Acculturation and linguistic factors were examined as predictors of self-esteem and language confidence among 91 international college students. The majority of participants were Asian (64.8%), female (59.3%), and graduate students (76.9%). Assimilative (adopting host cultural values) and integrative (blending both host and home cultural values)…

This study examined how peer relationships contribute to young adolescents' adaptation in the face of exposure to community and family violence. It tested hypotheses about peers' role in processes relating exposure to behavioral and psychological outcomes, specifically, aggression and anxiety. Data were collected from 667 middle school students,…

A study was designed to examine a multidimensional measure of children's coping in the academic domain as part of a larger model of motivational resilience. Using items tapping multiple ways of dealing with academic problems, including five adaptive ways (strategizing, help-seeking, comfort-seeking, self-encouragement, and commitment) and six…

In this 15-year longitudinal study the authors investigated individual and contextual factors that predispose adolescents from a disadvantaged urban area to drug dependence in adulthood. Adolescents were recruited from schools serving East Harlem in New York City. Of the 838 participants followed to adulthood, 59% were women, 55% were African…

The enduring impact of exposure to the 911 terrorist attacks on mental health and sociopolitical attitudes was examined in a sample of 427 adolescents (M = 16.20 years) and their mothers residing in New York City. Direct exposure to the terrorist attack was associated with youth depression symptoms and with mothers' posttraumatic stress disorder…

Background: The development of youth psychopathology may be associated with direct and continuous contact with a different culture (acculturation) and to distress related to this process (cultural stress). We examine cultural experiences of Puerto Rican families in relation to youth psychiatric symptoms in two different contexts: one in which…

Survey interviews with 230 predominantly African American and Puerto Rican low-income women who were living with HIV/AIDS in New York City revealed high levels of spirituality and spiritually based coping with HIV. Both spirituality indicators positively correlated with the frequency of receipt of HIV-related social support; they were negatively…