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In this paper, we assess factors that underlie the relationship between gardening and improved mental health and food security outcomes among displaced people. Drawing on a mixed method study of refugee gardeners in New York, we argue that a food sovereignty framework better incorporates crucial factors such as cultural appropriateness of food, autonomy over food choices, and promotion of health and community, as compared with a food security analysis. We draw commonalities between Indigenous food sovereignty scholarship and the resettled refugee experience, making connections across conceptual and material divisions in scholarly literature and funding institutions. Our work helps researchers and practitioners understand the impacts of gardening on social and material outcomes for displaced people, and suggests global linkages between dispossessed immigrant and Indigenous peoples' food sovereignty movements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Executive Summary: Home and community gardening is emerging as a beneficial intervention for resettled refugee populations. Using an interdisciplinary lens, we examined whether gardening influences mental health, food security, and economic well-being. A mixed methods study (n = 29) was conducted with quantitative surveys to assess indicators of mental health, food security, and economic well-being. Qualitative, semi-structured interviews explored gardener participants' experience of gardening benefits (n = 10). Participants had on average been in the United States for seven and a half years, with most having lived in refugee camps prior to arrival. Findings showed gardeners reporting fewer symptoms of anxiety, depression, and trauma, and lesser food insecurity than non-gardeners, and similar indicators of economic well-being. Non-parametric regression analysis showed that being a gardener significantly predicted less psychological distress. Qualitative data substantiated these findings with gardeners reporting improved mental health, closer family, social relationships and connections with culture, and more access to fresh and organic food. The multiple, simultaneous benefits of gardening reported here provide strong support for building community-based health promotion programs to assist refugee integration, including long after arrival. The study further highlights the importance of examining these interrelated factors of mental health, food security, and economic well-being simultaneously and reevaluating the established goals of refugee resettlement, particularly in the United States. We offer the following recommendations: • Policymakers and refugee resettlement practitioners should integrate culturally appropriate community-based health promotion efforts in refugee programs long after the initial resettlement period. • Researchers on refugee integration outcomes should include interdisciplinary perspectives that offer comprehensive understanding of processes related to health outcomes. • Policymakers on refugee resettlement and integration should consider the linkages between mental health, food security, and economic well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hallmark feature of fairness in relationships in Ivan Boszormenyi-Nagy's contextual therapy theory has largely remained untested among couples in therapy. "Fairness" here refers to the broad concept of "give and take," which is influenced by experiences of trustworthiness, loyalty conflicts, and a sense of entitlement or indebtedness in relationships. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of fairness, measured by the Relational Ethics Scale, on relationship satisfaction in a sample of 68 heterosexual couples seeking therapy. Findings indicated a significant correlation between both partners' reports of unfairness and relationship dissatisfaction. Further analysis using Hierarchical Linear Modeling showed that male partners' report of greater fairness in their relationship predicted a greater discrepancy in partners' report of relationship satisfaction. This finding provides strong evidence for addressing issues of fairness in couples therapy. Further, it makes an important contribution to the development of the contextual therapy theory. (Contains 2 tables, 2 figures, and 1 note.)

Youth who are homeless and gay, lesbian or bisexual (GLB) are one of the most disenfranchised and marginalized groups in our society. The purpose of this study is to examine and compare HIV in GLB homeless youth with their heterosexual counterparts. Participants for this study included 268 youth involved in treatment outcome studies with substance abusing homeless youth. Results suggest that GLB youth have greater HIV risks and that these risks are greater among bisexual females. In examining the predictors of sexual health risks, survival sex emerged as the most significant. Survival sex was high among females regardless of their sexual orientation and also among gay males. Implications of these findings suggest that a greater emphasis needs to be paid to preventive interventions among this population.

There is a dearth of research that examines the impact of family systems therapy on problems among sexually and/or physically abused youth. Given this void, differential outcome and predictors of substance use change were evaluated for abused, as compared with nonabused, runaway adolescents who were randomly assigned to family therapy or treatment as usual. Abused adolescents reported lower family cohesion at baseline, although both abused and nonabused adolescents showed similar substance use reductions. Utilizing hierarchical linear modeling, we found that substance use changed with change in cohesion over time. These findings link change in family functioning to change in adolescent substance use, supporting family systems theory. Findings suggest that a potent target of intervention involves focus on increasing positive communication interactions.

