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Daily stressors may mediate the relation between exposure to disaster-related stressors and psychological and psychosocial distress among youth in disaster-affected countries. A sample of 427 Sri Lankan Sinhalese, Tamil, and Muslim youth (mean age = 14.5) completed a survey with measures of exposure to disaster-related stressors and daily stressors, psychological distress (posttraumatic stress, depression, and anxiety), and psychosocial distress. The results indicated that daily stressors significantly mediated relations between war- and tsunami-related stressors and psychological and psychosocial distress. Some daily stressors not directly related to disaster also predicted functioning. These results point to the need for policies and interventions that focus on reducing proximal daily stressors that are salient to Sri Lankan youth exposed to disasters.

Background: Parenting interventions in humanitarian settings have prioritized the acquisition of parenting knowledge and skills, while overlooking the adverse effects of stress and distress on parenting—a key mediator of refugee children's mental health. We evaluated the effectiveness of the Caregiver Support Intervention (CSI), which emphasizes caregiver wellbeing together with training in positive parenting. Methods: We conducted a two‐arm randomized controlled trial of the CSI with Syrian refugees in Lebanon, with an intent‐to‐treat design, from September 2019–December 2020. A total of 480 caregivers from 240 families were randomized to the CSI or a waitlist control group (1:1). Retention from baseline to endline was 93%. Data on parenting and caregiver psychological wellbeing were collected at baseline, endline, and three‐month follow‐up. Prospective trial registration: ISRCTN22321773. Results: We did not find a significant change on overall parenting skills at endline (primary outcome endpoint) (d =.11, p =.126) or at follow‐up (Cohen's d =.15, p =.054). We did find a significant effect on overall parenting skills among participants receiving the full intervention—the sub‐sample not interrupted by (COVID‐19) (d = 0.25, p <.05). The CSI showed beneficial effects in the full sample at endline and follow‐up on harsh parenting (d = −.17, p <.05; d =.19, p <.05), parenting knowledge (d =.63, p <.001; d =.50, p <.001), and caregiver distress (d = −.33, p <.001; d =.23, p <.01). We found no effects on parental warmth and responsiveness, psychosocial wellbeing, stress, or stress management. Changes in caregiver wellbeing partially mediated the impact of the CSI on harsh parenting, accounting for 37% of the reduction in harsh parenting. Conclusions: The CSI reduced harsh parenting and caregiver distress, and demonstrated the value of addressing caregiver wellbeing as a pathway to strengthening parenting in adversity. These effects were achieved despite a pandemic‐related lockdown that impacted implementation, a severe economic crisis, and widespread social unrest. Replication under less extreme conditions may more accurately demonstrate the intervention's full potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the purpose and place of Professional Development Schools (PDSs) and laboratory schools in today's educational reform and restructuring efforts, proposing an integrated model intended to create positive working relationships between PDSs and laboratory schools which could promote closer working relationships and improved opportunities for strengthening teacher education programs at colleges and universities. (SM)

Examined the mental health and psychosocial development of 58 Guatemalan Mayan children living in 2 refugee camps in the Mexican state of Chiapas. Found only minimal evidence of psychological trauma among the children and a positive relationship between children's mental health and the health status (physical and mental) of their mothers. (MDM)

Examined adolescents' perceptions of their family environments and suicidal behavior. Fifteen suicidal adolescents, 14 psychiatric controls, and 14 normal controls rated their families on cohesiveness, adaptability, parent-adolescent communication, parental caring, and parental overprotectiveness. Suicidal adolescents rated their families as least cohesive, most rigid, suggesting that adolescent suicidal behavior may occur when isolation is experienced within inflexible family system. (Author/NB)

Darfur refugees face hardships associated with chronic displacement, including lack of basic needs and safety concerns. Psychiatric research on refugees has focused on trauma, but daily stressors may contribute more to variance in distress. This article reports rates of past trauma and current stressors among Darfur refugees and gauges the contribution of each to psychological distress and functional impairment. A representative sample of 848 Darfuris in 2 refugee camps were interviewed about traumatic events, stressors faced in the camps, psychological distress, and functional impairment. Basic needs and safety concerns were more strongly correlated with measures of distress (rs .19-.31) than were war-related traumatic events (rs = .09-.20). Hierarchical regression supported models in which effects of trauma on distress were mediated by current stressors. Although war-related traumatic events are the initial causes of refugees' hardship, findings suggest that the day-to-day challenges and concerns in camps mediate psychological distress associated with these events. DOI: 10.1111/j.1939-0025.2010.01026.x

