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ObjectivesPast research has established that the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM) exhibits measurement invariance across diverse ethnic groups. However, relatively little research has evaluated whether this measure is invariant across generational status. Thus, the present study evaluates the invariance of the MEIM across foreign-born, second-generation, and later-generation respondents.MethodA large, ethnically diverse sample of college students completed the MEIM as part of an online survey (N = 9,107; 72.8% women; mean age = 20.31 years; SD = 3.38).ResultsThere is evidence of configural and metric invariance, but there is little evidence of scalar invariance across generational status groups.ConclusionsThis study suggests that the MEIM has an equivalent factor structure across generation groups, indicating it is appropriate to compare the magnitude of associations between the MEIM and other variables across foreign-born, second-generation, and later-generation individuals. However, the lack of scalar invariance suggests that mean-level differences across generational status should be interpreted with caution. (PsycINFO Database Record

Background: Prior literature has shown that ethnic affirmation, one aspect of ethnic identity, is positively associated with mental health. However, the associations between ethnic affirmation and mental health may vary depending how much importance individuals place on their ethnic group membership (ie, centrality). Methods: Using path analysis, the current study examined the relations between ethnic affirmation and indices of mental health problems (ie, anxiety and depressive symptoms), and tested whether the process was moderated by ethnic centrality among 3,659 college students representing 3 ethnic groups (41% Latino/a, 35% Asian American, and 24% African American) who participated in a large, multisite university study. Results and Conclusions: Results suggested that the associations between ethnic affirmation and mental health were stronger for Latino/a and Asian American students who reported higher levels of ethnic centrality. For African Americans, higher levels of ethnic affirmation predicted better mental health, but this association did not vary as a function of ethnic centrality. (Contains 2 tables and 2 figures.)

Alternatives for Families: A Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (AF-CBT) is an evidence-based treatment for families with children aged 5 to 15 years who have been affected by verbal and physical aggression in the family. AF-CBT was designed to address risks for exposure to emotional and physical aggression as well as common clinical consequences of exposure to aggression by taking a family-systems approach to strengthening individual and family functioning. Given the target population, AF-CBT also integrates monitoring of and content related to family safety. This article provides an overview of AF-CBT including a discussion of appropriate populations and modalities, AF-CBT principles, and the theoretical basis of AF-CBT. The treatment is divided into three phases: (a) engagement and psychoeducation, (b) individual skill building, and (c) family applications and routines. The authors review each of these phases, the specific components and content of AF-CBT, and its empirical support. AF-CBT was one of the first treatments for physical aggression to be considered an evidence-based treatment. Information is provided on the opportunities and challenges of applying AF-CBT in schools, cultural considerations in AF-CBT's implementation, and how to obtain training in AF-CBT. Specifically, the authors provide details on the role of school psychologists in the delivery of AF-CBT, for example, as direct service providers or as important referral sources. The authors also provide details on topics that psychologists and schools might want to consider in determining whether AF-CBT is a good fit for them and their setting. (Contains 4 footnotes and 2 tables.)

Research has documented increases in child maltreatment at times when caregivers are deployed and rates have increased among military families since 2002, despite remaining stable among civilian families. Military youth also are susceptible to traumatic events that are nonmilitary related. Despite the prevalence of various forms of trauma exposure in military children and need for evidence-based interventions with traumatized military youth, there is no model for providing specialized mental health care with military youth. To date, reviews of evidence-based interventions for traumatized youth have not addressed their dissemination with traumatized military children. This paper aims to address this gap by: (a) providing an overview of the rates of trauma exposure factors that increase risk among military children; (b) reviewing the literature on evidence-based treatments for traumatized youth; (c) presenting a collaborative model for providing evidence-based treatment with traumatized military youth; and (d) presenting a case illustration of the model implementing an evidence-based treatment for traumatized children. The model has utility for disseminating evidence-based trauma treatments, which appear to be readily applicable for military families, as well as serving as a framework for implementing other types of specialized child mental health treatments (e.g., generalized anxiety, depression). (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.)

This study evaluated the construct of childhood traumatic grief (CTG) and its correlates through a multi-site assessment of 132 bereaved children and adolescents. Youth completed a new measure of the characteristics, attributions, and reactions to exposure to death (CARED), as well as measures of CTG, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anger. CTG was distinct from but highly correlated with PTSD, depression, and, to a lesser degree, anger. In contrast to a recent study of complicated grief, CTG severity was significantly associated with the degree to which the death was viewed as traumatic. CTG was also associated with caregivers' emotional reaction at the time of the death and caregivers' current sadness. Clinical implications and recommendations for future research are discussed. (Contains 5 tables.)

September 11, 2001 was a tragedy unparalleled in the United States, resulting in the largest number of parentally bereaved children from a single terrorist incident. The event necessitated swift and sensitive development of programs to meet the needs of bereaved children and their families, and it offered a rare opportunity to investigate the symptoms of, and intervention for, traumatic bereavement. Progress is being made in evaluating assessment and treatment services for traumatically bereaved children and their caregivers. However, attention must be paid to how programs are created in order to carry out the work. This article reports on the methods used to develop and deliver a clinical research program in the aftermath of 9/11. The specific challenges following a crisis, the decision-making process and lessons learned are highlighted, and future program development recommendations are presented. (Contains 1 figure and 1 table.)

