Treating Evangelical Christians: Challenges and Opportunities.

Evangelical Christians constitute one-quarter of the U.S. population and can present challenges to mental health treatment, such as beliefs that psychiatric problems result from personal sin and that secular professionals pose a threat to their faith. Understanding the origins of the tensions between evangelical faith and psychiatric practice as well as the interrelated nature of many evangelical Christians' emotional and spiritual lives can help clinicians understand how to more effectively treat this population. Strategies that build on common ground provide opportunities for establishing trust and navigating differing viewpoints.

"A Light at the End of the Tunnel": Experiences With Peer Specialists in the Open Dialogue Model.

OBJECTIVE: The authors examined participants' experiences with peer specialists in Parachute NYC, a community mental health program of support teams trained in Open Dialogue and intentional peer support. METHODS: Qualitative interviews were conducted with eight enrollees and 10 network members (enrollees' family members). All excerpts coded as pertaining to peers were thematically analyzed. RESULTS: Experiences with peer specialists were mostly positive. Participants especially valued peers' relatability and tendency to instill hope and engender empathy among enrollees and network members; peers' ability to foster community connections was also highly regarded. Generally, enrollees benefited from having peers and other health care professionals on a Parachute team because of their different forms of expertise. Concerns about peer specialists in dialogic care were reported by some network members, who questioned peers' degree of shared experiences, professionalism, and contributions to team unity. CONCLUSIONS: Despite generally positive findings, the optimal role for peers within the Open Dialogue model needs further exploration.

Family processes and structure: Longitudinal influences on adolescent disruptive and internalizing behaviors.

Objective: The present study revisits the assumption in American culture, based in "family privilege," that children fare better in two-parent households by longitudinally examining associations between family structure, process, and adolescent behavior. Background: Societal assumptions and cross-sectional research suggest that there is a difference in child adjustment across varying family structures. Relatedly, the family process literature emphasizes the importance of parent-child relationship quality in addition to family structure on child adjustment. Method: We utilized a longitudinal, prospective design that assessed family structures on nine occasions covering a 12-year period beginning when the target child was 2 years of age for a large (N = 714), ethnically and racially diverse sample of low-income families. We examined the relation between self-reported, teacher-reported, and primary caregiver-reported adolescent disruptive and internalizing problem behavior across family structures and parent-child relationship quality. Results: Across seven identified family structures, adolescent behavior did not differ after accounting for middle-childhood adjustment and relevant contextual factors. However, consistent with family process models of child adjustment, positive parent-child relationship quality predicted lower rates of adolescent maladaptive behavior. Conclusion: These findings serve to combat stigma related to family structures that deviate from married parents raising their children and highlight the need for interventions designed to foster positive parent-child relationships. Implications: Policy makers and practitioners should aim to support efforts to foster positive parent-child relationships across types of family structures and refrain from promoting or discouraging the formations of specific family structure types.

Healing the Separation in High-Conflict Post-divorce Co-parenting.

Objective: Our research aim is to enrich the conceptualization of high conflict post-divorce co-parenting by understanding the dynamic process involved. Background: The studied phenomena were explored by linking previous scientific knowledge to practice. Method: We cross-referenced the previous study results with the experiences reported by eight professionals and tried to answer the following research question: how professionals' experience and previous scientific knowledge contribute to a better understanding of HC post-divorce co-parenting? Individual face to face interviews were conducted and analyzed regarding the qualitative theoretical reasoning of thematic analysis. Results: Analysis allowed us to highlight how four main axes are related to HC post-divorce co-parenting: (1) Parents for life, (2) Acting in the child's best interests, (3) Managing disagreements, and (4) Healing the separation. Conclusion: Our findings capture high conflict post-divorce co-parenting as a multidimensional dynamic process. As such, dealing with co-parenting disagreements must be understood as a moment in a process that is influenced by, and influences, other dimensions. Implications: Interventions must consider the four dimensions and their reciprocal interactions. The essential elements underlying parents' difficulties may reside at a multiplicity of levels: inter-relational, contextual, and intrapsychic. Each level contains key potential factors in understanding these families, and in formulating intervention guidelines.

