Research on intergroup contact (Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006) has shown it to be an effective measure of reducing prejudice, and further studies have shown parasocial intergroup contact to be effective as well (Ortiz & Harwood, 2007). This research is incredibly important when studying people with high Social Dominance Orientation (SDO), who tend to favor social hierarchies and disparities between groups. The present study will focus on the interaction of SDO and type of intergroup contact on prejudice. Over the course of a month-long longitudinal study, participants will either be assigned to a face-to-face contact condition, interviewing an immigrant confederate in-person, or to a parasocial contact condition, watching an interview of this confederate on a computer screen. Given past research, both types of contact are predicted to increase favorable attitudes toward immigrants and decrease racism, although face-to-face contact is likely to be most impactful. Low SDO individuals are predicted to maintain low levels of prejudice, while high SDO individuals are predicted to experience a larger difference in racism and attitudes toward immigrants. It is expected that those high in SDO and placed in the face-to-face condition will experience the largest difference in racism and attitudes toward immigrants, compared to the other groups, demonstrating an interaction effect. Implications for intergroup contact and the media will be discussed.

Racial and ethnic minority populations suffer disproportionally from mental health disparities in the United States (Dillon et al., 2015; Holden et al., 2014). Research has indicated that a lack of culturally competent care contributes to these disparities (Holden & Xanthos, 2009). As multicultural competencies (American Psychological Association [APA], 2002; Council of National Psychological Associations for the Advancement of Ethnic Minority Interests, 2003) have been widely endorsed and implemented in professional organizations and training programs, research on their need and usefulness has increased over the last three decades (Worthington et al., 2007). However, the majority of research on multicultural competencies has relied on analogue studies, college students, and trainees as participants (Ridley & Shaw-Ridley, 2011; Worthington et al., 2007). The current study contributed to the multicultural competency literature by including perspectives from real clients with diverse backgrounds in community settings, along with assessing therapist multicultural competency (MCC). The study examined the relationship between therapist (n = 28) multicultural competency (MCC) and psychotherapy outcomes of clients (n = 2024) from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds in a community mental health agency. Therapist MCC did not have a statistically significant positive relationship with treatment outcome. Therapist MCC also did not have a statistically significant positive relationship with reliable or clinically significant change in treatment outcome. Results do not indicate any mediating effect of therapist MCC between race and treatment outcomes. Gender predicted overall treatment outcomes, clinically significant change and reliable change in treatment. Findings suggest cultural variables may have played a role in treatment outcomes given the differences in treatment outcomes for female clients, despite the lack of association found between therapist MCC and treatment outcomes. Implications for clinical practice and research are discussed.

Divorce is an event that can have profound psychological consequences for children of all ages. Vast research has shown that children from divorced families suffer from short and long-term negative effects such as mental health problems (i.e. anxiety and depression) and interpersonal relationship issues. Exposure to parental conflict and triangulation are two of the strongest influences in a child's adjustment to divorce and their psychological well-being. Previous literature has focused on predominately white populations. Much less is known about minority cultures; specifically Iranian populations and the impact of divorce on child adjustment and mental health. Only a few studies have focused on Iranian children and divorce, however these studies were conducted in Iran and information was limited. Iranian culture greatly values family stability. Ethnic group memberships and culture are central elements in an Iranian-Americans sense of self. With divorce, these individuals typically lose all three. The purpose of this study was to explore and understand the impact of culture on Iranian children experience of parental divorce in the United States. 41 Iranian-American and 2 Iranian-Canadian adult children of divorce, ranging in age from 18 to 46 years, participated in an online self-report survey measuring adjustment to divorce, beliefs about separation, anxiety, stress, resilience, and perceptions of divorce. Open-ended questions were used to capture unique aspects of culture that influenced their experience. Specifically questions were designed to explore how Iranian children perceive their experience of divorce compared to divorced children in other cultures. Overall quantitative results indicated that adult Iranian children of divorce who had lower levels of adjustment to the divorce and higher reports of irrational beliefs about parental separation as children/adolescents also had higher levels of stress and anxiety as adults. Additionally, individuals who perceived that Iranian culture had an impact on their divorce experience also reported lower levels of adjustment to divorce and higher prevalence of irrational beliefs about parental separation/divorce. Qualitative results included important cultural aspects and perceptions of divorce that are unique to the Iranian community. Aspects of divorce that were related to being Iranian included cultural stigma and judgment, loss of culture and familial support, and psychological distress and shame. Furthermore, results from this study provide new insight into how cultural aspects impact the child's psychological well-being, overall adjustment, beliefs about separation, stress, and anxiety. Therapeutic implications are discussed as well as limitations, strengths, and suggestions for future research.

