Evidence for stereotype accommodation as an expression of immigrants’ socio-cognitive adaptation

peer reviewedThrough intercultural contact, immigrants can change the stereotypes they had previously held about the majority ethnic group in their host cultures. Other undocumented processes of socio-cognitive adaptation following migration are also possible; immigrants’ preexisting stereotypes about social groups (e.g., politicians, older people), for example, may change because of host-cultural learning. This article examines the stereotype accommodation hypothesis, which states that differences in cultural stereotypes between immigrants’ host and origin cultures are a source of inconsistent stereotype-relevant information that immigrants may or may not incorporate into their preexisting beliefs. Support for this hypothesis is found in two studies of locals in Romania, Germany, and France (N = 532), and Romanian immigrants in Germany and in France (N = 225). Length of stay in the host culture and acculturation orientation predict the stereotype accommodation regarding politicians, the only social group for which stereotypes substantially differ between origin and host cultures. The results represent the first step in a research agenda for studying migrants’ socio-cognitive adaptation beyond the question of inter-ethnic stereotype change. The article thus discusses future avenues for the study of behavior and discrimination from the perspective of immigrants as agentic individuals

A genome-wide RNAi screen in mouse embryonic stem cells identifies Mp1 as a key mediator of differentiation

Knockdown of the scaffolding protein Mek binding protein 1 (Mp1) in mouse embryonic stem cells suppresses differentiation but not proliferation, and more invasive human germ cell tumors express lower amounts of Mp1

Online counselling for problem gambling: an analysis of client and session characteristics

Increasingly, help and support are being delivered online for highly stigmatised disorders such as problem gambling. Although popular in terms of rate of uptake, there has been very limited investigation into who attends online counselling, why they attend, or the mechanisms of online counselling. Through five empirical studies using both quantitative and qualitative approaches, this thesis investigates the characteristics, readiness to change and motivations of individuals choosing online over other options. It then explores the mechanisms of online counselling in terms of the content of a counselling session and the character of the client-counsellor interaction. Online counselling participants were most often younger than 40 years of age, more often male and also gambled online. These participants reported high readiness to change but low confidence to manage a gambling urge. Approximately half of participants sought an intervention outside of a crisis situation. Primary motivations for using online counselling, rather than another counselling modality, were related to anonymity, convenience, ease of access and a preference for writing over talking. Participants reported positive session evaluations and immediate improvement in confidence and distress following a single online session. These findings indicate online counselling is attracting a new cohort of treatment seekers who report positive experiences of this new modality. To further advance the field, the effectiveness of a single online counselling session delivered in community settings and the mechanisms (e.g., interaction between client and counsellor, content of sessions) of online counselling need to be further understood. Targeted interventions that are delivered by a clinician have the potential to make a major contribution towards reducing the impact of problem gambling. Future online counselling enhancements could include interventions matched to client motivations for help-seeking and readiness to change

Workforce development and E-competency in mental health services

Online chat and email are two of the most popular ways of providing e-mental health. Online chat is synchronous communication in a virtual chat room where client and counselor meet at the same time. In contrast, email is referred to as asynchronous because it can be accessed without the synchronous presence of client and counselor. There has been a rapid increase in the demand for chat and email over recent years and much of the demand has been met by services that have traditionally provided helplines or crisis support. This chapter provides an overview of the key issues associated with the delivery of e-mental health services and workforce development. This includes an examination of the range of options for providing e-mental health and key issues to consider when working online. The chapter concludes with a brief exploration of issues associated with client suitability for e-mental health via chat and email. </jats:p