Testing the validity of the colonial mentality implicit association test and the interactive effects of covert and overt colonial mentality on Filipino American mental health.

Colonial mentality (CM) has been found to be an important factor for Filipino American mental health. However, the link between CM and mental health may be more complex and might be influenced by whether Filipino American individuals hold covert CM, overt CM, or both. Relatedly, although the Implicit Association Test has been used to capture the covert and automatic aspect of CM, suggesting that this component of CM is less amenable to accurate self-report and introspection, the validity of such a method and its ability to predict mental health variables has yet to be supported. Furthermore, the possibility that the link between overt CM and mental health may be dependent on the covert aspect of CM has yet to be empirically explored. Thus, I examined the construct validity and utility of the Colonial Mentality Implicit Association Test (CMIAT) as a measure of the covert aspect of CM and investigated the interactions between covert and overt CM in predicting mental health among a sample of 102 Filipino Americans. Results suggest that the CMIAT may be a valid and useful tool for capturing the covert and automatic component of CM and that covert CM may be moderating the link between overt CM and mental health. Implications for CM theory and for Filipino American mental health are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development and validation of the Enculturation Scale for Filipino Americans.

Enculturation is the degree to which a person adheres to the values and behaviors of an indigenous or ethnic culture. This study was conducted to develop the Enculturation Scale for Filipino Americans (ESFA). Items were generated from a literature review, interviews with 5 Filipino American academic experts, and a survey of 24 cultural informants. Two community samples of Filipino Americans (Ns = 281 and 269) and 1 sample of non-Filipino Americans (N = 84) completed the ESFA. The Filipino American samples also completed existing enculturation/acculturation measures for Asian Americans and measures of subjective well-being. In factor analyses, 3 general enculturation dimensions—Connection With Homeland, Interpersonal Norms, and Conservatism—replicated well across samples. Internal consistency reliability estimates for the ESFA subscales were high, and construct validity was supported by the pattern of relationships with alternative, but less culture-specific, enculturation/acculturation measures, as well as immigration, generational status, and cultural identity variables. Item response theory methods were used to develop a short form of the ESFA. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cultural mistrust and mental health help-seeking attitudes among Filipino Americans.

As low as the rate of mental health help-seeking is among Asian Americans, Filipino Americans seek mental health services at a much lower rate even compared with other Asian Americans. Despite the field’s progress in identifying and understanding factors that may influence mental health help-seeking attitudes among Asian Americans, despite research on other minority groups suggesting that cultural mistrust may influence attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help, and despite the abundance of literature documenting the historical and contemporary experiences of oppression by Filipino Americans, the possibility that cultural mistrust may play a significant role in Filipino Americans’ mental health help-seeking attitudes have yet to be empirically investigated. Thus, using a sample of 118 Filipino Americans, the current study demonstrates that higher levels of cultural mistrust is related to lower likelihood of seeking professional psychological help. Furthermore, cultural mistrust predicted variance in mental health help-seeking attitudes that are not accounted for by income, generational status, loss of face, and adherence to Asian cultural values. Implications for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Bicultural self-efficacy among college students: Initial scale development and mental health correlates.

Theory and empirical research suggest that perceived self-efficacy, or one's perceived ability to perform personally significant tasks, is related to individuals' psychological well-being and mental health. Thus, the authors hypothesized that bicultural individuals' perceived ability to function competently in 2 cultures, or perceived bicultural self-efficacy, would be related positively to their psychological well-being and mental health. Three studies were conducted to develop and validate a measure of perceived bicultural self-efficacy and to explore its relationships with indices of psychological well-being and mental health. Exploratory (n = 268) and confirmatory (n = 164) factor analyses on the theoretically derived Bicultural Self-Efficacy Scale (BSES) items support a measurement model that taps into the 6 dimensions of bicultural competence proposed by T. LaFromboise, H. L. K. Coleman, and J. Gerton (1993). Furthermore, initial evidence for internal consistency (Studies 1, 2, and 3) and test–retest reliability (n = 51 Asian Americans) for each of the 6 subscales were found. Finally, perceived bicultural self-efficacy was found to be related to bicultural college students' psychological well-being and mental health. Research implications of the perceived bicultural self-efficacy construct and the potential utility of the BSES as a multidimensional measure of the construct are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpretations of parental control by Asian immigrant and European American youth.