Neuropsychological tests are standardized tasks used to measure psychological functioning that is associated with a particular brain structure. These tests often are used in diagnosing a cognitive deficiency resulting from brain injuries. Currently, there are a limited number of studies that have focused on standardization of neuropsychological tests in Latin America. Therefore, the vast majority of cognitive tests used in the evaluation of patients with brain damage have no normative parameters adjusted to the cultural characteristics of Latinos and Latinas. As a result, neuropsychological diagnoses among this population may be inadequate, and evaluation of rehabilitation program effectiveness limited. The importance of culturally appropriate indices of neurological tests cannot be overstated; of all the problems presented by individuals with brain injuries, cognitive disorders are the leading source of disability for adequate work, family, and social reintegration among this group. There is an urgent need to standardize neuropsychological tests in Latin America, among Latinos in the US and any other regions where neuropsychological test have not been standardized. An important population subgroup in Latin America severely lacking in norms for many neuropsychological tests are those deemed illiterate or unable to read or write. Developing normative data for individuals who are illiterate will allow neuropsychologists to have a more accurate comparison when attempting to diagnose cognitive deficits among this group in Latin America. This dissertation is unique, as no other studies have looked at the normative data and standardization of neuropsychological tests within this population in Latin America.

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a common progressive neurodegenerative disorder that leads to both physical and cognitive impairment over time. Eventually, these impairments may include the loss of autonomy, and the individual may require the assistance of an informal caregiver. Informal caregivers are critical in the care of individuals with PD and spend substantial time providing care, which may be associated with negative caregiver outcomes such as burden, mental health issues, as well as poor family dynamics. Although research in the United States and Europe has generally supported these relations, there is very limited research on PD caregiving in Latin America. Given the rapidly aging population of Latin America, research suggests that the prevalence of PD is likely to increase substantially. Although cultural values such as familism may encourage informal caregiving in Latin America, very little is known about either PD patient or caregiver experiences in the region and how they may differ from those in the United States and Europe. As such, the current study built upon Pearlin’s caregiving stress process model to examine how PD-related impairments, caregiver burden and mental health, and family dynamics may differ between the United States and Mexico and to examine connections among the following variables in a sample of PD caregivers from the United States and Mexico: (a) PD-related impairments (motor and non-motor symptoms) and caregiver burden, (b) caregiver burden and caregiver mental health, (c) PD-related impairments and mental health through caregiver burden, and (d) family dynamics which may moderate these relations. The current study consisted of caregivers of individuals with PD (total N = 253) from the United States (N = 105) and Mexico (N = 148). A series of t-tests and mediational models were conducted to determine the connections among PD-related impairments, caregiver burden and mental health, and family dynamics. Results suggested that caregivers from the United States site experienced higher levels of caregiver burden, although there were no significant differences in caregiver mental health. Further, caregiver burden fully mediated the relation between PD-related impairments and caregiver mental health at both study sites, although family dynamics did not moderate these mediational models as hypothesized. Despite the importance of cultural values such as familism in Latin America, family dynamics explained more variance in the model at the United States site than at the Mexico site. Exploratory analyses found that caregivers from the Mexico site more frequently reported suicidal and self-injurious thoughts but did not find a significant disparity in self-reported gender of the caregiver. Overall, the current study identified significant relations among PD-related impairments, caregiver burden and mental health, and family dynamics among caregivers of individuals with PD from the United States and Mexico. Findings from the current study highlight a number of important interventions for caregivers and families, including caregiver burden and mental health, as well as family dynamics.

