Use of inpatient mental health services by members of ethnic minority groups.

National data on psychiatric hospitalization point to marked ethnic-related differences. Blacks and Native Americans are considerably more likely than Whites to be hospitalized; Blacks are more likely than Whites to be admitted as schizophrenic and less likely to be diagnosed as having an affective disorder; Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders are less likely than Whites to be admitted, but remain for a lengthier stay, at least in state and county mental hospitals. Differences are clearcut, but they ignore a major source of care: psychiatric hospitalization in placements other than psychiatric units and hospitals. Explanations for observed minority-White differences in hospitalization can be evaluated only partially or not at all: Such explanations included ethnic-related differences in socioeconomic standing and in the prevalence of major psychopathology; differential stigma, or capacity to tolerate or support a dysfunctional significant other; access and use of alternative services; and bias in the behavior of gatekeepers, especially practitioners assigning diagnostic labels and making involuntary commitment decisions. More research is needed to help explain these striking differences in utilization. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The ethnic minority traveler

Although the ethnic minority traveler is exposed to the same risks as other travelers, there are special considerations that make them vulnerable to certain diseases. In addition, many ethnic minority travelers are traditionally underserved by the medical community and often travel without the benefit of adequate counseling and immunization. The specific disease entities covered in this article include parasitic diseases (e.g. malaria, trypanosomiasis, intestinal helminths), tuberculosis, and other respiratory diseases, dengue, and sexually transmitted diseases and HIV.     

Adolescent sexual risk-taking behavior in single-parent ethnic minority families.

Relationships of maternal sexual behavior, mother-adolescent communication about sex, and maternal attitudes about adolescent sexuality to adolescent sexual risk-taking behavior were examined in a sample of 397 Black and Hispanic families headed by single mothers. Some support emerged for a positive relationship between maternal sexual risk-taking behavior and adolescent risk-taking behavior; however, when considered in the context of communication about sex and maternal attitudes about adolescent sexuality, the relationship was no longer significant. When the process of sexual communication between a mother and an adolescent was open and receptive, less adolescent risk-taking behavior was reported. The role of single mothers in influencing their adolescents' sexual behavior is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Survey on ethnic minority faculty recruitment and retention.

Summarizes responses from 209 graduate departments of psychology regarding hiring and retention of minority faculty and reasons why minority applicants may decline faculty positions. The results suggest that a more favorable atmosphere for employment of minority applicants is emerging; that a good record of research and teaching skills is a prerequisite for being hired; that for those hired, too much minority service and insufficient research activity are the most common perceived barriers to tenure; that the most common reasons given by minority applicants for rejecting an employment offer include higher salary, more preferred geographic location, and the presence of minority persons in the local community. Recommendations are provided for both minority applicants seeking faculty positions and for psychology departments wishing to attract minority applicants. (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Culturally sensitive assertiveness training for ethnic minority clients.

This article serves as a comprehensive resource to help bridge the gap of cultural understanding for those using assertiveness training with ethnic minority clients. Therapists providing cross-cultural assertiveness training must be certain that gaining such skills is a value shared by the client and not imposed by the therapist. A more culturally appropriate approach includes the following general assessment strategies: determining the etiology of the lack of assertiveness; using self-report inventories that avoid words, slang, or situations that may not be meaningful to the client; and the developing norms for the cultural group for which the inventory will be used. General treatment strategies may include "message matching," backup assertion, and discriminative cue learning. Specific strategies that are relevant for each cultural group are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The influence of ethnic attitudes on reasoning about ethnic groups.

"This study was undertaken to investigate further the relationships between ethnic attitudes and objective reasoning about ethnic groups. It was argued that tolerant individuals would bias their reasoning in favor while intolerant individuals would bias their reasoning against ethnic groups. The findings revealed that tolerant individuals biased their reasoning significantly in favor of ethnic groups. However, intolerant individuals did not bias their reasoning significantly against ethnic groups. The lack of bias against ethnic groups was presumptively related to the absence of strongly prejudiced respondents in the sample. Biased reasoning on the part of the unprejudiced individuals challenged the traditional assumption that tolerance is invariably accompanied by superior reality directed thinking." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of an ethnic minority alumni advisory committee in training professional psychologists.

The role and impact of an advisory board composed of ethnic minority alumni of a professional psychology program are described. The advisory board, in conjunction with the faculty and administration, assists in incorporating cultural sensitivity into the training of professional psychology students and provides support systems for ethnic minority students. The model and projects are described, and implementation issues are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Statistical definitions of test validity for minority groups.

Considers the problem of deciding when a selection test is invalid for members of a minority group. There is both a strong empirical and theoretical basis for rejecting the choice of zero correlation between test and criterion as an appropriate null hypothesis. The choice typically requires that the population value of the correlation be higher in the minority group than in the majority group. The direct comparison of correlations in minority and majority samples is recommended. Only when the minority correlation is significantly lower and the confidence limits around that correlation include no useful levels of the relationship, should the correlation be considered essentially zero. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sexual abuse of ethnic minority children: Identifying dimensions of victimization.

