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Religious decline, often observed among North American Christian youth, may not apply universally. We examined this and whether religiosity is associated with well-being, risk behavior, cultural values, and acculturation among 4080 Muslim and Christian adolescents aged 15-22 in Germany. Utilizing seven waves from the CILS4EU project and a person-oriented analytical approach, we identified different religious trajectories for Muslim (58% high, 31% low, 11% increasing), immigrant-origin Christian (68% low, 32% medium), and non-immigrant Christian (74% low, 17% decreasing, 9% medium) youth. High and medium trajectories were associated with greater well-being, lower risk behavior, more conservative attitudes, and less sociocultural integration. To fully understand religious development, we must consider diverse national contexts and groups, employing long-term perspectives and person-centered analyses., (© 2024 The Author(s). Child Development published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society for Research in Child Development.)

The Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, has had devastating effects on the Ukrainian population and the global economy, environment, and political order. However, little is known about the psychological states surrounding the outbreak of war, particularly the mental well-being of individuals outside Ukraine. Here, we present a longitudinal experience-sampling study of a convenience sample from 17 European countries (total participants = 1,341, total assessments = 44,894, countries with >100 participants = 5) that allows us to track well-being levels across countries during the weeks surrounding the outbreak of war. Our data show a significant decline in well-being on the day of the Russian invasion. Recovery over the following weeks was associated with an individual's personality but was not statistically significantly associated with their age, gender, subjective social status, and political orientation. In general, well-being was lower on days when the war was more salient on social media. Our results demonstrate the need to consider the psychological implications of the Russo-Ukrainian war next to its humanitarian, economic, and ecological consequences., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Contact with members of one's own group (ingroup) and other groups (outgroups) shapes individuals' beliefs about the world, including perceptions of discrimination against one's ingroup. Research to date indicates that, among members of disadvantaged groups, contact with an advantaged outgroup is associated with less perceived discrimination, while contact with the disadvantaged ingroup is associated with more perceived discrimination. Past studies, however, considered ingroup and outgroup contact in isolation and overlooked the various processes that could explain these associations. We addressed these issues by examining whether disadvantaged-group members' perceptions of discrimination are shaped by how much contact they have with ingroup and outgroup members ( contact effects ) or by those ingroup and outgroup members' perceptions of discrimination ( socialization effects ) while controlling for their tendency to affiliate with similar others ( selection effects ). Three studies (total N = 5,866 ethnic minority group members) assessed participants' positive contact, friendships, and perceived discrimination and applied longitudinal and social network analyses to separate and simultaneously test contact, socialization, and selection processes. In contrast to previous studies, we found no evidence that contact with members of the advantaged outgroup precedes perceived discrimination. Instead, we found that friendships with members of the disadvantaged ingroup longitudinally predict perceived discrimination through the process of socialization-disadvantaged-group members' perceptions of discrimination became more similar to their ingroup friends' perceptions of discrimination over time. We conclude that perceptions of discrimination should be partly understood as a socialized belief about a shared reality. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Friendships with members of our own group (ingroup) and other groups (outgroups) shape our attitudes toward outgroups. Research on intergroup contact has shown that the numbers of outgroup and ingroup friends we have influence our outgroup attitudes, whereas research on socialization has shown that the attitudes held by our friends influence our outgroup attitudes. Past research, however, examined these processes in isolation, which precludes discerning whether having friends, or the attitudes held by our friends, are both important in shaping our outgroup attitudes, and, if so, which is more important. To disentangle these effects, we conducted a 5-wave social network study in 2 ethnically diverse schools (N = 1,170 students). By applying a novel longitudinal coevolution model, we were able to separate the effects of having ingroup and outgroup friends (contact effects), and the effects of those friends' attitudes (socialization effects), on individuals' outgroup attitudes, while controlling for friendship selection processes. In so doing, we found that it is principally the attitudes of ingroup friends-not outgroup friends' attitudes or having ingroup and outgroup friends alone-that predict individuals' outgroup attitudes. Our findings have important theoretical implications, as we demonstrate that combining the divergent approaches of intergroup contact and socialization enables us to better understand outgroup attitude development. Our findings also have practical implications, as we show that, even in diverse environments, individuals rely primarily on friends from their own group to inform their attitudes toward other groups. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in substantial disruptions to the daily lives of young people. Yet knowledge is lacking about changes in mental well-being among young adults, whether those from ethnic minorities were more adversely impacted by the pandemic than the ethnic majority, and the extent to which pandemic-related stressors contributed to any declines in mental well-being., Methods: We draw on nationally representative German CILS4COVID data, collected early in the pandemic (N = 3517, M age  = 25). Respondents provided information on mental well-being (psychosomatic complaints, anxiety, depression, life satisfaction) and exposure to pandemic-related stressors (financial worries, health worries, discrimination, contact with COVID-19). Responses on mental well-being were matched to responses from two pre-pandemic waves. Individual fixed effects regressions examined ethnic group differences in changes in mental well-being prior to, and at the early stage of, the pandemic. Path analysis tested the role of pandemic-related stressors in declines in mental well-being., Results: Overall, young adults' mental well-being had improved at the pandemic assessment compared to pre-pandemic assessments, and few ethnic group differences in changes were found. However, greater pandemic-related stressors were associated with worsened mental well-being at the pandemic assessment. Among Asian minorities, indirect effects were found on anxiety via health worries, and on depression via health worries and discrimination. For Turkish, Middle Eastern and African minorities, indirect effects on anxiety and depression were found via health worries., Conclusions: We did not find widespread declines in mental well-being among young adults at the early stage of the pandemic, and changes in mental well-being prior to and at the early stage of the pandemic were mostly similar across ethnic German and minority groups. Nevertheless, pandemic-related stressors posed risks for young adults' mental well-being, particularly increased discrimination and health worries among Asian minorities, and health worries among Turkish, Middle Eastern and African minorities., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Purpose: Suitable assistive devices for children with cerebral palsy (CP) in low-income countries are often unavailable. Devices made from APT are in use in several countries but are unevaluated. Materials and methods: A 2-week training course focused on APT principles, measuring children and constructing postural support devices. Twenty-three Kenyans attended the course. The host organization identified four local children with CP who attended for assessment and measurement. Participants made the devices and children returned for fitting and necessary adjustment. Completion of post-course forms, action plans, visits after 14 months and contact 3 years later comprised the evaluation. Results: All participants found the course beneficial and valued the networking opportunity provided. They appreciated the practicality and utility of locally manufactured cost effective devices. The trainees planned further implementation to provide assistive devices for children with CP in their localities. Follow-up visits revealed several challenges to local ongoing production. Conclusions: Training people in low-income communities to make bespoke assistive devices for children with CP is straightforward, and the course was positively evaluated. However, maintaining device production is limited without local group support and stable leadership, ideally as part of an existing programme.Implications for rehabilitationAssistive devices are often unobtainable for children with cerebral palsy (CP) in low-income countries.APT is a cost effective way of fulfilling this need and it is relatively straightforward to train people who care for or work with those with CP to make devices using APT.Feedback from APT training suggests participants find the technique a practical way of producing assistive equipment for individuals with CP in their community.Maintaining device production requires support, leadership and increased public awareness of the use of APT at a local level.