Integrated primary care has been incorporated into a variety of healthcare settings. The benefits of these services are empirically supported by a plethora of studies, which highlight the integration of behavioral and physical healthcare to be beneficial for both patient and healthcare providers. Integrated care models are typically incorporated in Veterans Affairs hospitals, general primary care facilities, and community clinics. Community-based clinics, such as safety-net clinics, typically serve underrepresented populations, and research has shown several mental and physical health disparities to exist among minority populations. Further, the minority stress model posits that distal and proximal minority-based stress processes can result in a cascade of negative health outcomes, such as increased symptomology or poor health-management behaviors. Although minority stressors can lead to this series of consequences, several community and personal strengths may serve as protective factors for marginalized individuals. These processes may occur within safety-net primary care, considering that the populations of interest are underserved. Black patient populations face numerous barriers to healthcare, such as racism, discrimination, and provider bias. Prior literature has shown that prior experiences of racism result in poorer mental and physical health outcomes for Black patient populations. Further, these outcomes have been shown to negatively impact healthcare attitudes and behaviors. The current study aimed to examine how aspects of the minority stress model may operate within safety-net primary care services for Black patient populations. It was hypothesized that racism would predict poorer mental health, which would negatively impact provider trust, and therefore predict lower medication adherence. Using a strengths-based approach, grit and social support were hypothesized to serve as personal and collective buffers to this series of relationship. A path analysis showed that racism significantly predicted mental health, which predicted poorer provider trust; however, the last path of this model, provider trust to medication adherence, was not found to be statistically significant. Thus, the path analysis was broken up into a series of mediations, which explored the relationship between racism and both provider trust and medication adherence through mental health. Mental health was found to mediate the relationship from racism to provider trust and from racism to medication adherence. The moderated mediation effect of social support was found to be non-significant for all mediations, except that grit was moderated the mediation between racism to medication adherence through mental health. These results showed grit served as a personal strength to dampen the associated effects of racism, which may suggest improving intrinsic attitudes and motivation towards long-term health related goals may increase treatment adherence behaviors. Results from this study also confirm the importance of integrated primary care services, as the data suggested high rates of mental health problems, which typically go underreported among Black patients in healthcare settings.

Previous literature has evidenced that young African American males are experiencing less academic success than their Caucasian male and African American female counterparts (Davis, Williams, & Williams, 2004; Flores, 2007). The deceleration of achievement in this population has spawned some inquiry into the struggles of African American students. However, investigators have primarily examined differences in sex, school attributes, socioeconomic status, family structure, and other external factors. Previous research has also highlighted the unique obstacles young African American men face in education settings. While researchers have identified several external predictors of academic achievement among African American males, scant information relates to identity factors outside of racial identity that correlate to and help predict academic achievement. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the influence of identity components (racial identity, masculinity, and academic self-concept) on the academic achievement of young African American male high school students. The data used for this study were archival and obtained from an umbrella project entitled the African American Males in Education Project A.A.M.P.E.D. Participants were recruited from a predominately African American High School located in the Southeastern U.S. There were 156 participants, all of which were African American males between the ages of 13-19. The findings from the current study can be summarized in three key points (a) the independent variables (academic self-concept, racial identity, and masculinity) were each significantly correlated to GPA, (b) the combination of the aforementioned identity factors significantly predicted GPA, and (c) no moderation or mediation effects were present in regards to the relationship between racial identity and GPA. Specifically, the findings suggested that following the control variable of parental education level, masculinity is the largest contributor in predicting GPA. Results also highlighted new findings regarding the unique and changing relationship of young African American males and academic self-concept. The current findings raised crucial questions about the inclusion of this population in research and future study. In conclusion, results from this study support the need for further research using identity factors in reference to the academic outcomes of young African American male students.

