Chinese migrant families in New Zealand: Family functioning and individual well-being

Migration is a process that affects family functioning and well-being. The purpose of my thesis was to examine the influence of migration on family functioning and individual well-being in Chinese migrant families with adolescents in New Zealand. To achieve this, three studies were conducted. Study 1 investigated the level of family functioning and the influence of migration on it. The outcome measure used was parent-adolescent conflict. Nine families (N=21) were intensively interviewed and asked to discuss conflict issues between the parents and adolescents. The study found that, as reported in the mainstream literature, most conflict occurred over normal, everyday issues. Findings of interest were the use of migration-related explanations to account for the occurrence of conflict, reports that conflict issues were different between the countries of origin and settlement, and reports that conflict intensity was greater here than in the country of origin. Study 2 expanded on Study 1 by including parent-adolescent relationship and parenting as additional outcome measures of family functioning. The well-being of migrant families was also investigated. Interviews conducted with seven families (N=18) showed that migration can be conceptualised as a process which occurs over three phases: before the migration, on first arrival, and in the current situation. Regarding family functioning across these three phases, participants reported that parent-adolescent relationships were generally positive, that conflict occurred over the regulation of the adolescents' activities and the decision to migrate to New Zealand, and that the parenting style changed to being less strict and authoritative in New Zealand. The findings also highlighted the importance of considering familial influences, in addition to individual and environmental influences, when determining migrant adaptation. A conceptual model of migrant adaptation was developed. Study 3 was a quantitative study which examined the role of individual, familial, and environmental influences on family functioning and migrant well-being. A Migration Experience Questionnaire (MEQ) was developed to investigate the role of migration-related variables on these outcome measures. The MEQ was based on the conceptual model of migration adaptation arising from Study 2. Family functioning was measured using the Self-Report Inventory (SFI), and migrant well-being was measured using the General Health Questionnaire-30item version (GHQ-30). Questionnaires were completed by 180 participants (93 = parents; 87 =adolescents). The results showed that factors predictive of poor family functioning were differential rates of acculturation, lack of social support, being dissatisfied with life before the migration for adolescents, and being dissatisfied with life after the migration for parents. Factors predictive of poor well-being were lack of social support, feelings of not belonging here, perceptions of being racially discriminated against, and dissatisfaction with one's English ability. Another finding of interest was that 40% of participants were identified as being 'psychologically at-risk'. In conclusion, the findings of my thesis highlight that migration is a process which influences family functioning and individual well-being. While some families cope with these changes better than others, the consensus amongst participants was that having adequate social support was crucial to good family functioning and well-being

Applying an intervention framework to assess North Carolina's adolescent pregnancy prevention efforts

PurposeWe assessed the extent to which implementing adolescent pregnancy prevention programs in conjunction with three level implementation strategies reduces adolescent pregnancy rates at the county-level in North Carolina (NC).MethodsFixsen and colleagues' (2005) three levels of implementation were used to organize the prevention strategies: core (e.g., training, fidelity monitoring), organizational (e.g., administrative support), and external (e.g., community resources).ResultsCounties that had adolescent friendly clinic/services (external) were more likely to report lower adolescent pregnancy rates in comparison to counties that did not have access to such services.ConclusionsFindings suggest external implementation strategies are key to reducing adolescent pregnancy rates

Depressive Symptoms among Latino Sexual Minority Men and Latina Transgender Women in a New Settlement State: The Role of Perceived Discrimination

Background. Little is known about the role of discrimination on depression among Latino sexual and gender identity minorities. This manuscript examined the relationship between ethnic/racial discrimination and sexual discrimination on clinically significant depressive symptoms among Latino sexual minority men (i.e., gay and bisexual men and other men who have sex with men) and Latina transgender women. Methods. A community-based participatory research partnership recruited participants (N = 186; 80.6% cisgender men) in North Carolina to a social network-based HIV intervention. Using baseline data, we quantified the amount of perceived discrimination and conducted mixed-effects logistic regression analyses to examine correlates of clinically significant depressive symptoms. Results. A high percentage of participants reported ethnic/racial discrimination (73.7%) and sexual discrimination (53.8%). In the multivariable models, ethnic/racial discrimination, sexual discrimination, masculinity, fatalism, and social support were significantly associated with clinically significant depressive symptoms. Discussion. Improving mental health requires multilevel interventions that address pertinent individual, interpersonal, and system level factors

