Human origins have been debated by evolutionists and creationists. Christian young adults are educated first on creationism and learn of evolution later. This delayed education of evolution leads to potential belief change and stress. This belief change process may be similar to Berry’s acculturation. After belief change, individuals may exhibit belief bias during human origin argument evaluation. Little research has been done to explore a formal belief change model and belief bias in human origin argument evaluation. Data was collected from 121 PSYC 102 and MTurk participants in an online survey measuring evolution and creationist beliefs. Vignettes presented evidence for creationism and evolution. This evidence was evaluated by participants. Cluster analyses, MANOVAs, and ANOVAs were used to determine statistical significance. Results found three groups of individuals exist and these groups differed on age of exposure to evolution and belief change stress measures. These groups evaluated creationism and evolution evidence differently exhibiting belief bias during argument evaluation. These results expand current literature by finding a potential belief change model and preliminary evidence to support earlier teaching of evolution in schools. Limitations include violated statistical assumptions and forced clusters. Further research is needed to explore these three groups in more detail.

Thèse numérisée par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

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This qualitative research examines graduate international students’ experiences, in particular, their mental health during their acculturation process to McMaster University. This study specifically investigates the challenges graduate international students encounter while pursuing their studies, how these challenges impact their mental health, and the strategies they develop to manage these challenges. Drawing from the findings, policy recommendations are provided for relevant school stakeholders, and implications for theorists to consider as they relate to international students’ mental health in their particular social identity are presented as well. This research study is organized under a critical framework. Critical theory (CT) is mainly used to do data analysis and to generate knowledge about graduate international students’ mental health as well as reveal the hidden structures of their experience. Individual, semi-structured interviews were conducted with six graduate international students from different departments, countries, ages, and genders, to examine a variety of interpretations of the graduate international student experience at McMaster. Key themes, including challenges encountered as international students, conceptualizing mental health, and factors affecting their mental health struggles, are also discussed. / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW)

Previous studies have suggested that gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals may be at increased risk for symptoms of depression and suicidality, but little empirical investigation to date has attempted to make clearer the stressors or factors that are associated with the development of symptoms. This study explores the roles of identity development as a sexual minority individual and the acculturative process in terms of the impact of interaction with heterosexual culture as predictors of depressive and suicidal symptoms. In addition, other psychosocial variable that have been previously associated with suicidality in other minority groups were tested as mediators between gay cultural identity and depressive and suicidal symptoms. Gay, lesbian, and bisexual college students were recruited for participation through social groups specific to this population. Results indicated that gay cultural identity was associated with depressive and suicidal symptoms. Furthermore, social support was shown to mediate the relationship between gay cultural identity and symptoms. Both frequency of social contact and interpersonal quality of social support were included in the analyses, with the latter showing a stronger relationship to the outcome variables. These findings emphasize the importance of research investigating points of intervention and organized efforts to provide social support to gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth that may be most effective in the prevention of depressive and suicidal symptoms. / Ph. D.

This study explores three dimensions in the integration of Iranian immigrants in Sweden: economic, cultural and social. To test the generalisability of the ideas presented, and to place them in a wider framework the integration of Iranians has been compared with those of three other minorities: Chileans, Poles, and Finns. Data used in the statistical analyses have been obtained from the Centre for Research in International Migration and Ethnic relations (CEIFO). Economic integration of an immigrant group in a new society has been defined as its economic equality with the host population. The first part dealing with this aspect of integration compares Iranians with Swedes by three economic indicators: the ratio of unemployment, socio-economic status and income. By all indicators Iranians hold a considerably lower position as compared with Swedes. Both socio-demographic factors related to the Iranians and discrimination exercised by Swedish employers have been found to be relevant to the economic integration of Iranians in Sweden. The comparison of Iranians with the three other minorities, in terms of discrimination, indicates that the discrimination of these minorities corresponds to their cultural distance from Swedes. Iranians, with the remotest culture from Swedes among the four minorities, suffer the highest degree of discrimination. Finns, with the closest culture, suffer the lowest degree of discrimination. And the two other minorities lie between these two groups, respectively. Discrimination manifests itself mainly in a differential size of incomes which derives from the differential distribution of these groups among the least desirable occupations. The second part dealing with cultural integration evaluates the adaptation of Iranian to Swedish culture by two indicators representing cognitive and normative acculturation. This part is especially focused on the proposition that the westernisation process in Iran and differential reactions against this process are relevant in the acculturation of Iranians in Sweden. Two hypotheses formulated on the basis of this proposition- the negative effects of commitment to Iranian culture and radicalism on the acculturation of Iranians in Sweden- have been supported by the indicator of normative acculturation, but not by that of cognitive acculturation. The comparison of the four minorities has demonstrated that generalities, clustering and uniqueness all exist among the factors explaining their acculturation. The generalities and clustering are more striking in cognitive acculturation. Similarities are more evident between Iranians and Chileans. Finally, the last part dealing with social integration concentrates on the association of Iranians with Swedes. Assuming that association of two individuals with each other requires a common language and a minimum degree of intersubjectivity, it has been generally hypothesised that: 1) social integration of minorities in the new society will be a function of their cultural distance from the host population, and 2) all processes contributing to the increasing or decreasing of cultural distance will contribute also to the increasing or decreasing of their social integration. On the basis of these general hypotheses the following concrete hypotheses have been tested. 1) Among the four minorities, Iranians, as culturally remotest from Swedes, will have the least degree of social integration, followed by Chileans, Poles and Finns, respectively. 2) Commitment of Iranians to Iranian culture, as a medium increasing cultural distance, will correlate negatively with their social integration in Sweden. 3) Countercultural elements in Swedish society, as a medium of cultural-distance reduction, will contribute to the social integration of immigrants in this society. All hypotheses have been supported by the existing data.