The current study examined the links and mechanisms associated with intergenerational cultural conflict, psychological distress, and the intergenerational differences in acculturation and model minority stereotype (MMS) endorsement for South Korean immigrants. Specifically, Korean American adolescents’ (ages 12-19, M = 15.3, SD = 1.71) and their mothers’ (N = 209 dyads) acculturation difference and MMS endorsement difference were measured and analyzed as predictors of intergenerational cultural conflict and psychological distress for adolescents. Furthermore, the study analyzed intergenerational cultural conflict as a mediator in the acculturation gap-distress and the MMS endorsement-distress paths. Results indicated that when mothers and their adolescents differed in their acculturation, they also differed in their endorsement of the MMS. Next, as expected, the adolescents who had mothers who were not as acculturated to the American culture, experienced more cultural conflict with their parents and, in turn, felt more psychological distress. Furthermore, the adolescents who had mothers who endorsed the MMS to a greater degree, experienced more cultural conflict with their parents and, in turn, felt more psychological distress.

Counseling Psychology has emphasized the importance of using multicultural and social justice frameworks in psychotherapy to avoid reenacting in session the privilege and oppression dynamics that exist in larger society. People of Color have historically underutilized psychotherapy services and have higher attrition rates when they do attend therapy, even though they have been more likely to face more sources of psychological distress (Kearney, Draper, & Baron, 2005; Sue & Sue, 2008). Additionally, White therapists have been over-represented in professional and training settings (Fouad & Arredondo, 2007; Hays & Chang, 2003). Add to that the fact that therapists have been trained in and practice psychotherapy theories developed primarily by White men and you have a system of counseling that works for some and not all. Thus, White therapists could be at risk for harming their clients of Color, and possibly their White clients as well, because of the utilization of these Euro-centrically biased ways of conceptualizing and treating clients (Mindrup, Spray, & Lamberghini-West, 2011). In this study, I examined the impact of therapist-reported White privilege attitudes on client-reported counseling outcomes and the therapeutic relationship. Participating therapists (N = 36) were recruited from a community mental health agency in the southeast and administered measures of White privilege attitudes, multicultural knowledge and awareness, and motivation to control prejudiced reactions. Outcome and therapeutic relationship data from clients of participating therapists, seen between fall 2012 and fall 2013 semesters, were provided by the agency. Therapist self-reported White privilege attitudes were not directly predictive of therapy outcomes and the therapeutic alliance. Therapists’ willingness to confront White privilege, White privilege remorse, and apprehension about addressing White privilege moderated the effects first session outcome scores and client gender had on number of sessions attended by clients. Client race/ethnicity was not directly predictive of therapy outcome scores or therapeutic alliance scores. However, client race/ethnicity varied significantly across therapists, suggesting that therapists were differentially effective. Results of this study indicate that therapist White privilege awareness has an effect on outcomes and the therapeutic alliance, although the relationship is complicated. Study limitations, strengths, and implication for future research are discussed.

Individuals who are highly identified with a sport team have a strong psychological connection with the team (Wann et al., 2001). Sport team identification can be beneficial to communities and individuals. It provides entertainment, helps form group affiliation, and improves self-esteem. Because team identification is important to people, they notice environmental cues related to the team. Individuals are more likely to attend to a stimulus that is liked or one that is familiar. When an individual has accessible attitudes toward an object, he or she is more likely to attend to and notice the object (Roskos-Ewoldsen & Fazio, 1992). The current study examined the relationship between sport team identification and attention. Participants (n = 31) were presented with 64 displays of college team logos, which were shown in sequential order. While viewing the displays, participants’ eye movements were monitored by the SR Research Eyelink II, an eye-tracking recording system. The participants then completed a questionnaire designed to determine their level of team identification with an indicated team. Higher scores on the questionnaire indicated a higher level of identification. The first hypothesis under study states that highly identified UK fans detect the UK logo faster than the UT logo when each logo appears without the other, whereas low identified UK fans detect both the UK and UT logos equally quickly when each logo appears without the other. A mixed-model ANOVA was conducted to examine the impact of set type on total time to identify the target. The ANOVA yielded no main effects or interactions. The second hypothesis under study states that highly identified UK fans detect the UT logo more slowly when the UK logo is present than the low identified UK fans. A mixed-model ANOVA was conducted to examine how distractible the UK logo was when detecting the UT logo. The ANOVA yielded no main effects or interactions.