Although studies have reported ethnic and cultural differences in the effects of parenting on adolescent well-being, rarely have they included specific examinations of the cultural processes underlying these differences. This study examined adolescents’ affective interpretations of parents’ control (i.e., feelings of anger toward control) and how these interpretations may moderate the relationship between control and adolescents’ behavioral adjustment. The study comprised 1,085 immigrant youth of Chinese, Korean, and Filipino descent, and also European American youth from high schools in the greater Los Angeles area. Differences were found between European American and Asian immigrant youth in the effects of both behavioral control and psychological control. Furthermore, among European Americans only, as adolescents’ feelings of anger increased, the beneficial consequences of behavioral control decreased, whereas the negative effects of psychological control on behavior problems decreased. The results suggest that feeling anger toward parents’ use of psychological control may serve a protective function for European American youth but not for Asian immigrant youth. In contrast, feeling angry about behavioral control seems to reduce the beneficial consequences of control among European Americans but not Asian immigrants. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cultural mistrust: An important psychological construct for diagnosis and treatment of African Americans.

Although clinicians are encouraged to be more sensitive to cultural factors in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders, as evidenced by the significant changes in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; American Psychiatric Association, 1994), little information is provided to help them determine which aspects of culture are important to the mental health of African Americans. This article discusses the importance of cultural mistrust as a psychological construct in the lives of African Americans. The origins of the construct, the research it has generated over the past 2 decades, and implications for improving interventions with Black clients seeking mental health care are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On both sides of the hyphen: Exploring the Filipino-American identity.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to compare the ethnic identities of 2 groups of Filipino Americans, 1 born in the United States and 1 born in the Philippines. Results from consensual qualitative research analysis (C. E. Hill et al., 2005; C. E. Hill, B. J. Thompson, & E. N. Williams, 1997) suggested that U.S.-born participants saw the distinguishing feature of their identity as the "American lifestyle," that is, the availability of material goods and technology. Typically, these participants were curious and wanted to explore their Filipino American identity, which they saw as influenced by both Philippine and U.S. cultures. Philippine-born individuals, in contrast, identified the following important aspects of their identity: valuing family relationships; being hospitable, polite, and respectful; having faith in God; speaking Tagalog; and having Filipino physical characteristics. Although most of the latter individuals defined their identity as a combination of both cultures, they were more likely than the U.S.-born participants to view themselves as primarily Filipino and the American aspect of their identity as a result of circumstance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Family Almost Perfect Scale: Development, psychometric properties, and comparing Asian and European Americans.

This article describes two studies related to the development and psychometric evaluation of the Family Almost Perfect Scale (FAPS), which measures the perceived level of perfectionistic standards and evaluation from one's family. In Study 1 (N = 283), exploratory factor analysis was used to determine the FAPS scale items. In Study 2, the FAPS was cross-validated through confirmatory factor analyses with an Asian/Asian American sample (N = 252) and a European American sample (N = 386). These two samples were compared on study variables and Asians/Asian Americans reported modestly higher personal and family discrepancy and lower self-esteem. Participants were also grouped into different perceived perfectionistic family types. Those that perceived having maladaptively perfectionistic families reported greater depression and lower self-esteem. Implications for counseling and future directions for research are also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Initiation, desistance, and persistence of men's sexual coercion.

Patterns of sexually coercive behavior were examined among 266 Asian American and 299 European American men over 1 year. Noncoercer (n = 358), desister (n = 120), initiator (n = 39), and persistent (n = 48) sexually coercive groups were identified. The strongest predictor of sexual coercion was past sexual coercion. Persistent sexual coercers were higher than the other groups in delinquency and hostile masculinity and were nearly twice as likely to engage in laboratory sexual harassment. Loss of face attenuated self-reported sexual coercion and laboratory sexual harassment risk among Asian Americans and attenuated only laboratory sexual harassment risk among European Americans. These findings suggest that the heterogeneity of sexually coercive behavior and ethnicity are important research and clinical considerations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measuring the self-stigma associated with seeking psychological help.

Self-stigma is an important factor in people's decisions not to engage in therapy. To measure this construct, the authors developed the 10-item Self-Stigma of Seeking Help (SSOSH) scale. In Study 1 (n = 583), the SSOSH had a unidimensional factor structure and good reliability (.91) among participants. Study 2 (n = 470) confirmed the factor structure. Studies 2, 3 (n = 546), and 4 (n = 217) cross-validated the reliability (.86 to .90; test-retest, .72) and showed evidence of validity (construct, criterion, and predictive) across the study samples. The SSOSH uniquely predicted attitudes toward and intent to seek psychological help. Finally, in Study 5 (n = 655) the SSOSH differentiated those who sought psychological services from those who did not across a 2-month period. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The empirical and conceptual value of the spiritual transcendence and religious involvement scales for personality research.

