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One of ecology's grand challenges is developing general rules to explain and predict highly complex systems. Understanding and predicting ecological processes from species' traits has been considered a 'Holy Grail' in ecology. Plant functional traits are increasingly being used to develop mechanistic models that can predict how ecological communities will respond to abiotic and biotic perturbations and how species will affect ecosystem function and services in a rapidly changing world; however, significant challenges remain. In this review, we highlight recent work and outstanding questions in three areas: (i) selecting relevant traits; (ii) describing intraspecific trait variation and incorporating this variation into models; and (iii) scaling trait data to community- and ecosystem-level processes. Over the past decade, there have been significant advances in the characterization of plant strategies based on traits and trait relationships, and the integration of traits into multivariate indices and models of community and ecosystem function. However, the utility of trait-based approaches in ecology will benefit from efforts that demonstrate how these traits and indices influence organismal, community, and ecosystem processes across vegetation types, which may be achieved through meta-analysis and enhancement of trait databases. Additionally, intraspecific trait variation and species interactions need to be incorporated into predictive models using tools such as Bayesian hierarchical modelling. Finally, existing models linking traits to community and ecosystem processes need to be empirically tested for their applicability to be realized.

This chapter begins with a brief review of various approaches to the study of ethnic identity, because they form the foundation for the research studies on the acculturation and enculturation processes of Arab Americans. In particular, the seminal works of John W. Berry, Jean Phinney, and their colleagues (e.g. Berry, Phinney, Sam, & Vedder, 2006 ) are discussed in light of research on the acculturation of Arab Americans to the U.S. Acculturation involves the variety of diff erent ways that a person can adapt to a culture that is diff erent from that of their family’s culture(s) of origin. Enculturation, on the other hand, involves learning about one’s culture of origin.

Research has shown links between perceived parental depressive symptomology and young adults’ depressive symptoms (Rounding & Jacobson, 2013). Hope has been linked to fewer depressive symptoms and to greater adaptive coping behaviours (Chang & DeSimone, 2001). The relation between perceived parental depression, hope, and undergraduate university students’ coping behaviours was examined. Participants were 223 undergraduates (51 males, 172 females) aged 17 to 24. Beyond perceived parental depression, hope predicted higher levels of religion/spirituality, active coping, and planning, and predicted lower levels of humour and behavioural disengagement. Implications for counselling clients at risk for intergenerational depression are discussed. La recherche a démontré qu’il existe des liens entre la symptomatologie de la dépression parentale perçue et les symptômes dépressifs chez les jeunes adultes (Rounding & Jacobson, 2013). On a établi un lien entre l’espoir et une diminution des symptômes de dépression et une amélioration des comportements adaptatifs (Chang & DeSimone, 2001). On a examiné la relation entre la dépression parentale perçue, l’espoir, et les comportements d’adaptation chez les étudiants universitaires de premier cycle. Les participants comptent 223 universitaires de premier cycle (51 hommes, 172 femmes) de 17 à 24 ans. Au-delà de la dépression parentale perçue, le facteur espoir a permis de prédire des niveaux plus élevés de religion/spiritualité, d’adaptation active, et de planification, tout en permettant de prédire des niveaux plus faibles sur le plan de l’humeur et du désengagement comportemental. On y discute des implications pour les clients en counseling à risque de la dépression intergénérationnelle.

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There is paucity of research examining the differences between friendships among multicultural youth. Specifically, youth of Arab, East Asian, South Asian, and European descent were examined in this study because these groups are among the largest ethnic groups in Canada and are diverse for the purpose of comparison. Previous researchers have assessed differences between immigrant generations when comparing same- and cross-ethnicity friendships (e.g., Harker, 2001), whereas the effect of cultural group has been neglected. Thus, examination of same- and cross-ethnicity friendships was largely exploratory. Researchers in the past have theorized that individuals of Arab descent may be more likely to have an overlap between family and friends (Abu-Laban & Abu-Laban, 1999). Thus, we hypothesized that Arab youth may be more likely to have related friends (i.e., to identify friends that also happen to be related to them). The results of this study may have implications for improving our understanding of the social support networks of immigrant youth.

Although depression is a chronic illness with high morbidity and personal and economic losses, little is known about depression in immigrants with an Arab or Chaldean ethnic background. Our primary objective was to determine the overall and ethnicity-specific prevalence of self-reported depression in Arab Americans, Chaldean Americans, and African Americans in the Midwest. The secondary objective was to evaluate the associations between potential risk and protective factors and the presence of self-reported depression. A total of 3543 adults were recruited from the Arab and Chaldean communities in Metropolitan Detroit. The sample in this study was restricted to those of Arab, Chaldean, and African ethnic backgrounds, resulting in 81.2% of the original sample (n52878). A health assessment survey questionnaire was administered The overall rate of self-reported depression was 18.2%. The highest rate of depression was found in Arab American participants (23.2%), followed by African Americans (15%) and Chaldeans (13.3%). Self-reported prevalence of depression by country of origin differed significantly. Our results show the need to provide culturally competent mental health services for Arab Americans and other minority American subgroups. Research is needed to identify risk factors, preferably modifiable factors, and to ascertain which factors are similar and non-similar to the general American population.