Intersession Reliability and Within-Session Stability of a Novel Perception-Action Coupling Task

BACKGROUND: The perception-action coupling task (PACT) was designed as a more ecologically valid measure of alertness/reaction times compared to currently used measures by aerospace researchers. The purpose of this study was to assess the reliability, within-subject variability, and systematic bias associated with the PACT. METHODS: There were 16 subjects (men/women = 9/7; age = 27.8 +/- 3.6 yr) who completed 4 identical testing sessions. The PACT requires subjects to make judgements on whether a virtual ball could fit into an aperture. For each session, subjects completed nine cycles of the PACT, with each cycle lasting 5 min. Judgement accuracy and reaction time parameters were calculated for each cycle. Systematic bias was assessed with repeated-measures ANOVA, reliability with intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), and within-subject variability with coefficients of variation (CVTE). RESULTS: Initiation time (Mean = 0.1065 s) showed the largest systematic bias, requiring the elimination of three cycles to reduce bias, with all other variables requiring, at the most, one. All variables showed acceptable reliability (ICC > 0.70) and within-subject variability (CVTE <20%) with only one cycle after elimination of the first three cycles. CONCLUSIONS: With a three-cycle familiarization period, the PACT was found to be reliable and stable

Generation and <i>ex vivo</i> culture of murine and human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma tissue slice explants

Traditional 2D/3D co-culture models typically do not reflect the cellular heterogeneity of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) tumors, while in vivo models can be slow and ill-suited to mechanistic investigations. Here, we present a protocol for culturing murine PDAC explants and a corresponding human PDAC model using tissue slice explants. We describe steps for sponge production, preparation of media and materials, tissue collection, and sectioning. We then detail procedures for explant plating, daily culture, and collection of samples

Exercise and Esr1 Control Mitochondrial Content and Function to Regulate Adiposity

Mechanisms that underlie adipose tissue remodeling to enhance metabolic health in response to exercise training remain inadequately understood. PURPOSE: We utilized mouse genetics and human GWAS to determine the impact of exercise training on mitochondrial DNA copy number, and interrogate the relationship between Esr1 and adipose tissue health. METHODS: We performed RNAseq on adipose tissue from 100 strains of inbred mice following exercise training and determined mitochondrial content by qPCR. We performed deep phenotyping of mice harboring conditional Esr1 overexpression selectively in adipose tissue. Adipose specific Esr1 overexpression and control mice were fed a high fat diet and placed in metabolic chambers to interrogate the effects of Esr1 on whole body metabolism. RESULTS: We determined that exercise training significantly increased adipose tissue mtDNA content in mouse and man and that increased mitochondrial content correlated with reduced adiposity. Adipocyte health was associated with increased expression of transcripts involved in mitochondrial cristae formation including OPA1, Polg1, and Dnm1l. Since Esr1 is a transcription factor negatively associated with adipose tissue mass, and since deletion of Esr1 disrupts mitochondrial function and reduces expression of Polg1, OPA1, and Dnm1l, we interrogated in impact of conditional Esr1 overexpression on mitochondrial function and adipose tissue health. Adipocyte-specific Esr1 overexpression increased expression of mitochondrial gene targets, increased mtDNA copy number and mitochondrial respiration, and enhanced whole body energy expenditure of animals challenged by high fat diet feeding. Adipocyte-specific Esr1 overexpression protected mice against HFD-induced obesity. CONCLUSION: Exercise promotes remodeling of adipose tissue mitochondria and is associated with fat mass reduction. Overexpression of Esr1 drives a similar adipose tissue remodeling and weight loss as exercise training, and protects against adipose tissue weight gain in the context of overnutrition. These data suggest that exercise responsive transcripts in adipose tissue can be selectively targeted to enhance weight loss and improve metabolic health