Drawing from the framework of community-academic partnerships, we describe the development and implementation of a training module to increase collaboration between interpreters and therapists in interpretermediated psychotherapy with refugees. Beginning with community engagement with local agencies and leaders to identify barriers to accessing psychotherapy services in the resettled refugee populations, this project involved multiple layers of collaboration to include multiple perspectives. The program was funded by a local community foundation and was implemented in three phases. In the first phase, we identified key community partners and stakeholders with first-hand knowledge of the needs of refugee populations. Phase two involved a two-day workshop for student therapists from different disciplines and interpreters working in the field. Phase three included a follow up to re-assess challenges in the field and refine our training. The need to build early collaboration between therapists and interpreters was highlighted throughout the development and implementation of the project. We discuss the project's impact, challenges encountered, and implications of lessons learned in developing community-engaged partnerships for graduate programs as a way of promoting social justice in practitioner training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors investigated the role of perceived discrimination in the association between adverse childhood experiences and psychological distress in adulthood in a sample of individuals (n = 125) at a university-based couple and family therapy clinic. Results showed that a majority had experienced four or more adverse experiences, indicating a high risk of negative health outcomes. A significant indirect effect of adverse experiences through perceived discrimination on psychological distress, even with gender, race/ethnicity, and household income as covariates, was noted. Findings underscore the importance of incorporating assessment of perceived discrimination in therapy with clients presenting with childhood adversity and psychological distress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study's aim was to apply a Contextual theory lens on exploring whether knowledge of parental infidelity affects the Relational Ethics (RE) of adult children. The Relational Ethics Scale (RES) was used to capture horizontal (partner) and vertical (family of origin) relational ethics in a clinical sample of 195 participants. A repeated measures ANOVA tested the differences in RES scores among the participants who reported knowledge of parental infidelity and the participants who did not. Results showed that knowledge of parental infidelity is significantly associated with lower scores on the RES, which indicates problematic relationships, both in partners and with family of origin. Clinical implications on how parental infidelity can affect relational ethics are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we discuss incorporating the transnational intersectionality framework in family therapy with resettled refugees. Transnational intersectionality is an extension of the framework of intersectionality which helps to better understand complexities of power and oppression across national contexts and their influence on refugees' lives. Adopting this framework alerts family therapists to: (a) develop critical awareness of refugee's transnational contexts; (b) understand differences in experiences of social identities across contexts; (c) acknowledge postmigration factors of oppression affecting resettlement; and (d) critically reflect upon therapist-interpreter-client intersectionalities. This shifts our conceptualization of therapy with refugees to actively consider transnational contexts which refugees uniquely occupy. We describe the framework and provide two case illustrations to highlight its usefulness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a cross-sectional, phenomenological design, this qualitative study sought to explore Iraqi refugees' experiences of family relationships resettled in a northeastern city in the United States after the start of the 2003 war. Participants' experience of family relationships was situated within the context of their displacement, which included fear and uncertainty during displacement, and experiences of safety and isolation during resettlement. Themes related to family relationships were as follows: shared experiences of losses; increased trust between family members; shifts in communication and gender roles; and constructing a family legacy. Findings from this study indicate that family relationships play a central role in making meaning of forced displacement and resettlement experiences, which have significant clinical implications for family therapists working with refugees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine depressive symptoms and relationship satisfaction as problems related to relational ethics in one's family of origin and current partner relationships in a sample of 68 other-sex couples seeking therapy at a large university clinic. We used the Actor Partner Interdependence Model to analyze dyadic data collected prior to beginning therapy. Specifically, we found significant actor effects between relational ethics in one's family of origin and depressive symptoms, as well as between depressive symptoms and low relationship satisfaction for both male and female partners. We also found significant partner effects for relational ethics in current partner relationship, depressive symptoms, and low relationship satisfaction. Clinical application of contextual therapy theory is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]