Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology - Vol 14, Iss 4

Testing Berry's model of acculturation: A confirmatory latent class approach.

Schwartz, Seth J.; Zamboanga, Byron L. — 2008

The authors examined the extent to which Berry's (1997) acculturation orientation categories--assimilation, integration, separation, and marginalization--would emerge from a latent class analysis of continuous acculturation indices. Hispanic college students (N = 436) from Miami participated in the study. The authors used measures of heritage and American cultural orientations to create the latent classes. The authors utilized a number of external variables, including ethnic identity, value-based indices of cultural identity, familial ethnic socialization, acculturative stress, and perceived ethnic discrimination to validate the cluster solution. Overall, our findings provided mixed support for Berry's model. Six latent classes emerged from analysis. Two of these appeared to represent variants of biculturalism, two resembled a combination of assimilation and biculturalism, one resembled a combination of separation and biculturalism, and one was not clearly associated with any of Berry's categories. The two bicultural classes differed markedly in American and heritage cultural orientations, ethnic identity, and nearly all of the value-based indices of cultural identity. Some of the differences among the six classes supported Berry's model, and others did not. The authors discuss the implications of these results for acculturation theory and research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved)

Citizenship attitudes and allegiances in diverse youth.

Bogard, Kimber L.; Sherrod, Lonnie R. — 2008

This study examined the relationships among three sets of variables in a sample of 299 diverse high school youth: (a) demographic variables such as ethnicity and immigrant status, (b) attitudes toward citizenship responsibilities, and (c) allegiances to three socializing institutions--family, school, and community. A measure of citizenship attitudes was found to identify two distinct constructs--Polity-Oriented and Civic-Oriented attitudes toward citizenship responsibilities, relating to the polity or nation-state, and to serving the community. European Americans were consistently lower on Polity-Oriented attitudes than Hispanic teens, and lower on family allegiance than other non-European American groups. Hispanic youth reported significantly lower community involvement than other non-European American groups as well as European American youth. Whereas the only significant correlation between allegiance and citizenship attitudes was between family allegiance and Polity-Oriented attitudes, there were multiple moderating effects of immigrant status and ethnicity. Results are discussed in terms of ethnicity and allegiances as contexts of socialization for the development of attitudes toward citizenship responsibilities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved)

A measure of racial identity in African American adolescents: The development of the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity--Teen.

Scottham, Krista Maywalt; Sellers, Robert M.; Nguyên, Hóa X. — 2008

The Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity--Teen (MIBI--T) is designed to assess the 3 cross-situationally stable dimensions (centrality, regard, and ideology) of the Multidimensional Model of Racial Identity (MMRI; R. M. Sellers, M. A. Smith, J. N. Shelton, S. A. J. Rowley, & T. M. Chavous, 1998) within teenagers. Adolescent responses (n= 489) to the MIBI--T were subjected to several analyses to evaluate the psychometric character of the measure. Findings indicated that the MIBI--T represents a valid framework for African American adolescents. Its internal structure is consistent with the conceptual framework of the MMRI, and findings support its construct validity. Results also indicate model invariance across grade level and gender, as well as suggest evidence of predictive validity. Further information about the MIBI--T and the full set of items are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved)

Gendered racism, psychological distress, and coping styles of African American women.

Thomas, Anita Jones; Witherspoon, Karen M.; Speight, Suzette L. — 2008

This study explores the relationship of the accumulative effect of gendered racism, the discrimination felt by African American women, on psychological distress. The study also explores whether coping serves as a mediating variable between gendered racism and psychological distress. Over 300 African American women participated in the study and were administered the Symptoms Checklist 90, a revised version of the Schedule of Sexist Events, and the Africultural Coping Styles Inventory. A positive significant relationship between global psychological distress was found with experiences of gendered racism. Regression analyses suggest some degree of partial mediation on the relationship between gendered racism and global psychological distress via cognitive-emotional coping styles, but no mediating effects with spiritual-centered, collective, and ritual-centered coping. Suggestions for future research and implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved)

Characterization and sociocultural predictors of neuropsychological test performance in HIV+ Hispanic individuals.

2008

Hispanic individuals in the U.S. have been disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS, yet little is known regarding the neuropsychological sequelae of HIV within the Hispanic population. This study characterized neuropsychological (NP) test performance of HIV+ English-speaking Hispanic participants (n = 51) and investigated the combined roles of sociocultural factors (e.g., ethnicity, socioeconomic status [SES] proxy, and reading level) on NP test performance among our HIV+ Hispanic and non-Hispanic White participants (n = 49). Results revealed that the pattern of NP impairment in HIV+ Hispanic participants is consistent with the frontal-striatal pattern observed in HIV-associated CNS sequelae, and the overall prevalence of global NP impairment was high compared to previous reports with more ethnically homogeneous, non-Hispanic White cohorts. Multivariate prediction models that considered both sociocultural factors and CD4 count revealed that reading level was the only unique predictor of global NP functioning, learning, and attention/working memory. In contrast, ethnicity was the only unique predictor of abstraction/executive functioning. This study provides support for the use of neuropsychological evaluation in detecting HIV-associated NP impairment among HIV+ Hispanic participants and adds to the growing literature regarding the importance of considering sociocultural factors in the interpretation of NP test performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved)

The impact of perceived racial discrimination on the mental health of Asian American and Latino college students.