Apparently We Cannot Live, We are like Infectious Zombies: A Qualitative Research on Personal and Familial Experiences of Health Workers in the Filiation Teams in Turkey during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

This study aims to examine the experiences of health workers in filiation teams in Turkey. The qualitative research model has been used. 375 health workers have participated using a non-probability sampling method. The data were collected over the internet using the questionnaire. The data have been analyzed with the MAXQDA and various code-sub codes-segment maps and code matrices have been used. The results expressed in two dimensions: instrumental and emotional areas. It has been observed that issues such as burnout, loss of motivation, and future anxiety have often been coded due to poor working conditions of the filiation teams, lack of rewards, and other factors. They have been determined as experiencing social stigma along with fear of infecting their families, and therefore have problems with child care, visiting adult family members in the risk group. It is recommended to develop psychosocial support services and improve organizational conditions.

Rapid and Deferred Help Seeking Among African American Parents of Children With Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties.

OBJECTIVE: Little is known about the factors African American parents consider when seeking care for their child after emotional and behavioral difficulties emerge. This study aimed to examine factors associated with seeking professional care within 30 days after identifying a child's need (i.e., rapid care seeking) and with deferring care for ≥1 year. METHODS: This cross-sectional study surveyed African American parents raising a child with emotional or developmental challenges (N=289). Logistic regression was used to examine associations of parent activation, medical mistrust, and care-seeking barriers with two outcomes: rapidly seeking care and deferring care seeking. RESULTS: About 22% of parents rapidly sought care, and 49% deferred care for 1 year or longer. Parents were more likely to rapidly seek care if they had higher parent activation scores; lived with other adults with mental health challenges; or, contrary to the authors' hypothesis, mistrusted doctors. Parents were less likely to rapidly seek care if the challenge did not initially bother them much or if their health insurance would not cover the service. Parents were more likely to defer care if they feared involuntary hospitalization for their child or if their health insurance would not cover the service. Parents were less likely to defer care if they had at least some college education or lived with other adults with mental health challenges. CONCLUSIONS: Community-based pediatric and child welfare professionals should be informed about facilitators and barriers to mental health care seeking as part of efforts to develop interventions that support African American families.

A Study of Family Process Factors of Social Anxiety on the Internet Based on Big Data-Take Guangxi University Students as an Example.

Background: Along with the popularization of the new medium of interpersonal communication, many researchers have found that the use of social media has brought about many mental health problems. For example, the virtual nature, vulnerability, and uncertainty of online communication lead to reduced online trust, causing interaction anxiety (IA). The data footprints left on the Internet are processed by malicious elements for big data, leading to the leakage of personal privacy data, bringing content sharing anxiety (SAC) and privacy concern anxiety (PAC), which are all typical forms of online social anxiety. In the face of this situation, analyzing the influence of online social networking on the social psychology of university students and guiding it has become an inevitable issue in the Internet era. Methods: Learning from the classification of family environment, a self-administered family process factor questionnaire and the Social Anxiety Scale for Social Media Users (SAS-SMU) were used to investigate the online social anxiety of Guangxi University students. The study used SPSS26.0 and Stata for data analysis and descriptive statistics, ANOVA, t-test, and linear regression analysis were used to explore the relationship between family process factors and online social anxiety of the university students. Results: The results showed that except for parental supervision (p > 0.05), the effects of interparental relationship, parent-child relationship, sibling relationship, and family atmosphere on university students' online social anxiety were statistically significant and showed positive correlations (F/t = 6.64, 3.53, 4.15, 5.94; p < 0.05). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that university students' total online social anxiety score = 36.914-4.09 × good parental relationship-4.16 × good family atmosphere-3.42 × good sibling relationship. Conclusions: Based on the family systems theory, it is suggested that a comprehensive intervention should be conducted for the coupled system (parental relationship) and sibling system (non-only child's sibling relationship) in the family and focus on the protective factors of parental harmony, sibling relationship harmony, and relaxed family atmosphere. In the specific implementation method, the collaborative shared healthcare plan (CSHCP) can be used to strengthen remote family emotional interaction and avoid Internet addiction. For university students with online social anxiety disorders, their personal health records (PHRs) can be maintained permanently and safely using the Star File System (IPFS), in addition to the convenience of IPFS data extraction, which is more conducive to the timely and long-term tracking treatment of anxious university students.

