher & Gillaspy, 2006) in the United States and China, and to create a three-item brief version (WAI-B3) using multilevel factor analysis (M-FA) and multilevel item response theory (M-IRT). We gathered eight data sets from two samples each in United States and China with a total of 21,623 sessions from 376 therapists and 2,455 clients. M-FA results with the first four data sets (two American and two Chinese) suggested that the 12-item WAI across therapist and client versions, and in both United States and China showed a dominant general WA factor with three specific subgroup factors corresponding to the Goal, Task, and Bond items. We then constructed a three-item WAI-B3 by selecting items 11, 10, and 9 through M-IRT, as the best representative of Goal, Task, and Bond subscales, respectively, for both the therapist and client versions in United States and China. With the other four data sets (two American, two Chinese) to test the WAI-B3, we found adequate multilevel reliability, structural validity, and convergent validity with the original 12-item WAI scores. Multilevel measurement invariance tests provided tentative and mixed support for the equivalence of WAI-B3 between the American and Chinese data sets and between therapist and client versions. We recommend that the WAI-B3 be used in routine clinical practice to track therapy process, and that the WAI-B3 be tested with other client and therapist populations and cultures. Public Significance StatementThe 12-item Working Alliance Inventory-Short Revised (WAI-SR; Hatcher & Gillaspy, 2006) is best represented by a predominant general working alliance factor and its total composite score can be used to describe both between-session changes or conduct between-therapy-dyad comparisons. Items 11, 10, and 9 in WAI-SR form a brief version WAI-B3 that has solid psychometric properties. Measurement equivalence is supported for WAI-B3 client version across United States and China, and across its therapist and client versions in the United States. Mixed support for equivalence is found for WAI-B3-Therapist across United States versus China, and therapist versus client versions in China. It is recommended that researchers and practitioners incorporate this brief WAI-B3 into their routine clinical practice to continuously track both therapist and client perceptions of their working alliance over the treatment and conduct further cross-cultural investigations.

Using longitudinal actor-partner interdependence modeling and multilevel mixture modeling, the aims of this study were to investigate the therapist-client dyadic dynamic patterns (i.e., therapist and client consistency and their mutual influences in perceptions of working alliance) and how these dynamic patterns related to client symptom change with varied treatment lengths. Data set included 1,520 sessions conducted by 85 master's level therapist trainees with their 283 clients in China. Before every session, clients reported their symptom; after every session, both therapists and clients rated their working alliance. (a) Therapist consistency was positively associated with greater client symptom improvement, especially in relatively longer therapy course. (b) Client consistency and therapist-client mutual influence dynamics did not individually relate to client symptom improvement. (c) Two subgroups of therapist-client dyads with distinct dyadic dynamic patterns were identified: one subgroup (Dyadic Independence) showing significant self-consistency and nonsignificant mutual influence and the other subgroup (Mutual Influence) showing significant self-consistency as well as mutual influence. (d) The mutual influence subgroup was associated with greater client improvement than the dyadic independence subgroup, especially in shorter therapy. A dyadic dynamic pattern characterized by the presence of therapist and client self-consistency as well as mutual influence may be conducive to positive therapeutic outcome in terms of client symptom improvement. Public Significance StatementIt may be helpful for the therapist to maintain some levels of consistency or stability in how they evaluate their therapy process and therapeutic relationship with the client. A therapist-client dynamic pattern characterized by therapist and client maintaining a level of consistency of their own perceptions but also having mutual influences appears to be associated with more positive client symptom improvement. To achieve this, the therapist may try to stay open to the client's experiences by which they let themselves be impacted while also maintaining an internal stability within themselves. The therapist may also exert necessary therapeutic influences on the client when clinically indicated.