Cultural beliefs and practices affect factors associated with early diagnosis of developmental disorders, parents' understanding of the disorder, beliefs about causes, and choice of treatment procedures. Currently, most research regarding autism emanates from Western cultural perspectives. However, the notion that treatment methods are universal and that they can simply be developed in the West and exported elsewhere is inherently flawed. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the experience of parents from India now living in the US or other countries outside India who have a child with an autism spectrum disorder, and explore the unique contributions of the Indian culture in parents' understanding and acceptance of a childhood disability like autism. Specific cross-cultural variables measured in the study included what symptoms the parents first recognized in their child, parents' beliefs about causes, choice of treatment procedures, roles of grandparents in the child's life, availability of community resources, parent-professional interactions, and acculturation. Twenty seven parents of children with autism (24 mothers, 3 fathers) participated in the study; all but 3 of them now lived outside India. All 27 participants and their spouses were Indian in ethnicity and were born and raised in India. Most parents endorsed the western beliefs in a combination of genetics, environmental toxins, and biological factors; a substantial number also endorsed a belief that immunizations were a direct cause. A significant minority of our parents also called upon traditional Indian beliefs in karma, destiny or fate, and parental mistakes in present or past life. Most of these parents were far from their own parents and in-laws and thus removed from the high level of grandparental involvement that would be typical if they had stayed at home; however, despite the long distance separating them, a majority of the families consider their parents and in-laws as important sources of emotional support. Although a majority of parents reported that they currently do not use any treatment that came from their Indian culture, about half reported that they would prefer to use a combination of both western and Indian medicine and educational practices, if it is made available. A majority of parents in the study appear to be well integrated with their host culture. These parents have become bicultural by maintaining characteristics of their own natal culture, while selectively acquiring those of their host culture.

ABSTRACT UNACCOMPANIED REFUGEE MINORS AND THEIR STRATEGIES TO NAVIGATE A NEW WORLD: A GROUNDED THEORY By Justin Scott Lee A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2012 Chair: Pamela J. Kovacs, Ph.D. Associate Professor This study explored how unaccompanied refugee minors (URMs) define success. The population of URMs consists of individuals who, through forced migration from their country of origin, were resettled in the United States through the URM program. Little is known about the ways in which refugee adolescents view the resettlement process once they have left the URM program. Through a traditional grounded theory method, 15 interviews with former URMs were conducted with the aim of laying the groundwork for a theory that would explain how success is defined, the unique challenges URMs face, the mechanisms for overcoming challenges, and the role that culture plays in the resettlement process.

Despite an increase in interventions targeted at lowering the rate of HIV/AIDS among college students, the rate of HIV/AIDS infections has not decreased. The purpose of this study was to identify factors (i.e., HIV-sexual knowledge, self-positivity bias, peer norms, acculturation, perceived risk of HIV, HIV-related stigma, and condom use) that may affect condom use among college students who live in an area where the prevalence of HIV is relatively high. The current study utilized a sexually active sample (N=397) of diverse college students (predominantly African American and White) in an urban setting to examine the relationships. Path analysis was used to explore hypotheses. Results indicated that students who endorsed higher levels of self-positivity bias were more likely than other students to report not using condoms the last time they had sex and to perceive themselves at less risk of HIV/AIDS infection. In addition, students who reported unsupportive peer norms regarding safe sex practices perceived themselves at a higher risk of HIV/AIDS. With respect to gender differences, females reported more stigma towards individuals with HIV/AIDS than males, and males reported more perceived risk of HIV/AIDS than females. Lastly, African American college students perceived themselves to be at greater risk of contracting HIV/AIDS than other students and minority students endorsed greater stigma towards individuals with HIV/AIDS than White students. Results emphasize the need for college HIV/AIDS interventions to target peer norms and personal bias as well as cultural and gender differences that might impact condom use.

In the U.S., the Latino youth population is large and growing rapidly and many Latino youth are sexually active. These relatively high rates of sexual activity are concerning because Latino boys and girls, compared to other youth, have the lowest rate of contraceptive use and high rates of sexually transmitted infections (STI’s) and teen pregnancy. Thus, the need for greater attention to factors that influence Latino adolescent sexual health such as sexual risk behavior and attitudes is imperative. An understudied area with respect to Latino youth sexual behavior is the role that an adolescent’s perception of his/her body has on sexual risk attitudes and behaviors and the possible moderating role of cultural factors. To address this gap in the literature, this study obtained data from one hundred and fifty Latino adolescents who completed a survey that assessed sexual risk attitudes and intentions, body image, ethnic identity, and acculturation. Results indicated that both weight concerns and shape concerns were marginally positively associated with more positive attitudes towards condoms among females and with less positive attitudes towards condoms among males. Gender did not moderate relations when examining attitudes towards pregnancy and intentions as outcome variables. At lower levels of Anglo acculturation, negative body image was associated with less sexual risk attitudes among females whereas positive body image was associated with higher risk attitudes towards pregnancy among males. At low levels of Mexican Orientation, more positive attitudes towards condoms were associated with negative body image among males. Results indicated that none of the interactions of participant’s ethnic identity score with the three body image variables were significant in predicting sexual risk attitudes or intentions for either females or males. The findings shed light on the role of body image and cultural factors on sexual risk attitudes and intentions among Latino adolescents.

