Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is considered an important public health concern that can derail the developmental course of children. Given that children rely upon their attachment figures when they experience upsetting events, attachment organization may play a critical role in predicting victims' adaptation to CSA. To date, no studies have delineated the unique and interactive contributions of these two risk factors in the prediction of psychopathology. The aims of this study were to examine attachment in CSA victims and a comparison group and to assess the contributions of each risk factor to child psychological difficulties. Participants included 111 children aged 7-13, of whom 43 were CSA victims. Children completed an attachment interview and reported on their depressive symptoms. Their mothers reported on children's externalizing symptoms, internalizing symptoms, dissociation, and sexualized behavior. Our key findings showed that child victims of CSA were more likely to be classified as having insecure and disorganized attachment. Further, insecure attachment was the primary factor associated with higher self-reported depressive symptoms in all children and that CSA was associated with more parent-reported child externalizing problems, sexualizing problems, and dissociation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

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. Qualitative themes focused on the contexts of parents' difficulties and views of ASD service provision. A joint display presented the integration of converging the quantitative and qualitative data. There were significant delays from screening and diagnosis to intervention due to limited resources for ASD. Although the government surveillance system facilitated access to screening, a delay in the entry to intervention remained. Parents' narratives of frustration and confusion with ASD services reflected a lack of a coherent system for diagnosis and family needs assessment. Quality service provision for ASD requires integrated efforts of early identification, referral, and psychoeducational family support. Unbalanced resources between screening and intervention in public pediatric care settings should be addressed to meet the unmet needs of children with ASD. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Students of color in higher education face myriad challenges that supersede the academic, including feelings of isolation, lack of belongingness, and overt discrimination that confer stress on top of their academic workload. One avenue to tackle these issues and reduce the negative outcomes associated with these stressors is the effective mentoring of scholars of color. Research has typically focused on African American and Latino scholars. Asian American scholars have received less attention despite studies showing high levels of anxiety, depression, isolation, and reported experiences of targeted microaggression and discrimination among this population. This article highlights the cultural issues that need to be raised and considered in the mentorship of Asian American scholars. In particular, mentors need to be aware that stereotypes of Asian Americans are pervasive, insidious, and harmful, even those that may be thought of as positive stereotypes, and to examine their own beliefs about them. Second, mentors should be aware of the cultural values that predominate in Asian American cultures-in particular, hierarchical collectivism and a high-context communication style-that may be at odds with the mentor's cultural values or pose as obstacles that negatively influence the mentoring process. Finally, broad considerations and recommendations for mentoring Asian Americans scholars are offered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Adolescents attending alternative high schools often present with high rates of academic and behavior problems. They are also at increased risk of poor health behaviors and engaging in physical violence compared with students in traditional high school settings. To address the needs of students in these educational settings, examining factors that influence academic problems in this population is essential. Research has established that both bullying/victimization and sleep problems increase adolescents' risk for academic problems. Little is known about how these 2 factors together may exacerbate risk for academic problems among students attending an alternative high school. The current study investigated the interaction between teacher-reported bullying, victimization and daytime sleepiness on academic concerns (attention and learning problems) among a sample of 172 students (56% female; age M = 18.07 years, SD = 1.42) attending an alternative high school in a large, Southeastern U.S. city. Findings from path models indicated that daytime sleepiness, bullying, and victimization were uniquely associated with attention and learning problems. Further, significant interactions indicated that the association between victimization/bullying and attention/learning problems weakened as levels of daytime sleepiness increased. Results suggest the importance of assessing and addressing multiple contextual risk factors in adolescents attending alternative high schools to provide comprehensive intervention for students in these settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Commitment to school, commitment to learning, and educational expectations have been shown to contribute to positive outcomes among youth in the general population. However, it is an underexamined phenomenon among youth in care. This study examines the contribution of mother and father support and the moderating role of parents' marital status to commitment to school and learning among youth in residential care settings (RCSs) in Israel. The study was based on the reports of a random cluster sample of 1,409 adolescents (Grades 8 to 12) in 16 educational RCSs for youth from underprivileged backgrounds, who completed structured questionnaires. In line with social capital theories, the findings showed that, after controlling for youth background characteristics and grades at school, both father and mother support were linked positively with youth commitment to school and learning among the whole sample. The findings showed that although there was a positive significant relationship between father support and commitment to school and learning among youth in married-parent families, the link was insignificant among adolescent children of divorced parents. However, the interaction between divorce and mother support was insignificant. These findings highlight the importance of nurturing parent-youth relationships in RCSs and suggest circumstances in which father support is at risk to be less beneficial to youth in RCSs-a risk that should be considered by the care system as a target for prevention and intervention programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

