Cross‐Cultural Validity of Bowen Theory in Southern European Countries

We present a comparison between Italy, Spain, Greece, and Portugal to test the cross‐cultural validity of the Differentiation of Self Inventory Revised (DSI‐R) Scales of emotional cut‐off (EC) and emotional reactivity (ER). Our study focuses on the importance of in‐depth analyses of the differentiation of self‐constructs from a cross‐cultural perspective and reflects on the possibility of conceptualising the universality of Bowen theory in southern European countries. The study involved 1,807 healthy individuals. All participants completed the DSI‐R (Skowron & Schmitt, 2003). It was found that the measurement models had a suitable fit for each country group. Nevertheless, in our study, the two DSI‐R subscales, ER and EC, highlighted a weak invariance, specifically demonstrating only the invariance of the pattern factor loadings and the magnitude of factor loadings in the four samples. The empirical and clinical implications of these data are discussed.     

Assessing interpersonal fusion: reliability and validity of a new DSI fusion with others subscale

The Differentiation of Self Inventory (DSI) is a multidimensional measure of differentiation consisting of four subscales focusing on adults (ages 25+), and their significant relationships, including current relationships with family of origin. Although the DSI full scale and three of its subscales are theoretically and psychometrically sound, the Fusion with Others (FO) subscale is lacking. Therefore, responses of 225 adults were used to revise the FO subscale. Results yielded a 12-item, revised FO subscale with improved internal consistency reliability and construct validity. Greater fusion with others was associated with greater spousal fusion and dimensions of adult attachment insecurity. Implications for Bowen theory and suggestions for future research with the DSI-R are discussed.     

Social Welfare and Remittances to Older Adults in Two Caribbean Cities

This study explores the correlates of financial and material remittances to older adults in Havana and Bridgetown. These cities, both within countries at a very advanced stage of population ageing, have different institutional contexts for older adults. Data come from the 2000 Survey on Health, Well‐Being and Aging in Latin America and the Caribbean (SABE) of adults 60 years and older with children overseas, Havana (n = 461) and Bridgetown (n = 1,003), representing 342 and 531 families, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analyses indicate that remittances to Havana were significantly associated with parents' and children's socio‐economic resources. Remittances to Bridgetown were associated with parents' sociodemographic characteristics and sibling's coresidence with parents. In both cities, remittances were positively associated with parents' support of their children. The findings suggest remittances are both a household survival strategy, which can reinforce socioeconomic inequality, and symbolic of social norms of family relations.     

Validation of the Chinese Version of Differentiation of Self Inventory (C‐DSI)

Although the need to develop objective assessment tools in different cultures is well‐recognized, there is a severe lack of objective measures about emotional functioning in the Chinese context. This project conducted three studies to validate the Chinese version of the Differentiation of Self Inventory (DSI). Study 1 looked at the factor structure, internal consistency, concurrent validity, and construct validity of the C‐DSI. Study 2 examined the test–retest reliability of the C‐DSI. Study 3 tested the discriminant validity of the C‐DSI in a clinical sample and in a nonclinical sample and examined its correlations with the General Contentment Scale (GCS). The study results suggested that the C‐DSI possesses good psychometric properties. Findings also indicated implications of divergent cultures and hinted at treatment implications—taking the familistic orientation and the Chinese meaning of self into consideration to understand the differentiation of self in the Chinese culture context.     

Determining the Appropriateness of the “What If” Situations Test (WIST) with Turkish Pre-Schoolers

Measurement instruments are needed to assess the child’s sexual abuse prevention program. The purpose of the study was to determine the reliability and validity of the WIST (What If Situations Test) for Turkish culture. Participants were children of the 3–6 age group attending pre-school education institutions and the sample size was identified by means of a power analysis. Seventy children were identified as the sample with 0.85 power and 0.05 type I error according to the power analysis. Language validity, content validity, internal validity coefficient (Cronbach alpha coefficient), and test–retest analyses were conducted in terms of validity and reliability in the scope of efforts for adaptation to Turkish culture. Firstly, Kendall W = 0.83 was the score for the expert opinions concerning the content validity of the language validity scale. It was found that the Cronbach alpha coefficients were between 0.68 and 0.90 for the scale sub-dimensions of appropriate and inappropriate recognition, saying, doing, telling, and reporting. The test–retest reliability of the scale was found to be r = 0.89 and the test–retest reliabilities for the sub-dimensions (appropriate recognition, inappropriate recognition, say skills, do skills, tell skills, and reporting skills) were between r = 0.48 and r = 0.92. The test–retest reliability for the Personal Safety Questionnaire (PSQ), as having complimentary items to the WIST, was found to be r = 0.82. The reliability and validity analysis of the ‘What If’ Situations Test (WIST), used to evaluate pre-schoolers’ skills regarding self-protection against sexual abuse, showed that the Test’s adaptation to Turkish culture was reliable and valid.     

