Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2020 May 28. Epub 2020 May 28.

Psychology Program.

Systems of oppression have shaped the prejudicial treatment of Black people based on the appearance of their hair, from the era of chattel enslavement to present-day America. Hair discrimination is a social injustice characterized by unfairly regulating and insulting people based on the appearance of their hair. A sampling of 90 African American community members narrated memories of hair discrimination using the guided hair autobiography method. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2020 May 28. Epub 2020 May 28.

Department of Psychology.

Individuals who survive natural hazards often develop posttraumatic stress symptoms or other forms of psychological distress. However, some experience psychological growth. Given that natural hazards will increase in the near future due to global warming, it would be helpful to examine predictors of growth across different kinds of natural hazards. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2020 May 14. Epub 2020 May 14.

Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego.

Adults who are homeless experience high rates of health conditions and psychological distress, including low IQ and functional status. Resources are available to help these individuals, but provision of support is often contingent upon the identification of a known disability. In this context, we examined case managers' (CMs') subjective estimates of IQ and functional status in 77 adult residents of an urban homeless shelter. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2020 May 4. Epub 2020 May 4.

Forensic Research Unit, Royal Ottawa Health Care Group.

Previous research has demonstrated that women who sell sex (women sex workers [WSWs]) consistently report high levels of posttraumatic stress symptoms. The present study explores multiple factors that may contribute to the variation in WSWs' experiences of posttraumatic stress symptoms, including workers' racial identity, experiences of discrimination and control over their working conditions, the site of selling sex, and their clients' perceived sexual entitlement and violence. The study sample consisted of 314 self-identified WSWs. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2020 Apr 30. Epub 2020 Apr 30.

School of Medicine.

Pacific Islander (PI) young adults are suspected to bear heavy risk for hazardous drinking, alcohol use disorders (AUD), and alcohol-related harms. Yet, PIs remain among the most understudied racial groups in the United States-creating a lack of empirical data documenting their alcohol use problems and treatment needs. The present study presents the first known data on PI young adults' hazardous drinking, possible AUDs, alcohol-related harms, and treatment needs. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2020 Apr 27. Epub 2020 Apr 27.

Discipline of Clinical Psychology.

Research indicates that marriage equality legislation is associated with improved mental health outcomes for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people. However, the public debate that often precedes such legislation may exacerbate psychological distress and minority stress. In 2017, the Australian Federal Government conducted a national survey to gauge support for marriage equality. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2020 Apr 20. Epub 2020 Apr 20.

School of Social Work.

Social isolation is a significant social problem in the United States that many health and welfare organizations have begun to acknowledge and address. Unfortunately, extremely little research focuses on social isolation among ethnic minority populations. This study investigated the association between social isolation from family and friends and the mental health of African Americans and Black Caribbeans. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2020 Apr 20. Epub 2020 Apr 20.

Department of Psychology.

Stress associated with attempts to integrate into a new culture is directly linked to mental health outcomes among refugees. However, there is a paucity of literature on how refugees cope to reduce their stress. This study assessed the association between coping strategies and perceived stress among resettled Bhutanese adults in Western Massachusetts. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2020 Apr 20. Epub 2020 Apr 20.

School of Nursing.

Low-income communities of color experience significant political, economic, and health inequities and, not unrelatedly, are disproportionately exposed to violent crime than are residents of higher income communities. In an effort to mitigate concentrations of poverty and crime, governmental agencies have partnered with affordable housing developers to redevelop public housing "projects" into mixed-income communities and to do so within a "trauma-informed" framework. The current study analyzes how residents have historically and contemporaneously negotiated, endured, and resisted structural and interpersonal violence in 2 long-standing, predominately African American, public housing communities undergoing a public-private housing redevelopment initiative. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2020 Apr 20. Epub 2020 Apr 20.

Department of Psychiatry.

Little is known regarding the specific types of service models and collaborations that are necessary to support diverse populations of youth in transition out of homelessness. Transitional supports addressing the complex needs of this population are needed to stabilize the array of housing arrangements that youth access. This study was a pilot randomized controlled trial of one such critical time intervention, called the Housing Outreach Program-Collaboration (HOP-C). Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2020 Apr 20. Epub 2020 Apr 20.

Silver School of Social Work.