Resilience in the Face of Adversity: Family Processes and the Immigrant Paradox in Youth Externalizing Problems.

BACKGROUND: Despite increased exposure to social adversity, immigrant youth have fewer externalizing problems compared to non-immigrants. Explanations for this apparent advantage remain unclear. This study examined the extent to which socio-economic characteristics and family processes account for group differences in externalizing problems between immigrant and non-immigrant youth. METHODS: Data come from a population-based cross-sectional study of 1,449 youth and their primary caregiver in Hamilton, Ontario. Computer-assisted structured interviews were administered separately to primary caregivers and youth, which included assessments of externalizing problems and measures of family obligation, parental monitoring, value of education and socio-economic characteristics. RESULTS: First- and second-generation immigrant youth had lower levels of externalizing problems compared to non-immigrants. The magnitude of group differences was larger for parent (d = 0.37-0.55) versus youth reports of externalizing behaviours (d = 0.15-0.29). Family socio-economic and process characteristics partially accounted for group differences, which remained significant in the parent-reported model but rendered non-significant in the youth-reported model. CONCLUSION: Results suggesting the potential protective effects of positive family processes for immigrant youth could be extended to non-immigrant youth to inform the development of parenting and family skills interventions. Promoting familial sources of resilience is a potential avenue for reversing downward trends in mental health seen across successive generations of immigrant youth, while also reducing risk of behavioural difficulties among non-immigrant youth.

Understanding Families as Essential in Psychiatric Practice.

Family work is a critical component of psychiatric practice. It is important for psychiatrists to be able to understand the role of family relationships and family systems in individual development across the lifespan. Assessing family factors is an important part of developing a biopsychosocial formulation. Understanding family relationships provides a context for an individual's values and beliefs, which are important components of assessing the patient's mental health challenges. Dysfunctional family relationships can be precipitating or perpetuating factors for mental illness. On the other hand, positive family relationships can offer support, be protective, alleviate emotional and behavioral problems, and lead to improved outcomes. It is important for psychiatrists to be able to work effectively with families by providing support, understanding families' needs, assessing families' strengths and limitations, identifying issues requiring family-based intervention, and facilitating referral to a family therapist when necessary. By engaging families as resources and essential partners in treatment planning, the psychiatrist is able to enhance the quality and success of patient care. This article discusses the role of the psychiatrist in assessing family factors implicated in psychiatric illness; offers general context for understanding the response required by families for improving various emotional and behavioral challenges; and provides an overview of family-based interventions, including family psychoeducation and support, parent management training, and family therapy.

Links Between Parenting and Internalizing and Externalizing Problems: Cross-Cultural Evidence from Ten Countries.

The present study tested the links between perceived maternal and paternal parenting and internalizing and externalizing problems across ten cultures (China, Czech Republic, Hungary, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, and the United States). Self-report data were collected from N = 12,757 adolescents (Mage = 17.13 years, 48.4% female). Multigroup confirmatory factor analyses and structural equation models tested whether: (1) the six parenting processes (closeness, support, monitoring, communication, peer approval, and conflict; Adolescent Family Process, Short Form (AFP-SF, 18 items) varied across cultures, and (2) the links between parenting processes and measures of internalizing and externalizing problems varied across cultures. Study findings indicated measurement invariance (configural and metric) of both maternal and paternal parenting processes and that the parenting-internalizing/externalizing problems links did not vary across cultures. Findings underscore the ubiquitous importance of parenting processes for internalizing and externalizing problems across diverse Asian, European, Eurasian, and North American cultures.