Profiles of Emotion Deficits and Adolescent Nonsuicidal Self‐Injury in an Inpatient Sample

This study examined profiles of specific emotion deficits, including poor emotion awareness, reluctance to express emotion, sadness inhibition and dysregulation, and anger inhibition and dysregulation. Self‐report questionnaires assessed adolescents’ emotion skills and nonsuicidal self‐injury (NSSI) engagement, frequency, severity, methods, and age of onset. Latent profile analysis yielded a three‐profile solution: Low Deficit (LD; n = 49), Unaware/Anger Dysregulated (UAD; n = 24), and Anger Inhibited (AI; n = 20) profiles. Adolescents in the UAD profile were more likely to engage in NSSI, displayed a higher NSSI frequency, and reported a higher number of NSSI methods when compared to adolescents in the LD profile. No links emerged for NSSI severity or age of onset.     

An Exploration of Family and Juvenile Justice Systems to Reduce Youth HIV/STI Risk

Using in‐depth interviews with 20 probation youth (60% female; 35% White; 30% Hispanic; mean age: 15 years, range = 13–17), their caregivers (100% female; mean age: 44 years, range = 34–71), and 12 female probation officers (100% White; mean age: 46 years, range = 34–57), we explored how family and probation systems exacerbate or mitigate sexual risk. We conducted thematic analyses of interviews, comparing narratives of families of sexually risky (n = 9) versus nonsexually risky (n = 11) youth. Family functioning differed by youth sexual risk behavior around quality of relationships, communication, and limit setting and monitoring. The involvement of families of sexually risky youth in probation positively influenced family functioning. Data suggest that these families are amenable to intervention and may benefit from family‐based HIV/STI interventions delivered in tandem with probation.     

Aversive Peer Experiences on Social Networking Sites: Development of the Social Networking‐Peer Experiences Questionnaire (SN‐PEQ)

Cyber victimization is an important research area, yet little is known about aversive peer experiences on social networking sites (SNSs), which are used extensively by youth and host complex social exchanges. Across samples of adolescents (n = 216) and young adults (n = 214), we developed the Social Networking‐Peer Experiences Questionnaire (SN‐PEQ) and examined its psychometric properties, distinctiveness from traditional peer victimization measures, and associations with internalized distress. The SN‐PEQ demonstrated strong factorial invariance and a single‐factor structure that was distinct from other forms of peer victimization. Negative SNS experiences were associated with youths' symptoms of social anxiety and depression, even when controlling for traditional peer victimization. Findings highlight the importance of examining the effects of aversive peer experiences that occur via social media.     

‘She is Too Young for These Chores’ — Is Housework Taking a Back Seat in Urban Chinese Childhood?

The child in contemporary urban China is experiencing an increasingly exclusive focus on academic achievement at the expense of non‐academic activities, particularly housework. In‐depth interviews with caregivers (including grandparents and parents) from 9 three‐generational families (n = 34) and parents from 10 nuclear families (n = 20) were conducted. Results show that although children from both family types were low in housework participation, children in three‐generational families were perceived by their caregivers to be less competent in performing self‐care and family‐care tasks. They were also less frequently assigned regular tasks as compared with children from nuclear families. Unlike caregivers from western societies, where children's participation in housework is seen as either a means of socialisation or a source of domestic labour, Chinese caregivers consider housework as a distraction, at best an addendum to academic work.     

Coregulation and the Quality of the Relationship in Full‐Term and Very Low‐Birthweight Preterm Infant‐Mother Dyads During Face‐To‐Face Interactions

Interactions with parents build the foundation for infants' social–emotional development. This study investigated coregulation of the interaction and quality of relationship between mothers and their 6‐month‐old full‐term (n = 43) and very low‐birthweight/preterm (VLBW/preterm; n = 44; ages corrected for prematurity) infants. The objectives were to examine (1) how coregulation changed following a perturbed interaction, (2) how coregulation differed between full‐term and VLBW/preterm infant–mother dyads, and (3) the association between coregulation and relationship quality. Coregulation was coded using the Revised Relational Coding System (Fogel et al., 2003). Quality of the relationship was measured using the Emotional Availability scales (Biringen et al., 2014; Carter et al., 1998). Dyads participated in the Still‐Face (SF) procedure (Tronick et al., 1978) consisting of two natural and one SF period where mothers assumed a neutral expression, refraining from interacting with their infants. Following the SF period, dyads engaged in more symmetrical and more disruptive patterns of coregulation. While full‐term dyads engaged in more sequential‐symmetrical, VLBW/preterm dyads engaged in more resonant‐symmetrical coregulation. These results suggest that VLBW/preterm dyads may show more emotional reactivity in their interactions than full‐term dyads; however, in both groups infant responsiveness and parenting stress influenced the types of coregulation exhibited.     