Mental health recovery has not been examined widely in individuals with mental illnesses reentering the community from correctional settings. An important component of mental health recovery is engaging in work and many with lived mental health experiences become peer support specialists, yet little is known how this process unfolds for individuals who also have incarceration histories. Using life history phenomenological interviewing, this study investigates recovery pathways for peer support specialists with incarceration histories. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2020 Apr 6. Epub 2020 Apr 6.

Department of Psychology, School of Science and Engineering, Tulane University.

Despite previous work demonstrating that an accumulation of maternal adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) is associated with negative health outcomes across generations, few studies have investigated protective factors beyond the parent-child dyad in the intergenerational transmission of adversity. The current study extends previous findings by examining maternal family social support as a culturally relevant buffer in the association between mothers' ACEs and her children's behavior problems in early childhood. Participants included 121 African American mothers and their preschool-aged children experiencing high sociodemographic risk. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2020 Mar 5. Epub 2020 Mar 5.

Center for Research in Inclusive Education.

Although most of the school violence literature is focused on peer victimization, interest is growing in teachers being victimized by their students. However, there is far less interest in students being victimized by their teachers, patterns of mutual victimization, and how they are associated with other school factors. Using the conceptual framework of school violence in evolving contexts, the present study examined teacher-to-student victimization in Chile and tested, for the first time, the associations of student-to-teacher victimization, peer victimization, school safety, classroom climate, and school climate at the individual and school levels. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2020 Mar 5. Epub 2020 Mar 5.

Department of Psychology.

Historically, intensive obsessive-compulsive and related disorder (OCRD) treatment settings have been underrepresentative in terms of patient race and ethnicity. The present study piloted a novel technique to measure multiple marginalized identities and assess their impact on obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms and treatment response across intensive residential treatment (IRT). Participants included 715 residents receiving IRT for OCRD. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2020 Mar 5. Epub 2020 Mar 5.

Department of Psychology, Life Paths Research Center, University of the South.

Guided by the dual factor model of mental health and the resilience portfolio model, this study sought to identify protective factors that distinguish adolescents who exhibit different patterns of psychological symptoms and well-being. Participants were 466 twelve- to 17-year-old adolescents recruited from the Appalachian region of 3 Southern states who completed measures of psychological symptomatology, well-being and a range of protective factors. Analyses showed that, after accounting for adversity, the most consistent differences in both individual strengths and external resources were found between the groups who differed in well-being rather than those differing in symptoms. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2020 Mar 5. Epub 2020 Mar 5.

Department of Psychiatry.

Despite the existence of effective behavioral interventions for people diagnosed with serious mental illness (SMI), these continue to be underutilized. Barriers to implementation include a low frequency of staff-patient interactions, as well as a lack of knowledge about, and negative attitudes toward, behavioral interventions. Therefore, we examined the effects of a mandatory behavioral staff-training program on staff-patient interactions on a long-term psychiatric inpatient program for individuals with SMI. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2020 ;90(2):267-282

Department of Psychology, University of Georgia.

Despite the proclamation of a "postracial" society, racism in the United States remains "alive and sick" (S. P. Harrell, 2000), negatively impacting the physical, psychological, and emotional well-being of Black Americans. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2020 30;90(3):374-390. Epub 2020 Jan 30.

Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles.

Little is known about people who experience multiple types of discrimination (e.g., racism and heterosexism). Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2020 Jan 30. Epub 2020 Jan 30.

Judi's House and JAG Institute.

The death of a parent or sibling during childhood is an adverse experience that increases risk for future behavioral health, academic, and relational problems, as well as earlier mortality. Efforts to estimate childhood bereavement prevalence rates have been hampered by methodological, reporting, and data source limitations. In the absence of national tracking systems in the United States, a quantitative statistical model has been introduced with the aim of estimating the prevalence of this public health issue to aid in needs assessment and service provision. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2020 Jan 27. Epub 2020 Jan 27.

Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

The upsurge in violent radicalization is associated with a global increase in social inequalities and conflicts related to different markers of identity. To date, literature on the factors associated with legitimizing violence toward others is cross-sectional and does not provide information on the possible change of this phenomenon over time. Such information is necessary to design primary prevention programs that are adapted to and address a rapidly evolving social context. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2020 23;90(3):350-360. Epub 2020 Jan 23.

Brown School.

Transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) people experience disparities in mental health when compared with non-TGNC sexual minorities and the general population. One line of inquiry with respect to these disparities is the examination of stigma and its connection to emotional and psychological well-being. Recent conceptualizations of stigma draw attention to multiple levels-individual, interpersonal, and structural-that are thought to impact well-being for TGNC people. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2020 23;90(3):328-339. Epub 2020 Jan 23.

Department of Psychology, Wayne State University.

Mental illness among adolescents frequently goes untreated, especially among low income and ethnic minority families. We sought to examine parent and adolescent psychological factors influencing mental health service use among 120 urban adolescents (82% African American, Age 13-18 years, M = 14.29, SD = 1. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2020 16;90(3):361-373. Epub 2020 Jan 16.

School of Social Work.

Spouses of National Guard/Reserve (NG/R) military service members cope with deployment-related stressors (DRS) that may contribute to increased psychological distress. Research indicates that higher levels of social support are associated with reduced depression and anxiety in military spouses, but longitudinal relationships have not yet been examined bidirectionally. This study examines temporal relationships between 3 dimensions of social support (social connectedness, dyadic satisfaction, and perceived support), and psychological distress in a sample of NG/R spouses during the first year after a service member returns from deployment. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2020 9;90(3):340-349. Epub 2020 Jan 9.

New York University-East China Normal University Institute for Social Development, New York University Shanghai.

A theme emerging from the current literature is that Chinese gay and bisexual men are likely to struggle to accept themselves because of the cultural emphasis on filial piety. However, our understanding of this culturally particular process remains partial because most research has operationalized filial piety as either a component of Chinese values or an aggregate construct itself. To pinpoint this mechanism, this study deconstructed filial piety into pragmatic obligations and compassionate reverence to test a mediation model in which internalized homonegativity served as a mediator between filial piety and depressive symptoms among Taiwanese gay and bisexual men. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2020 9;90(3):324-327. Epub 2020 Jan 9.

Center for Community Research, DePaul University.

Oxford Houses (OH) are democratically run, self-funded, substance-use recovery homes that operate across the United States and internationally. Previous research shows the OHs are present in diverse neighborhoods. The current study examined the neighborhoods of 42 OHs located in Oregon, Texas, and North Carolina to better quantify and understand house and neighborhood characteristics that are related to relapse rates. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2020 12;90(2):288-295. Epub 2019 Dec 12.

Discipline of Clinical Psychology.

Evidence suggests that the psychosocial adjustment of children of refugees may be compromised when a parent has symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We sought to determine whether trajectories of parental PTSD symptoms might relate to child adjustment and whether there is an additive effect when both parents, as opposed to just one, has prominent PTSD symptoms. We report data from the first three years of a prospective study of recent Australian humanitarian migrants: the Building a New Life in Australia study. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2020 12;90(3):297-311. Epub 2019 Dec 12.

Department of Pediatrics.

This mixed-methods study aimed to explore the experiences of screening, assessment, diagnosis, and intervention for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) among 249 parents of children with ASD in Hong Kong. Participants completed a survey and responded to open-ended questions regarding their experiences and views of ASD service provision. The quantitative analysis focused on (a) assessing parents' experiences of key milestones, including the time to access, professional support and consultation, referral and follow-up, and (b) examining the correlates of the milestone experiences. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2020 12;90(3):312-323. Epub 2019 Dec 12.

School of Social Work.

A consequence of a growing incarceration rate is that an increasing number of children face having an incarcerated household member, a known contributor to diverse lifelong behavioral health risks such as substance use and mental health impairment. Few studies have explored how household incarceration uniquely contributes to these subsequent behavioral health concerns, nor mediational contributors to these associations, within a theoretical framework. Using state Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey data ( = 14,001), this study tests pathways of household incarceration and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) to mental health impairment and substance use in adulthood. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2020 2;90(2):283-287. Epub 2019 Dec 2.

School of Social Work.

Weissberg, Durlak, Domitrovich, and Gullotta (2015) note that social and emotional learning (SEL) is increasingly recognized as a critical component of academic and life success. In many schools around the nation, SEL is becoming (or has become) part of a comprehensive strategy to strengthen students' academic performance, improve school and classroom climate, and lessen conduct problems. A recent benefit-cost analysis by Belfield et al. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2020 24;90(2):259-266. Epub 2019 Oct 24.