Upholding Familism Among Asian American Youth: Measures of Familism among Filipino and Korean American Youth.

Although it is one of the core cultural values of Asian American families and an influential determinant of youth development, familism remains under-studied among Asian Americans and, despite crucial within-group heterogeneity, lacks subgroup specificity. This study describes the ways in which two major Asian American subgroups of youth, i.e., Filipino Americans and Korean Americans, maintain traditional familism. Specifically, this study constructed six self-report subscales of familism utilizing underused and new survey items and tested their psychometric properties. Using data collected from Filipino American (n=150) and Korean American (n=188) adolescents living in a Midwest metropolitan area, the measures were examined for validity and reliability for each group and, when appropriate, for measurement invariance across the groups. The main findings are that the finalized scales demonstrated solid reliability and validity (e.g., content and construct) in each group and some invariance and that core traditions, in the form of familism values and behaviors, persevere among second-generation Asian Americans, although familism was more evident among Filipino American youth than in Korean American youth. In both groups, subdomains of familism were not as discrete as found among their parents, who were predominantly foreign-born first-generation immigrants. The finalized familism scales were associated differently with several correlates including acculturation variables and youth outcomes. The findings are discussed with a call for further empirical research of diverse ethnic groups and immigrant generations to more accurately account for how family process interacts with cultural origin and acculturation.

Family Processes and Child Psychopathology: A Between- and Within-Family/Child Analysis.

A vast array of family processes is linked to child mental development, among which (1) low parental acceptance and (2) high family conflict are known as transdiagnostic risk factors for child internalizing and externalizing psychopathology. In contrast to most prior research adopting cross-sectional or lagged designs, the current study applied fine-grained multilevel modeling to elucidate the complex relationships among parental acceptance, family conflict, and child psychopathology, considering the nesting structure of children within families and longitudinal changes within children. We focused on preadolescents from the two-wave Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (N = 4,953; aged 9-12) and accounted for parental psychopathology and sex differences. Our findings suggest that consistent between-family and between-child differences in parental acceptance play a transdiagnostic role for both child internalizing and externalizing psychopathology, whereas family conflict is only significantly associated with externalizing psychopathology. Additionally, short-term within-family and within-child improvements in parental acceptance and family conflict across one year were associated with decreased externalizing, but not internalizing, psychopathology. These findings support the potential importance and feasibility of targeting these family process factors for child externalizing problems outside of an intensive treatment setting. We further discussed how such findings serve as a foundation for future research on family processes and child internalizing problems. The varying results across different grouping levels highlight the importance of decomposing within- from between-family/child effects in future studies on family processes and child psychopathology.

Parental and kinship ties, and low self-control: Violence perpetration among rural African American adolescents from the Black Belt.

INTRODUCTION: A substantial body of research supports both social control and self-control theories in explaining violent or deviant behaviors. Most previous work has focused on the links between family ties or bonds and deviance, along with low self-control. A potentially untested and overlooked bond is the extended kinship network, particularly among African American youth. The current study tested the extent to which kinship ties explained unique variability in violence perpetration, net the effects by family ties, low self-control, and background variables. METHODS: Data were collected from rural African American adolescents enrolled in a poor, rural public school located in the Black Belt in the Southeastern United States. The sample included N = 610 adolescents (55.9% female; Mage = 15.64, SD = 1.74). RESULTS: Findings from hierarchical regressions provided evidence that kinship ties explained unique variance in violence perpetration, above and beyond the effects of parental support and low self-control. CONCLUSIONS: Study findings provide some support for the unique importance of kinship ties in understanding variability in adolescent violence perpetration in this sample of poor, rural African American adolescents. Thus, they highlight a potentially unique extra-familial source of socialization and social control; this finding, in particular, has important theoretical and practical implications for prevention and intervention efforts targeting violent behaviors among rural African American youth.

