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Refugees who settle in Western countries exhibit a high rate of mental health issues, which are often related to experiences throughout the pre-displacement, displacement, and post-displacement processes. Early detection of mental health symptoms could increase positive outcomes in this vulnerable population. The rates and predictors of positive screenings for mental health symptoms were examined among a large sample of refugees, individuals with special immigrant visas, and parolees/entrants ( N = 8149) from diverse nationalities. Logistic regression analyses were used to determine if demographic factors and witnessing/experiencing violence predicted positive screenings. On a smaller subset of the sample, we calculated referral acceptance rate by country of origin. Refugees from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan were most likely to exhibit a positive screening for mental health symptoms. Refugees from Sudan, Iraq, and Syria reported the highest rate of experiencing violence, whereas those from Iraq, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo reported the highest rate of witnessing violence. Both witnessing and experiencing violence predicted positive Refugee Health Screener-15 (RHS-15) scores. Further, higher age and female gender predicted positive RHS-15 scores, though neither demographic variable was correlated with accepting a referral for mental health services. The findings from this study can help to identify characteristics that may be associated with risk for mental health symptoms among a refugee population.

There are clear, empirical associations between teaching behaviors and students' affect. Yet no study to date has investigated whether teaching behaviors (i.e., instructional, organizational, socio-emotional, and negative) impact students' affect differently based on race/ethnicity. This gap in the literature is concerning given the substantial academic and mental health disparities between African American (AA) and European American (EA) students. Thus, the present study examined whether differences exist in the associations between teaching behaviors and affect in AA and EA high school students. Participating AA and EA high school students (N = 968; 60.2% EA) completed the Teaching Behavior Questionnaire and the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scale for Children. Using hierarchical linear modeling, we found a positive association between instructional teaching behavior and positive affect in EA but not AA students; this association was significantly stronger in EA than in AA students (p < 0.05). There was a positive association between socio-emotional teaching behavior and positive affect (p < 0.05) for AA and EA students; race did not moderate this finding (p > 0.05). Finally, there was a negative association between negative teaching behavior and positive affect in EA but not AA students; race did not moderate this finding (p > 0.05). Regarding negative affect, socio-emotional and negative teaching behavior were positively associated with negative affect (p < 0.05) in EA and AA students, respectively. Race did not moderate these associations (p > 0.05). The implications and limitations of the study are discussed.

The authors discuss the challenges that researchers from university and community systems face in gaining access to and partnering with K-12 school systems to conduct research. Borrowing from Szapocznik, Hervis, and Schwartz's (2003) brief strategic family theory and therapy and Bronfenbrenner's (1979, 1986) ecological systems theory, the authors outline a model for diverse research communities in the United States that can be used by counselors and other mental health services researchers who plan to conduct research in K-12 schools. (Contains 1 figure and 1 table.)

