While several studies examining African Americans' mental health rates appeared in the past, existing research does not describe internal and external factor influences on positive ethnic identity development and their mediating effects on mental health help-seeking attitudes for this population. This quantitative study used structural equation modeling to examine the relationships between 3 ecological levels (the individual level/level of bicultural identity, the family level/family ethnic socialization, and the social context level/self-concealment) and examine their collective influence on ethnic identity development and mental health help-seeking attitudes of African Americans. The choice of variables for this study was grounded in Stokols' social ecological theory, Lewin's theory of psychological fields, and Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems that outline human development. Results were measured by responses to surveys from 161 African American males and females residing within the Atlanta, Georgia area. The family and social level were more predictive of ethnic identity development and ethnic identity positively and negatively, respectively, related to bicultural self-efficacy. Having the ability to communicate in both mainstream and ethnic cultures was directly predictive of positive attitudes toward seeking professional help. The social change implications of this study included gaining insight into African Americans' difficulty with developing positive ethnic identity and mental health help-seeking, providing professional clinicians with a model of the process of ethnic identity and mental health help-seeking attitude development, and improved advancement in training and cultural-based interventions for clinicians specifically working with minority populations.

Att veta vem man är i en värld fylld av normer och regler kan vara en kamp för många. Vad identitet betyder beror på vem som tillfråggas vilket även skiner ljus på den komplexitet som existerar kring detta ämne. Denna undersökning utfördes i syftet att komma närmare upplevelsen av identitetsskapande hos unga svenskfödda individer med utländsk bakgrund. Åtta intervjuer genomfördes med unga individer mellan 20-24 år. En tematisk analys gav fyra teman som visade att upplevelsen av identitetsskapande hos unga svenskfödda individer med bikulturell identitet differentierar och att det finns både för- och nackdelar. I de svårigheter som representerades förekom även en positiv upplevelse av stolthet, och i de möjligheter som representerades förekom även en synlig kamp. Resultatet tydde på att bikulturella individer behöver känna sig accepterade och få synas som en individ utöver den bikulturella identiteten.

Existing research has supported mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) as an efficacious intervention for depressive relapse prevention, finding it comparable – if not even more effective at times – to antidepressant medication maintenance and other psychoeducational active control conditions. In light of bicultural populations being under-addressed in previous MBCT research, this study will attempt to examine whether bicultural-specific psychological mechanisms, specifically bicultural self-efficacy, will moderate mindfulness for depressive relapse. It will also examine mindfulness as a determining factor in preventing depressive relapse compared to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a treatment of comparable design without mindfulness implementation. Seven hundred and forty-seven Asian American participants previously diagnosed with clinical depression will be randomly assigned to undergo MBCT or CBT treatment. Results will indicate that participants undergoing mindfulness training through MBCT will have significantly lowered rates of depressive relapse, compared to participants undergoing CBT training as a control intervention. Bicultural self-efficacy will also act as a moderator for mindfulness, further promoting the effectiveness of mindfulness in MBCT.