Predictors of observer ratings of multicultural counseling competence in Black, Latino, and White American trainees.

Using transcribed intake sessions of 52 counselor–client dyads, this study explored the relative contributions of (a) counselor and client race or ethnicity, (b) counselor–client racial or ethnic match, (c) previous academic training in multicultural counseling, and (d) self-reported multicultural counseling competence to observer ratings of trainees' multicultural counseling competence. Results revealed that (a) Black American and Latino American counselor trainees were rated as more multiculturally competent than their White American peers, and (b) prior multicultural training was positively predictive of observer-rated multicultural counseling competence. Implications of the findings for counselor training and practice are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of race and problem type on teachers' assessments of student behavior.

The authors tested the hypothesis that race bias in teacher evaluations may be problem specific by examining the extent to which ratings of child behavior were influenced by the interaction between the race of the child and the type of presenting behavior. Teachers (N=197) were presented with three vignettes (overcontrolled, undercontrolled, and "normal"), systematically paired with a photograph of a male child (African American, Asian American, or Caucasian). Respondents rated the seriousness, referability, and typicality of the behavior; the child's family life; academic ability and performance; and causal dimensions. Although results did not reveal a bias in the ratings of African American students, data suggest that stereotypes remain embedded in teachers' interpretive framework for Asian Americans, particularly regarding expectations of overcontrolled traits. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teaching on diversity: The mutual influence of students and instructors.

A wide range of emotional experiences, including anxiety, relief, guilt, and anger, are often expressed either implicitly or explicitly by instructors and students in graduate courses focused on diversity and psychotherapy. This article addresses the ways in which teaching on race and ethnicity can lay the groundwork for critical learning, impasses, and enactments. Contributions of psychodynamic perspectives to multicultural education are thought to be particularly relevant to psychologists, because they involve a study of individual and group dynamics as reflective of larger social structures and sociocultural histories. Findings from multicultural research and psychodynamic perspectives related to affective processes involved in multicultural learning will be explored. The author discusses specific experiences of teaching diversity courses to graduate students in psychology with the purpose of illustrating resistance to talking openly about one’s feelings about diversity within a group setting, and the difficulty experienced by students and instructors to tolerate undiscovered and/or unprocessed material related to diversity. These vignettes involve an examination of subjectivity of race and ethnicity and its influence on the interactions between fellow students and instructors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

African American and European American therapists' experiences of addressing race in cross-racial psychotherapy dyads.

Using Consensual Qualitative Research, 12 licensed psychologists' overall experiences addressing race in psychotherapy were investigated, as were their experiences addressing race in a specific cross-racial therapy dyad. Results indicated that only African American psychologists reported routinely addressing race with clients of color or when race was part of a client's presenting concern. European American psychologists indicated that they would address race if clients raised the topic, and some reported that they did not normally address race with racially different clients. When discussing a specific cross-racial dyad, African American therapists more often than European American therapists addressed race because they perceived client discomfort. Only European American therapists reported feeling uncomfortable addressing race, but therapists of both races perceived that such discussions had positive effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Student evaluations of college professors: Are female and male professors rated differently?

Over 1,000 male and female college students of 16 male and female professors (matched for course division, years of teaching, and tenure status) evaluated their instructors in terms of teaching effectiveness and sex-typed characteristics. Male students gave female professors significantly poorer ratings than they gave male professors on the six teaching evaluation measures; their ratings of female professors were poorer than those of female students on four of the six measures. Female students also evaluated female professors less favorably than male professors on three measures. Student perceptions of a professor's instrumental/active and expressive/nurturant traits, which were positively related to student ratings of teaching, accounted for only a few of these gender-related effects. Student major and student class standing also played a role in the evaluation of professors. The importance of gender variables in teacher evaluation studies is discussed, and implications for future research are noted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Acculturation, enculturation, psychological distress and help-seeking preferences among Asian American college students.

We examined the relationship between Asian American college students' levels of acculturation, enculturation, and psychological distress. We also explored the methods Asian American college students prefer when seeking help for psychological concerns. The sample included 601 Asian American students from a large public university in Southern California. Respondents completed an online questionnaire, which included instruments assessing acculturation and enculturation levels as well as psychological distress and help-seeking preferences. Regression analyses indicated that when Asian American students hold a greater degree of European values they are less likely to experience psychological distress. A repeated-measures ANOVA found that Asian American students prefer more covert approaches to mental health treatment. These findings both compliment and contradict previous studies of acculturation, enculturation, psychological distress and help-seeking among the Asian American college student population. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Incidents of bias in college classrooms: Instructor and student perceptions.