Hwang, Wei-Chin; Goto, Sharon — 2008

The authors examined the impact of perceived racial discrimination on various mental health outcomes for Asian American and Latino college students within an emic and etic framework. Results indicate that Asian American and Latino college students experienced similar exposure and reactions to various kinds of discrimination. However, Latino students were more likely than Asian American students to have been accused of doing something wrong, such as cheating and breaking the law, and more likely to appraise these experiences as stressful. Asian Americans evidenced higher risk for trait anxiety. Regardless of ethnicity, perceived racial discrimination was associated with several negative mental health outcomes, including higher psychological distress, suicidal ideation, state anxiety, trait anxiety, and depression. Findings highlight the need to address discrimination across multiple social and professional settings and to understand the broad array of mental health outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved)

Horizontal and vertical dimensions of individualism-collectivism: A comparison of African Americans and European Americans.

Komarraju, Meera; Cokley, Kevin O. — 2008

The current study examined ethnic differences in horizontal and vertical dimensions of individualism and collectivism among 96 African American and 149 European American college students. Participants completed the 32-item Singelis et al. (1995) Individualism/Collectivism Scale. Multivariate analyses of variance results yielded a main effect for ethnicity, with African Americans being significantly higher on horizontal individualism and European Americans being higher on horizontal collectivism and vertical individualism. A moderated multiple regression analysis indicated that ethnicity significantly moderated the relationship between individualism and collectivism. Individualism and collectivism were significantly and positively associated among African Americans, but not associated among European Americans. In addition, collectivism was related to grade point average for African Americans but not for European Americans. Contrary to the prevailing view of individualism-collectivism being unipolar, orthogonal dimensions, results provide support for individualism-collectivism to be considered as unipolar, related dimensions for African Americans. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved)

Ethnic differences in the effects of spiritual well-being on long-term psychological and behavioral outcomes within a sample of homeless women.

Douglas, Amber N.; Jimenez, Sherlyn; Lin, Hsiu-Ju; Frisman, Linda K. — 2008

The present study examines ethnicity as a moderator variable between spiritual well-being (SWB) and psychological and behavioral outcomes. Participants included in this analysis were 88 African American (46.6%) and 101 non-African American (total N = 189) homeless mothers. Through structured interviews conducted at 3-month intervals over a period of 15 months, data were collected on spiritual well-being, mental health, trauma symptoms, substance use, parenting, and child behavior. Hierarchical linear model and general estimating equation results indicated that ethnicity moderates the relationship between SWB and anxiety, trauma symptoms, child behavior, and parenting outcomes. On average, African Americans reported significantly higher SWB than non-African Americans, indicating the relative importance of spirituality in their lives. These findings support previous research indicating a difference in the role that SWB plays in the lives of African Americans compared to non-African Americans. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved)

Asian cultural values gap, cognitive flexibility, coping strategies, and parent-child conflicts among Korean Americans.

Ahn, Annie J.; Kim, Bryan S. K.; Park, Yong S. — 2008

The study examined Korean American college students' perceived Asian cultural values gap between themselves and their parents, cognitive flexibility, and coping strategies. The relationships between these factors were studied with the intensities and types of parent-child conflicts. The results indicated that the participants adhered less strongly to Asian values than their parents. When faced with conflicts, the participants reported using problem solving coping strategy to the greatest extent, followed by social support coping strategy, and then avoidance coping strategy. Simultaneous regression analyses revealed a positive relationship between the participant-perceived parent-child values gap and the intensity of conflicts, particularly in the area of dating and marriage. There were inverse relationships between cognitive flexibility and the intensity of conflicts, specifically in the area of dating and marriage. A positive relationship was observed between the use of social support coping strategy and intensity of conflicts. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed a significant interaction effect in which participant-perceived parent-child values gap and cognitive flexibility were related to increased frequency of dating and marriage conflicts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved)

Defendant and defense attorney characteristics and their effects on juror decision making and prejudice against Mexican Americans.

Espinoza, Russ K. E.; Willis-Esqueda, Cynthia — 2008

Racial bias in legal decision making has been given considerable attention over the past few decades, focusing mainly on African Americans to the exclusion of other minority groups. The purpose of this study was to address the dearth of research examining bias against Mexican American defendants. Two hundred forty-seven participants read through a trial transcript that varied defendant race/ethnicity (Mexican American or European American), defense attorney race/ethnicity (Mexican American or European American), and defendant socioeconomic status (SES; low or high [upper middle class]). Dependent measures included verdict, sentencing, culpability ratings, and trait assessments. Bias against Mexican American defendants occurred most when the Mexican American defendant was of low SES and represented by a Mexican American defense attorney. In addition, attorneys representing low-SES Mexican American defendants were perceived as less competent and rated lower on a number of trait measures. Limitations, applications, and future directions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved)

Perceived cultural attitudes toward homosexuality and their effects on Iranian and American sexual minorities.