Background: Newly arriving Syrian refugees can present with specific health characteristics and medical conditions when entering the United States. Given the lack of epidemiological data available for the refugee populations, our study examined the demographic features of Syrian refugees resettled in the state of Kentucky. Specifically, we examined mental and physical health clinical data in both pre-departure health screenings and domestic Refugee Health Assessments (RHA; Kentucky Office for Refugees, n.d.) performed after resettlement. Method: The current study adopted a cross-sectional research design. We analyzed outcome data collected from participants from 2013 and 2015. Specifically, a comparative cross-sectional analysis was performed using clinical data from Syrian refugees who underwent an RHA as part of the resettlement process between January 2015 and August 2016. Those data were compared to data derived from refugees from other countries who resettled in Kentucky between 2013 and 2015. Results: Mental health screenings using the Refugee Health Screener (RHS-15; Hollifield et al., 2013) found that 19.5% (n = 34) of adult Syrian refugees reported signs and symptoms from posttraumatic stress, depressive symptoms, and/or anxiety, and nearly 40% (n = 69) reported personal experiences of imprisonment or violence, and/or having witnessed someone experiencing torture or violence. Intestinal parasites and lack of immunity to varicella were the most prevalent communicable diseases among Syrian refugees. Dental abnormalities and decreased visual acuity account for the first and second most prevalent non-communicable conditions. When comparing these results to all refugees arriving during the same years, significant differences arose in demographic variables, social history, communicable diseases, and non-communicable diseases. Conclusion: This study provides an initial health profile of Syrian refugees resettling in Kentucky, which reflects mental health as a major healthcare concern. Posttraumatic stress and related symptoms are severe mental health conditions among Syrian refugees above and beyond other severe physical problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I am pleased to introduce this special issue of the Journal of Mental Health Counseling dedicated to language brokering and mental health. The United States Census Bureau reported that in 2012, 85% of foreign-born individuals reported speaking exclusively a language other than English at home, and only 35% reported speaking English “very well” (Gambino, Acosta, & Grieco, 2014). With immigration rates continuing to rise in the United States and in other countries, a special issue focused on language brokering is timely. Although there is a body of literature linking language brokering and educational outcomes, there is an urgent need to advance an understanding of the extent to which language brokering is related to mental health outcomes, culturally tailored clinical practices that may be used with individuals who serve as language brokers, and the ever-increasing need for human helpers to serve as language brokers. This special issue was composed to address these important research and practice topics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While previous studies have tested the mediating or moderating effects of select factors on disordered eating pathologies, no empirical studies have examined a moderated mediation model. Thus, filling a gap in the literature base, the current study examined a moderated mediation model to test the associations among disordered eating, depressive symptoms, alcohol use, and suicidality. The current study sample included 1,598 students (mean age 21.3 years; 80.9% female) across major universities in the United States. Results showed that disordered eating was significantly associated with suicidality, and the association was mediated by depressive symptoms. Further, the indirect effect of disordered eating via depressive symptoms varied in magnitude as a function of alcohol use. Findings suggest that clinical mental health counselors and other providers working with emerging adults should he vigilant in recognizing behaviors and thoughts associated with disordered eating and related signs and symptoms, including depressive symptoms and alcohol use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has long been asserted that previous suicide behaviors (gestures and attempts) are a significant predictor of future suicide behaviors. Less is known about the extent to which this axiom applies to suicide ideations. The current investigation explored suicide ideations in a longitudinal sample of Black American adolescents (N = 977) aged 11 to 18. Logistic growth models were conducted with future suicide ideations as the dependent variable and the number of previous suicide ideations, traumatic stress, and gender as independent variables. Results show, first, that previous suicide ideations and traumatic stress are potent predictors of future suicide ideations. Second, the probability of future suicide ideations is higher when both the number of previous suicide ideations and traumatic stress levels increase, and this probability remains higher as the adolescent ages. These results demonstrate that the long-held proposition that previous suicide behaviors are predictive of future suicide behavior trajectories can be applied as well to suicide ideations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Racial and ethnic minorities in the United States are less likely to receive treatment for psychiatric disorders than are White Americans. For two decades, clinicians and researchers have worked to reduce health and health care disparities, with at best minimal success. In 2001 the Surgeon General issued a seminal report that described the magnitude of the problem (V. S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2001). Nevertheless, the vexing problem of unequal treatment persists. This review provides preliminary evidence for reducing racial and ethnic disparities in mental health treatment in primary care settings by giving priority to culturally competent practices and cultural tailoring in assessment, diagnosis, and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing research indicates that parentification can result in positive and negative outcomes for individuals; however, little is known about the mechanisms that account for the variability. This study tested a theoretical model of the relation between parentification tasks and mental health symptoms, with perceived unfairness and differentiation of self ( DoS) as mediators. The results supported the proposed model in a sample of 783 college students. A significant total indirect effect existed between the latent construct of parentification and that of mental health symptoms. Significant specific indirect effects were observed between parentification and mental health symptoms with perceived unfairness as a mediator; between parentification and DoS with perceived unfairness as a mediator and between perceived unfairness and mental health symptoms mediated by DoS. Implications for clinical work with adult clients who have experienced parentification in their family of origin are addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Parentification questionniare (PQ; Jurkovic and Thirkield in Parentification questionnaire, University Plaza, Atlanta, GA, ), developed to assess various levels of parentification retrospectively, is one of the most widely used instruments in the clinical and research literature base. Yet, despite its frequent use, no studies of which we are aware have examined the psychometric properties of this instrument. Thus, this study fills a gap in the literature by examining the psychometric properties of the PQ with a sample of 143 racially diverse college students. The data were subjected to exploratory analysis using principal component analysis. Varimax orthogonal rotations were applied to the analyses. The final results supported a three-component solution (although with fewer items), consistent with Jurkovic’s three-factor multidimensional clinical framework for understanding parentification. We also examined the relations between the resultant scores of the PQ and scores from the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI; Derogatis in Derogatis Brief symptom inventory: Administration, scoring, and procedures manual, National Computer Systems, Inc., Minneapolis, MN, ), which captures mental health symptomatology. These results reflected significant correlations in theoretically expected directions. However, taken together, the three PQ factors significantly accounted for the variance in psychopathology scores in only two of the four regression models. The preliminary results from this study support the reliability and multidimensional nature of the PQ scores. Implications for family therapy and suggestions for future family systems research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The primary aim of the study was to confirm the five-factor structure of Tedeschi and Calhoun's (1996) Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI). A secondary aim of this study was to explore the potential usefulness of the PTGI among populations that experience parentification - a common form of childhood neglect and adversity. Method: The PTGI was administered to a sample of 143 college students with a history of various levels of parentification. Results: The resulting data were subjected to confirmatory factor analysis. The goodness-of-fit indices for the five-factor model indicated a moderate fit with the current sample. However, a five-factor, 18-item model produced a more optimal fit than Tedeschi and Calhoun's five-factor, 21-item PTGI. Conclusions: The study's findings suggest that the PTGI appears to be a useful assessment inventory for mental health practitioners in measuring globally the resources an individual might have following the adversity of parentification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies have demonstrated that parentification, a potential form of child maltreatment, is a ubiquitous phenomenon that most community counselors as well as other mental health care providers (e.g., school and family counselors, social workers) face. Although these studies have pointed to a relationship between parentification and later psychopathology, the potential for divergent outcomes is rarely discussed. This article advances an often-absent balanced discussion of the extent to which varied outcomes are evidenced in adulthood after one has been parentified in childhood. For example, varied outcomes such as psychopathology and posttraumatic growth may be feasible in adulthood after parentification in childhood. Suggestions related to research and practice efforts are put forth for mental health counselors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]