Acculturation, enculturation, and Asian American college students' mental health and attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help.

In the present study, we tested a theoretically and empirically derived partially indirect effects acculturation and enculturation model of Asian American college students' mental health and attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help. Latent variable path analysis with 296 self-identified Asian American college students supported the partially indirect effects model and demonstrated the ways in which behavioral acculturation, behavioral enculturation, values acculturation, values enculturation, and acculturation gap family conflict related to mental health and attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help directly and indirectly through acculturative stress. We also tested a generational status moderator hypothesis to determine whether differences in model-implied relationships emerged across U.S.- (n = 185) and foreign-born (n = 107) participants. Consistent with this hypothesis, statistically significant differences in structural coefficients emerged across generational status. Limitations, future directions for research, and counseling implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The attitudes of West Texas College students toward school integration.

Attitudes were assessed by means of the California F Scale and Integration Attitude scale in an attempt to determine the relation of school integration attitudes, authoritarianism, and school classification. "… it may be concluded that there is a generally positive attitude toward integration… thus easing the widely expressed fear… when integration comes." Discrepancy was obtained between student and parental attitudes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Promoting emotional competence in children and adolescents: Implications for school psychologists.

This article articulates the central role school psychologists can play in enhancing the emotional competence of students. An overview of the theoretical basis of emotional competence is provided, as well as an exploration of the relevance of emotional competence for positive youth development. Emerging applications for the assessment of emotional competence are presented. In addition, school-based methods of enhancing emotional competence are offered. The article concludes with suggestions for future research on the development of child and adolescent emotional competence in the context of school-related behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Why seeking help from teammates is a blessing and a curse: A theory of help seeking and individual creativity in team contexts.

Research has not explored the extent to which seeking help from teammates positively relates to a person's own creativity. This question is important to explore as help seeking is commonly enacted in organizations and may come with reciprocation costs that may also diminish creativity. Results based on 291 employees in a single division of a large multinational organization revealed that seeking help predicted creativity and mediated the relationship between intrinsic motivation and creativity. However, help seekers also incurred reciprocation costs in that they tended to give more help to teammates, and giving help to teammates was negatively related to creativity. In general, giving higher levels of help attenuated the positive relationship between help seeking and creativity. We also tested an integrated model to show that help giving moderated the mediated relationship between intrinsic motivation and creativity via help seeking, such that higher levels of help giving attenuated this mediated effect. We discuss theoretical and practical implications recommending additional research regarding the interpersonal creative process in team contexts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Men, masculinity, and the contexts of help seeking.

Research on men's help seeking yields strategies for enhancing men's use of mental and physical health resources. Analysis of the assumptions underlying existing theory and research also provides a context for evaluating the psychology of men and masculinity as an evolving area of social scientific inquiry. The authors identify several theoretical and methodological obstacles that limit understanding of the variable ways that men do or do not seek help from mental and physical health care professionals. A contextual framework is developed by exploring how the socialization and social construction of masculinities transact with social psychological processes common to a variety of potential help-seeking contexts. This approach begins to integrate the psychology of men and masculinity with theory and methodology from other disciplines and suggests innovative ways to facilitate adaptive help seeking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Proposals for state department of education certification of school psychologists.

"School psychologists are dually oriented professionals who need to be well educated in both psychology and education… . The development of competencies needed by a fully qualified school psychologist requires at least the education represented by a doctoral degree or 3 years of graduate training." Suggested standards for full ceritfication and for provisional certification are outlined. The requirements for a certified psychological assistant are also specified. (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)     

Predictors of help seeking for emotional distress among Chinese Americans: Family matters.

Using data from the Chinese American Psychiatric Epidemiological Study, the authors examined longitudinal predictors of help seeking for emotional distress in a community sample of 1,503 Chinese Americans. Specifically, they assessed the relative contribution of family relational variables (e.g., levels of family support and family conflict) in predicting help seeking for medical, mental health, and informal services. After traditional need, predisposing, and enabling factors were controlled for in hierarchical logistic regression analyses, family conflict predicted both mental health and medical service use, whereas family support was not predictive of help seeking. In addition to family conflict, mental health service use was predicted by negative life events, emotional distress, and insurance coverage. Implications of the findings for assessing and treating Asian American clients are explored. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preparing school psychologists: Perspectives on program design and training goals.