Mireshghi, Sholeh I.; Matsumoto, David — 2008

This study examined the relationship between three mental health constructs and perceived cultural attitudes toward homosexuality among lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals. Specifically, differences in perceived cultural attitudes and depression, self-esteem, and perceived stress between 49 Iranians and 47 Americans were compared. It was hypothesized that (a) perceived cultural attitudes toward homosexuality would be more negative among Iranians than Americans; (b) perceived cultural attitudes would be related to depression, self-esteem, and perceived stress; and (c) that Iranian participants' scores on the depression, self-esteem, and perceived stress measures would reflect poorer mental health than that of their American counterparts. Results indicated more negative perceptions of cultural attitudes toward homosexuality among Iranians. Contrary to prediction, however, no difference was found in levels of depression, self-esteem, and perceived stress among American and Iranian participants. Findings are discussed in terms of cultural and familial differences with regard to sexual orientation disclosure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved)

Measuring Latinos' perceptions of depression: A confirmatory factor analysis of the Illness Perception Questionnaire.

2008

This study examined the psychometric properties of the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire adapted for a clinical sample of low-income Latinos suffering from depression. Participants (N = 339) were recruited from public primary care centers. Their average age was 49.73 years and the majority was foreign born females of either Mexican or Central American descent. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the factor structure of this measure. Construct and discriminant validity and internal consistency were evaluated. After the elimination of three items because of low factor loadings (< .40) and the specification of seven error covariances, a revised model composed of 24 items had adequate goodness-of-fit indices and factor loadings, supporting construct validity. Each of the subscales reported satisfactory internal consistency. Intercorrelations between the 5 illness perception factors provided initial support for the discriminant validity of these factors in the context of depression. The establishment of the psychometric properties of this adapted measure will pave the way for future studies examining the role illness perceptions play in the help seeking and management of depression among Latinos. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved)

Childhood sexual abuse in black men who have sex with men: Results from three qualitative studies.

Fields, Sheldon D.; Malebranche, David; Feist-Price, Sonja — 2008

This report describes the high prevalence and context of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) among Black men who have sex with men (MSM) across 3 independent qualitative studies. Semistructured one-on-one interviews were conducted with 87 Black MSM across 3 cities (Rochester, NY, n = 28; Lexington, KY /Atlanta, GA, n = 30; and Atlanta, GA, n = 29). A combined CSA prevalence of 32% (28/87) was found among the 3 samples, despite variation in geographic location, mean age, and sexual identification. Common themes emerging across the 3 samples included prolonged and repeated abuse by a close male relative; blaming of same-sex desire on CSA; and descriptions of adverse mental health reactions to CSA. Implications of CSA and its potential influence on the mental health and risky sexual behavior among Black MSM are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved)

Review of The African American child: Development and challenges.

Walker, Sheila — 2008

Reviews the book The African American Child: Development and Challenges (see record 2007-02692-000) by Yvette R. Harris and James A. Graham. Harris and Graham's text on development among African American children is a welcome addition to the lamentably few textbooks devoted to the psychology of African Americans in general and even fewer that focus on children. The text is organized into separate chapters, each one focusing on a particular developmental domain, such as mental health issues, language and literacy, and moral development. Included in each chapter are boxes containing, for the most part, well-chosen excerpts from empirical studies, legal documents, or journalistic pieces. At the end of each chapter are two brief concluding sections, one called "Perspectives" and one titled "Chapter Summary," along with some recommended additional readings. While the chapter summaries are useful, the purpose of the "Perspectives" sections is not altogether clear. In some chapters, the sections read more like summaries, thus seem redundant; in other chapters, they are more interesting, raising important questions and suggesting future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved)

Review of Racism in the United States: Implications for the helping professions.

Barker, Lori A. — 2008

Reviews the book Racism in the United States: Implications for the Helping Professions (2008) by Joshua Miller and Ann Marie Garran. The primary purpose of this book is to provide a comprehensive examination of racism as it exists in the United States and to demonstrate how helping professionals can respond to racism in their clinical work. The first half of the book explains what racism is, while the second offers suggestions for how clinicians can work to dismantle it. The book is founded on critical race theory. Some of the major tenets of critical race theory include: (a) the significance of race and racism as forces in our society that intersect with other forms of social oppression; (b) an interdisciplinary perspective; (c) the need to challenge dominant racial ideology; (d) the validity of experiential knowledge; and (e) a commitment to social justice. These are recurring themes throughout the book. The intended audience for the book is the helping professions, including social work, psychology, counseling, nursing, medicine, education, and law, from students to seasoned professionals. However, As a psychologist, I found this a bit frustrating, noting that seminal works in multicultural psychology were missing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved)