Complex PTSD in asylum-seekers living in a humanitarian setting in Africa: A latent class analysis.

[Correction Notice: An Erratum for this article was reported online in Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy on May 08 2023 (see record 2023-69929-001). In the original article, paragraphs 1 through 3 of the main text and the first paragraph under "PTSD and CPTSD Symptoms" in the Methods section were rewritten to avoid text similarity with that of a previously published article "Evidence of Distinct Profiles of ICD-11 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Complex PTSD in a South African Sample," by James Rink and Gosia Lipinska (European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 2020, Vol. 11, No. 1, Article 1818965, https:// doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2020.1818965). All versions of this article have been corrected.] Objective: This study investigated ICD-11 posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex PTSD (CPTSD) symptom profiles and their premigration, postmigration, and demographic predictors in a treatment-seeking sample of asylum-seekers in Agadez (Niger). METHOD: Participants were 126 asylum-seekers hosted in a large, isolated reception camp in the desert surroundings of Agadez (humanitarian site) or in a number of small urban hosting facilities (cases de passages) who completed measures of trauma exposure and PTSD/CPTSD symptoms. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify symptom profiles, and predictors of class membership were identified via multinomial logistic regression. RESULTS: More asylum seekers met the criteria for CPTSD (74.6%) than PTSD (19.8%) and no gender differences were observed. LCA results identified two distinct groups: (a) a CPTSD class (69.0%); and (b) a PTSD class (31.0%). Membership in the CPTSD class was significantly predicted by the early age of the first traumatic event, levels of functional impairment and reception conditions. Specifically, those in the CPTSD class were more likely to live in the humanitarian site compared with those in the PTSD class. CONCLUSION: This study supported the validity of the ICD-11 construct of CPTSD in an asylum-seeker sample living in a low-income country. Moreover, the findings suggest that not only premigration factors (i.e., the early age of the first trauma) but also postmigration stressors (i.e., precarious reception conditions in large, isolated facilities) are important predictors of CPTSD symptoms with important implications regarding reception policies and the prevention of trauma-related mental disorders in asylum seekers and refugees. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Teachers' Implicit Attitudes Toward Ethnic Minority Students: A Systematic Review.

Although instruments to assess implicit attitudes were introduced more than 20 years ago, still there are few studies in the field of education that use them, despite the evidence that teachers with negative implicit attitudes can negatively affect the academic performance of their students. This review aims to summarize the results of studies that investigated the relationship between implicit ethnic attitudes of teachers and achievement of students. The review was conducted according to PRISMA-statement through searches in the scientific database PsychINFO, PsycARTICLES, and ERIC. Nineteen studies were included. Results show that overall teachers (from different school levels and different countries) hold negative implicit attitudes toward ethnic minority students, which play an important role in affecting the academic path of these groups of students. This review highlights the need to continue to use implicit attitudes procedures in future researches, in order to identify those factors that may contribute to the formation and expression of implicit attitudes of teachers; and the need to increase awareness of the implicit attitudes and multicultural practices of teachers in teaching programs.

The Effects of Contact With Nature During Outdoor Environmental Education on Students' Wellbeing, Connectedness to Nature and Pro-sociality.

Experiences of contact with nature in school education might be beneficial for promoting ecological lifestyles and the wellbeing of children, families, and teachers. Many theories and empirical evidence on restorative environments, as well as on the foundations of classical pedagogical approaches, recognize the value of the direct experience with natural elements, and the related psychological and educational outcomes (e.g., positive emotions, autonomy, self-efficacy, empathy). In this work we present two studies focusing on the contact with nature in outdoor education interventions with primary and secondary school students in Italy. A questionnaire measuring connectedness to nature, psycho-physical wellbeing, pro-environmental attitudes, students' life satisfaction, pro-social behavior, empathy and anxiety was completed before and after the education program by the participants to the intervention group and by students of a control group. The students in the intervention groups (154 in study 1 and 170 in study 2) participated in environmental education programs consisting in guided activities in contact with the nature during four visits in one of two natural protected areas. The students in the control groups (253 in study 1 and 168 in study 2) attended the same schools as the intervention group but they were not involved in the environmental education program. The students in both the groups completed the questionnaire in the same weeks of the year. Findings show that taking part to the outdoor education program has positive outcomes on psycho-physical wellbeing, on connectedness to nature and on pro-social behavior of students in the intervention group, compared to the control group. The implications related to the effectiveness of outdoor education interventions and future directions of research and practice in environmental psychology and education are discussed.

Patterns and predictors of PTSD in treatment-seeking African refugees and asylum seekers: A latent class analysis.

BACKGROUND: Despite the empirical and clinical relevance of understanding posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) heterogeneity in refugees and asylum-seekers, very few studies have examined the manner in which PTSD symptoms manifest in such populations. AIMS: This study sought to investigate patterns and predictors of DSM-5 PTSD in a treatment-seeking sample of African refugees. METHODS: Participants were 122 African refugees and asylum-seekers living in Italy who completed measures of trauma exposure and PTSD symptoms. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify PTSD symptom profiles, and predictors of class membership were identified via multinomial logistic regression. RESULTS: Among participants, 79.5% had a probable diagnosis of PTSD. Three PTSD classes were identified by LCA: Pervasive (32.0%) with high probabilities of all symptoms, high-Threat (45.9%) with higher probabilities of intrusions and avoidance symptoms, moderate-Avoidance (22.1%) with high probability of thoughts/feelings avoidance. None of the examined variables (legal status, gender, age, education, months spent in Italy, number of traumatic events, employment) significantly predicted class membership with the relevant exception of reception conditions. Specifically, living in large reception centres (over 1,000 people) significantly predicted Pervasive PTSD class membership compared to high/Threat PTSD class and to moderate/Avoidance class. CONCLUSION: This study provides evidence for distinct patterns of PTSD symptomatology in refugees and asylum seekers. We identified three classes which present both qualitative and quantitative differences in symptoms: Pervasive class, high-Threat class and a new moderate class, characterised by avoidance symptoms. Reception conditions contributed to the emergence of the Pervasive PTSD profile characterised by the symptoms highest severity. These findings highlight that stressors in the post-migration environment, as inadequate reception conditions in large facilities, may have detrimental effect on refugees' mental health. We emphasise the importance for host countries to implement reception models that provide effective protection and integration to this vulnerable population.

The Impact of Bilingualism on Executive Functions in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review Based on the PRISMA Method.

Approximately half of the world's population is bilingual or multilingual. The bilingual advantage theory claims that the constant need to control both known languages, that are always active in the brain, to use the one suitable for each specific context improves cognitive functions and specifically executive functions. However, some authors do not agree on the bilingual effect, given the controversial results of studies on this topic. This systematic review aims to summarize the results of studies on the relationship between bilingualism and executive functions. The review was conducted according to PRISMA-statement through searches in the scientific database PsychINFO, PsycARTICLES, MEDLINE, and PUBMED. Studies included in this review had at least one bilingual and monolingual group, participants aged between 5 and 17 years, and at least one executive function measure. Studies on second language learners, multilingual people, and the clinical population were excluded. Fifty-three studies were included in the systematic review. Evidence supporting the bilingual effect seems to appear when assessing inhibition and cognitive flexibility, but to disappear when working memory is considered. The inconsistent results of the studies do not allow drawing definite conclusions on the bilingual effect. Further studies are needed; they should consider the role of some modulators (e.g., language history and context, methodological differences) on the observed results.

Social-Cultural Processes and Urban Affordances for Healthy and Sustainable Food Consumption.

In this paper, we provide an overview of research highlighting the relation between cultural processes, social norms, and food choices, discussing the implication of these findings for the promotion of more sustainable lifestyles. Our aim is to outline how environmental psychological research on urban affordances, through the specific concepts of restorative environments and walkability, could complement these findings to better understand human health, wellbeing and quality of life. We highlight how social norms and cultural processes are linked to food choices, and we discuss the possible health-related outcomes of cultural differences in food practices as well as their relation to acculturation and globalization processes. We also discuss the concepts of restorative environments and walkability as positive urban affordances, their relation to human wellbeing, and the possible link with cultural processes and sustainable lifestyles. Finally, we outline issues for future research and areas for policy-making and interventions on the links between cultural processes, healthy and sustainable food consumption and urban affordances, for the pursuit of public health, wellbeing and environmental sustainability.

A Chip Off the Old Block: Parents' Subtle Ethnic Prejudice Predicts Children's Implicit Prejudice.

The increasing flow of immigrants in many European countries and the growing presence of children from immigrant families in schools makes it relevant to study the development of prejudice in children. Parents play an important role in shaping children's values and their attitudes toward members of other ethnic groups; an intergenerational transmission of prejudice has been found in a number of studies targeting adolescents. The present study aims to investigate the intergenerational transmission of ethnic prejudice in 3- to 9- year-old children and its relations to parenting styles. Parents' blatant and subtle ethnic prejudice and parenting style are measured together with children's explicit and implicit ethnic prejudice in pupils and parents of preschool and primary schools in the region of Rome, Italy (N = 318). Results show that parents' subtle prejudice predicts children's implicit prejudice regardless of the parenting style. Findings indicate that children might acquire prejudice by means of the parents' implicit cognition and automatic behavior and educational actions. Implications for future studies and insights for possible applied interventions are discussed.

A Different Way to Stay in Touch with 'Urban Nature': The Perceived Restorative Qualities of Botanical Gardens.

Botanical gardens represent interesting arenas for research in environmental psychology and environment-behavior relations. They can be considered a very particular type of restorative environment and also have a relevant social function for the promotion of a more sustainable lifestyle in current societies. In this paper, we present a study assessing the relationship between the perceived restorativeness, the psychological and physical benefits experienced, and the subjective well-being reported by visitors of botanical gardens in four different cities in Italy (N = 127). As expected, a bootstrapping mediation model supported the idea that perceived restorativeness of botanical gardens significantly predicts visitors' subjective well-being, both directly and indirectly through perceived physical and psychological benefits of the visit. A moderation model also revealed that the relationship between restorativeness and well-being varies across respondents with different socio-demographic characteristics, being stronger for singles as compared to couples with and without children, respectively. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.