Describes the miniseries found within the current issue of Professional School Psychology: "Preparing School Psychologists: Perspectives on Program Design and Training Goals." Each of the four articles chosen presents a thoughtful and informative analysis of issues related to the miniseries topic. The first article argues for training school psychologists as "data-based problem solvers." The second paper examines the training of ethical principles and behavior in school psychology. The third article explores both the demographics and professional attitudes that are expected to be the major influences upon future training practices in school psychology. The final article of the miniseries presents a rationale for developing training efforts based on the research and principles of behavioral psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cultural and contextual influences in mental health help seeking: A focus on ethnic minority youth.

In this article, a mental health help-seeking model is offered as a framework for understanding cultural and contextual factors that affect ethnic minority adolescents' pathways into mental health services. The effects of culture and context are profound across the entire help-seeking pathway, from problem identification to choice of treatment providers. The authors argue that an understanding of these help-seeking pathways provides insights into ethnic group differences in mental health care utilization and that further research in this area is needed, (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Opportunities for clinical psychologists in residential treatment centers.

"Residential treatment centers are rapidly becoming one of the most important developments in the treatment of emotionally disturbed children. There is, of course, still a serious shortage of these inpatient facilities… . Residential treatment provides a service for children who cannot be adequately treated elsewhere… . Activities carried on at the Emma Pendleton Bradley Home… illustrate some of the opportunities for psychologists in residential treatment centers." The role of the psychologist in diagnosis and psychotherapy is discussed. Clinical psychology will play a major role in the development of residential treatment center facilities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Diagnostician, EdS, and PhD programs for school psychologists in Michigan: A correction and an addition.

Reports an error in "State Certification of School Psychologists" by Walter L. Hodges (American Psychologist, 1960[June], Vol 15, 346-349; see record 1961-02947-001). In Table 1 on page 347, for the University of Michigan, items are listed incorrectly. This article provides the corrections, and points out the rather effective compromise on the much debated problem of teacher certification and teaching experience. We believe that there are two good routes to becoming a school psychologist, one through psychology and the other through education, but course work is necessary in both. We now have a new academic degree, Specialist in Education (EdS), awarded by the Graduate School of the University of Michigan. This requires the completion of a carefully prepared program of studies leading to specific occupational opportunities. We do not refer to those who complete the diagnostician or EdS program as school psychologists, however they may be designated by employing institutions. We reserve this title for those who have completed the doctorate. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Confrontation with aggressive peers at school: Students' reluctance to seek help from the teacher .

Asking for assistance from a teacher is generally viewed by elementary school students as a way of avoiding rather than resolving peer conflict. However, there are situations when it is appropriate and perhaps necessary to seek help. This study investigated such situations. Vignettes that portrayed aggressive peer conflict at school were presented to 128 3rd and 4th graders, who were asked what they would do and why. Students' self-perceptions of peer relations also were measured. At Grade 3, boys and girls were equally likely to go to the teacher for help, whereas at Grade 4, girls were more likely than boys to do so. At Grade 4, girls showed greater interest than boys in resolving conflict and "getting things back to normal." At Grade 3, students interested in revenge tended to go to the teacher. At both grades, boys were more concerned than girls that help seeking might lead to hassles with the teacher or reprisals from classmates. Boys who perceived themselves as popular and girls who perceived themselves as unpopular were relatively likely to seek help. Relations between help seeking and children's grade level, gender, and self-perceptions are discussed in terms of goal and strategy components in a social-information-processing model of conflict resolution. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measuring perceptions of stigmatization by others for seeking psychological help: Reliability and validity of a new stigma scale with college students.