Little is known about incidents of bias specific to college classrooms or how they are handled by instructors. To learn more about this subject, professors, graduate instructors, and undergraduates (N = 2,523) completed surveys assessing perceptions of classroom bias. Results indicated that about a quarter of instructors and half of students perceived an incident of bias in a classroom in the last year. Instructors’ responses to bias commonly included forms of direct confrontation, discussion, and ignoring. Undergraduates perceived significantly more bias than did instructors and rated responses to bias as significantly less effective than did instructors. Undergraduates also reported that instructors were occasionally the perpetrators of bias. These results indicate that preparation of instructors should include increased awareness of bias and methods of handling classroom bias. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An examination of racial/ethnic and gender bias on curriculum-based measurement of reading.

Examined racial/ethnic and gender bias on curriculum-based measurement (CBM) of reading with African American and Caucasian male and female students across grades 2–5. Simultaneous multiple regression analyses were conducted by grade to examine group differences on CBM as an estimate of reading comprehension. Regression equations were estimated with CBM, gender, race/ethnicity, and the interactions of gender and race/ethnicity with CBM. Results of this study indicated that CBM fails as an unbiased indicator of current reading comprehension. Although no evidence of bias was found at grades 2–3, intercept bias was found for racial/ethnic groups at grades 4–5, and intercept and slope bias were found for gender at grade 5. Implications of these results suggest that the meaning of CBM scores differs across race/ethnicity or gender, or both, at certain grade levels. The results also suggest that at grade 5, CBM performance overestimates the reading comprehension of girls and underestimates that of boys. Mean differences between genders were much greater at lower levels of CBM performance than at higher levels. These findings raise issues concerning the use of CBM as a screening measure and in determining eligibility for and termination of special education and related services. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavioral correlates of peer exclusion and victimization of East Asian American and European American young adolescents.

The present study examined behavioral correlates of peer exclusion and victimization among sixth-grade European and East Asian American young adolescents, with an emphasis on aggressive and socially withdrawn behaviors. Concurrent and short-term longitudinal (over 1 academic year) associations between behavior and the distinct forms of peer adversity (victimization/exclusion) were assessed. Results varied by gender and ethnicity and suggested that social withdrawal was associated with exclusion, whereas aggression was associated with victimization. Interactions between gender and aggression predicted peer victimization after controlling for prior victimization. Extremely aggressive girls were more likely to be victimized than nonaggressive girls. Interactions between gender, ethnicity, and behavior predicted exclusion, controlling for prior exclusion. Extremely withdrawn European American girls were less excluded than nonwithdrawn European American girls. Universals emerged in the prediction of exclusion from withdrawal for all other groups and from aggression for all four groups. These results highlight the importance of considering ethnicity and gender in the links between different behaviors and the distinct forms of peer adversity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Postsecondary education preparation of traditionally underrepresented college students: A social capital perspective.

The messages and support that students receive regarding college preparation often varies by students' race/ethnicity, socioeconomic background, and generational status (Adelman, 2006; Freeman, 1997; McDonough, 2004; Venezia & Kirst, 2005; Wimberly, 2002). This investigation sought to understand the manner by which a social capital framework could help explain how information about postsecondary educational transitions was communicated to, and interpreted by, college-bound students in one large urban school district. African American college students retrospectively considered the people, both in school and out, who provided them with college preparatory information, support, and/or guidance. Data revealed that although students received encouragement from their social networks, there was a shortage of individualized, concrete, and comprehensive college planning. Findings suggest that college planning and preparation for students from traditionally underrepresented college populations must be more cohesive and focused toward providing access to academic, financial, and social information that is instrumental in the students' transitions to college. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Lay theory of race affects and moderates Asian Americans' responses toward American culture.

People may hold different understandings of race that might affect how they respond to the culture of groups deemed to be racially distinct. The present research tests how this process is moderated by the minority individual's lay theory of race. An essentialist lay theory of race (i.e., that race reflects deep-seated, inalterable essence and is indicative of traits and ability) would orient racial minorities to rigidly adhere to their ethnic culture, whereas a social constructionist lay theory of race (i.e., that race is socially constructed, malleable, and arbitrary) would orient racial minorities to identify and cognitively assimilate toward the majority culture. To test these predictions, the authors conducted 4 studies with Asian American participants. The first 2 studies examine the effect of one's lay theory of race on perceived racial differences and identification with American culture. The last 2 studies tested the moderating effect of lay theory of race on identification and assimilation toward the majority American culture after this culture had been primed. The results generally supported the prediction that the social constructionist theory was associated with more perceived similarity between Asians and Americans and more consistent identification and assimilation toward American culture, compared with the essentialist theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parental attachment, self-esteem, and antisocial behaviors among African American, European American, and Mexican American adolescents.

