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Description
Biculturalism embodies the degree to which individuals adapt to living within two cultural systems and develop the ability to live effectively across those two cultures. It represents, therefore, a normative developmental task among members of immigrant and ethnic-racial minority groups, and has important implications for psychosocial adjustment. Despite a strong

Biculturalism embodies the degree to which individuals adapt to living within two cultural systems and develop the ability to live effectively across those two cultures. It represents, therefore, a normative developmental task among members of immigrant and ethnic-racial minority groups, and has important implications for psychosocial adjustment. Despite a strong theoretical focus on contextual influences in biculturalism scholarship, the ways in which proximal contexts shape its development are understudied. In my dissertation, I examine the mechanisms via which the family context might influence the development of bicultural competence among a socio-economically diverse sample of 749 U.S. Mexican-origin youths (30% Mexico-born) followed for 7 years (Mage = 10.44 to 17.38 years; Wave 1 to 4).

In study 1, I investigated how parents’ endorsements of values associated with both mainstream and heritage cultures relate to adolescents’ bicultural competence. Longitudinal growth model analyses revealed that parents’ endorsements of mainstream and heritage values simultaneously work to influence adolescents’ bicultural competence. By examining the effect of multiple and often competing familial contextual influences on adolescent bicultural competence development, this work provides insights on intergenerational cultural transmission and advances scholarship on the culturally bounded nature of human development.

In study 2, I offer a substantial extension to decades of family stress model research focused on how family environmental stressors may compromise parenting behaviors and youth development by testing a culturally informed family stress model. My model (a) incorporates family cultural and ecological stressors, (b) focuses on culturally salient parenting practices aimed to teach youth about the heritage culture (i.e., ethnic socialization), and (c) examines bicultural competence as a developmental outcome. Findings suggest that parents’ high exposure to ecological stressors do not compromise parental ethnic socialization or adolescent bicultural competence development. On the other hand, mothers’ exposures to enculturative stressors can disrupt maternal ethnic socialization, and in turn, undermine adolescents’ bicultural competence. By examining the influence of multiple family environmental stressors on culturally salient parenting practices, and their implications for adolescent bicultural competence development, this work provides insights on ethnic-racial minority and immigrant families’ adapting cultures and advances scholarship on the family stress model.
ContributorsSafa Pernett, Maria Dalal (Author) / White, Rebecca M. B. (Thesis advisor) / Knight, George P. (Committee member) / Updegraff, Kimberly A. (Committee member) / Wilkens, Natalie D. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
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Description
Latino children are more than twice as likely to live in poverty than their non-Latino, White peers (Kids Count Data Center, 2017), yet limited work has aimed to understand neighborhood influences on pathways of mental health among Latino children. Substantial work documents the deleterious effects of living in a disadvantaged

Latino children are more than twice as likely to live in poverty than their non-Latino, White peers (Kids Count Data Center, 2017), yet limited work has aimed to understand neighborhood influences on pathways of mental health among Latino children. Substantial work documents the deleterious effects of living in a disadvantaged neighborhood on mental health outcomes throughout the lifespan (Leventhal & Brooks-Gunn, 2000). Parental and familial variables may explain neighborhood influences on children’s mental health during the first few years of life (May, Azar, & Matthews, 2018). The current study evaluated the influence of three neighborhood indicators (concentrated disadvantage, residential instability, and the percentage of residents identifying as Hispanic/Latino) on maternal postpartum depressive symptoms and child behavior problems at 3 and 4.5 years via mediation and moderated mediation models among a sample of 322 low-income, Mexican American mother-child dyads. Contrary to hypotheses and existing literature, concentrated disadvantage and residential instability were not predictive of maternal or child mental health outcomes. The percentage of residents identifying as Hispanic/Latino emerged as a protective neighborhood factor for both mothers and children. The neighborhood ethnocultural context may be especially relevant to understanding pathways of mental health specific to Mexican American families. More research is needed to understand specific parental and familial mechanisms underlying this protective effect.
ContributorsCurci, Sarah (Author) / Luecken, Linda J. (Thesis advisor) / Perez, Marisol (Committee member) / White, Rebecca MB (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
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Description
Previous studies suggest an association between depression and anxiety in childhood and adolescence and increased risk for cardiovascular disease later in life. The aim of the present study was to test whether depression and anxiety symptoms in young adulthood were associated with retinal vessel diameter, a subclinical marker of cardiovascular