Department of Psychology, Michigan State University.

There is strong evidence of the association between being a survivor of domestic violence (DV) and the risk of acquiring HIV. Unfortunately, DV advocates often fail to adequately address this risk. Data from an online survey with a national convenience sample of 677 DV advocates from throughout the United States and territories were used to examine current practices and beliefs about HIV and DV. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2020 10;90(2):246-258. Epub 2019 Oct 10.

Department of Psychology.

Children living in armed conflict zones are often exposed to political violence and other risk factors that may be caused or exacerbated by the conflict, such as poverty and family violence. If left untreated, these experiences may cause psychological problems throughout life. This study investigated the psychological well-being of children living in the low-intensity armed conflict zone in Turkey in relation to their adverse experiences. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2020 30;90(2):193-200. Epub 2019 Sep 30.

Department of Psychology.

Discrimination, poverty, and other aspects of the minority experience produce stress associated with health disparities. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, a neuroendocrine subsystem usually monitored through assay of the hormone cortisol, is thought to play a key role in this relationship. Cortisol assay using hair specimens is a technology that promises to address important methodological problems in large-scale studies of health, well-being, and racial/ethnic status. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2020 23;90(2):223-235. Epub 2019 Sep 23.

Institute of Child Development.

Psychosocial risk exposure in childhood is associated with a greater probability of emotional, behavioral, and academic problems. It is not surprising that children who experience homelessness, a marker of high cumulative risk, show significant emotional and behavioral problems and lower academic achievement than other children, including impoverished children who are not homeless. Nonetheless, some children manifest positive adjustment despite the hazards associated with homelessness, and it is important to identify protective influences that might be targeted for intervention. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2019 ;89(5):624-626

Clinical Psychology Program.

The research articles in this special issue edited by Zamboanga and Lui focus on sociocultural factors and processes that underlie ethnic disparities in alcohol use in the United States. Major ethnic minority groups such as African Americans, Asian Americans, and Hispanics are included. Contributors to this special issue present their research findings and draw implications for research, theory, and intervention. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2019 ;89(5):543-548

Department of Psychology.

Hazardous alcohol use is associated with deleterious health effects and social consequences, reduced work productivity, and increased medical and criminal justice expenditures. Research has consistently shown not only ethnic differences in prevalence rates of drinking behaviors and alcohol use disorders but also negative alcohol-related consequences and treatment-seeking patterns. Mainstream alcohol research has tended to focus on determinants and mechanisms that are common across ethnocultural groups; hence, there are tremendous opportunities to address issues that are especially pertinent to alcohol use and misuse in ethnic minority communities. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2020 15;90(2):212-222. Epub 2019 Aug 15.

Department of Behavioral Sciences, Rush University Medical Centre.

The knowledge of Syrian psychosocial activists in displaced communities is an invaluable resource for developing an ecological understanding of community needs and attitudes. This may elucidate the structural challenges of displacement to be addressed in psychosocial interventions. During Phase 1 of the study, we employed the community readiness model-a tool to assess community climate, needs, and resources-to determine community capacity-building needs. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2020 5;90(2):201-211. Epub 2019 Aug 5.

School of Public Policy.

Differences in mental illness (MI) stigma among adolescents were examined cross-sectionally across race, ethnicity, and gender to identify target populations and cultural considerations for future antistigma efforts. An ethnically and socioeconomically diverse sample of sixth graders ( = 667; mean age = 11.5) self-completed assessments of their MI-related knowledge, positive attitudes, and behaviors toward peers with MI and adolescent vignettes described as experiencing bipolar (Julia) and social anxiety (David) symptoms. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2019 ;89(4):493-507

Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute.

This article outlines key dimensions of culturally sensitive cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), and examines the application to Southeast Asian populations. Our treatment, culturally adapted (CA) multiplex CBT, was initially developed to treat traumatized Southeast Asian refugees, and has been shown to be efficacious for those and other groups. As described in the article, CA multiplex CBT is based on the multiplex model of distress generation and our conceptualization of key dimensions of culturally sensitive and effective treatment. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2019 ;89(4):482-492

Department of Psychological Science.

Racism and race-related stress can negatively impact the mental health status of ethnic minorities. In recent years, college campuses have held demonstrations to promote awareness regarding racism and to call for resources to help improve campus climate and to address the needs of students of color. This study answers this call by developing and evaluating the benefits of a peer-led compassionate meditation program to help students of color heal from race-related stress. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2019 ;89(4):462-474

Department of Math and Statistics.