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2005.11.006 Byline: Papassapa Rauyruen, Kenneth E. Miller Keywords: Loyalty; Relationship quality; B2B; Service quality; Courier services; Trust; Commitment; Satisfaction Abstract: This study aims to provide a picture of how relationship quality can influence customer loyalty in the business-to-business (B2B) context. Building on prior research, we propose relationship quality as a higher construct comprising trust, commitment, satisfaction and service quality. We believe that these dimensions of relationship quality can reasonably explain the influence of overall relationship quality on customer loyalty. In addition, this study provides more insightful explanations of the influence of relationship quality on customer loyalty through two levels of relationship quality: relationship quality with employees of the supplier and relationship quality with the supplier itself as a whole. Aiming to fully explain the concept of customer loyalty, we follow the composite loyalty approach providing both behavioral aspects (purchase intentions) and attitudinal loyalty. We seek to address three main research issues: Does relationship quality influence both aspects of customer loyalty? If so, which relationship quality dimensions influence each of the components of customer loyalty? And which level of relationship quality (employee level versus organizational level) has more influence on customer loyalty? This study uses the courier delivery service context in Australia and targets Australian Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs). We selected mail survey and online survey as the two methods of data collection, and together they received 306 usable respondents. Structural equation modeling yields insights into the influence of the dimensions and levels of relationship quality on customer loyalty. Results show that all four dimensions of relationship quality influence attitudinal loyalty, however, only satisfaction and perceived service quality influence behavioral loyalty (purchase intentions). Most remarkably, results indicate that only the organizational level of relationship quality influences customer loyalty. The employee level of relationship quality does not play a significant in influencing B2B customer loyalty in this study. Author Affiliation: University of Technology, Sydney, PO Box 123, Broadway NSW 2007, Australia Article History: Received 1 September 2005; Revised 1 October 2005; Accepted 1 November 2005

The purpose of this study was to examine how upper thoracic spinal neurons responded to activation and desensitization of cardiac transient receptor potential vanilloid-1 (TRPV1)-containing afferent fibers. Extracellular potentials of single T3 spinal neurons were recorded in pentobarbital-anesthetized, paralyzed, and ventilated male rats. To activate cardiac nociceptive receptors, a catheter was placed in the pericardial sac to administer various chemicals: bradykinin (BK; 10 [micro]g/ml, 0.2 ml), capsaicin (CAP, 10 [micro]g/ml, 0.2 ml), or a mixture of algesic chemicals (AC; 0.2 ml) containing adenosine [10.sup.-3] M, BK, serotonin, histamine, and [PGE.sub.2], [10.sup.-5] M for each. Spinal neurons that responded to intrapericardial BK and/or CAP were used in this study. Results showed that 81% (35/43) of the neurons had excitatory responses to both intrapericardial BK and CAP, and the remainder responded to either BK or CAP. Intrapericardial resiniferatoxin (RTX) (0.2 [micro]g/ml, 0.2 ml, 1 min), which desensitizes TRPV1--containing nerve endings, abolished excitatory responses to both BK (n = 8) and CAP (n = 7), and to AC (n = 5) but not to somatic stimuli. Intrapericardial capsazepine (1 mg/ml, 0.2 ml, 3 min), a specific antagonist of TRPV1, sharply attenuated excitatory responses to CAP in 5/5 neurons, but responses to BK in 5/5 neurons was maintained. Additionally, intrapericardial capsazepine had no significant effect on excitatory responses to AC in 3/3 neurons. These data indicated that intrapericardial BK-initiated spinal neuronal responses were linked to cardiac TRPV1-containing afferent fibers, but were not dependent on TRPV1. Intraspinal signaling for cardiac nociception was mediated through CAP-sensitive afferent fibers innervating the heart. bradykinin; capsaicin; resiniferatoxin; sympathetic afferent; vagal afferent