Explaining the Asian American Youth Paradox: Universal Factors versus Asian American Family Process Among Filipino and Korean American Youth.

This study used longitudinal survey data of Filipino American and Korean American youth to examine ways in which universal factors (e.g., peer antisocial behaviors and parent-child conflict) and Asian American (AA) family process variables (e.g., gendered norms) independently and collectively predict grade point average (GPA), externalizing, and internalizing problems. We aimed to explain the "Asian American youth paradox" in which low externalizing problems and high GPA coexist with high internalizing problems. We found that universal factors were extensively predictive of youth problems and remained robust when AA family process was accounted for. AA family process also independently explained youth development and, in part, the AA youth paradox. For example, gendered norms increased mental distress. Academic controls did the opposite of what it is intended, that is, had a negative impact on GPA as well as other developmental domains. Family obligation, assessed by family-centered activities and helping out, was beneficial to both externalizing and internalizing youth outcomes. Parental implicit affection, one of the distinct traits of AA parenting, was beneficial, particularly for GPA. This study provided important empirical evidence that can guide cross-cultural parenting and meaningfully inform intervention programs for AA youth.

Este estudio utilizó datos de una encuesta longitudinal de jóvenes filipinoamericanos y coreanoamericanos para analizar las maneras en las que los factores universales (p. ej.:las conductas antisociales entre pares y el conflicto entre padres e hijos) y las variables de los procesos familiares asiáticoamericanos (p. ej.: las normas de género) predicen independientemente y colectivamente el promedio de calificaciones y los problemas interiorizados y exteriorizados. Nos propusimos explicar la "paradoja de los jóvenes asiáticoamericanos" en la cual un bajo grado de problemas exteriorizados y un alto promedio de calificaciones coexisten con un alto grado de problemas interiorizados. Descubrimos que los factores universales fueron en gran parte predictivos de los problemas de los jóvenes y se mantuvieron firmes cuando se tuvo en cuenta el proceso familiar asiáticoamericano. El proceso familiar asiáticoamericano también explicó independientemente el desarrollo de los jóvenes y, en parte, la paradoja de los jóvenes asiáticoamericanos. Por ejemplo, las normas de género aumentaron el distrés mental. Los controles académicos hicieron lo opuesto a lo deseado, por ejemplo, tuvieron un efecto negativo en el promedio de calificaciones así como en otras áreas del desarrollo. La obligación familiar, evaluada por actividades centradas en la familia y por la colaboración, fue beneficiosa tanto para los resultados exteriorizados como interiorizados de los jóvenes. El afecto implícito de los padres, uno de los rasgos distintivos de la crianza de los asiáticoamericanos, fue beneficioso, particularmente para el promedio de calificaciones. Este estudio ofreció importante conocimiento empírico que puede guiar la crianza intercultural y respaldar de manera significativa programas de intervención para jóvenes asiáticoamericanos.

Evaluation of a Longitudinal Family Stress Model in a Population-Based Cohort.