To our knowledge, Asian Women's Action for Resilience and Empowerment (AWARE) is the first gender- and culture-specific and trauma-informed group psychotherapy intervention designed for Asian-American young women with histories of interpersonal violence and trauma and/or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) diagnosis. We employed a 2-arm randomized controlled trial. Sixty-three women who met clinical criteria for trauma were randomized to the intervention (n = 32) or waitlist control (n = 31) group. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2019 ;89(4):458-461

School of Social Service Administration.

Overall, this special section makes a timely and significant contribution to providing various types of culturally specific interventions as well as the evidence of clinical trials. Although the sample size of each study is rather small, each intervention illustrates innovative methods in both reaching and treating underserved and understudied populations. Moreover, these interventions provide critical groundwork for building an evidence base of interventions tailored specifically to Asian Americans (AAs). Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2019 ;89(4):434-441

College of Health and Human Development.

Researchers generally engage in few interactions with policymakers, which limits the extent to which empirical evidence is used to guide public policy and, consequently, the potential effectiveness of public policies in improving societal wellbeing. Although many researchers wish to see their work used for social impact, several factors contribute to researchers' limited policy engagement, including a lack of opportunities for developing policy competencies (i.e. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2019 ;89(4):401-405

Children's Health System of Texas.

The articles in this Special Section provide some grounds for optimism. Although their specific topics, approaches, and mechanisms for action vary, they reflect efforts designed to inform change initiatives or foster health and wellness utilizing data-driven strategies and conceptual models. These articles shed light on salient issues and point to strategies for building capacity to take action. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2019 13;89(4):426-433. Epub 2019 Jun 13.

Department of Psychology, Michigan State University.

Research can be used to develop empirically informed policy solutions to our most pressing public problems. However, research is all too often left out of the public policymaking conversation. Researchers can change this, by learning how to engage and collaborate with policymakers. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2019 6;89(4):420-425. Epub 2019 Jun 6.

Community Health Sciences, Boston University School of Public Health.

Mental health needs have been recognized as a priority area by the World Health Organization (WHO), and a Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan (2013) was proposed to address the needs of millions of people around the world. Concerns have been raised about the degree to which current global efforts are appropriate and sufficient for promoting mental health (MH), reducing the risk for common MH disorders, and addressing the needs of individuals experiencing mental illness. This commentary expands on the presentation of the Global Alliance for Behavioral Health and Social Justice's Task Force on Global Mental Health at the 16th Biennial Conference of the Society for Community Research and Action, held in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada June 21-24, 2017, "Building Capacity to Address Mental Illness and Emotional Distress in Low-Resource Settings and Among Refugee Populations. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2019 30;89(4):449-457. Epub 2019 May 30.

RISE Institute.

Literature regarding the field of early childhood policy planning and implementation has focused mainly on activities at global, regional, and national levels. However, during the last decade, important roles have emerged in policy planning for community-municipal and provincial decision makers, specialists, parents, and children. To achieve strong policy ownership at provincial and community levels, their representatives must participate actively in assessing the policy environment; child and family needs; human, organizational, and financial resources; and gaps and quality improvement in local services. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2020 13;90(1):48-62. Epub 2019 May 13.

College of Social Work, The Ohio State University.

The current study investigates the role of race and county characteristics in substantiation and out-of-home placement decisions in the United States. Using multilevel models, we analyzed data from counties in the United States available through the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data Systems and Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System to investigate the interactions between children's race and the context in which they live. Our sample consisted exclusively of children whose cases had been investigated; therefore, we were able to focus on the role played by race and county characteristics in substantiation and out-of-home placement decisions made by Child Protective Services, net of the heightened risk factors (or potential biases) that lead to disparate rates of reporting. Read More

Am J Orthopsychiatry 2019 ;89(3):390-399

Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Efforts to recruit and retain public health researchers should include scholars that reflect the demographics of the United States. Innovative research mentoring programs that integrate one-to-one and small group learning experiences may result in improved engagement and research productivity among graduate school scholars from underrepresented populations in public health research fields. This study analyzed leadership characteristics and research productivity of 54 graduate scholars who participated in the Dr. Read More