The following study assessed whether future orientation and self-esteem mediated the relationship between family stress and mental health problems among African American youth. Data from this study included 638 African American adolescents purposively sampled from predominantly low-income neighborhoods. Major variables assessed were family stress, self-esteem, future orientation, mental health, and covariates (i.e., gender, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic proxy). Structural equation modeling computed direct and indirect (meditational) relationships between family stress and youth mental health. The average age of participants was 15.83 years old, slightly half of whom were female. The path model detected a significant relationship between family stress and mental health problems. Self-esteem and future orientation had a significant mediation effect on the relationship between family stress and mental health problems. Overall findings underscore the importance of strengthening resilience factors for African American youth, especially those who live in low-income communities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Whereas a growing literature has sought to understand challenges involved in the dissemination and implementation of specific evidence-based practices (EBP), few studies have centered on the perspectives of front-line community providers regarding best practices, clinical ideals and barriers to quality improvement for clients with psychosis. The goal of this project was to lay a foundation for future work aimed at improving the overall quality and impact of the multifaceted services typically provided to adults with psychosis served by the public mental health system. The findings reported here draw on a series of in-depth interviews and focus groups with 34 clinicians based at multiple inner-city community mental health sites. The project was participatory and service user co-led. Analyses focus on participant's perspectives concerning optimal services for clients with psychosis and perceived barriers to improving services. Providers strongly underscored the centrality of relationship quality versus mastery of specialized techniques and of deeper experiential engagement with the subjective meaning of the experience of psychosis. Asked about barriers to quality improvement, they described both macrolevel social forces, including chronic underfunding and overreliance on manualized approaches to distress, as well as cross-cutting clinical challenges not typically captured in the literature on more specific, targeted interventions. Our discussion focuses on the implications of these findings with respect to research and quality improvement and concludes with a call to increase investment and attention to the perspectives of front-line providers and the issue of workforce and organizational capacity vis-à-vis psychosis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Health inequities and disparities among various racial/ethnic minority, sexual minority, and rural populations are the focus of increasing national efforts. Three health problems disproportionately affecting these populations-HIV/AIDS, substance abuse, and trauma-deserve particular attention because of their harmful effects on health across the life span. To address these problems, our training program, the UCLA HIV/AIDS, Substance Abuse, and Trauma Training Program (HA-STTP), mentors and trains early career behavioral health scientists to conduct research using scientifically sound, culturally collaborative, and population-centered approaches. HA-STTP has been highly successful in training a diverse, productive, nationwide group of scholars. The program provides 2 years of training and mentorship to 20 (5 per year over 4 years) scholars. It is unique in its attention to traumatic stress as a form of dysregulation, particularly as experienced by underserved populations. Furthermore, our training program embraces a uniquely comprehensive, culturally grounded understanding of traumatic stress and its implications for substance abuse and HIV. HA-STTP advances scholars' knowledge of the interconnections among substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, traumatic stress, and health disparities, particularly in underrepresented populations; provides intensive mentorship to support scholars' research interests and career trajectories; capitalizes on a multidisciplinary, multiracial/ethnic network of expert faculty; and evaluates the program's impact on scholars' knowledge and productivity. By fostering the growth of scholars committed to conducting research with underrepresented populations that are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS, substance abuse, and traumatic stress, this program enhances nationwide efforts to diminish the prevalence of these problems and improve health and quality of life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Couples form the foundation of military families. However, on average, couples become significantly less satisfied with their relationships and marriages across the deployment cycle. Reduced satisfaction places partners at risk for psychological distress and family problems. The present study examines the effects of a family based reintegration program aimed at enhancing reflective functioning in recently deployed service members and their home-front partners on relationship satisfaction. Results reveal that most dyads report being satisfied in their relationship at baseline. However, greater couple distress was related to more psychological distress in both partners. For spouses, intervention had a positive, significant effect on relationship satisfaction. Variations in relative risk for couple distress among service members and their spouses highlight the need to assess both partners to clarify risk factors and modifiable targets of intervention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).