The primary goal was to develop and implement a school-based, trauma-specific intervention program for inner-city children exposed to the World Trade Center attacks on September 11th, 2001. The feasibility and acceptability of the program, and its research component, were examined. The efficacy of the program was evaluated in a pilot study. Sixty-three children were assessed using measures of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), generalized anxiety, depression, and externalizing symptoms, and provided a 10-session, skill-based classroom intervention. Following the classroom intervention, children were re-assessed and those who continued to meet criteria for PTSD were offered an individualized intervention. The assessment was repeated following the individualized intervention. The differential influence of the classroom and individual interventions suggest that each intervention may target a separate group of symptoms. Study limitations are discussed and future directions are proposed.

This study is an exploration of the measurement and correlates of childhood traumatic grief (CTG). Eighty-three children of uniformed service personnel who died during the World Trade Center attack on September 11, 2001, were assessed using measures of demographic characteristics, trauma exposure (physical proximity, emotional proximity, and secondary adversities), use of coping strategies, psychiatric symptoms (posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD], general anxiety, depression), self-esteem, and traumatic grief. An exploratory factor analysis of the Extended Grief Inventory (EGI; Layne, Savjak, Saltzman, & Pynoos, 2001) indicated distinct constructs of normal versus traumatic grief. CTG factor scores were correlated with secondary adversities from the traumatic event, symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, depression, and coping responses, underscoring the theoretical and clinical utility of the content of the measure. Study limitations and future research recommendations are discussed.

This study proposes that posttraumatic stress symptomology and acculturative stress may further explain the relationship between family violence exposure and sexual risk-taking behaviors among Latino emerging adults (N = 1,100). A moderated mediation analysis indicated that lifetime rates of family violence exposure were positively associated with sexual risk-taking via posttraumatic stress symptomology, and this mediation significantly varied as a function of acculturative stress. Overall, the findings of the current study underscore a need for a better understanding of how family violence exposure puts Latino emerging adults at risk for aversive health outcomes and suggest the use of an ecological systemic framework that examines the interactions between family, individual, and cultural systems in relation to health risk-taking behaviors., Author(s): Peter M. Rivera[sup.1] , Melinda A. Gonzales-Backen[sup.1] , Jennifer Yedlin[sup.2] , Elissa J. Brown[sup.3] , Seth J. Schwartz[sup.4] , S. Jean Caraway[sup.5] , Robert S. Weisskirch[sup.6] , Su Yeong [...]

The purpose of this paper is to describe the implementation of a school-based trauma-specific mental health program in New York City following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. This program aimed to serve children most at risk for developing mental health problems as a result of physical proximity (e.g., evacuation from schools surrounding the World Trade Center) to the trauma. As we present the components of the program, we will review the literature that guided our decision making. The ongoing struggle between searching for answers from established science and immediate needs in a crisis is highlighted. Lastly, a discussion of the lessons learned and recommended next steps is presented.

Disclosure of traumatic experiences is typically encouraged and associated with positive outcomes. However, there is limited research on nondisclosure of sexual trauma and consequent symptomology. This online study of undergraduate females examines reasons for nondisclosure and associated symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. Of 221 participants who reported sexual victimization, 25% had not previously disclosed it. Four reasons for nondisclosure were identified: shame, minimization of experience, fear of consequences, and privacy. Nondisclosers who minimized the experience and nondisclosers low on shame reported fewer PTSD symptoms than disclosers. These findings suggest that reasons for nondisclosure are associated with symptomology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

College-aged women experience high rates of sexual victimization. Their postassault symptoms are associated with the types of responses they receive from the people to whom they disclose these experiences. Negative responses are pervasive and associated with poorer outcomes. The current study examined whether a strong sense of ethnic identity and comfort with the mainstream culture moderate the association between negative responses to the first disclosure of sexual victimization and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. A diverse sample (10% Black/African American, 51% White, 39% Other, and 66% Hispanic) of undergraduate women was recruited from two urban, Eastern United States universities for this online study. Participants reported histories of sexual victimization, demographics, responses to sexual assault disclosure (i.e., victim blame, treating the victim differently, taking control, distraction, and egocentric reactions), symptoms of PTSD and depression, and their ethnic identity and mainstream cultural comfort. Thirty-seven percent (n = 221) endorsed an experience of sexual victimization, and 165 disclosed it to someone. Hierarchical ordinary least squares regressions revealed that a stronger sense of ethnic identity was associated with fewer symptoms of PTSD for those women who experienced higher levels of control, distraction, and egocentric responses from the first disclosure recipient. A strong sense of affiliation with the mainstream culture did not protect survivors who reported receiving negative responses to disclosure against symptoms of PTSD or depression. Ethnic affiliation may protect women against PTSD when they receive high levels of negative messages about sexual victimization experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]