The Evolution of Community Mental Health Services in Asian American Communities

This paper explores the history of Asian immigration to the United States, and its intersections with the mental health system. As mental health care have evolved since the 1960s from institutions to the community, public mental health services for Asian Americans have become increasingly culturally relevant. Major policy shifts, trends in immigration, and mental health practice will be presented with a focus on the Bridge Program at the Charles B. Wang Community Health Center. Integrative practice and research models that extend evidence-based knowledge to Asian American communities and practice implications are discussed.     

Tests for comparison of competing risks under the additive risk model

It is of interest that researchers study competing risks in which subjects may fail from any one of k causes. Comparing any two competing risks with covariate effects is very important in medical studies. In this paper, we develop tests for comparing cause-specific hazard rates and cumulative incidence functions at specified covariate levels under the additive risk model by a weighted difference of estimates of cumulative cause-specific hazard rates. Motivated by McKeague et al. (2001), we construct simultaneous confidence bands for the difference of two conditional cumulative incidence functions as a useful graphical tool. In addition, we conduct a simulation study, and the simulation result shows that the proposed procedure has a good finite sample performance. A melanoma data set in clinical trial is used for the purpose of illustration.     

Small area estimation via heteroscedastic nested‐error regression

We show that the maximum likelihood estimators (MLEs) of the fixed effects and within‐cluster correlation are consistent in a heteroscedastic nested‐error regression (HNER) model with completely unknown within‐cluster variances under mild conditions. The result implies that the empirical best linear unbiased prediction (EBLUP) method for small area estimation is valid in such a case. We also show that ignoring the heteroscedasticity can lead to inconsistent estimation of the within‐cluster correlation and inferior predictive performance. A jackknife measure of uncertainty for the EBLUP is developed under the HNER model. Simulation studies are carried out to investigate the finite‐sample performance of the EBLUP and MLE under the HNER model, with comparisons to those under the nested‐error regression model in various situations, as well as that of the jackknife measure of uncertainty. The well‐known Iowa crops data is used for illustration. The Canadian Journal of Statistics 40: 588–603; 2012 © 2012 Statistical Society of Canada     

Meaning of touch: The case of touch from a stranger or same sex person

Two hundred and eight respondents rated what it means to them if they are touched on various areas of their body by either a stranger or a close friend of the same or opposite sex. Male and female respondents agree that (a) touch from a close friend of the opposite sex is pleasant, and (b) touch from a same sex person is unpleasant. However, touch from an opposite-sex stranger, is considered to be unpleasant by women but quite pleasant by men. For women, the meaning of a touch is primarily influenced by how well they know the other person; for men, the meaning is primarily determined by the other person's sex. That the intrusiveness of touch depends on acquaintanceship supports the hypothesis that for psychological comfort the level of intimacy of a) nonverbal behavior and b) the social relationship of two people must be congruent.     

Virtual World Interview Skills Training for Students Studying Health Professions

This study examined the effectiveness of a health professional virtual world interview skills trainer (IST), in comparison to classroom training via interview role-plays with peers. Students of psychology, physiotherapy, and general health science learned interviewing skills through role-play and virtual world training. Students were randomly allocated to a role-play-first, or IST-first condition. Interviewing self-efficacy was measured at baseline and after each of the learning experiences. In total, 72 students completed all surveys. Students’ reported an increase in interviewing self-efficacy significantly after the IST experience than after role-play.     

时变视角下房价对制造业投资影响的再审视

在相对宽松的货币政策环境下,近些年房价飞速上涨。房价的快速上涨导致很多资金投向房地产业,而没有投向制造业,对制造业产生的这一影响是中国经济发展所面临的问题之一。在分析了相关影响路径后,使用带有随机波动项的时变参数向量自回归模型,针对房价波动对制造业投资的影响进行了实证分析。实证结果表明,房价上涨对制造业投资存在显著的负向影响,房价冲击带来的这一负向影响在1年左右达到最大,且随着时间的推移,房价波动越剧烈,这种负向影响越明显;企业在股票市场的融资并没有流入制造业,而是更多地去追逐房地产市场的高收益;扩张性货币政策带来的房价上涨导致货币政策对制造业投资的调节作用失效。基于研究结论,建议控制房价预期,减少经济增长对房地产的依赖,推动经济转型带动实体经济发展。     

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Grade Retention in a National Sample of US Children*

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) include extreme economic hardship, abuse, neglect, household and family dysfunction, and exposure to community violence. Children with ACEs are at a higher risk of developing mental, physical, and developmental disorders that can lead to difficulty in school. Using the 2012 National Survey of Children's Health, we use multivariate logistic regression to examine the association between ACEs and grade retention and the moderating effects of race/ethnicity on this relationship. Results indicate that specific ACEs are related to higher rates of grade retention (economic hardship, parental incarceration, neighborhood violence, and witnessing domestic violence). Children reporting three or more ACEs were at a significantly higher risk of grade retention compared to children with zero reported ACEs. Further, patterns differed among black children in the sample with higher numbers of ACEs not increasing retention rates for black children compared to white children. This study improves our understanding of the relationship between ACEs and grade retention, but also raises questions about differing patterns among racially and ethnically diverse student populations that warrants further study.     

City size matters: Vietnamese immigrants having depressive symptoms

This cross-national study identified predictive factors contributing to depression among 691 Vietnamese migrated to the United States who responded to a community survey in two American cities. Measured by HSCL-25, the overall depression prevalence was 30.5%, higher in a large (32.3%) than mid-size city (19.8%). Logistic regression showed that immigration issues, residing in a large city, being female, having health concerns, and experiencing family concerns are significantly related to Vietnamese immigrants having depressive symptoms. Over half (51.4%) of the respondents sought help, and 46.3% preferred seeing their physicians to address mental health issues. Pre-migration counseling is recommended to prevent depression.