Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology

Asian Americans’ adherence to Asian values, attributions about depression, and coping strategies.
Using Brickman et al.’s (1982) theoretical framework of responsibility attributions, the authors examined the relationships among adherence to Asian values, attributions about the cause of and solution to depression, and preferred coping strategies in a nonclinical sample of Asian Americans. Results of a path analysis (N = 238) indicate that attribution of cause fully mediated the relations between adherence to Asian values and use of coping strategies. Adherence to Asian values was positively related to attributing the cause of depression to internal factors, which was in turn associated with greater use of disengagement coping strategies and decreased use of engagement coping strategies. In addition, an internal attribution for the solution to depressive symptoms was related to more reliance on engagement coping strategies and a lower use of disengagement coping strategies. Practical implications of the results are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved)
The development of the Adolescent Nervios Scale: Preliminary findings.
This paper details the construction of a scale to measure the culture-bound syndrome of nervios in Latino early adolescents, ages 11 to 14. Informed by nervios literature and experts, we developed the 31-item Adolescent Nervios Scale (ANS) with items comprised of symptoms representing various psychiatric conditions common to Western culture. In contrast to 277 non-Latino early adolescents who responded to the items as representing disparate constructs, 307 Latino early adolescents responded to ANS items in a unitary fashion. For Latino early adolescents, the ANS demonstrated good internal consistency and stability as well as concurrent, discriminative, and criterion-based validity. The results support the measurement of nervios and its relationship to the school performance and adjustment of Latino youth. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved)
Decolonizing personality assessment and honoring indigenous voices: A critical examination of the MMPI-2.
Utilizing a mixed methods approach located between constructivist-interpretivist and critical-ideological research paradigms (Ponterotto, 2005), the current study builds upon previous research (Pace et al., 2006) that investigated the cultural validity of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)-2 in its use with American Indians. Thirty items from MMPI-2 scales F, 1, 6, 8, and 9 were identified via item analysis as reflecting significant differences in endorsement rates between an American Indian sample and the MMPI-2 normative group. Semistructured interviews focused on these 30 items were conducted with 13 American Indian participants from an Eastern Woodlands Nation in Oklahoma. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and then coded for themes using a qualitative coding analysis. Nine themes emerged: core belief system, experiences of racism and discrimination, conflicting epistemologies, living in two worlds, community connectedness, responsibility and accountability to the community, traditional knowledge, stories as traditional knowledge, and language and historic loss. Results of the current study demonstrate how the MMPI-2 may pathologize Indigenous worldviews, knowledge, beliefs, and behaviors rather than accurately assess psychopathology. Implications for practice and future research are addressed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved)
How can parents get involved in preschool? Barriers and engagement in education by ethnic minority parents of children attending Head Start.
An intervention was developed to promote parent involvement with ethnic minority families of children attending Head Start preschool programs. Two hundred eighty-eight predominantly African American families from a small southern city were included in this study. Parent satisfaction with the program was high, yet engagement was less than optimal. Some effects were found for the program, despite low levels of participation. Ethnic minority parents who received the intervention increased the frequency of reading to their child as compared with parents in a comparison group who did not receive the program. The quality of the parent–teacher relationship was significantly correlated with parental participation in the intervention. Program participation and the parent–teacher relationship were correlated with higher levels of children’s school readiness abilities. Children in the intervention condition showed stronger end-of-year receptive vocabulary and parent-rated social competence as compared with children who did not receive treatment. This research documents the challenges involved in engaging parents in prevention programs. Strategies for maximizing the benefits of preschool for ethnic minority families and their children are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved)
Say “adios” to the American dream? The interplay between ethnic and national identity among Latino and Caucasian Americans.
In three studies, implicit and explicit measures were used to examine the interconnections between ethnic and national identities among Latino Americans and Caucasian Americans. Consistently, Latino Americans as a group were conceived of as being less American than Caucasian Americans (Studies 1–3). This effect was exhibited by both Caucasian and Latino participants. Overall, Caucasian participants displayed a stronger national identification than Latino participants (Studies 2 and 3). In addition, ethnic American associations accounted for the strength of national identification for Caucasian participants, but not for Latino participants (Study 2). Finally, ethnic differences in national identification among individuals who exclude Latino Americans from the national identity emerged when persistent ethnic disparities were primed, but not when increasing equalities were stressed (Study 3). In sum, ethnic American associations account for the merging versus dissociation between ethnic and national identifications and reflect a long-standing ethnic hierarchy in American society. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved)
Depression among older Mexican American caregivers.
The authors compared depression levels between older Mexican American caregivers and noncaregivers while controlling for confounds identified but not controlled in past research. Mexican American caregivers and noncaregivers (N = 114) ages 65 and older were matched on age, gender, socioeconomic status, self-reported health, and acculturation. Caregivers reported higher scores on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale (CES–D) and were more likely to score in the depressed range than noncaregivers. In a regression model with all participants, group classification (caregiver vs. noncaregiver) and health significantly predicted CES–D scores. A model with only caregivers that included caregiver burden, self-rated health, and gender significantly predicted CES–D scores, with only caregiver burden entering the regression equation. These results suggest that older Mexican American caregivers are more depressed than noncaregivers, as has been found in younger populations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved)
The impact of acculturation and religious identification on perceived discrimination for Arab/Middle Eastern Americans.