Previous studies suggest an association between depression and anxiety in childhood and adolescence and increased risk for cardiovascular disease later in life. The aim of the present study was to test whether depression and anxiety symptoms in young adulthood were associated with retinal vessel diameter, a subclinical marker of cardiovascular disease. We further tested whether associations for depression were similar to associations for anxiety. Participants completed questionnaires about their depression and anxiety symptoms and underwent retinal imaging. Retinal vessel diameter was assessed using computer software. Results showed no association between depression or anxiety symptoms and retinal vessel diameter, suggesting that retinal vessel diameter may not signal subclinical cardiovascular risk in young adults with symptoms of depression and anxiety.
ContributorsGandee, Katherine Marie (Author) / Meier, Madeline (Thesis director) / Perez, Marisol (Committee member) / Infurna, Frank (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
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Description
There is a need to reinvent evidence-based interventions (EBIs) for pediatric anxiety problems to better address the demands of real-word service delivery settings and achieve public health impact. The time- and resource-intensive nature of most EBIs for youth anxiety has frequently been noted as a barrier to the utilization of

There is a need to reinvent evidence-based interventions (EBIs) for pediatric anxiety problems to better address the demands of real-word service delivery settings and achieve public health impact. The time- and resource-intensive nature of most EBIs for youth anxiety has frequently been noted as a barrier to the utilization of EBIs in community settings, leading to increased attention towards exploring the viability of briefer, more accessible protocols. Principally, this research reports between-group effect sizes from brief-interventions targeting pediatric anxiety and classifies each as well-established, probably efficacious, possibly efficacious, experimental, or questionable. brief interventions yielded an overall mean effect size of 0.19 on pediatric anxiety outcomes from pre to post. Effect sizes varied significantly by level of intervention: Pre to post-intervention effects were strongest for brief-treatments (0.35), followed by brief-targeted prevention (0.22), and weakest for brief-universal prevention (0.09). No participant or other intervention characteristic emerged as significant moderators of effect sizes. In terms of standard of evidence, one brief intervention is well-established, and five are probably efficacious, with most drawing on cognitive and behavioral change procedures and/or family systems models. At this juncture, the minimal intervention needed for clinical change in pediatric anxiety points to in-vivo exposures for specific phobias (~3 hours), cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) with social skills training (~3 hours), and CBT based parent training (~6 hours, eight digital modules with clinician support). This research concludes with a discussion on limitations to available brief EBIs, practice guidelines, and future research needed to capitalize on the viability of briefer protocols in enhancing access to, and impact of, evidence-based care in the real-world.
ContributorsStoll, Ryan (Author) / Pina, Armando A. (Thesis advisor) / Gonzales, Nancy (Committee member) / MacKinnon, David (Committee member) / Perez, Marisol (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
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Description
The goal of the current study was to investigate the prevalence of SAA and body dissatisfaction among freshman undergraduate students between 18-20 years old suffering from self-reported acne. A total of 73 participants in an online survey were asked to complete the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9),

The goal of the current study was to investigate the prevalence of SAA and body dissatisfaction among freshman undergraduate students between 18-20 years old suffering from self-reported acne. A total of 73 participants in an online survey were asked to complete the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Body Parts Satisfaction Scale (BPSS), and Social Appearance Anxiety Scale (SAAS). No significant correlation was found between acne severity and SAAS scores, but a significant, positive correlation was found between acne severity and body dissatisfaction. Moreover, acne sufferers had higher mean scores for the BPSS than non-acne sufferers indicating higher body dissatisfaction, but there was no significant difference in the scores for the SAAS between acne sufferers and non-acne sufferers. There was also no significant difference in correlations between acne severity and SAAS scores or BPSS scores between men and women, however, women had much higher mean scores for SAAS than men. In addition, scores for the SAAS and BPSS were found to have a significant, positive correlation with both depression and anxiety across the entire sample. There is paucity of research on the psychosocial effects of acne, more specifically social appearance anxiety (SAA), so further research is needed to replicate and extend the findings of the current study using a larger sample size ranging in acne severity.
ContributorsHowe, Sara Katelyn (Author) / Perez, Marisol (Thesis director) / Jimenez-Arista, Laura (Committee member) / College of Integrative Sciences and Arts (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05