This article describes sexual abuse as well as several other dimensions of victimization, such as institutional racism, that American ethnic minority children are likely to encounter. Some of these other forms of victimization parallel the dynamics of child sexual abuse and posttraumatic stress disorder. The Four Traumagenic Dynamics model, which examines the dynamics of the effects of child sexual abuse, is applied to the experiences of ethnic minority children. The importance of assessing a variety of victimization experiences in this population is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preparing nurses to care for minority ethnic communities

UK healthcare policy is increasingly emphasizing the need for healthcare services to be responsive to ethnic diversity. In recognizing the important role that nurses and midwives play in healthcare delivery, the English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting--the statutory professional body that oversees nursing and midwifery education in England-commissioned a two-year research project to examine the extent to which nurses and midwives were prepared to work in a multi-ethnic society. The study found that not all practitioners were equipped to provide appropriate care to multi-ethnic populations. Below an overview of the study, which identifies some issues that may be of relevance to other countries.     

Intergroup attributions and affective consequences in majority and minority groups.

Three studies explored intergroup attributional bias. In Exp 1, Muslims (majority) and Hindus (minority) in Bangladesh rated their explanations of in-group and out-group members' positive and negative acts on 4 causal dimensions: locus, stability, controllability by others, and globality. Both groups showed in-group-favoring attributions, but only Muslims were out-group derogating. Causal dimensions predicted affects primarily in in-group-outcome conditions. Exp 2 showed that this bias for Muslims varied across crossed-categorization conditions. Causal dimensions predicted affect and self-esteem in certain conditions. Exp 3 showed that this bias for Hindus was accentuated when social categorizations were made salient. These studies increase understanding of the determinants and consequences of the bias. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy with adult ethnic minority clients: A review.

Practicing psychologists may question the relevance of cognitive- behavioral treatments for their ethnic minority clients. Many cognitive- behavioral treatments are listed as empirically supported treatments by the Task Force on the Promotion and Dissemination of Psychological Procedures (D. L. Chambless et al., 1998). However, the samples in these effectiveness studies are composed primarily of White European American individuals. There is a paucity of research examining the effectiveness of cognitive- behavioral therapy (CBT) for ethnic minority clients. The author reviews the current literature on the use of CBT with ethnic minority clients living in the United States, specifically those of African, Asian, and Hispanic/Latino descent. Twelve studies are reviewed that examined the effectiveness of CBT for ethnic minority participants with a variety of psychological disorders. Recommendations for conducting and evaluating clinical outcome research that includes ethnic minority participants are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Frequent use of psychiatric hospitalization for low-income, inner-city ethnic minority youth.

The clinical and demographic data of 664 youth (M age = 13.92, SD = 2.58) were used to identify factors associated with frequent use of psychiatric hospitalization. Clinical data included scores on the Self-Report of Personality (SRP) and Parent Rating Scales (PRS) of the Behavior Assessment System for Children, Second Edition (BASC-2). Demographic data included age, race/ethnicity, gender, and the presence or absence of surrogate care. Results indicated that those youth with frequent admissions to the hospital were generally between 13 and 18 years old (p = .01), African American (p = .03), and in surrogate care (p = .04). Relative to the other youth in our sample they were more aggressive (p p p p = .003). The implications of these findings and the recommended interventions for youth with disruptive behaviors are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Treatment and prevention of alcohol problems: A resource manual.

Reviews the book, Treatment and prevention of alcohol problems: A resource manual edited by W. Miles Cox (see record 1987-97300-000). A resource manual on alcohol problems that captures the state of the art in therapeutic and preventive techniques and in their underlying theoretical bases and empirical foundations is an extremely ambitious but much needed effort. This is precisely what Miles Cox has set out to do in the present volume. The volume consists of four sections: initiating treatment with chapters on beginning treatment, assessment, and medical aspects; specific treatment techniques, with chapters on behavioral treatment, building self-control, imagery and logotherapy, self-help groups, and craving for alcohol; associated problems and special populations with chapters on marital and family therapy, sexual problems, and culture-specific treatment; and early intervention and prevention including chapters on cognitive approaches to secondary prevention and prevention of alcohol problems. On the whole, the book lives up to its intentions. Although there are some gaps which prevent this book from being truly comprehensive, this volume will serve as a useful text in graduate courses for social workers, counselors, and psychologists. What is commendable about this book is that Cox has made a largely successful attempt, by pulling together many diverse literatures, to bridge the gulf that exists between service providers and research communities on the proper ways of helping people who are troubled by, or threaten to be troubled by, alcohol. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Research ethics for mental health science involving ethnic minority children and youths.

In response to U.S. Public Health Service projects promoting attention to disparities in the outcomes of mental health treatments, in July 2001, the American Psychological Association, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the Fordham University Center for Ethics Education convened a group of national leaders in bioethics, multicultural research, and ethnic minority mental health to produce a living document to guide ethical decision making for mental health research involving ethnic minority children and youths. This report summarizes the key recommendations distilled from these discussions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Experiences of ethnic minority faculty employed in predominantly white schools of nursing

This qualitative study describes the bicultural experience of ten ethnic minority faculty employed in predominately white baccalaureate and higher degree nursing programs in the Southeastern section of the United States. Seven themes emerged from the data: (a) appraising, (b) proving, (c) fitting-in, (d) defending, (e) distancing, (f) being invisible, and (g) mentoring to describe their experience. Results also provided support for the authors' generated Bicultural Systems Model which evaluates why and to what extent a particular transaction or series of transactions between the person and the environment is perceived as stressful. The general perception among participants was that they were not fully accepted in the academic setting of predominately white nursing programs. As a result, some faculty were expending energy trying to convince others of their legitimacy; while others were choosing to distance themselves from the academic setting and white colleagues. This study indicates a need for dialogue between white and ethnic minority faculty to facilitate adoption of strategies that reduce the negative effects of the bicultural phenomenon.