Fear of being stigmatized is the most cited reason why individuals avoid psychotherapy. Conceptually, this fear should be strongest when individuals consider the reactions of those they interact with. Across 5 samples, the authors developed the Perceptions of Stigmatization by Others for Seeking Help (PSOSH) scale. In Sample 1 (N = 985), the 5 items of the PSOSH were selected (α = .91). In Sample 2 (N = 842), the unidimensional factor structure of the scale was examined across a diverse sample. In Sample 3 (N = 506), concurrent validity was supported through moderate associations with 3 different stigma measures (i.e., public stigma toward counseling, r = .31; public stigma toward mental illness, r = .20; and self-stigma, r = .37). In Sample 4 (N = 144), test–retest reliability across a 3-week period was calculated (.82). Finally, in Sample 5 (N = 130), reliability (α = .78) and validity were explored with a sample experiencing symptoms of psychological distress. Relationships between variables (i.e., public stigma toward counseling, r = .31, and self-stigma, r = .40) were similar to those in previous samples. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A look inside school-based consultation: A qualitative study of the beliefs and practices of school psychologists and teachers.

Presents the results of a qualitative study of 4 school psychologists' and 4 teachers' beliefs about causes of student behavior problems and their relation to preferred treatment, teachers' perceived role(s) in consultation, and beliefs about the process and efficacy of consultation. Data were triangulated across 6 sources: 3 interview series with various participants, consultative interactions between the school psychologists and teachers, training sessions during which the school psychologists were trained in consultation, and a consultant questionnaire. Thematic analyses of the data produced 4 themes: (1) impact of causal attributions on beliefs about treatment needed; (2) combination of direct and indirect services; (3) impact of etiological beliefs and academic standards on perceptions of academic success; and (4) support within the consultative relationship. These themes are described and discussed in the context of the dyads studied. Suggestions for future research generated by this study are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adherence to Asian and European American cultural values and attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help among Asian American college students.

Possible relations among enculturation and acculturation to cultural values and attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help were examined among 146 Asian American college students. In addition, possible relations between various dimensions of Asian values and attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help were examined. As hypothesized, the results indicated a significant inverse relation between enculturation to Asian values and professional help-seeking attitudes, above and beyond that of the association with having previous counseling experience. Although bivariate correlational results suggested possible inverse relations between the Asian values dimensions of collectivism, emotional self-control, and humility and professional help-seeking attitudes, these associations were not confirmed with a hierarchical multiple regression model. Contrary to expectation, a significant relation was not observed between values acculturation and professional help-seeking attitudes. Also, the interaction between enculturation and acculturation to cultural values was not significantly predictive of professional help-seeking attitudes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes of white and Negro high school students in a west Texas town toward school integration.

"1. Authoritarian attitudes… were not indicative of negative attitudes toward integration. 2. Negro students… show highly authoritarian attitudes as well as strong positive attitudes toward all areas of school integration. 3. White students in the segregated school systems studied show high authoritarianism though less than Negro students. 4. White students show a number of positive attitude responses toward many aspects of school integration, thus easing the expressed fear of widespread interracial conflicts in integrated schools in this area, though problems may arise in situations necessitating close personal-social contact." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teachers' achievement goal orientations and associations with teachers' help seeking: Examination of a novel approach to teacher motivation.

It was proposed that achievement goal theory can be applied to conceptualizing motivation not only for learning but also for teaching. As predicted, responses of 320 teachers to a new self-report measure of goal orientations for teaching yielded 4 factors reflecting distinct mastery, ability-approach, ability-avoidance, and work-avoidance goals. Data from 212 teachers who also completed measures of help seeking confirmed that mastery goals predicted positive perceptions of help seeking, preferences for receiving autonomous help, and frequency of help seeking; ability avoidance predicted negative perceptions and help avoidance; and work avoidance predicted expedient help seeking. Results validate the proposed structure and measure of teacher goal orientations and open new directions for research on teacher cognitions and behaviors, teachers' influences on students, and school influences on teachers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender and mathematics: Attitudes and stereotype threat susceptibility in Italian children.

Two experiments investigated the development of attitudes toward mathematics and stereotype threat susceptibility in Italian children. Experiment 1 involved 476 elementary school boys and girls and produced evidence of gender differences in self-confidence in one's own mathematical ability and in gender stereotyping of mathematics during elementary school. It also provided initial evidence for a decrement in 10-year-old girls' mathematics performance when stereotype threat was made salient by reminding participants that extraordinary achievement in mathematics is typically a male phenomenon. Experiment 2 (N = 271) replicated these findings and expanded them to middle school-age participants. Its results suggest that during middle school, the patterns observed in elementary school consolidate, and the stereotypes begin to produce detrimental effects in girls. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)