Assessing Learning Strategy Use in English- and Spanish-Speaking Older Adults During Verbal Learning Tests

This study investigated learning and memory performance similarities and differences between healthy, Spanish-speaking older adults of Hispanic/Latino descent and English-speaking Caucasian older adults. It explored the possibility that the novelty of verbal memory tasks, along with cultural and educational differences, may lead to performance differences in Spanish-speaking older adults\u27 effective use of organizational strategies, such as semantic clustering. It hypothesized that an alternative strategy instruction, which provided explicit detail on how to use the effective semantic clustering strategy, would reduce differences observed between the Hispanic and Caucasian groups. Forty-eight healthy, Spanish-speaking older adults and 55 healthy, English-speaking older adults were administered list-learning tasks in their dominant language. Under standard task instruction, Spanish-speaking older adults with low levels of formal education learned fewer words on the task than Caucasian and Hispanic participants who had higher levels of education. Hispanic participants, regardless of educational levels, also utilized semantic clustering recall at lower rates than Caucasian participants under standard instruction. When provided with explicit strategy instruction, both groups showed reduced list learning, and Hispanic older adults demonstrated reduced response to strategy manipulation compared to Caucasian participants. Finally, in the Hispanic older adult sample, the quality of their formal education and level of acculturation were identified as important predictors of verbal learning outcomes. These findings highlight the need to continue to examine the complex role of demographic and cultural variables on verbal learning and memory processes, as they may impact the assessment of pathological processes such as dementia, as well as the development of effective cognitive interventions for diverse elders

Psychobiological factors of resilience and depression in late life.

In contrast to traditional perspectives of resilience as a stable, trait-like characteristic, resilience is now recognized as a multidimentional, dynamic capacity influenced by life-long interactions between internal and environmental resources. We review psychosocial and neurobiological factors associated with resilience to late-life depression (LLD). Recent research has identified both psychosocial characteristics associated with elevated LLD risk (e.g., insecure attachment, neuroticism) and psychosocial processes that may be useful intervention targets (e.g., self-efficacy, sense of purpose, coping behaviors, social support). Psychobiological factors include a variety of endocrine, genetic, inflammatory, metabolic, neural, and cardiovascular processes that bidirectionally interact to affect risk for LLD onset and course of illness. Several resilience-enhancing intervention modalities show promise for the prevention and treatment of LLD, including cognitive/psychological or mind-body (positive psychology; psychotherapy; heart rate variability biofeedback; meditation), movement-based (aerobic exercise; yoga; tai chi), and biological approaches (pharmacotherapy, electroconvulsive therapy). Additional research is needed to further elucidate psychosocial and biological factors that affect risk and course of LLD. In addition, research to identify psychobiological factors predicting differential treatment response to various interventions will be essential to the development of more individualized and effective approaches to the prevention and treatment of LLD

Central American Women Migrants: A Feminist Exploration of Migrant Literature

Central American women confront unique experiences in their countries that lead to their decisions to migrate to the United States. Their migration should be looked at through gendered perspectives due to the patriarchal structures that force them to migrate in search of better opportunity. Colonialism, postcolonialism and neocolonialism have continuously affected and stifled the role of women in Central America. The Northern Triangle of Central America, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, are plagued with poverty, violence, and corruption that hinder any progress for women. In order to gain liberties that they are not allowed to have in their home countries, women must break many chains that have suppressed their ability to think and act. Through migration, women connect with their spirituality, demand autonomy over their own bodies, and overcome familial trauma. In migrant literature, the Central American woman’s narrative is often placed in a supporting role. This negatively portrays the experience of women as secondary to men in importance. In the texts, "We Are Not From Here", "The Far Away Brothers", and "Enrique’s Journey", this is perceived through the supporting female characters. Through a gendered perspective, using feminist and postcolonial theory, I analyze the narratives of women migrants in order to understand the obstacles they face in Central America, the process of migration, and life as a new migrant in the United States. In the first chapter of this study, I address the background and history of the Northern Triangle in order to gain an understanding of its implications on women. In the second chapter, I address the topic of spirituality in relation to Central American women’s migration in "We Are Not From Here". In the third chapter, I focus on the portrayal of migrant women’s commodification in "The Far Away Brothers". In the fourth chapter, I concentrate on family disintegration and the trauma that ensues from it in Central American women and children in "Enrique’s Journey". At the end of the study, the gendered perspective to migration will provide clarity to the importance of women as primary characters in migrant literature and in the conversation of migration

Norm comparisons of the Spanish-language and English-language WAIS-III: Implications for clinical assessment and test adaptation

This study provides a systematic comparison of the norms of 3 Spanish-language Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scales (WAIS-III) batteries from Mexico, Spain, and Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Englishlanguage WAIS-III battery. Specifically, we examined the performance of the 4 normative samples on 2 identical subtests (Digit Span and Digit Symbol-Coding) and 1 nearly identical subtest (Block Design). We found that across most age groups the means associated with the Spanish-language versions of the 3 subtests were lower than the means of the U.S. English-language version. In addition, we found that for most age ranges the Mexican subsamples scored lower than the Spanish subsamples. Lower educational levels of Mexicans and Spaniards compared to U.S. residents are consistent with the general pattern of findings. These results suggest that because of the different norms, applying any of the 3 Spanish-language versions of the WAIS-III generally risks underestimating deficits, and that applying the English-language WAIS-III norms risks overestimating deficits of Spanish-speaking adults. There were a few exceptions to these general patterns. For example, the Mexican subsample ages 70 years and above performed significantly better on the Digit Symbol and Block Design than did the U.S. and Spanish subsamples. Implications for the clinical assessment of U.S. Spanish-speaking Latinos and test adaptation are discussed with an eye toward improving the clinical care for this community

Psychobiological factors of resilience and depression in late life.

In contrast to traditional perspectives of resilience as a stable, trait-like characteristic, resilience is now recognized as a multidimentional, dynamic capacity influenced by life-long interactions between internal and environmental resources. We review psychosocial and neurobiological factors associated with resilience to late-life depression (LLD). Recent research has identified both psychosocial characteristics associated with elevated LLD risk (e.g., insecure attachment, neuroticism) and psychosocial processes that may be useful intervention targets (e.g., self-efficacy, sense of purpose, coping behaviors, social support). Psychobiological factors include a variety of endocrine, genetic, inflammatory, metabolic, neural, and cardiovascular processes that bidirectionally interact to affect risk for LLD onset and course of illness. Several resilience-enhancing intervention modalities show promise for the prevention and treatment of LLD, including cognitive/psychological or mind-body (positive psychology; psychotherapy; heart rate variability biofeedback; meditation), movement-based (aerobic exercise; yoga; tai chi), and biological approaches (pharmacotherapy, electroconvulsive therapy). Additional research is needed to further elucidate psychosocial and biological factors that affect risk and course of LLD. In addition, research to identify psychobiological factors predicting differential treatment response to various interventions will be essential to the development of more individualized and effective approaches to the prevention and treatment of LLD