Acculturative Stress and Latino Depression: The Mediating Role of Behavioral and Cognitive Resources

Although research has found that acculturative stress is significantly associated with adverse psychological adjustment among Latinos, the mechanism by which this relationship exists is not clearly understood. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of behavioral and cognitive resources—active coping and self-efficacy, respectively—as mediators of the relationship between acculturative stress and depression among a sample of Latina/o adults (N = 469). Multiple mediator analysis indicated that active coping partially mediated the relationship between acculturative stress and depression symptom severity. The indirect relationship of acculturative stress to depression symptom severity through self-efficacy was not significant. The results suggest that acculturative stress directly relates to Latino psychological adjustment, and lower behavioral active coping partially accounts for this relationship. Results are discussed in the context of culturally based stress and coping models, wherein the relationship between stressors and subsequent psychological adjustment is influenced by the degree of fit between stressor demands and individuals’ resources. Implications for treatment and theory are discussed

Modelling incomplete fusion dynamics of weakly-bound nuclei at near-barrier energies

The classical dynamical model for reactions induced by weakly-bound nuclei at near-barrier energies is developed further. It allows a quantitative study of the role and importance of incomplete fusion dynamics in asymptotic observables, such as the population of high-spin states in reaction products as well as the angular distribution of direct alpha-production. Model calculations indicate that incomplete fusion is an effective mechanism for populating high-spin states, and its contribution to the direct alpha production yield diminishes with decreasing energy towards the Coulomb barrier. It also becomes notably separated in angles from the contribution of no-capture breakup events. This should facilitate the experimental disentanglement of these competing reaction processes.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures (for better resolution figures please contact the author), Accepted in Journal of Physics

Discrimination, Acculturation, Acculturative Stress, and Latino Psychological Distress: A Moderated-Mediational Model

Prior research has found that perceived discrimination is associated with adverse mental health outcomes among Latinos. However, the process by which this relationship occurs remains an understudied area. The present study investigated the role of acculturative stress in underlying the relationship between perceived discrimination and Latino psychological distress. Also examined was the ability of acculturation to serve as a moderator between perceived discrimination and acculturative stress. Among a sample of Latino adults (N = 669), moderated mediational analyses revealed that acculturative stress mediated the perceived discrimination-psychological distress relationship, and that the link between perceived discrimination and acculturative stress was moderated by Anglo behavioral orientation but not Latino behavioral orientation. The findings are discussed within a stress and coping perspective that identifies the psychological consequences associated with perceived discrimination and acculturative stress

Microaggressions and Psychological Functioning among High Achieving African-Americans: A Mixed-Methods Approach

Racial microaggressions and their influence on mental health were examined among African American doctoral students and graduates of doctoral programs. Using a mixed-methods approach, the current study first identified the types of microaggressions reported by African American participants (N = 97) and then investigated the mechanism by which these experiences influence mental health over time with a separate sample of African Americans (N = 107). The qualitative findings revealed three categories of microaggressions including Assumption of Criminality/Second-Class Citizen, Underestimation of Personal Ability, and Cultural/racial Isolation. The quantitative analyses found support for a moderated-mediational model by which Underestimation of Personal Ability was associated with greater perceived stress at one-year follow-up, which in turn was related to greater depressive symptoms. Active coping was found to moderate the racial microaggression-perceived stress link such that individuals who endorse active coping behaviors reported lower perceived stress. These findings are discussed in terms of practical and theoretical implications regarding the role of racial micro-aggressions in the lives of high-achieving African Americans and the mechanisms by which these experiences contribute to mental health problems

Spontaneous violation of the energy conditions

A decade ago, it was shown that a wide class of scalar-tensor theories can pass very restrictive weak field tests of gravity and yet exhibit non-perturbative strong field deviations away from General Relativity. This phenomenon was called `Spontaneous Scalarization' and causes the (Einstein frame) scalar field inside a neutron star to rapidly become inhomogeneous once the star's mass increases above some critical value. For a star whose mass is below the threshold, the field is instead nearly uniform (a state which minimises the star's energy) and the configuration is similar to the General Relativity one. Here, we show that the spontaneous scalarization phenomenon is linked to another strong field effect: a spontaneous violation of the weak energy condition.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letter