Changes in Family Relationships among Substance Abusing Runaway Adolescents: A Comparison between Family and Individual Therapies

Eligible adolescents (12–17 years old) were recruited from a short‐term crisis shelter for runaway adolescents in a large Midwestern city. Adolescents (N = 179) were randomly assigned to Ecologically‐Based Family Therapy (EBFT, n = 61), the Community Reinforcement Approach (CRA, n = 57), or brief Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET, n = 61) with the primary focus on substance abuse. A significant increase in perceived family cohesion and a significant reduction in perceived family conflict were found among all treatment conditions from baseline to the 24‐month follow‐up. Adolescents who received EBFT demonstrated more improvement in family cohesion after treatment than those who received CRA or MET, and more reduction in family conflict during treatment than those who received MET.     

Assessment of the complex effects of trauma across child serving settings: Measurement properties of the CANS-Trauma Comprehensive

This study examined the measurement properties of the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths-Trauma Comprehensive Version (CANS-Trauma). This comprehensive, trauma-focused, and strengths-based assessment strategy is designed to assess the complex needs of traumatized children and adolescents across child-serving settings and support the treatment/service delivery process. The current study assessed 257 children and adolescents from three mental health agencies across the country that were partners in the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN). Internal consistency and inter-rater reliability, convergent and discriminant validity, and scale properties of the CANS-Trauma were examined. Overall, measurement properties of the CANS-Trauma showed promising results. Internal consistency varied from marginally acceptable to excellent across most domain scores (α = 0.62–0.90); the traumatic stress symptoms domain demonstrated very good internal consistency (α = 0.82). Inter-rater reliability for the CANS-Trauma was good overall, while the traumatic stress symptoms domain had marginally acceptable reliability. There was evidence for convergent validity with more limited evidence for discriminant validity, based on the association between domains on the CANS-Trauma and subscales of the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children-Alternate (TSCC-A) and the Child Behavioral Checklist for Children (CBCL). Rasch modeling analyses indicated that the CANS-Trauma had good scale properties overall, including item fit within each of the domains. These preliminary results also suggested that the various mental health and trauma symptom domains on the CANS-Trauma were more sensitive to populations with significant trauma symptoms and mental health difficulties compared to populations with lower to moderate difficulties in these areas. Implications of these findings are discussed in terms of the utility of a comprehensive, trauma-informed assessment strategy in practice settings.     

Negative Stereotypes of Ethnic Outgroups: A Longitudinal Examination Among Palestinian,Israeli Jewish,and Israeli Arab Youth

Ethno‐political conflict impacts thousands of youth globally and has been associated with a number of negative psychological outcomes. Extant literature has mostly addressed the adverse emotional and behavioral outcomes of exposure while failing to examine change over time in social cognitive factors in contexts of ethno‐political conflict. Using cohort sequential longitudinal data, this study examines ethnic variation in the development of negative stereotypes about ethnic outgroups among Palestinian (n = 600), Israeli Jewish (n = 451), and Israeli Arab (n = 450) youth over 3 years. Age and exposure to ethno‐political violence were included as covariates for these trajectories. Findings indicate important ethnic differences in trajectories of negative stereotypes about ethnic outgroups, as well as variation in how such trajectories are shaped by prolonged ethno‐political conflict.     

Freedom and struggling openly in psychotherapy: A qualitative inquiry with LGBQ young adults from religious families

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (LGBQ) young people from religious families are at increased risk of family rejection, poor mental health outcomes, and are overrepresented in mental health services. This article describes a two‐part qualitative study aimed at exploring the experiences of LGBQ young adults from religious families in psychotherapy, identifying positive and negative psychotherapy experiences, and understanding the influence of family and religion on the psychotherapy experience. Data were collected through a web‐based survey (n = 77) and interviews (n = 7) with LGBQ young adults (ages 18–25) from religious families. The study followed an interpretative phenomenological approach. Integrated results found often invisible, relational therapy processes, and religious discourses as significant to LGBQ young people who seek psychotherapy. Implications for future research, effective systemic family therapy practices with LGBQ young people from religious families, and a critique on ethical and legal limits of confidentiality with policy implications are outlined.     

Crawling Predicts Infants’ Understanding of Agents’ Navigation of Obstacles

We investigated whether crawling versus noncrawling infants interpret an agent's movements around an obstacle as goal‐directed. Infants (6–9 months) were habituated to a self‐propelled circle jumping over an obstacle to reach a goal. When the obstacle was removed, infants who crawled (n = 13) showed longer looking time to the familiar but now nonrational jumping path versus a novel but rational straight‐line path. Noncrawlers (n = 17) did not discriminate. Looking preference was independent of age and speed of habituation. These findings support the claim that infants’ processing of agency emerges early and applies to all agents, but stress the role of experience in the development of action interpretation.     

