Shared Cultural Values Influence Mental Health Help-Seeking Behaviors in Asian and Latinx College Students

The current study sought to understand the influence of cultural values on mental health attitudes and help-seeking behaviors in college students of diverse ethnic backgrounds. Asian and Latinx college students (N = 159) completed an online survey in which they reported on their adherence to cultural values as measured by ethnicity-specific cultural values and general attitudes towards mental health. Factor analysis revealed two common factors of cultural values irrespective of ethnicity: Interdependent Orientation (IO) and Cultural Obligation (CO). Regardless of ethnicity, the more students endorsed IO values, the less likely they were to perceive a need for mental health treatment. IO value adherence was also predictive of more negative attitudes towards mental health. CO values were not predictive of perceived need or help-seeking behaviors. Findings highlight the importance of understanding shared cultural values across ethnic-racial groups and considering how the multidimensionality of culture may help explain shared mental health behaviors crossing lines of ethnic group membership.

Variation and third age: A sociolinguistic perspective

The correlation between external factors such as age, gender, ethnic group membership and language variation is one of the stalwarts of sociolinguistic theory. The repertoire of individual members of speaker groups, vis-à-vis community-wide variation, represents a somewhat slippery ground for developing and testing models of variation and change and has been researched with reference to accommodation (Bell 1984), style shifting (Rickford, John R. & MacKenzie Price. 2013. Girlz II women: Age-grading, language change and stylistic variation. Journal of Sociolinguistics 17. 143–179) and language change generally (Labov, William. 2001. Principles of linguistic change, vol. 2: Social factors. Oxford: Blackwell). This paper presents and assesses some first quantitative evidence that non-mobile older speakers from Tristan da Cunha, an island in the South Atlantic Ocean, who grew up in an utterly isolated speech community, vary and shift according to external interview parameters (interviewer, topic, place of interview). However, while they respond to the formality of the context, they display variation (both regarding speakers and variables) that is not in line with the constraints attested elsewhere. These findings are assessed with focus on the acquisition of sociolinguistic competence in third-age speakers (particularly style-shifting, Labov, William. 1964. Stages in the acquisition of Standard English. In Roger Shuy, Alva Davis & Robert Hogan (eds.), Social Dialects and Language Learning, 77–104. Champaign: National Council of Teachers of English) and across the life-span generally.

Variations in prevalence and risk profiles for Common Mental Disorders amongst Rohingya, Chin and Kachin refugees from Myanmar

Background Large variations in prevalence rates of common mental disorder (CMD) amongst refugees and forcibly displaced populations have raised questions about the accuracy and value of epidemiological surveys in these cross-cultural settings. We examined the associations of sociodemographic indices, premigration traumatic events (TEs), postmigration living difficulties (PMLDs), and psychosocial disruptions based on the Adaptive Stress Index (ASI) in relation to CMD prevalence amongst the Rohingya, Chin and Kachin refugees originating from Myanmar and relocated to Malaysia. Methods Parallel epidemiological studies were conducted in areas where the three groups were concentrated in and around Malaysia (response rates: 80–83%). Results TE exposure, PMLDs and ASI were significantly associated with CMD prevalence in each group but the Rohingya recorded the highest exposure to all three of these former indices relative to Chin and Kachin (TE: mean = 11.1 v. 8.2 v. 11; PMLD: mean = 13.5 v. 7.4 v. 8.7; ASI: mean = 128.9 v. 32.1 v. 35.5). Multiple logistic regression analyses based on the pooled sample (n = 2058) controlling for gender and age, found that ethnic group membership, premigration TEs (16 or more TEs: OR, 2.00; 95% CI, 1.39–2.88; p < 0.001), PMLDs (10–15 PMLDs: OR, 4.19; 95% CI, 3.17–5.54; 16 or more PMLDs: OR, 7.23; 95% CI, 5.24–9.98; p < 0.001) and ASI score (ASI score 100 or greater: OR, 2.19; 95% CI, 1.46–3.30; p < 0.001) contributed to CMD. Conclusions Factors specific to each ethnic group and differences in the quantum of exposure to TEs, PMLDs and psychosocial disruptions appeared to account in large part for differences in prevalence rates of CMDs observed across these three groups.

Black Students’ Perceptions of School Ethnic-Racial Socialization Practices in a Predominantly Black School

Ethnic-racial socialization describes messages and practices that teach youth about their racial and/or ethnic group membership and the role of race in society. Despite a wealth of research on families, little work has considered school socialization practices. The current article uses a framework of school racial socialization to explore six socialization messages reported in a predominantly Black public charter school in an urban area. In focus group and individual interviews, 21 African American students (71% female) discussed what they learned about race and culture at school. Responses revealed a high frequency of cultural socialization and promotion of cultural competence messages, but the content was limited to certain key figures and events. The findings illustrate the complexity of youths’ perceptions of socialization and the need for multicultural education in schools.

Cultural Values Influence Mental-Health Help-Seeking in Asian and Latinx College Students

The current study examined the influence of cultural values on mental health attitudes and help-seeking behaviors in college students of diverse ethnic backgrounds. Asian and Latinx college students (N = 159) completed an online survey in which they reported their adherence to cultural values and general attitudes towards mental health and help-seeking behavior. Factor analysis revealed two common factors of cultural values irrespective of ethnic background: Interdependent Orientation (IO) and Cultural Obligation (CO). Regardless of ethnicity, the more students endorsed IO values, the less likely they were to perceive a need for mental health treatment. IO value adherence also predicted more negative attitudes towards mental health. CO values were not predictive of perceived need or help-seeking behaviors. Findings highlight the importance of assessing certain cultural values independently from ethnicity and considering how the multidimensionality of culture may help explain shared mental health behaviors across ethnic group membership.

Cancer Caregivers

Cancer caregivers are an essential extension of the healthcare team. Rapid advances in cancer care, including new drugs and immunotherapies and more sophisticated diagnostic tools, have improved our ability to extend lives and enhance survival. As patients are living longer and with today’s shorter hospital stays and shift towards increased outpatient care, however, the burden on caregivers and their needs have substantially increased. Cancer Caregivers reveals the depth of complexities of caregiving experiences that the field of Psycho-Oncology has been exploring and the vast expanses we have left to understand. This text describes the characteristics and experiences of cancer caregivers based on their life stage, relationship to the patient, and ethnic group membership, as well as patients’ disease and treatment type. It highlights the significant progress in research focused on the development and dissemination of psychosocial interventions for cancer caregivers, and includes in-depth case studies to illustrate their delivery and application. The text also explores the provision of support to caregivers in the community and the legal and ethical concerns faced by caregivers across the care trajectory. Cancer Caregivers offers both fundamental and practical information and is a resource for all healthcare professionals who work with patients and families facing cancer.

Hispanic and Catholic, or Hispanic-Catholic? Racialized Religious Identity for Self-Identified “Hispanic” Students at a Predominantly White Institution

Drawing from in-depth interviews with undergraduates at a predominantly non-Hispanic white and secular university in the U.S., I investigate how those self-identified as both Hispanic and Catholic negotiate the identity statuses that classify them as minorities on their campus. While participants in this study who did not identify as Hispanic also did not make connections between religious affiliation and racial/ethnic group membership, most Hispanic undergraduates did make these connections. I found that self-identified Hispanic students used the meanings they attach to Catholic religious affiliation to help them also make sense of their racialized Hispanic identities in the university space. Despite coming from diverse geographic, social class, and cultural backgrounds, these students move toward creating a shared definition of what it means to be a racialized Hispanic person (or Latinx person with Spanish-speaking ancestors) in this particular collegiate context. I conclude with suggestions for future research.