The aim of the current study was to determine the impact of acculturation, ethnic identity, and religious affiliation on perceived discrimination for persons of Arab and Middle Eastern descent. Two aspects of acculturation (ethnic society immersion and dominant society immersion), religious affiliation, and ethnic identity were measured using a final sample of 177 individuals of Arab or Middle Eastern descent. Results indicated that Arab/Middle Eastern Americans who reported lower levels of dominant society immersion tended to report higher levels of discrimination. Furthermore, Muslims reported a higher level of discrimination than Christians but this finding was moderated by level of acculturation. Specifically, Muslims who reported a high level of dominant society immersion experienced the most discrimination, whereas Christians who reported a high level of dominant society immersion reported less discrimination. Study implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved)
Patterns of hopelessness among American Indian adolescents: Relationships by levels of acculturation and residence.
Poor mental health among American Indian adolescents has been a matter of significant concern for the past two decades. This study extends the literature on acculturation within this population by investigating the relationship between hopelessness, levels of acculturation, and residence among American Indian adolescents. Utilizing data drawn from 438 adolescents across 67 American Indian tribes, our analyses show that American Indian adolescents who have bicultural competence (i.e., those who are adept in both Indian and White cultures) have significantly less hopelessness than do those with adeptness in only one culture or in neither culture. Our findings also show a significant difference by residence, with American Indians who live on reservations indicating less hopelessness than those living in urban or rural/nonreservation areas. Analysis of interaction effects suggests that the beneficial effect of adeptness in White culture is particularly true for American Indians living in urban areas. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved)
Incorporating the cultural value of respeto into a framework of Latino parenting.
Latino families face multiple stressors associated with adjusting to United States mainstream culture that, along with poverty and residence in inner-city communities, may further predispose their children to risk for negative developmental outcomes. Evidence-based mental health treatments may require culturally informed modifications to best address the unique needs of the Latino population, yet few empirical studies have assessed these cultural elements. The current study examined cultural values of 48 Dominican and Mexican mothers of preschoolers through focus groups in which they described their core values as related to their parenting role. Results showed that respeto, family and religion were the most important values that mothers sought to transmit to their children. Respeto is manifested in several domains, including obedience to authority, deference, decorum, and public behavior. The authors describe the socialization messages that Latina mothers use to teach their children respeto and present a culturally derived framework of how these messages may relate to child development. The authors discuss how findings may inform the cultural adaptation of evidence-based mental health treatments such as parent training programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved)
Ethnic identity and maladaptive eating: Expectancies about eating and thinness in African American women.
This research investigated cultural factors and expectancies about eating and thinness among 93 African American women. Participants completed the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM), Eating Expectancy Inventory and Thinness and Restricting Expectancy Inventory (EEI, TREI), and Eating Attitudes Test (EAT). The MEIM assessed affective and developmental aspects of one’s own cultural identity, along with attitudes toward other groups. Further, expectancies that eating manages negative affect and thinness leads to life improvement were examined using the EEI and TREI. As hypothesized, those with strong expectancies about eating and thinness showed a significant negative relationship between ethnic identity and maladaptive eating patterns, whereas those with strong expectancies regarding thinness showed a significant positive relationship between other group orientation and maladaptive eating patterns. The results suggest one’s identification with their own culture versus another culture is important to developing maladaptive eating patterns, if they feel that eating and thinness play a role in their affect management and life improvement. These factors may help understand who is more vulnerable to the development of disordered eating patterns, and therefore direct treatment among African American women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved)
Stereotype boost and stereotype threat effects: The moderating role of ethnic identification.
Belonging to a stereotyped social group can affect performance in stereotype-relevant situations, often shifting performance in the direction of the stereotype. This effect occurs similarly for members of positively and negatively stereotyped groups (i.e., stereotype boost and stereotype threat, respectively). This study examined ethnic group identification as a moderator of these effects in the math performance of Asian Americans and Latinos, who are positively and negatively stereotyped in this domain, respectively. Results showed that high ethnically identified Asian Americans performed better and high ethnically identified Latinos performed worse when an ethnicity–ethnic stereotype cue was present. The performance of low ethnically identified Asian Americans and Latinos was not affected by this cue. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved)
Review of Counseling across cultures (sixth edition).
Reviews the book, Counseling across cultures (sixth edition) by P. B. Pedersen, J. G. Draguns, W. J. Lonner, and J. E. Trimble (2008). The sixth edition of a book indicates to me need, relevance, and impact. The fact that Counseling Across Cultures is the book under discussion is not surprising. With the first edition in 1976, Pedersen and his co-editors, opened a space of knowledge building of increasing centrality to the counseling and all helping professions. This new edition, builds on the previous editions, all communicating paradigms for considering cultural perspectives in counseling and multidimensional worldviews. The organization of each chapter in Counseling Across Cultures promotes competency development with the statement of specific objectives and learning outcomes. Further, the sections on Critical Incidents, Discussion Questions, and Summary/Conclusion are summative and instructive; further promoting critical thinking and analysis of complex cultural issues. The majority of the chapters mirror the ecological systems framework discussed in the multicultural counseling literature. There are concepts such as acculturation, transition, and change, and identity that are relevant for counselors working with immigrants and refugees as well with American Indians, Latinas/os, and Arab/Muslim clients. Finally, for all applied discussions, the importance of multicultural competencies is foremost. Counseling Across Cultures is not time bound. Rather, it further solidifies the centrality of multicultural perspectives in all of counseling. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved)

Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology - Vol 16, Iss 1