Adaptation and Validation of the Life Events and Difficulties Schedule for Use With High School Dropouts

The Life Events and Difficulties Schedule (LEDS) is considered the standard for measuring psychosocial stressor exposure, but it has not been used with academically at‐risk adolescents, including high school dropouts. The goal of this study was to (1) adapt the LEDS for use with this population, and (2) examine the reliability (interrater) and validity (concurrent and predictive) of this adaptation among a sample of vulnerable adolescents (N = 545). Good reliability coefficients (.79–.90) were obtained, and stressor exposure was associated with concurrent criteria indexing mental health outcomes (depression) and major risk factors for dropout (administratively recorded and self‐reported). Also, LEDS scores predicted dropout beyond these risk factors. The adapted LEDS appears useful for describing academically struggling adolescents’ stressor exposure.     

Self‐Perceived Competence in Mainland China: A Multiwave Longitudinal Examination of Internalizing Symptoms in Chinese Adolescents

The present 9‐wave, 2‐year study examined whether Cole's (1991) theory of self‐perceived competence could help explain vulnerability to depressive and anxiety symptoms in a sample of adolescents from mainland China. Participants included 624 adolescents (319 females and 305 males) from an urban school in Changsha (n = 308) and from a rural school in Liuyang (n = 316). Findings showed that self‐perceived academic competence was negatively associated with prospective depressive and anxiety symptoms. Meanwhile, adolescents with low levels of self‐perceived social competence were at heightened risk for depressive symptoms during times of increased stressors (supporting a vulnerability‐stress model). These findings advance past research by highlighting new developmental pathways for depressive and anxiety symptoms in Chinese adolescents.     

Development and Psychometric Evaluation of a 10-Item Short Form Inventory of Gambling Situations

The Inventory of Gambling Situations (IGS-63; Turner and Littman-Sharp, Inventory of gambling situations users guide, 2006) is a 63-item measure of high-risk gambling situations. It assesses gambling across 10 situational subscales that load onto two higher-order factors: negative and positive situations (Stewart et al. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 22:257–268, 2008). While the IGS-63 has excellent psychometric properties (Littman-Sharp et al., The Inventory of Gambling Situations: Reliability, factor structure, and validity (IGS Technical Manual), in press) its length may preclude its use in time-limited contexts. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a 10-item short-form of the IGS (IGS-10). Each IGS-10 item reflects one of the ten subscale categories from the IGS-63, with two items from the original subscales included as examples for each IGS-10 item. The IGS-10 was administered to 180 undergraduate gamblers along with the IGS-63 and the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI; Ferris and Wynne, Canadian Problem Gambling Index: Final report, 2001). IGS-10 items showed convergent validity with the corresponding IGS-63 subscales (r’s = .60–.73). Principal components analysis of the IGS-10 revealed two factors: negative (α = .84) and positive (α = .85). PGSI scores correlated significantly with all IGS-10 items (r’s = .33–.58) and with both IGS-10 higher-order subscales (r’s = .66 [negative] and .49 [positive]), supporting the criterion validity of the IGS-10. Since minimal information is lost when using the IGS-10, the short form may prove particularly useful when respondent burden prevents using the full IGS-63.     

The Effects of Middle School Weight Climate on Youth With Higher Body Weight

This study examines whether social‐emotional difficulties associated with higher body weight vary across schools as a function of the school's weight climate. Weight climate, characterized by weight‐policing, was assessed indirectly by examining how strongly self‐reported weight predicts victim reputation within 26 ethnically diverse middle schools. Social‐emotional indicators included self‐reported loneliness, school belonging, and self‐esteem. In schools with stronger weight‐policing at seventh grade, loneliness was intensified by eighth grade among both girls (n = 2,101) and boys (n = 1,985) with higher weight. Similar effects were found for low self‐esteem among girls. Additionally, boys—regardless of their weight—reported lower sense of belonging in schools with stronger weight‐policing. The study offers a new method to estimate school weight climate, and the findings provide insights for interventions.     

Gaze following in 4.5‐ and 6‐month‐old infants: The impact of proximity on standard gaze following performance tests

Gaze following (GF), the ability to synchronize visual attention with others, is often considered a foundation of social cognition. In this study, GF was assessed while changing the space between an actor's eyes and the gaze target. This was done to address a potential confound in the gold standard GF performance test, namely the spatial bias of the actors’ eye position that occurs when the actor turns the head to look at a target, offsetting the eye position from a centered position toward the attended target. Our results suggest that both 4.5 (n = 27) and 6 (n = 30)‐month‐old infants can follow an actor's gaze regardless of proximity. This is the first demonstration that early GF is not dependent on proximity cues, and our results strengthen previous findings suggesting that GF develops well before 6 months of age. The study was preregistered, and all data and analysis routines can be downloaded with provided links.