This study examined the relation of mother and father attachment to self-esteem and self-reported involvement in antisocial behaviors among African American (n=488), European American (n=661), and Mexican American (n=434) high school students. The attachment dimensions of anxiety and avoidance were examined using self-report scales that were developed and validated with participants in the study. Findings indicated that adolescents from the 3 ethnic/racial groups did not differ greatly in their reported attachment to father and mother. Consistent with theoretical formulations, securely attached adolescents from the 3 ethnic groups had a more positive sense of self-esteem and reported less involvement in antisocial behaviors than their less securely attached peers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parental divorce, parent–child bonds, and adult attachment orientations among college students: A comparison of three racial/ethnic groups.

Despite evidence indicating that race/ethnicity and parental divorce may respectively affect perceptions of family and other intimate relationships, the conjoint influences of these sociodemographic variables on self-reports of both early (parent–child) and current (intimate adult) attachment relationships have not been investigated. In the present study, the authors examined (a) the contributions of parental marital status and race/ethnicity to scores on these measures and (b) the relative abilities of parental bonds to predict adult attachment orientations among students from different family backgrounds (i.e., intact and divorced) and from different racial/ethnic groups (i.e., White, Black, and Hispanic/Latino). Results indicated that race/ethnicity and parents' marital status had significant effects on the attachment measures, and that the extent to which parental bonds predicted adult attachment orientations varied among students with different family backgrounds and race/ethnicity. Implications of these findings to the conceptualization of college students' psychosocial development are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Compositional diversity and the research productivity of PhD graduates.

Hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine the relationship between the compositional diversity in 20 academic programs in a Research Extensive college of education and the research productivity of 275 PhD graduates of these programs. Compositional diversity in terms of race and ethnicity was operationalized with Chang's (1999) diversity index; cumulative number of refereed articles and chapters published within two years of graduation was the measure of research productivity. Results showed that, after controlling for individual differences in Graduate Record Examination scores, greater compositional diversity was related to the increased research productivity for African American and International PhD graduates but not to the research productivity of Asian American, Latina/Latino, or White PhD graduates. Because compositional diversity was unrelated to the research productivity of White students, the findings suggest compositional diversity may have its effects by reducing the stereotype threat for African American and International PhD graduates. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Childhood socioeconomic status is associated with psychosocial resources in African Americans: The Pittsburgh Healthy Heart Project.

Objective: To determine whether lower childhood socioeconomic status (SES) was associated with fewer psychosocial resources independent of adult SES, and whether these associations differed by race/ethnicity. Method: Cross-sectional study of 342 middle-aged (M = 60.5 ± 4.7) African American (n = 49) and Caucasian (n = 293) adults. Childhood SES and adult SES were assessed via highest parental education and participant education, respectively. Participants completed: (a) 6 days of ecological momentary assessment via electronic diaries to assess social support and the number of social interactions and (b) self-report measures of social support, social network diversity, and coping—specifically, active, planning, and emotion focused coping. Results: The interaction term for childhood SES and race/ethnicity significantly predicted several psychosocial resources. Lower childhood SES was associated with less perceived social support in daily life, a less diverse social network, and more limited use of proactive coping strategies in adulthood among African Americans, regardless of adult SES. Comparable associations were not observed among Caucasians. Conclusions: Childhood SES is associated with psychosocial resources in adulthood among African Americans, independent of SES in adulthood. Given emerging associations between childhood SES and health in adulthood, future studies to disentangle the role of psychosocial resources as a mediating pathway and to further examine racial/ethnic variations across these associations are warranted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

An intersectional approach for understanding perceived discrimination and psychological well-being among African American and Caribbean Black youth.