This article examines the centrality of trauma-focused psychiatric epidemiology (TFPE) in research with war-affected populations. The authors question the utility of the dominant focus on posttraumatic stress disorder and other disorders of Western psychiatry, and they identify a set of critical research foci related to mental health work with communities affected by political violence. Core assumptions of TFPE and its roots in logical positivism and the biomedical model of contemporary psychiatry are explored. The authors suggest that an alternative framework--social constructivism--can serve as a bridge between researchers and practitioners by helping to refocus research efforts in ways that are conceptually and methodologically more attuned to the needs of war-affected communities and those working to address their mental health needs. Keywords: PTSD, war, refugees, violence, mental health

This article describes a methodology for developing culturally grounded assessment measures in conflict and postconflict situations. A mixed-method design was used in Kabul, Afghanistan, to identify local indicators of distress and develop the 22-item Afghan Symptom Checklist (ASCL). The ASCL contains several indigenous items and items familiar to Western mental health professionals. The ASCL was pilot tested and subsequently administered to 324 adults in 8 districts of Kabul. It demonstrated excellent reliability ([alpha] = .93) and good construct validity, correlating strongly with a measure of exposure to war-related violence and loss (r = .70). Results of the survey indicate moderate levels of distress among Afghan men and markedly higher levels of distress and impaired functioning among women (and widows in particular). Keywords: PTSD, assessment, Afghanistan, war, culture

Findings are presented from a narrative study that examined the use of interpreters in psychotherapy with refugees. Fifteen therapists and 15 interpreters were interviewed at 14 refugee mental health treatment centers in the United States. Core findings concerned the impact of interpreters on the therapeutic alliance, the complex emotional reactions that may arise within the therapy triad, the effects of interpreting on interpreters' own well-being, the multiple roles that interpreters play in addition to translating language, and the training and supervision needs of interpreters and of therapists who work with them. Implications of these findings for agencies that use interpreters in their clinical work with refugees are considered, and specific recommendations are made concerning the hiring, training, and support of interpreting staff.

The authors used semistructured interviews to examine exile-related stressors affecting a sample of 28 adult Bosnian refugees in Chicago. The interviews covered 3 areas: life in prewar Bosnia, the journey of exile, and, most centrally, life in Chicago. Primary sources of exile-related distress included social isolation and the loss of community, separation from family members, the loss of important life projects, a lack of environmental mastery, poverty and related stressors such as inadequate housing, and the loss of valued social roles. The implications of these findings for mental health interventions with refugees are considered, and the value of narrative methods in research with refugee communities is discussed.

Background. There is robust evidence that compromised parenting, stemming from persistently high stress, mediates the impact of war and displacement on children's mental health and psychosocial wellbeing. Parenting interventions generally prioritize the acquisition of parenting knowledge and skills, while under-attending to parental stress and distress. This paper describes the development of the Caregiver Support Intervention (CSI), a nine-session group intervention for conflict-affected parents of children aged 3-13, that aims to strengthen parenting both indirectly, by lowering stress and improving psychosocial wellbeing among parents, and directly, by increasing knowledge and skill related to positive parenting. Methods. We describe the multi-phase, iterative process by which we developed the CSI, and illustrate the essential role of community input in shaping the intervention and strengthening its cultural fit and perceived usefulness. We used focus group data from participants in successive cycles of implementation, feedback, and revision, as well as quantitative data and expert consultation to develop a culturally and empirically grounded intervention. Results. This mixed-method, iterative approach to intervention development enabled us to develop a psychosocial intervention for conflict-affected caregivers that is feasible, acceptable, and perceived by participants as useful in addressing their own wellbeing and their parenting. Focus group data support the underlying model in which caregiver wellbeing powerfully influences parenting. Conclusions. Programs aimed at strengthening parenting in conflict-affected communities should substantively address caregiver wellbeing. An iterative approach incorporating community feedback can help ensure intervention acceptability and feasibility. We also illustrate the feasibility of involving men in parenting interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been said that a constitution looks both backward and forward, reflecting the values and problems of society at the time of its drafting but also seeking to govern [...]