The Family Stress Model (FSM) is an influential family process model that posits that socioeconomic disadvantage impacts child outcomes via its effects on parents. Existing evaluations of the FSM are constrained by limited measures of socioeconomic disadvantage, cross-sectional research designs, and reliance on non-population-based samples. The current study tested the FSM in a subsample of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 2,918), a large population-based study of children followed from birth through age 9. We employed a longitudinal framework and used measures of socioeconomic disadvantage beyond economic resources. Although the hypothesized FSM pathways were identified in the longitudinal model (e.g., economic pressure at age 1 was associated with maternal distress at age 3, maternal distress at age 3 was associated with parenting behaviors at age 5), the effects of socioeconomic disadvantage at childbirth on youth socioemotional outcomes at age 9 did not operate through all of the hypothesized mediators. In longitudinal change models that accounted for the stability in constructs, multiple indicators of socioeconomic disadvantage at childbirth were indirectly associated with youth externalizing behaviors at age 9 via either economic pressure at age 1 or changes in maternal warmth from ages 3 to 5. Greater economic pressure at age 1, increases in maternal distress from ages 1 to 3, and decreases/increases in maternal warmth/harshness from ages 3 to 5 were also directly associated with increases in externalizing behaviors from ages 5 to 9. Results provide partial support for the FSM across the first decade of life.

Elaborating on premature adolescent autonomy: Linking variation in daily family processes to developmental risk.

This study revisits the premature autonomy model by examining parents' use of positive behavior support (PBS) practices on a daily timescale to better understand underlying processes in developmental changes in family disengagement and the implications for adolescent problem behavior and substance use. This study included 151 9th and 10th grade adolescents (61.5% female) and their caregivers, who participated in a baseline assessment, a 21-day daily diary burst, and a 1-year follow-up assessment. Four key findings emerged: (a) on days when parents used more PBS, adolescents felt more close and connected to their caregivers; (b) adolescents who exhibited a larger-magnitude of change in connectedness with caregivers in relation to variation in positive parenting (termed fragile connectedness) were at higher risk for antisocial behavior, deviant peer involvement, and substance use one year later; (c) individual differences in initial levels of antisocial behavior and effortful control accounted for between-person variation in fragile connectedness; and (d) day-level adolescent anger and parent-adolescent conflict predicted within-family variation in parents' use of PBS. Implications for the premature autonomy model and intervention science are discussed.

Adolescent Relationship Quality: Is There an Intergenerational Link?

OBJECTIVE: This study examines intergenerational continuities in relationship instability, general relationship quality, and intimate partner violence (IPV) between mothers and adolescents. BACKGROUND: A growing body of literature has observed similarities in relationship quality between parents and their adult offspring. Less attention has focused on whether intergenerational continuities are present in adolescent relationships. METHOD: Using age 3, 5, 9, and 15 data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing birth cohort study (N=3,162), the authors examined associations between maternal reports of relationship instability, general quality, and IPV in early and middle childhood and similar adolescent reports at age 15. Variations based on timing and persistence of exposures were considered. RESULTS: In general, exposures to low-quality maternal relationships were associated with higher risk of forming adolescent partnerships and lower relationship quality. Intergenerational links in quality were predominantly construct-specific, consistent with observational learning processes. Adolescents exposed to maternal relationships of poor general quality in middle childhood were less likely to report high-quality relationships themselves, and those exposed to any maternal physical IPV victimization during childhood were more likely to perpetrate IPV in their own relationships. Exposure to maternal relationship instability in both early and middle childhood was associated with more adolescent romantic partners. CONCLUSION: The study illuminates additional pathways through which healthy and unhealthy relationships are reproduced across generations.

Normativity and Desirability in Observational Assessments of Family Interaction.

Issues of normativity (responding in a typical or average fashion) and desirability (the tendency for raters to endorse positive characteristics rather than neutral or more negative ones) are common in areas of the social sciences that frequently utilize profile correlations to measure dyadic similarity. They have implications for family scholars as well. In the present study, a pre-existing data set was used to make an initial, though limited, investigation into potential confounds of normativity and desirability for macrolevel observational assessments of family interaction. An empirical example is presented using q-sort ratings of family interaction, with variance in observational assessments decomposed into component parts. High levels of both normativity and desirability were found, indicating possible problems in terms of both reliability and validity of assessment. While the results provide an interesting beginning, they are limited due to the use of a q-sort methodology as well as an instrument with limited background and use. These limitations are discussed, as well as alternative interpretations for normativity and desirability and implications for future research.

