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Prior research shows that childhood poverty as well as chronic stress can damage children's executive functioning (EF) capacities, including working memory. However, it is also clear that not all children suffer the same degree of adverse consequences from risk exposure. We show that chronic stress early in life (ages 9-13) links childhood poverty from birth to age 13 to young adult working memory. However, 9-year-olds high in self-regulatory capacity, assessed by a standard delay of gratification protocol, are protected from such insults. Self-regulatory skills may afford the developing prefrontal cortex some protection from childhood poverty.

Although epidemiological studies and community surveys of Asian Americans have found that lifetime occurrences of racial discrimination are associated with increased risk for psychological morbidity, little is known about how exposure to racial discrimination is patterned in everyday life. Extrapolating from previous qualitative research (Sue, Bucceri, Lin, Nadal, & Torino, 2007), this study presents data on the prevalence and psychological correlates of everyday racial microaggressions that reflect the Asian American experience. Measures of positive affect, negative affect, somatic symptoms, and racial microaggressions were completed by 152 Asian Americans each day for up to 14 consecutive days. Approximately 78% of participants reported some form of racial microaggression within the 2-week study period. Multilevel analyses indicated that elevations in daily microaggressions, as well as greater microaggressions on average, predicted increases in somatic symptoms and negative affect. Implications of these findings for racial microaggression research and clinical practice are discussed. (Contains 5 tables and 3 footnotes.)

The purpose of the present study was to examine longitudinal associations among maternal responsiveness, self-regulation, and behavioral adjustment in adolescents. The authors used structural equation modeling to test a model that demonstrates that the effects of early cumulative risk on behavioral problems is mediated by maternal responsiveness and self-regulation. Furthermore, the authors examine the contributions of cumulative risk and maternal responsiveness on children's self-regulatory abilities. The study uses a 3-wave longitudinal design with multiple measures of risk and self-regulation from multiple observers. Data were collected from adolescents (N = 265, male = 140) and their parents at age 9, 13, and 17. Results suggest that the mediation hypothesis held true for externalizing, but not internalizing problems. Furthermore, cumulative risk and maternal responsiveness contributed uniquely to children's self-regulation abilities. (Contains 1 table and 4 figures.)

The current study considered the influence of the 2008 presidential election on the racial identity of African American college students (M[subscript age] = 19.3 years; 26.3% male). The design of the study consisted of 2 components: longitudinal and daily. The longitudinal component assessed 3 dimensions of racial identity (centrality, private regard, and public regard) 2 weeks before and 5 months after the election, and the daily diary component assessed racial identity and identity exploration on the days immediately before and after the election. Daily items measuring identity exploration focused on how much individuals thought about issues relating to their race. Analyses considered the immediate effects of the election on identity exploration and the extent to which changes in exploration were shaped by racial identity measured prior to the election. We also considered immediate and longer term changes in racial identity following the election and the extent to which longer term changes were conditioned by identity exploration. Findings suggest that the election served as an "encounter" experience (Cross, 1991, 1995, pp. 60-61), which led to increases in identity exploration. Moreover, analyses confirmed that changes in identity exploration were most pronounced among those with higher levels of racial centrality. Results also suggest that the election had both an immediate and a longer term influence on racial identity, which in some instances was conditioned by identity exploration. (Contains 2 tables and 4 figures.)

Purpose: This study tested the hypothesis that volunteering in environmental organizations in midlife is associated with greater physical activity and improved mental and physical health over a 20-year period. Design and Methods: The study used data from two waves (1974 and 1994) of the Alameda County Study, a longitudinal study of health and mortality that has followed a cohort of 6,928 adults since 1965. Using logistic and multiple regression models, we examined the prospective association between environmental and other volunteerism and three outcomes (physical activity, self-reported health, and depression), with 1974 volunteerism predicting 1994 outcomes, controlling for a number of relevant covariates. Results: Midlife environmental volunteering was significantly associated with physical activity, self-reported health, and depressive symptoms. Implications: This population-based study offers the first epidemiological evidence for a significant positive relationship between environmental volunteering and health and well-being outcomes. Further research, including intervention studies, is needed to confirm and shed additional light on these initial findings.