Objective: Male-to-male sexual contact is the most common mode of transmission for HIV among Latino men. Psychosocial factors such as machismo, homophobic discrimination, and internalized homophobia have been hypothesized to greatly impact sexual behaviors among Latinos. However, studies investigating the relationship between these psychosocial factors and risky sexual behaviors are limited. This study examined the impact of machismo on risky sexual behaviors among Latino Male who have Sex with Men (MSM).Methods: This study utilized data collected from 254 Latino MSM in 1999 from selected cities within Virginia. The analysis focused on respondent demographic characteristics, psychosocial factors, acculturation, and sexual risky behaviors. Composite measures for acculturation, machismo, internalized homophobia, and sexual discrimination were created by combining sets of relevant questions. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used and odds ratio and 95% confidence intervals were calculated.Results: The study found a statistically significant relationship between machismo and HIV/STD sexual risk behaviors. Latino MSM with high machismo values were over four times more likely to engage in HIV/STD sexual risk behaviors compared to those with low machismo values (OR=5.53,95%CI =1.85-16.47). In contrast, HIV/STD sexual risk behaviors were not significantly associated with acculturation, discrimination, or homophobia.Conclusions: Machismo is a significant risk factor for HIV and STD sexual risk behaviors in Latino MSM. Culturally competent messaging and appropriate skill building opportunities addressing machismo values should be incorporated into HIV and STD prevention programs that target Latino MSM.

SOBOTOVÁ, J. (2014): Islamofobie v Evropě: příklad Česka a Španělska. Univerzita Karlova, Praha, 153 s. The thesis is concentrated on problems which are connected with Islamophobia in Europe. Czechia and Spain have been chosen as model regions. The thesis is put to the theoretical-methodological frame of the new cultural geography and geography of religion. Islamophobia problems are examined from the view of majorities in non-Muslim states. The major purpose of the thesis is verification of three premises by the theoretical methods, research of literature and other professional sources, and empirical procedures, analysis of questionnaires and available datasets. First of all if level of Islamophobia is lower between young generation or elder generation; then if higher level of knowledge about Islam (theology, history, etc.) allows lower level of Islamophobia or if it is valid in the opposite way; and thirdly if it is higher level of Islamophobia in Spain or in Czechia because of the more frequent contact with Muslim culture and society, or if it holds true in the opposite way. Interesting results have been found out during the analysis of questionnaires. These results were verified existence of two different types of Islamophobia. Key words: Islam, Islamophobia, immigration, acculturation,...

This thesis examines the acculturation process of women immigrant to Czech cultural environment. Acculturation can be defined as adaptation to cultural environment other than the individual was born in. Just like the other phases of international migration, this process is gendered, i.e. influenced by roles, norms and patterns of behavior assigned to women and men by society. Experts have shown that women experience acculturation differently than men. Due to their reproductive role they are considered to be carriers and protectors of immigrant groups' cultural identity and are expected to transmit cultural values to the future generations. The acculturation process' assessment was based on theory of stress and coping. For qualitative research, two groups of immigrant women, from Ukraine and Arab countries, were selected. The main objective of this work was to determine whether the respondents from these countries were experiencing acculturative stress during their adaptation to new cultural environments, how they coped with this stress and also what influenced their acculturation in Czech environment. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the respondents and were evaluated using qualitative content analysis. Keywords: acculturation, culture, gender, Ukrainian women, women from Arab countries

The purpose of this work is to bring better understanding into the problematic of negotiation of veiling behaviour among young Muslim women. In the current world they face many challenges caused by stereotypical images that are being spread about them through various media platforms. One of those stereotypes is the misuse of the veil as a symbol and taking it out of the context. Main goal of this work is therefore to observe the role of media, new media in particular, within diverse socio-political contexts in the lives of young Muslim women, especially on the negotiation of their veiling behaviour. Misinterpretation and misuse of the symbol of the veil by the media within diverse socio-political contexts will be investigated from the perception of these young women, with help of the qualitative approach, namely in-depth interviews with the sample of seven Muslim women between the ages of 22 and 36 living in Czechia, Lebanon, Netherlands and Switzerland. To put this issue into perspective of the researcher's home country, Czechia, additional and supportive data was collected among 100 respondents from Czech non-Muslim public. This survey investigated the perception of Islam and veiled women by the Czech public to prove or disprove the hypothesis that the Islamic tradition of veiling is perceived...