Las cuestiones de normatividad (responder de una forma típica o promedio) y de deseabilidad (la tendencia de los calificadores a avalar características positivas en lugar de neutras o más negativas) son comunes en las áreas de las ciencias sociales que con frecuencia utilizan las correlaciones de los perfiles para medir la similitud diádica. Pero estas también tienen consecuencias para los investigadores de las familias. En el presente estudio se utilizó un conjunto preexistente de datos para llevar a cabo una investigación inicial, aunque limitada, sobre posibles factores de confusión de la normatividad y la deseabilidad en las evaluaciones observacionales a nivel macro de la interacción familiar. Se presenta un ejemplo práctico utilizando las calificaciones de la técnica de Q-sort de la interacción familiar, con la varianza de las evaluaciones observacionales dividida en componentes. Se encontraron niveles altos tanto de normatividad como de deseabilidad, lo cual indica posibles problemas en relación con la fiabilidad y la validez de la evaluación. Si bien los resultados ofrecen un comienzo interesante, son limitados debido al uso de una metodología Q-sort así como de un instrumento con pocos antecedentes y uso. Se debaten estas limitaciones así como interpretaciones alternativas de la normatividad y la deseabilidad, y las consecuencias para futuras investigaciones.

A comparison of stepgrandchildren's perceptions of long-term and later-life stepgrandparents.

BACKGROUND: Multi-generational steprelationships are relatively common, and yet little is known about stepgrandparent-stepgrandchild relationships. The quality of steprelationships is relevant to understanding intergenerational support for older divorced and remarried adults. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to examine and compare stepgrandchildren's perceptions of two types of intergenerational step-relationships - long-term stepgrandparents who joined the stepfamily before stepgrandchildren were born and later-life stepgrandparents who joined stepfamilies when they were older. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Grounded theory methods were used to interview 48 adult stepgrandchildren who had 44 long-term stepgrandparents and 28 later-life stepgrandparents. RESULTS: Long-term stepgrandparents more closely resembled biological grandparents' relationships with stepgrandchildren than did later-life stepgrandparents, largely because of conditions attributable to intergenerational dynamics associated with remarriage timing, shared histories, and linked lives with other kin. Middle-generation parents gatekept more in long-term stepfamilies - later-life stepgrandchildren had greater autonomy in relationships with new stepgrandparents and everyone in later-life stepfamilies experienced family structural changes concurrently. Long-term stepgrandparents were defined as kin more often than later-life stepgrandparents. Long-term relationships were often perceived as positive and emotionally close. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Later-life stepgrandchildren experience more intergenerational transitions than long-term stepgrandchildren. Appreciating and understanding the implications of different pathways to stepgrandparenthood will enhance science and practice with older stepfamily couples and intergenerational stepfamilies.

Bilinear and Multidimensional Cultural Orientations and Indigenous Family Process among Korean Immigrant Mothers and Fathers.

This study examined how parental cultural orientations and family process are related among Korean immigrant parents (272 mothers, and 164 fathers, N=436) and how the relationship varies across fathers and mothers. Multiple scales were used to assess bilinear, multidimensional cultural orientation towards both the culture of origin and mainstream culture. The dimensions of language, identity, and cultural participation as well as the number of years living in U.S. were analyzed. The main findings include: (1) parents who maintain heritage culture orientation were more likely to preserve traditional parenting values and practices, (2) parental host culture orientation largely had no impact on traditional parenting but some elements of the host culture orientation were in fact associated with stronger endorsements of traditional parenting, (3) each dimension of acculturation differentially related to traditional parenting, and (4) significant relationships were more pronounced among parenting values than practices. These patterns were largely similar across mothers and fathers. Although some mixed findings suggest the complexity of the hypothesized relationships, the present study findings highlight the importance of bilinear and multidimensional acculturation and core vs. peripheral elements of culture in family process. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.