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Violence risk assessment tools are often criticized, particularly when administered to ethnic minorities for whom the measure was not originally developed, partly because they fail to consider unique contextual and individual factors that could potentially lead to erroneous conclusions and deleterious effects on the individuals, society, and the legal system. This study examined the concurrent validity of a risk assessment tool (i.e., Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth; SAVRY) in relation to self-reported and caregiver-reported conduct problems, such as delinquent behavior (SDQ; Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire) in a sample of recently immigrated youth in the USA. Additionally, it examined the role of unique individual factors, criminal attitudes, and acculturation stress, while predicting conduct problems through the SAVRY. Results showed significant associations between the SAVRY and the SDQ only when conduct problems were self-reported. Acculturation stress and individual risk factors significantly contributed to the prediction of conduct problems. Finally, the possible effects of the demographic heterogeneity of the sample are discussed, as well as other limitations of the study, which should be considered, particularly in terms of the generalizability of the results. Despite these limitations, this study adds important data to the field and supports the need for modified risk assessments when assessing recently immigrated youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There have been large, recent increases in the number of children and families migrating from Central America to the U.S. to escape regional cartel and gang violence. The rate of trauma exposure in recently immigrated youth from Central America is therefore alarmingly high and current trauma symptom measures have not been evaluated for use in this population. The broad goal of this study was to report on the psychometric properties of one such measure in two studies of recently immigrated youth. Data collected included self-report of recent immigrants from Central America attending public high school in the Southwestern U.S. and caregiver-report from a sample of Central American immigrants who arrived in the U.S. within the last 24 hours and reported on trauma symptoms in their children. Aims included providing descriptive data and examining inter-item correlations and factor structure. Results indicated trauma symptoms far exceeding published cutoff levels as well as adequate internal consistency and inter-item correlations. Findings of the current studies suggest a pressing need for the assessment of trauma symptoms among recently immigrated youth from Central America, in which the rates of exposure and symptoms were striking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dysfunctional discipline has been linked with a variety of negative outcomes in children and is positively correlated with parent-reported stress. Furthermore, parental attributions have been supported as a mediator of the relation between stress and dysfunctional discipline. Race/ethnicity may additionally play a moderating role in these pathways, and racial/ethnic differences in parenting practices are often noted. This study examined a moderated-mediational model in which specific parental attributions (i.e., Stable, Internal, and Blaming/Intentional) mediated the association between parent-reported stress and dysfunctional discipline (i.e., Lax, Overreactive, and Hostile). Race/ethnicity was examined as a moderator of the association between parental attributions and dysfunctional discipline in a sample of 234 low-income adult caregivers at high-risk of child maltreatment. Overall, Stable and Blaming/Intentional attributions were found to explain the pathway between parent-reported stress and both Overreactivity and Hostility. Furthermore, race/ethnicity functioned as a differential moderator. Among Hispanic caregivers, the pathways to both Overreactivity and Hostility were explained by Stable attributions. Conversely, within the African American caregivers, only Blaming/Intentional attributions served as a mediator for Overreactivity and Hostility. Finally, among Caucasian caregivers, Stable attributions only explained Hostile discipline practices, while Blaming/Intentional attributions served as the pathway for both Overreactivity and Hostility. These findings provide the literature with a broader understanding of parent-reported stress and dysfunctional discipline and suggest different attributional treatment targets for caregivers from different racial/ethnic groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]