Family Science
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2239
Formerly known as the Department of Family Studies.
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Item Technical Assistance: An Overview of a Product from the Sexual & Gender Diversity Learning Community Program(2024) Aparicio, Elizabeth M.; Gazit-Rosenthal, Shachar; Lare, Sean; Vigorito, Michael; Thomas, Shanéa; King-Marshall, Evelyn; Fish, Jessica N.; Boekeloo, Bradley O.; UMD-PRC Community Advisory BoardReflecting on your mental health organization’s structure and integrating LGBTQ+ affirming policies and procedures can be helpful in increasing your organization’s competency in supporting LGBTQ+ people. This guide includes statements and questions to help you individually or in a group setting to reflect upon, discuss, and apply key concepts to your practice.Item Clinical Consultations: An Overview of a Product from the Sexual & Gender Diversity Learning Community Program(2024) Aparicio, Elizabeth M.; Gazit-Rosenthal, Shachar; Lare, Sean; Vigorito, Michael; Thomas, Shanéa; King-Marshall, Evelyn; Boekeloo, Bradley O.; Fish, Jessica N.; UMD-PRC Community Advisory BoardReflecting on your practice in consultation with other clinicians can improve your comfort and confidence in providing mental health care to LGBTQ+ clients. This guide includes self-reflection questions to consider on your own or bring to clinical consultation meetings.Item Sexual and Gender Diversity Learning Community (SGDLC) Workshop Study Guide(2024) Aparicio, Elizabeth M.; Gazit-Rosenthal, Shachar; Lare, Sean; Vigorito, Michael; Thomas, Shanéa; King-Marshall, Evelyn; Fish, Jessica N.; Boekleoo, Bradley O.; UMD-PRC Community Advisory BoardThis guide introduces concepts from the Sexual and Gender Diversity Learning Community (SGDLC) workshop: a 7-hour training for mental health providers and administrators on LGBTQ+ affirming mental health care. The objective of this guide is to provide ways to improve mental health providers’ and administrators’ comfort, knowledge, and skill with LGBTQ+ affirmative mental health care.Item UMD PRC Mental Health Therapist LGBTQ+ Competency Self-Assessment(2023-06) Boekeloo, Bradley O.; Fish, Jessica N.; Aparicio, Elizabeth M.; Shin, Richard; Smith-Bynum, Mia; Vigorito, Michael; Lare, Sean; University of Maryland Prevention Research CenterThe Mental Health Therapist LGBTQ+ Competency Self-Assessment was created by the University of Maryland Prevention Research Center for mental and behavioral health professionals to self-reflect and assess their own competencies related to providing LGBTQ+ affirmative care in the following areas: knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy, and practice. This self-assessment takes 15-20 minutes to complete. Each section includes scoring information and interpretations to assist professionals in understanding their current levels of LGBTQ+ competencies. For additional training resources and information, please visit the UMD-PRC Resources Page and consider participating in the UMD-PRC Sexual and Gender Diversity Learning Community Certificate Program.Item UMD PRC Organizational LGBTQ+ Climate Assessment(2023-06) Boekeloo, Bradley O.; Fish, Jessica N.; Aparicio, Elizabeth M.; Shin, Richard; Smith-Bynum, Mia; Vigorito, Michael; Lare, Sean; University of Maryland Prevention Research CenterThe Organizational LGBTQ+ Climate Assessment was created by the University of Maryland Prevention Research Center for administrators of mental and behavioral health organizations to assess the performance of their mental and behavioral health primary organization/practice in serving LGBTQ people. This assessment works best when administrators identify a specific "primary organization/practice" that is the focus for change and growth. This may be a group of service providers who share one organizational administrative system or a solo practitioner. Throughout this assessment, "organization" refers to one administrative system or solo private practice. This assessment takes 15-20 minutes to complete. To calculate domain total scores, add the score for all items under each domain. The higher the scores, the more welcoming and inclusive your organization is for LGBTQ+ and other diverse people. For additional training resources and information, please visit the UMD-PRC Resources Page and consider participating in the UMD-PRC Sexual and Gender Diversity Learning Community Certificate Program.Item The Development and Pilot Evaluation of a Family-Based Education to Strengthen Latinx Adolescent Mental Health in the United States: The Familias Activas Experience(MDPI, 2022-12-23) Hurtado Choque, Ghaffar Ali; Garcia Cosavalente, Hilda Patricia; Chan, Alexander E.; Rodriguez, Matthew R.; Sumano, EvaAdolescent years are a time of joy and can represent a challenge for parents and youth, especially for immigrants to the US who are adjusting to their host country. Programs focusing on family skills and positive youth development (PYD) can contribute to youth wellbeing especially, however, few exist for low-income immigrant families. (1) Background: The major goals of this project are to strengthen both PYD and healthy parenting practices by implementing an evidence-informed program, Familias Activas. A theory of change guided the development of Familias Activas in which three factors: parent training, positive youth development, and youth physical activity sessions (soccer) aimed to improve Latinx youth mental health. Youth participated in weekly soccer practices led by trained soccer coaches while parents/caregivers attended parent education. Both sessions lasted eight weeks. (2) Method: We describe the formative stage of the research project as well as the pilot implementation of the Familias Activas program, which provides critical insights for the development of a PYD program. (3) Results: Evaluation surveys were administered to youth and their parents. Thirty youths and sixteen parents completed the survey. The Kidscreen scale had a mean for most items ranging from 3.6 to 4.2. Participating youth were 11 years old and most affirmed they were Latinx. The feasibility program quality mean was 4.2 indicating an overall positive result for the pilot program.. Implications of PYD programs for Latinx youth are discussed. (4) Conclusions: The current paper presents a model for positively influencing the physical and mental wellbeing of Latinx youth and their parents. The model is culturally responsive in its involvement of both parents and youth in programming.Item Family Support, Rejection, and Connectedness: Family Context and SGM Youth Mental Health and Substance Use(2021) Tomlinson, Katherine; Fish, Jessica N; Family Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Adolescence is an acutely significant period of development, and sexual and gender minority youth (SGMY) experience unique stressors which contribute to elevated rates of