The present study examined whether combinations of ethnicity, gender, and age moderated the association between perceived discrimination and psychological well-being indicators (depressive symptoms, self-esteem, and life satisfaction) in a nationally representative sample of Black youth. The data were from the National Survey of American Life, which includes 810 African American and 360 Caribbean Black adolescents. The results indicated main effects such that perceived discrimination was linked to increased depressive symptoms and decreased self-esteem and life satisfaction. Additionally, there were significant interactions for ethnicity, gender, and race. Specifically, older Caribbean Black female adolescents exhibited higher depressive symptoms and lower life satisfaction in the context of high levels of perceived discrimination compared with older African American male adolescents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

What college students really think about ethnic student organizations.

In this study, the authors examined European, Hispanic, and African American college students' attitudes toward ethnic student organizations (ESOs). Based on data from Study 1 (N = 750), it was found that students across ethnic groups expressed uncertainty about whether ESOs were beneficial/necessary, fair/acceptable, and about their interest in joining an ESO. As a group, Hispanic and African American students did not believe that ESOs contributed to racial or ethnic separatism on campus, whereas European Americans expressed uncertainty about that possibility. In Study 2, a separate sample of students (N = 631) was randomly assigned to read the mission statement of a White, Hispanic, or African American ESO. Consistent with asymmetry theory, students in general judged the White American ESO as significantly less beneficial/necessary, less fair/acceptable, and as contributing more to racial/ethnic separatism than the Hispanic and African American ESOs. European, Hispanic, and African American students viewed their own ESO most favorably, although European American students were more consistent in their appraisals of ESOs irrespective of the ethnic focus of the ESO. Implications of these findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex role stereotyping of college professors: Bias in students' ratings of instructors.

We investigated the impact of three variables on students' ratings of instruction (SRIs): social contact between instructor and students (present vs. absent), the instructor's facial expression (smiling vs. neutral), and the instructor's sex. Subjects were presented with hypothetical scenarios in which these factors varied while behaviors directly related to teaching were held constant. Results revealed an interaction between instructor sex and both of the other two factors: Behaviors indicative of friendliness toward students elevated SRIs for female instructors but not for male instructors. In addition, subjects rated the male professors as more effective than female professors. These findings are consistent with other reports that students expect female instructors to excel in both stereotypically masculine (e.g., competence) and feminine (e.g., warmth) domains. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Substance use among Asian American adolescents: Influence of race, ethnicity, and acculturation in the context of key risk and protective factors.

This study examines the relative influence of race/ethnicity, acculturation, peer substance use, and academic achievement on adolescent substance use among different Asian American ethnic groups and U.S. racial/ethnic groups. Data from the Wave 1 in-home sample of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health was used to examine lifetime use of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana in a full adolescent sample of all racial/ethnic groups (N = 20,745) and a subsample of Asian American adolescents (N = 1,248). Path analysis examined the hypothesized relationships of peer substance use and acculturation as risk factors and academic achievement as a protective factor for racial/ethnic groups. The results indicated that when Asian American adolescents were compared to other major U.S. racial/ethnic groups, peer use and acculturation were both significant mediators of smoking, drinking, and marijuana use, and academic achievement mediated each type of use at a trend level. For Asian American ethnic groups, peer use is a risk factor and, to a lesser extent, academic achievement is a protective factor for substance use. Also, although acculturation is a predictor of substance use, when peer use and academic achievement are taken into account, acculturation—like ethnicity—no longer predicts use. Mediation analyses indicated that peer substance use mediates smoking, drinking, and marijuana use; academic achievement does not; and acculturation mediates substance use for some substances and some Asian American ethnic groups. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for understanding how culturally specific approaches can inform preventive interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teacher ratings of ADHD symptoms in ethnic minority students: Bias or behavioral difference?

Disproportionate placement of African American and Hispanic students into disability and special education categories may result from true behavioral and cognitive differences, bias in assessment and referral, or some combination of the two. Studies of commonly used ADHD rating scales suggest teacher bias may contribute to placement discrepancies. This investigation compared teacher ratings of ADHD symptoms on the Conner's Teacher Rating Scale-Revised Long Version (CTRS-R:L; Conners, 1997) and the ADHD-IV: School Version (DuPaul, Power, Anastopoulous, & Reid, 1998), with objective classroom observations from the Behavioral Observation of Students in Schools code (BOSS; Shapiro, 2003). Participants were first through fourth grade students (N = 172; 120 male) classified as Caucasian (n = 112) or ethnic minority (17 African American, 38 Hispanic, 5 African American and Hispanic). Contrary to hypothesis, results showed teacher ratings of ethnic minority students were more consistent with direct observation data than were ratings of Caucasian students. Findings suggest teacher ratings of ethnic minority students may more accurately reflect true behavioral levels. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)