Acculturation in the discourse of immigrants and receiving community members: Results from a cross-national qualitative study.

This study explores the bidirectional and interactional process of acculturation from the perspectives of immigrants and receiving community members (RCMs). Our aim was to understand the experiences and interactions of different ethno-cultural groups and their impact on the functioning and dynamics of multicultural communities. We conducted a cross-national, cross-cultural study of acculturation processes, using interviews collected across two countries (Italy: urban regions of Torino and Lecce; U.S.: Baltimore/Washington corridor) and three distinct groups of immigrants-Moroccans and Albanians in Italy and Latin Americans in the United States-and RCMs in Italy and the United States. Findings show that acculturation is a complex, situated, and dynamic process, and is generally conceived as an unbalanced and individual process of accommodation, which expects the immigrant alone to adapt to the new context. The boundaries among traditionally explored acculturation strategies were blurred and while integration was the most frequently discussed strategy, it often referenced a "soft" assimilation, limited mostly to public domains. Some differences emerged between ethnic groups and generation of immigration as well as among RCMs who differed by level of contact with immigrants. The need for more flexible models and for a critical perspective on acculturation is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Family Planning in Substance Use Disorder Treatment Centers: Opportunities and Challenges.

BACKGROUND: Alcohol, tobacco, and drug use during pregnancy can cause a range of adverse birth outcomes. Promoting family planning among women with substance use disorders (SUD) can help reduce substance exposed pregnancies. OBJECTIVES: We conducted qualitative research to determine the acceptability and feasibility of offering family planning education and services SUD treatment centers. METHODS: Focus groups and in-depth interviews were conducted with clients, staff and medical providers at three treatment centers. Interviews were transcribed and data was analyzed using a flexible coding scheme. RESULTS: Clients reported being interested in family planning services while they were in treatment. Most preferred to receive these services onsite. Providers also felt that services should be received onsite, though cited several barriers to implementation, including time constraints and staff levels of comfort with the subject. CONCLUSIONS/IMPORTANCE: Women in SUD treatment are open to the integration of family planning services into treatment. Treatment centers have the opportunity to serve as models of client-centered health homes that offer a variety of educational, preventive, and medical services for women in both treatment and recovery.

The hope in her eyes: the role of children in Afghan women's resilience.

Although responsibility for the care, nurturance, and protection of children can sometimes be viewed as an additional stress in the lives of at-risk women, this article describes the ways in which children act as protective factors in support of Afghan women's resilience. The qualitative data presented come from 110 interviews collected in Pakistan and Afghanistan between December 2001 and July 2002 with Afghan women, children, and men associated with the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA). RAWA, founded in 1977, is an Afghan women's underground resistance organization that promotes resilience through humanitarian and political activities. An iterative coding framework was developed to identify and explore processes of resilience and domain specific stressors (risks) and resources (protective factors). This article discusses the role of children as protective factors for women and RAWA. Although this article explores a unique setting and context, the authors argue that attention to children's role as protective factors may provide an important, strengths-based approach and a useful mechanism to bolster women's resilience in an array of other contexts and conflicts.

Between synergy and conflict: balancing the processes of organizational and individual resilience in an Afghan women's community.

This paper examines individual and organizational resilience processes among members of The Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan, (RAWA), an Afghan women's underground resistance organization located in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Since 1977, RAWA has used humanitarian and political means to educate, serve, and motivate women and to advocate for peace, secular democracy, and human rights. The authors analyzed 110 qualitative interviews, collected in Pakistan and Afghanistan between December 2001 and July 2002. An iterative coding framework identified processes of resilience and domain specific stressors (risks) and resources (protective factors) at the individual and organizational level. Further analysis found that these process codes clustered by function into components of an operational model of individual and organizational resilience. While individual and organizational resilience are described by the same model, these two levels of resilience were found to operate in synergy as well as in conflict. Although this paper explores a unique setting, we argue that a better understanding of resilience processes in general will come from increased attention to context.