Despite their wide usage, the constructs of spirituality and religiosity have no universally accepted definitions, and very little research has examined how these numinous constructs relate both to one another and to established personality dimensions. Two studies are presented that examined the factor structure of a motivationally based measure of spirituality, the Spiritual Transcendence Scale (STS) and a behaviorally based measure of religiosity, the Religious Involvement Scale (RIS). Three causal models examining their relationships to one another and to psychological measures of growth and maturity, as well as their incremental validity in predicting a wide array of psychosocial outcomes over the influence of the Five-Factor Model domains were examined. Employing self and observer ratings and American and Filipino samples, the results demonstrated that these robust, cross-culturally generalizable scales provided insights into people not contained by traditional personality variables. The conceptual implications of these results were discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Racial and Ethnic Microaggressions Scale (REMS): Construction, reliability, and validity.

Racial microaggressions are subtle statements and behaviors that unconsciously communicate denigrating messages to people of color. In recent years, a theoretical taxonomy and subsequent qualitative studies have introduced the types of microaggressions that people of color experience. In the present study, college- and Internet-based samples of African Americans, Latina/os, Asian Americans, and multiracial participants (N = 661) were used to develop and validate the Racial and Ethnic Microaggression Scale (REMS). In Study 1, an exploratory principal-components analyses (n = 443) yielded a 6-factor model: (a) Assumptions of Inferiority, (b) Second-Class Citizen and Assumptions of Criminality, (c) Microinvalidations, (d) Exoticization/Assumptions of Similarity, (e) Environmental Microaggressions, and (f) Workplace and School Microaggressions, with a Cronbach's alpha of .912 for the overall model and subscales ranging from .783 to .873. In Study 2, a confirmatory factor analysis (n = 218) supported the 6-factor model with a Cronbach's alpha of .892. Further analyses indicate that the REMS is a valid measure of racial microaggressions, as evidenced by high correlations with existing measures of racism and participants' feedback. Future research directions and implications for practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Filipino Americans and racism: A multiple mediation model of coping.

Although the literature on Asian Americans and racism has been emerging, few studies have examined how coping influences one’s encounters with racism. To advance the literature, the present study focused on the psychological impact of Filipino Americans’ experiences with racism and the role of coping as a mediator using a community-based sample of adults (N = 199). Two multiple mediation models were used to examine the mediating effects of active, avoidance, support-seeking, and forbearance coping on the relationship between perceived racism and psychological distress and self-esteem, respectively. Separate analyses were also conducted for men and women given differences in coping utilization. For men, a bootstrap procedure indicated that active, support-seeking, and avoidance coping were mediators of the relationship between perceived racism and psychological distress. Active coping was negatively associated with psychological distress, whereas both support seeking and avoidance were positively associated with psychological distress. A second bootstrap procedure for men indicated that active and avoidance coping mediated the relationship between perceived racism and self-esteem such that active coping was positively associated with self-esteem, and avoidance was negatively associated with self-esteem. For women, only avoidance coping had a significant mediating effect that was associated with elevations in psychological distress and decreases in self-esteem. The results highlight the importance of examining the efficacy of specific coping responses to racism and the need to differentiate between the experiences of men and women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessing the MMPI-based Cook-Medley Hostility Scale: The implications of dimensionality.

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-based Cook-Medley Hostility scale (W. W. Cook and D. M. Medley, 1954) historically has been used to investigate links between personality factors and health outcomes. We assessed the dimensionality of 27 Cook-Medley items previously found to predict mortality using full-information maximum likelihood factor analysis. The factor analyses revealed that these items serve as indicators for several constructs, with some factors apparently reflecting word usage rather than a meaningful psychological dimension. Analyses indicate that the psychological meaning of these (sub)scales is ambiguous and differs according to the respondent's gender. The findings are discussed in the context of evidence to support the construct validity of the scale and the implications of dimensionality for making inferences concerning the link among scale scores, personality factors, and health outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factor structure of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale among Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic Whites.

Confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess whether Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) scores represent the same underlying construct in randomly selected non-Hispanic White (n?=?1,149), U.S.-born Mexican-American (n?=?538), and Mexico-born Mexican-American (n?=?706) community residents. The factor structure identified in previous studies (e.g., V. A. Clark et al, 1981) fit the data well. Although the factor structure was not statistically identical across ethnic and immigration groups, factor loadings were substantively similar in the 3 groups. The exception was sleep disturbance, which loaded primarily on a Somatic factor for U.S.-born Mexican Americans, primarily on a Negative Affect factor for the Mexico-born, and about equally on these factors for non-Hispanic Whites. The results indicate high (but imperfect) conceptual equivalence of the CES-D in these cultural groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Angiotensin II type I receptor polymorphism in African Americans lower frequency of the C1166 variant

The C1166 variant, an A to C substitution polymorphism at the 1166 position of the angiotensin II type I (AT1) receptor, has been previously associated with hypertension in Caucasians. This study determines the frequency of the C1166 variant in an African American population. Normotensive African American (n = 99) and Caucasian (n = 100) subjects were genotyped to determine the frequency of the C1166 variant. This study establishes the frequency of the C1166 variant in African Americans (0.05 +/- 0.01) and demonstrates a significantly lower frequency in African Americans compared with Caucasians (0.05 vs. 0.25, respectively, chi 2 = 30.7, p < < 0.001, 1 df).     

Ethnicity, culture, and sexual aggression: Risk and protective factors.

Explanatory models of sexual aggression were examined among mainland Asian American (n = 222), Hawaiian Asian American (n = 127), and European American men (n = 399). The Malamuth et al. (N. M. Malamuth, D. Linz, C. L. Heavey, G. Barnes, & M. Acker, 1995; N. M. Malamuth, R. J. Sockloskie, M. P. Koss, & J. S. Tanaka, 1991) confluence model of sexual aggression, which posits impersonal sex and hostile masculinity as paths to sexual aggression, was consistently supported. Culture-specific moderators of sexual aggression were also identified. Whereas loss of face was a protective factor against sexual aggression in the Asian American samples, it generally was not a protective factor among European Americans. These findings are not a function of actual or perceived minority status. An implication is that theoretical models may need to be augmented with cultural constructs for optimal application in certain ethnic group contexts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Racial identity, academic achievement, and the psychological well-being of economically disadvantaged adolescents.

The relation between racial identity and personal psychological functioning was examined within the framework of the "racelessness" construct proposed by Fordham and Ogbu (S. Fordham, 1988; S. Fordham & J. U. Ogbu, 1986). These researchers have proposed that academically successful African American students achieve their success by adopting behaviors and attitudes that distance them from their culture of origin, resulting in increased feelings of depression, anxiety, and identity confusion. Studies 1 and 2 describe the development of the Racelessness Scale (RS) designed to test these assumptions. Study 2 also investigated Race?×?Achievement level differences in students' responses to the RS. In Study 3, correlations between the RS and measures of depression, self-efficacy, anxiety, alienation, and collective self-esteem were assessed. The pattern of results in Study 2 suggest that the behaviors and attitudes described by Fordham and Ogbu are common to high-achieving adolescents and not specific to African Americans. However, racial differences in the pattern of associations between the RS and measures of depression suggest that racelessness may have important psychological consequences for African American adolescents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Filipino personality structure and the big five model: a lexical approach

In lexically based studies, we derived Filipino personality dimensions and related them to the Big Five model. In Study 1, Filipino high-school and college students (N = 629) rated themselves on a near-comprehensive list of 861 Filipino (Tagalog) trait adjectives. In Study 2, Filipino high-school and college students (N = 1,531) rated 280 markers of dimensions identified in Study 1. Some students (n = 473) also completed the NEO Five-Factor Inventory. Seven comparable Filipino dimensions were identified in factor analyses in the two studies. We concluded that the dimensions we labeled Concern for Others (vs. Egotism), Conscientiousness, Gregariousness, and Intellect were quite similar to Big Five Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, and Intellect, respectively. The Filipino Self-Assurance dimension was most similar to Big Five Neuroticism. The Filipino Temperamentalness dimension was more complex in Big Five terms, overlapping Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Neuroticism. A final Filipino factor resembled a Negative Valence or Infrequency dimension. More than five factors had to be extracted to obtain Philippine dimensions resembling all of the Big Five.     

Measurement Equivalence of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Latino and Anglo Adolescents: A National Study.

The cross-ethnic measurement equivalence of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D; L. S. Radloff, 1977) was examined using a subsample of adolescents (N=10,691) from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Configural and metric invariance, as well as functional and scalar equivalence, were examined for Anglo American, Mexican American, Cuban American, and Puerto Rican American youths age 12-18 years. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in each group provided evidence of configural invariance for European and Mexican American adolescents but not for Cuban and Puerto Rican youths. A 2-group CFA for Anglo and Mexican Americans demonstrated partial metric invariance for these groups. Multigroup structural equation modeling indicated similar relations between CES-D scores and self-esteem for all 4 groups, supporting cross-ethnic functional and scalar equivalence. The results have implications for using the CES-D in cross-ethnic research and, more broadly, for the assessment and treatment of depression in Latinos. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)