Thesis advisor: Janet E. Helms / As the first generation born after China introduced its "one-child policy," Chinese female students in the United States belong to a special population that is under the dual pressures of their parents' expectations to succeed and the conflicting traditional Chinese stereotypes of women as obedient to men, dependent, and home orientated. Previous research on Chinese female students' acculturative experiences indicates that these women face unique challenges in redefining their gender roles. However, no studies have explored whether womanist and acculturative processes are related to this psychological transition. The current study explored womanist identity and acculturation attitudes as processes influencing Chinese women's negotiations of their gender roles and redefinitions of themselves as women while living in the United States. Chinese female international students (N=192), enrolled in colleges or universities in the US, completed a demographic questionnaire; the Womanist Identity Attitude Scale (Helms, 1990), which assessed their manner of coping with traditional role expectations; and, the Acculturation Scale for Asian International Students (Gu, 2008), which measured acculturation attitudes. Their gender-role traits and stereotypical attitudes toward American women were examined by the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) (Bem, 1974) and Attitudes toward Women Scale (AWS) (Spence, Helmrich, & Stapp, 1978). Canonical correlation analyses were used to investigate relationships among (a) womanist identity and acculturation attitudes, (b) womanist identity and gender-roles, and (c) acculturation attitudes and gender roles. Two identity-acculturation patterns, three identity-gender role patterns, and two acculturation-gender role patterns were identified. When the Chinese women were self-defining their gender-role identity, they were participating in U.S. culture and integrating traditional and non-traditional gender-role traits and attitudes. Traditional womanist attitudes were associated with increased levels of rejecting the U.S. culture, traditional gender roles, and perceived dissimilarities between themselves and U.S. women. The current study is the first to investigate gender-role and acculturation developmental issues of "One-Child" women from a psychological perspective. Obtained results suggest that their adaptive processes are more complex than anticipated. Methodological limitations of the study are discussed. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2015. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology.

O objetivo desta pesquisa é mostrar, a partir do conceito de aculturação, presente sobretudo na obra de John Berry, quais são os reflexos da aculturação dos imigrantes japoneses na vida atual dos idosos isseis. Para se tentar responder a essa questão e mostrar o processo de aculturação, o trabalho foi dividido em três enfoques: o processo de aculturação na imigração japonesa no Brasil (enfoque histórico), a questão do envelhecimento na comunidade nikkei (enfoque coletivo), e a história de vida e produção poética de idosas haicaístas (enfoque individual). O enfoque histórico se deu basicamente em pesquisa bibliográfica sobre a história da imigração japonesa, verificando-se as mudanças de estratégias de sobrevivência desses imigrantes. O enfoque coletivo se deu pelos resultados da pesquisa de campo nas casas de repouso e instituições que tem preocupação com os idosos, nos fornecendo uma visão institucional de como a comunidade colabora no cuidado aos idosos. Já no enfoque individual, foi realizado um estudo de caso com uma turma de idosos que se reunem todo mês para uma atividade de composição de haikus, que são poemas curtos escritos em língua japonesa. Para esse estudo, foi assistido a oito desses encontros, feitas entrevistas com as participantes que aceitaram ajudar com a pesquisa e realizou-se a leitura e análise de suas produções poéticas. / The purpose of this research is to show, through the concept of acculturation present mainly in the work of John Berry, what are the reflexes of the acculturation of Japanese immigrants in the life of the issei elderly. This work was divided in three approaches to try and answer the above questioning while demonstrating the acculturation process. These three approaches are: the process of acculturation in Japanese immigration of Brazil (Historical Approach), the problem of aging in nikkei comunity (Collective Approach), and the history of life and poetic works of haiku elder poets (Individual Approach). The historical approach was based mainly in bibliographical research about Japanese immigration history, paying attention to the changes of strategy of survival of these immigrants. The Collective Approach was based in the results of a research done in Home for Old People and institutions worried about elders, giving us the institutional point of view of how the nikkei community helps taking care of the elderly. In the Individual Approach, a case study with a group of old people who meet every month for an activity of composing haiku, small Japanesewritten poems, was done. For this study 8 meetings were watched, interviews were done with the group members who accepted to help this work and some of their poetic works were read and analyzed.