Lessons Learned in Implementing an Aging Research Training Program for Underrepresented Minority Students.

This brief report provides an overview of lessons learned through evaluation of the first five years of the NIA-funded South Carolina-Advancing Diversity in Aging Research (SC-ADAR) undergraduate program, whose goal is to increase the number of qualified underrepresented minority (URM) students who pursue scientific graduate studies in programs focusing on medicine, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and aging. Partnering with five Historically Black Colleges and Universities in South Carolina, we implemented a research training approach that included two consecutive summers of research training in a University of South Carolina faculty laboratory, as part of a comprehensive 24-month research education program. In addition to the mentored research experience in a laboratory, students had coursework in the biology of aging and social gerontology, with additional workshops tailored to emergent student needs including basic academic skills development, work-life management skills, reflective social experiences, and enhanced support in the transition from undergraduate to graduate school. We provide an overview of lessons learned throughout the early program period, and a description of the iterative changes we made in the program in response to this learning, all of which have been incorporated into the existing SC-ADAR program.

Assessment of adolescent optimism: Measurement invariance across gender and race/ethnicity.

INTRODUCTION: Optimism is viewed as an important resource for resilience and is associated with various wellbeing outcomes, yet few measures of optimism have been validated for use with adolescents. The aim of this study was to (a) test the factor structure invariance of the School Success Profile Success Orientation scale across gender and four racial/ethnic groups and (b) estimate group-level differences in optimism. METHODS: Data from a diverse sample of adolescents (N = 2063; mean 12.3 years; 52% female) from the southeastern United States were examined using multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis. Models for configural, metric, and scalar invariance were tested using WLSMV estimation in Mplus. RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analysis supported the hypothesized one-factor model and indicated scalar invariance across gender and the four racial/ethnic (i.e., African American, Caucasian, Hispanic/Latino, Native American) groups. Cross-group comparisons of latent factor means indicated statistically significant differences in self-reported optimism. Female respondents reported higher optimism than males. Among the four racial/ethnic groups, African American youth reported the highest optimism levels. Native American youth reported higher optimism than Caucasian and Hispanic/Latino youth. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest the Success Orientation scale is appropriate for many assessment and evaluation purposes, including the assessment of optimism across gender and race/ethnicity and the investigation of substantive questions regarding cross-cultural differences in adolescents' expectations of the future.

Ethnic identity and mental health in American Indian youth: examining mediation pathways through self-esteem, and future optimism.

Mental health functioning in American Indian youth is an understudied topic. Given the increased rates of depression and anxiety in this population, further research is needed. Using multiple group structural equation modeling, the current study illuminates the effect of ethnic identity on anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, and externalizing behavior in a group of Lumbee adolescents and a group of Caucasian, African American, and Latino/Hispanic adolescents. This study examined two possible pathways (i.e., future optimism and self-esteem) through which ethnic identity is associated with adolescent mental health. The sample (N = 4,714) is 28.53% American Indian (Lumbee) and 51.38% female. The study findings indicate that self-esteem significantly mediated the relationships between ethnic identity and anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, and externalizing behavior for all racial/ethnic groups (i.e., the total sample). Future optimism significantly mediated the relationship between ethnic identity and externalizing behavior for all racial/ethnic groups and was a significant mediator between ethnic identity and depressive symptoms for American Indian youth only. Fostering ethnic identity in all youth serves to enhance mental health functioning, but is especially important for American Indian youth due to the collective nature of their culture.

Low effect sizes of evidence-based programs in school settings.

School practitioners working from an evidence-based practice framework are expected to implement interventions that are effective with students. In the current study, the authors explore the feasibility of that expectation in light of the availability of critical effect size information necessary for making informed intervention decisions. Effect sizes for 51 school-based programs endorsed as effective by authoritative sources were reviewed. Effect size analyses reveal that the programs were not, on average, highly effective. Difficulties finding effect size information and programs with high effect sizes are discussed. Recent advances in evidence-based programs and suggestions for increasing the feasibility of evidence-based programs in schools are offered.