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Early oral language development lays an essential foundation for academic and socioemotional competencies but is vulnerable to the impact of family stress. Despite robust evidence that family stress affects early oral language development in monolingual samples, little is known about whether the family stress processes affecting language acquisition are similar among dual language learners. Furthermore, although Mexican American families often face stressors related to their ethnic minority and immigrant status, no studies to date have tested whether exposure to sociocultural stressors may likewise have negative consequences for early language acquisition. The present study examined whether financial and sociocultural stressors were associated with maternal stress perception, parenting sensitivity, and child Spanish and English receptive vocabulary at child age 3 and 4.5 years. Participants included 322 low-income Mexican American mothers and their children followed from pregnancy through 4.5 years postnatal; most mothers preferred to speak Spanish (82%). Results of a path model indicated that links between family stress and child receptive vocabulary varied by language (Spanish or English) and stress type (financial or cultural). Specifically, Spanish acquisition was more closely related to the quality of mother-child interactions, whereas English acquisition was more susceptible to the direct impact of family stress. The consequences of family stress on children's vocabulary acquisition were evident earlier in development for Spanish than English, and appeared more pronounced for financial versus sociocultural stressors. Findings underscore a need to attend to the impact of poverty on children's Spanish and English language development in low-income, Mexican American children.

Shorter sleep duration can negatively impact children's daytime functioning and health. Latino children living near urban areas in the Mainland U.S. and Island Puerto Rico (PR) can be exposed to urban poverty and sociocultural stressors that challenge optimal sleep outcomes. Interventions to improve urban Latino children's sleep health should consider families' cultural background and environmental context to enhance acceptability and feasibility. This work describes our stepwise, multimethod approach to adapting a culturally and contextually tailored "School Intervention to Enhance Latino Students' Time Asleep (SIESTA)" for sixth- to eighth-grade Latino children residing in Greater Providence and San Juan and findings from a pilot randomized control trial (RCT) demonstrating SIESTA's efficacy. Results indicated high acceptability and greater improvement of sleep duration and behaviors in SIESTA versus control participants. The SIESTA shows potential to improve sleep outcomes in urban Latino middle schoolers. Results will inform a large-scale RCT to evaluate SIESTA's effectiveness and barriers to implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children with asthma living in U.S. urban neighborhoods experience increased risk for asthma morbidity and poor sleep outcomes. In addition to asthma, environmental factors (e.g. noise, uncomfortable temperature, light exposure) related to urban poverty may disturb children's sleep. This study examined the association between environmental factors and sleep outcomes among urban children with and without asthma, and whether napping underlies the environment-sleep link. Additionally, the study tested whether these associations differed by health status (i.e. asthma) or race/ethnicity. Participants included urban children aged 7–9 years with (N = 251) and without (N = 130) asthma from Latino, Black, or non-Latino White (NLW) background. Caregivers reported sleep environmental factors and naps. Sleep duration, efficiency, and nightly awakenings were assessed via actigraphy. Regardless of health status, frequent exposure to noise and light was associated with poorer sleep outcomes only among Latino children. In the full sample with and without asthma, noise exposure during nighttime sleep was related to more frequent daytime naps, which were linked to shorter nighttime sleep duration. Exposure to noise and light may play a particularly influential role in shaping urban children's sleep outcomes. Racial/ethnic differences and the potential mediating role of napping in this environment-sleep association may inform tailored interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Black and Asian American emerging adults are at higher risk of experiencing racial/ethnic discrimination and related distress. Racial/ethnic discrimination may increase vulnerability for depressive symptoms by diminishing individuals' positive self-concept. While low global self-esteem has been noted as a crucial process linking discrimination and depressive symptoms, it is unclear if it plays a unique role beyond other relevant aspects of one's self-concept: racial/ethnic private regard and centrality. Moreover, although different racial/ethnic groups are known to experience discrimination in distinctive ways, little is known about how relative processes of self-esteem and racial/ethnic identity may differ across these groups. We investigated the generalizability and specificity of discrimination to distress linkages across Asian and Black Americans. Method: Undergraduate Black (N = 109) and Asian American (N = 90) students self-reported racial/ethnic discrimination, depressive symptoms, and self-concept. Results: Global self-esteem indirectly linked the association between discrimination and depressive symptoms among Black Americans beyond the effects of racial/ethnic identity. Only among Black Americans, discrimination was associated with lower private regard. Conclusions: Finding highlight group-specific processes underlying Black and Asian Americans' experiences of discrimination and depressive symptoms. Findings also demonstrate shared processes of discrimination–depressive symptoms linkage across groups and underscore the need to address the pervasive issues of racism and discrimination. Public Significance Statement: This study illustrates that Black and Asian American emerging adults may have different self-concept processes through which they experience racial/ethnic discrimination and depressive symptoms. Whereas racial/ethnic discrimination was linked to lower personal self-worth and mood among Asian Americans, for Black Americans discrimination was associated with both lower personal and racial/ethnic self-concept, and lower self-esteem was in turn related to higher depressive symptoms. Regardless of group differences, the negative association between racial/ethnic discrimination and Asian and Black American emerging adults' emotional health was palpable and calls for continued attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental, organizational and attitudinal obstacles continue to prevent people with vision loss from meaningfully engaging in dance education and performance. This article addresses the societal disabilities that handicap access to dance education for the blind. Although much of traditional dance instruction relies upon visual cuing and modeling, evidence suggests that dance can be successfully taught to blind students by integrating verbal and tactile modes of instruction. There is a need for professional development to train teachers in inclusion dance methodologies that specifically address the learning needs of students with vision loss. There is a further need for a significant paradigm shift towards the acceptance of blind people as dance students and performers with full capacity to experience, appreciate and expand the current boundaries of the art form. We surveyed fifteen parents of dance students with vision loss to assess their perceptions of the importance of dance education and the challenges of accessibility. Thematic content analyses indicated that parents perceived benefits in health, socialization, and dance literacy. Parents also perceived a lack of accessibility to dance for students with vision loss. This article provides evidence of successful dance inclusion for the blind. We recommend integration of dance pedagogy specific to the needs of people with visual impairment in the training of our teachers and the teaching of our students. Spotlighted techniques include: somatic approaches, tactile modeling, physical guidance, oral description, and one-to-one partner teaching.