substance use, mood disorders, suicidal ideation and attempts, and other health outcomes when compared with their heterosexual, cisgender peers. Family is often the context in which SGMY navigate these stressors and manage their health. Family rejection and support have each been linked to health outcomes among SGMY, including depression and substance use. More globally, family connectedness is beneficial to adolescent’s health but is an understudied construct within SGMY research. Limited research has examined how these family processes converge to influence SGMY health. In an effort to capture nuance in family process and SGMY health, this study examined the relationship between experiences of family support, rejection, and connection among SGMY and their depressive symptoms and substance use. Findings have implications for research and practice with families.Item Measuring and Assessing the Health Implications of Perceived Islamophobia Discrimination among South Asian Muslim Americans(2020) Ahmed, Naheed; Quinn, Sandra C.; Family Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)South Asian Americans have high prevalence rates of Type II diabetes (15.9%) and hypertension (25%). Existing research on this topic has primarily focused on risk factors for these conditions, such as genetics, diet, and physical activity, but a gap remains in our knowledge of stress, specifically exposure to discrimination, as a contributing factor to these health outcomes. This cross-sectional, mixed methods study involved the development and assessment of a novel scale for measuring perceived Anti-Muslim discrimination, and examined associations among discrimination, depressive symptoms, and health risk behaviors (diet, physical activity, tobacco use, alcohol consumption) for Type II diabetes and hypertension. In-depth qualitative interviews (N=40) were conducted with Muslim Americans on how they define Islamophobia, how Muslims are treated and perceived in the U.S., and experiences with Islamophobia. Findings from qualitative interviews, expert reviews (N=5), and cognitive interviews (N=9) informed the development and validation of the 19-item Societal Anti-Muslim Discrimination Index (SAMDI) and the 9-item Interpersonal Anti-Muslim Discrimination Index (IAMDI). Quantitative data (N=347) were collected from Muslim Americans using an online survey. Correlation tests and principal component analysis were used to assess the SAMDI and IAMDI scales (N=347), and structural equation modeling was used to examine relations among discrimination and health using a sub-sample of South Asian Muslim American participants (n=173). Qualitative findings indicate that Islamophobia and xenophobia are significant sources of long-term stress. Participants recounted physical assaults in public locations, persistent questioning regarding their country of origin, and verbal harassment in the form of derogatory terms and comments. Vicarious exposure to Islamophobia was mentioned in relation to observations of other Muslims being harassed and hearing about bias incidents from relatives, friends, and media reports. Quantitative results indicate one-component models and modest to high reliability of the IAMDI (.77) and SAMDI (.88) scales. SAMDI was associated with an increase in depressive symptoms (.19, p<.05), as was IAMDI (.20, p<.05). Neither scale was associated with dietary patterns, tobacco use, or alcohol consumption. Study results demonstrate the link between Islamophobia and depressive symptoms, and provide a unique tool for measuring Anti-Muslim discrimination, which will aid researchers in studying the health implications of Islamophobia.Item RACE AND IMMIGRATION STATUS AS MODERATORS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FAMILY ACCEPTANCE/FAMILY REJECTION AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS FOR LGBTQ+ YOUTH(2019) Levin, Emma R; Leslie, Leigh; Family Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Research consistently demonstrates that LGBTQ+ youth, when compared to non-LGBTQ+ youth, are at significantly greater risk for depression, anxiety, substance use, and suicidality as a result of stressors related to belonging to a minority group (Russell & Fish, 2016). Family acceptance is an important protective factor against these negative mental health outcomes, and family rejection has been demonstrated as an important risk factor. Research on LGBTQ+ youth has been criticized for regarding all LGBTQ+ youth as the same and not accounting for the intersection and interaction with other identities such as race or immigrant status. The research questions posed by this study are 1) to what extent do race and immigrant status, separately and combined, moderate the established relationship between family acceptance and depressive symptoms?, and 2) to what extent do race and immigrant status, separately and combined, moderate the established relationship between family rejection and depressive symptoms? Results of the present study show that race significantly moderated the relationship between family acceptance and depression for LGBTQ+ youth, but did not moderate the relationship between family rejection and depression. Immigrant status moderated neither relationship. Three-way interactions with race and immigrant status moderated both the association among family acceptance, family rejection, and depression. Clinical implications and implications for future research are discussed.Item SELF-COMPASSION AMONG WOMEN WITH ABUSE EXPERIENCES: THE ROLE OF SOCIAL SUPPORT(2018) LeVine, Naomi; Mittal, Mona; Family Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a widespread issue that affects the physical and mental health of its survivors. Because of the severity of the outcomes, it is important that clinicians understand potential risk and protective factors in regard to providing the best outcomes for their clients. Under the framework of the stress-buffering hypothesis, this study explored the association between IPV and a woman’s self-compassion, as well as the role of social support as a variable moderating that association. It was hypothesized that higher levels of IPV victimization would be associated with lower levels of self-compassion among women with experiences of IPV. In addition, social support was hypothesized to weaken the association between IPV and individuals’ self-compassion. Data collected from a sample of women in abusive relationships (n=61) was analyzed using linear regression and a test for moderation. Results indicated that there was no significant association between IPV victimization and self-compassion. However, the interaction between IPV and social support tended toward significance. Contrary to the second hypothesis, among women with higher levels of social support, greater IPV was associated with lower self-compassion. Implications for clinical practice when working with this population are discussed.