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School engagement is a luxury not often afforded to children involved in the child welfare system. Current definitions of school engagement largely center around three micro-level foci: behavioral, emotional, and cognitive. These definitions rely heavily on the student and their participation in school in prescribed ways that can exclude system-involved youth, leaving little room to consider how life experiences and developmental trajectories interface with how students show up in educational spaces. This perspective of school engagement also lacks socio-ecological considerations that may impact children in the child welfare system, such as frequent school moves, trauma reactions, systemic racism, and insufficient access to structural resources. Each of these influences may affect how a child engages with school and how a school engages with children and families. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the conceptual misalignments of the current approaches to measuring school engagement for youth involved in the child-welfare system and its subsequent implications for practice and research. We present recommendations that may lead to more inclusive and equitable measures of this important "determinant of life success." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

School engagement has been identified as a protective factor, mitigating the effects of trauma, and promoting adaptive functioning. However, the ways in which school engagement is measured and understood for youth involved with the child welfare system is limited. This structured review of the literature aims to explore the measurement tools used to assess school engagement for youth involved with the child welfare system with the purpose of identifying the measures most commonly used with this youth population, and determining if there are measures specific to this unique child population. Fourteen databases were searched to identify articles published through March 2020. Articles were included if they, (a) were conducted in the United States, (b) measured school engagement through quantitative methods, (c) the sample was primarily youth involved with the child welfare system. After screening the review yielded 29 articles. All but one of the studies utilized scales that were not created for child welfare populations. The one study that did create a scale for this youth population, utilized scale items from a measure not created for child welfare youth. Results highlight a need to expand the measurement of school engagement to focus specifically on the unique experiences of this youth population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excessive alcohol use and problems during college is a major public health concern, and there are health disparities in patterns of drinking and alcohol-related illnesses based on ethnicity and race. Given the prevalence and disparities in excessive alcohol use and problems and associated negative impacts, it is important to examine potential protective factors such as dimensions of ethnic-racial identity (ERI). Thus, the current study examined how multiple dimensions of ERI were associated with alcohol use and alcohol use disorder (AUD) symptoms, and how these relations varied by individuals' ethnic-racial group among 1850 diverse emerging adults (M = 18.46, SD =.38). Findings indicated that there were significant differences by race/ethnicity. ERI affirmation was negatively associated with AUD symptoms for Asian individuals and African American individuals, while ERI exploration was positively associated with AUD symptoms among African American individuals. ERI resolution was negatively associated with alcohol use for Latinx individuals and positively associated with alcohol use for Multiracial individuals. Among White individuals, ERI exploration was negatively associated with alcohol use and ERI affirmation was negatively associated with AUD symptoms. Overall, the current study builds on our understanding of nuanced ways in which ethnic-racial identity impacts alcohol problems among emerging adults and highlights areas for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Drug Free Schools and Communities Act scale (DFSCA) has been widely used to measure school engagement in studies utilizing the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) data. Recent analyses using NSCAW-I suggest that the best use of the DFSCA scale is a three-factor structure measuring emotional, behavioral, and cognitive-behavioral engagement. However, this three-factor structure presented concerns with the cognitive-behavioral engagement construct, warranting further analyses. This study aimed to test the three-factor structure in separate samples, and to test an alternative model that excluded the cognitive-behavioral engagement construct. Using NSCAW-II data, we performed a series of confirmatory factor analyses, to explore the fit of the hypothesized and alternative models across three random samples. We extracted three random samples from the NSCAW-II data, without replication. Each sub-sample represented 20 % of the larger NSCAW-II sample. The samples included children between the ages of 6 and 15 who were involved with the child welfare system due to a maltreatment report. Results indicated that both the three-factor structure that includes the cognitive-behavioral engagement construct, and the two-factor structure that excludes the factor fit the data well. Implications for using these factor structures in future research is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess perceived facilitators and recommendations for stroke recovery and prevention among younger African-American (AA) men (age < 65 years) in order to inform the development and pilot testing of an intervention for this high-risk group. Methods: Focus group methodology was used to collect data from 10 community-dwelling AA stroke survivors and seven of their care partners (CPs) (N = 17). Thematic analysis of session transcripts and the constant comparative method were used to generate themes. Results: Participants cited facilitators to post-stroke care and recovery as Family Support, Stress Reduction, and Dietary Changes. Specific person-level recommendations for AA men included following established stroke guidelines, use of complementary and alternative medicine, and never give up recovery efforts. Community-level recommendations included making a list of community resources available, providing support and education to care partners, using videos that feature AA men to deliver information and use AA men stroke survivors to help disseminate the information. Provider and health system recommendations included consolidation of medical bills, improving provider communication skills, and making providers aware of needs specific to AA men and their families. Conclusions: While AA men and their CPs acknowledged and welcomed learning more about the American Health Association Stroke Prevention Guidelines, it is clear that they desired approaches that addressed their specific needs and preferences as young AA men who sometimes felt de-valued by their community and care providers. Specific person, community and care-system level approaches that are of perceived value to AA men offer potential to improve health outcomes and reduce health disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: African Americans (AAs) who experience a first time stroke are younger and have double the stroke rate and more poststroke complications than other Americans. Objective: To assess perceived poststroke care barriers among younger AA men and their care partners (CPs) in order to inform the development of acceptable and effective improvements in poststroke care for this high-risk group. Methods: Ten community-dwelling AA stroke survivors and 7 of their CPs participated in focus groups and advisory board meetings. Survivors had stroke or transient ischemic attack within 1 year and a Barthel Index score &nvgt;60. In focus groups, using a semi-structured interview guide, survivors and CPs identified self-perceived barriers and facilitators to poststroke care. Thematic analysis of session transcripts and the constant comparative method were used to generate themes. Results: Survivor age ranged from 34 to 64 years. Mean Barthel score was 95.5. CPs, all AA women, ranged in age from 49 to 61 years. Five CPs were wives, 1 was a fiancée, and 1 was a niece. Participants cited multiple personal, social, and societal stroke recovery challenges. Although hypertension and smoking risks were acknowledged, stress, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, anger/frustration, personal identity change, and difficulty communicating unique needs as AA men were more frequently noted. Facilitators included family support, stress reduction, and dietary changes. Conclusions: Younger AA men and their CPs perceive multiple poststroke care barriers. Biological risk reduction education may not capture all salient aspects of health management for AA stroke survivors. Leveraging family and community strengths, addressing psychological health, and directly engaging patients with health care teams may improve care management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]