Black and Latino American children residing in urban environments are at increased risk for comorbid asthma and obesity. Physical activity (PA) is a modifiable behavior known to contribute to the asthma-obesity phenotype. While research has indicated links between optimal asthma status and high PA among children, little is documented about whether this group may display other asthma and PA patterns that warrant clinical attention and tailored interventions. Children with persistent asthma (N = 97) ages 7–9 and their caregivers from urban neighborhoods completed daily measures of asthma status and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and questionnaires about health and sociodemographic characteristics. Clinical asthma guidelines (e.g. FEV1 ≥ 80%) and sample means were used to categorize children into high or low lung function and MVPA patterns. Individual, family, and contextual differences across lung function and MVPA patterns were investigated. Twenty-nine percent of participants displayed optimal lung function and high MVPA. The remainder of the sample exhibited various less optimal patterns (e.g. poorer lung function and high MVPA). Caregivers of children displaying poorer lung function and high MVPA levels were more likely to report asthma related fears than caregivers of children with low MVPA levels regardless of lung function status. Asthma and PA interventions can be tailored to better address each child's unique clinical and behavioral patterns. An enhanced understanding of risk factors for suboptimal patterns of asthma status and PA may aid in multicomponent intervention efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Both youth self-regulation and quality of parental involvement have been associated with blood glucose levels (HbA1c) of youth with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). However, it is unclear whether and how youth and parental factors interact in their relation to youth HbA1c. The differential susceptibility hypothesis proposes that youth with high negative affectivity (NA) and low effortful control (EC) may be more susceptible to the deleterious impact of lower quality parenting behaviors but also reap greater benefit from higher quality parenting behaviors. This study investigated whether youth temperament would moderate the link between diabetes-specific parental assistance (e.g., checking blood sugar) or support (e.g., encouraging, praising) and HbA1c among youth with T1DM.Methods: Primary caregivers of youth with T1DM (N = 101; M age = 12.02, SD = 2.43) completed surveys on diabetes-specific parental involvement and youth temperament. Medical information (i.e., HbA1c) was obtained from chart review.Results: Multiple regression analyses indicated that youth NA and EC significantly interacted with parental assistance, but not support. Specifically, higher parental assistance was associated with higher HbA1c among youth with high NA or high EC. High assistance was only linked to lower HbA1c for youth with low NA.Conclusions: Results suggest that optimal levels of parental involvement related to better T1DM outcomes depend on youth's NA or EC. Consistent with the goodness-of-fit framework, when parenting approaches match youth's temperament, youth with T1DM may be better able to maintain lower HbA1c. Family interventions for pediatric T1DM management may take into consideration youth temperament. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Heavy episodic drinking (HED) and negative drinking consequences represent prevalent and serious health concerns for college students. Depressive symptoms may elevate students' risk for engaging in HED and experiencing negative consequences, but levels of risk may vary by executive function (EF) capabilities. Growing evidence suggests that EF deficits are associated with comorbid depressive symptoms and alcohol misuse. Nevertheless, little is known about unique and shared risks that depressive symptoms and EF may interactively pose for HED and negative drinking consequences. Methods: To address these gaps, the study assessed depressive symptoms, multiple domains of EF via multimethod approach, HED, and negative drinking consequences in a sample of 446 undergraduate students. Mediated moderation models were conducted to examine associations between depressive symptoms and alcohol use behaviors and modulating roles of EF. Results: Depressive symptoms, poor planning, and self-reported executive dysfunction were significantly associated with HED and negative drinking consequences. HED mediated the effect of depressive symptoms and executive dysfunction on negative consequences. A significant interaction indicated that better EF (i.e. low or average self-reported executive dysfunction) may buffer the risk depressive symptoms present for negative drinking consequences. Conclusions: The current findings suggest that among college students, risk and resilience factors for HED and negative drinking consequences may vary. Effective EF capabilities may be especially helpful for reducing students' risk for more serious drinking consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mothers and fathers are at elevated risk for developing depression during the first postnatal year, especially among families from marginalized communities. Although a number of studies demonstrate that exposure to maternal depressive symptoms can undermine infants' regulatory development, less is known about the extent to which paternal depressive symptoms may also contribute. The current study investigated whether maternal and paternal depressive symptoms were uniquely associated with infants' physiological regulation, and whether associations varied depending on infant sex. Participants included 90 low‐income Mexican American families. Fathers and mothers self‐reported their depressive symptoms when infants were 15 weeks old, and infants' resting parasympathetic activity (i.e., respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA]) was assessed at 6 and 24 weeks. Results indicated that, after controlling for infant 6‐week RSA and depressive symptoms in the other parent, paternal depressive symptoms were associated with lower 24‐week RSA for both girls and boys, but maternal depressive symptoms were only associated with lower 24‐week RSA for boys. Findings highlight a potential mechanism through which the consequences of parent depressive symptoms may reverberate across generations, and suggest that considerations of both infants' and parents' sex may lend insight into how best to intervene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Difficulties in coping with stress and regulating emotions are transdiagnostic risk factors for self‐harming behavior. Due to sociocultural stressors, ethnic minority adolescents may be at greater risk for self‐regulation difficulties and self‐harm. Dialectical behavior therapy for adolescents (DBT‐A) frames adaptive skill acquisition as a mechanism of change, but few studies have investigated its impact on ethnic minority adolescents' self‐regulation (i.e. coping, emotion regulation). Therefore, this pilot study examined relations between self‐regulation and self‐harm among ethnic minority adolescents and investigated changes in their self‐regulation upon completing DBT‐A. Methods: A clinically referred sample of 101 ethnic minority adolescents (Mage = 14.77; female = 69.3%) completed questionnaires about a history of self‐harm, coping (DBT Ways of Coping Checklist), and emotion regulation (Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale). Of the initial sample, 51 adolescents (Mage = 14.73; female = 80.4%) entered a 20‐week DBT‐A program due to self‐harm and/or Borderline Personality features. Results: In a pretreatment sample, the frequency of dysfunctional coping, but not of adaptive coping, differentiated self‐injurers from non‐self‐injurers. Full information maximum likelihood estimation was used to address high attrition (60.8%) from DBT‐A. Those who completed DBT‐A (n = 20) reported significantly improved emotion regulation. Adaptive coping at pretreatment predicted increased DBT skills use at post‐treatment. Conclusions: This non‐randomized pilot study highlights dysfunctional coping and emotion dysregulation as risk factors for self‐harm and suggests that 20‐week DBT‐A may help improve emotion regulation. Future research should employ a randomized design to further examine the effect of DBT‐A on these transdiagnostic processes of psychopathology. Key Practitioner Message: Due to cultural and environmental stressors, ethnic minority adolescents may be at greater risk for developing self‐regulatory difficulties – transdiagnostic mechanisms known to underly self‐harming behaviors; however, we know little about whether empirically supported treatments for self‐harm will improve youth's coping and emotion regulation.In a clinically referred, pretreatment sample of ethnic minority youth, levels of BPD symptomatology, emotion dysregulation, and dysfunctional coping, but not of adaptive coping, differentiated teens who self‐harmed from those who did not.Self‐harming ethnic minority youth who participated in an uncontrolled, pilot trial of dialectical behavior therapy for adolescents (DBT‐A) at an urban mental health clinic reported improved emotion regulation at post‐treatment.Baseline emotion regulation skills were not predictive of treatment‐related changes, suggesting that other factors, such as DBT‐A, may have played a decisive role in improving teens' emotion regulation. In contrast, adaptive coping skills at pretreatment were linked to increased DBT skills use at post‐treatment, indicating that patients' baseline coping skills may play a predictive role in psychotherapy outcomes.Future research should employ a randomized control trial to examine the effect of DBT‐A on vulnerable ethnic minority youth's development of self‐regulation. It should also investigate the hypothesized mediating role of self‐regulation in effecting lasting clinical gains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study sought to test whether a discrimination recall task would elicit a significant parasympathetic response in multiracial undergraduate women. The study also investigated whether parasympathetic responsivity to the discrimination recall would be similar or different from that elicited by a widely used stress paradigm-the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), and whether responses would differ for Black and White women.Method: Multiracial undergraduate women (n = 67; Mage = 19.4 years; 32% White, 22% Black) completed the TSST and a discrimination recall task. Parasympathetic activity was assessed using high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV).Results: Women exhibited significant HF-HRV responsivity to the discrimination recall and showed smaller average decreases in HF-HRV to the discrimination recall than the TSST. However, whereas White women exhibited decreased HF-HRV in response to both tasks, Black women showed increased HF-HRV for the discrimination recall but decreased HF-HRV for the TSST.Conclusions: Findings complement a growing body of research suggestive that experiences of discrimination are psychophysiologically salient. Additionally, discriminatory experiences may elicit distinctive patterns of HF-HRV responsivity compared to generic social stressors. Efforts to elucidate the unique role of discrimination-specific HF-HRV responsivity may be critical for delineating discrimination-health linkages. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]