The current study was conducted to obtain preliminary data on the Nova Multilingual Neuropsychological Battery (NMNB) from a sample of 95 undergraduate and graduate university students (46 monolingual English and 49 bilingual English-Spanish speakers). The measure consisted of 39 subtests and an effort measure in English and Spanish, developed to account for language and cultural factors hypothesized to influence neuropsychological test results. The subtests included measures of mental status, reading comprehension, short-term and long-term verbal and visual spatial memory, short-term and long-term verbal and visual spatial recognition memory, motor coordination, processing speed, serial learning, anomia, and executive functioning. An acculturation measure was also administered. It was hypothesized that there would be a significant difference in performance between the Bilingual Spanish group compared to the Monolingual English and Bilingual English groups, with anticipated better performance in the Monolingual English and Bilingual English groups compared to the Bilingual Spanish group. It was also hypothesized that there would be a significant positive correlation between level of acculturation and test performance. Results of ANCOVAs, controlling for the effects of age and education, compared the performance of 20 bilingual participants on the Spanish version of the test between the 46 English monolinguals and 29 bilingual participants administered the English version of the test. Results of the ANCOVA's did not generally support the hypothesis at the p < .01 level that bilingual speakers administered the Spanish version of this measure would perform significantly lower compared to bilingual speakers or monolingual English speakers administered the English version. The subtest Verbal Command was significant for poorer performance in the Bilingual Spanish group compared to the Bilingual English group. The subtest Categorical Fluency was significant for poorer performance in the Bilingual Spanish group compared to the Monolingual English group and the Bilingual English group. The results of Pearson Product-Moment correlations (p < .01) did not support the hypothesis of a positive correlation between acculturation and test performance for the bilingual groups. Only three of the 39 subtests were correlated with acculturation in the he Bilingual English group. These results were inconsistent with prior research on neuropsychological test performance for Spanish-speaking populations. Previous research on several Spanish neuropsychological measures administered to Spanish-speaking participants, such as the Mini Mental State Exam, Digit Span, and the Spanish Naming Test, typically resulted in significantly poorer performance for bilingual or monolingual Spanish speakers compared to English speaking participants administered the same tests in English. Additionally, preliminary research with acculturation and neuropsychological assessment had suggested that higher levels of acculturation would result in better neuropsychological test performance. However, these results should be interpreted with caution as there were limitations to this study which included a small sample size, a sample of higher education level participants, and exposure to the English language and the U.S. educational system. Future studies should focus on development of normative data for the older adult population, individuals who have sustained a traumatic brain injury and monolingual Spanish speakers so that information can be made available for this underserved population.

Several dimensions of acculturation as well as three cultural orientations were incorporated in the development of the measurement of Culture Change in Mexican American Children (CCMAC). The sample included 116 Mexican American children age 7 to 11 years. The research was designed to assess the psychometric properties of the CCMAC, and evaluate the developmental features of the data. The multidimensional concepts as well as the multicultural aspects of acculturation were assessed. In addition, selected health outcomes were examined and their association to cultural orientation was determined. The findings demonstrated that the CCMAC was deemed valid and reliable with an alpha coefficient of.85 for the cultural assimilation scoring,.83 for the cultural resistance scoring, and.67 for the cultural integration scoring system. The confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis did not support the predicted factor structure. Children who were culturally resistant reported the highest income, less school problems, less home problems and a high GPA. Children who were culturally assimilated were the youngest children, had less homework problems, and were of later generation. The theory that culturally integrated children would report the least number of problems was not supported. It was recommended that the CCMAC be scored in three different ways when estimating individual acculturation trends. When estimating group trends, the CCMAC should be scored in the cultural assimilation orientation. Earlier literature was re-examined and discussed in light of the lack of the identification of the predicted factor structure. Recommendations were based on the CCMAC's contributions to the theory of acculturation in school age Mexican American children.

Despite socioeconomic disadvantages, less acculturated Mexican Americans tend to exhibit better mental health than their more acculturated counterparts. However, in the case of older Mexican American adults, research has demonstrated the opposite to be true (Gonzalez, Haan, & Hinton, 2001). A variable of interest potentially responsible for this difference is social support. Thus, the current study proposed to investigate the mediation and moderation effects that social support has on the relationship between acculturation and depression in older Mexican American adults age 60 or older. Data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) was analyzed. Results showed that the mediating effect of contact with one’s children (-.109*) and the moderating effect of total social support and contact with one’s children (-.127*; -.103*) were statistically significant in the relationship between acculturation and depression. Although these effects are small they may still hold important implications for better understanding this population.