Self-protection and growth as the motivational force behind majority group members' cultural adaptation and discrimination: A parallel mediation model via intergroup contact and threat.

What motivates majority group members to adapt to or reject cultural diversity? Considering the relevance of personal values on our attitudes and behaviours, we inspected how self-protection and growth predict levels of discriminatory behavioural and cultural adaptation intentions towards migrants via intergroup contact and perceived intergroup threats, simultaneously (i.e., parallel mediation). Specifically, positive contact between groups is known for reducing prejudice through diminishing perceived intergroup threats. Yet current research emphasises the role of individual differences in this interplay while proposing a parallel relationship between perceived intergroup threats and contact. Also by inspecting cultural adaptation and discriminatory behavioural intentions, the present study examined more proximal indicators of real-world intergroup behaviours than explored in past research. Using data from 304 US Americans, structural equation modelling indicated a good fit for a parallel mediation model with growth relating positively to cultural adaptation intentions and negatively to discriminatory behavioural intentions through being positively associated with intergroup contact and negatively with perceived intergroup threats, simultaneously. The reverse was found for self-protection. These findings stress that personal values constitute a relevant individual difference in the contact/threats-outcome relationship, providing a motivational explanation for majority group members' experience of cultural diversity in their own country.

Validation of a comorbidity questionnaire in patients with neurological disorders.

Rational: Several tools exist to assess comorbidities in neurological disorders, the most widely used being the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), but it has several limitations. The Comorbidity and General Health Questionnaire (CGHQ) is a newly designed tool, which includes additional comorbidities associated with health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) and outcomes in neurological disorders. Aims and objectives: To assess the feasibility and validity of the CGHQ in patients with neurological disease. Method: Two hundred patients attending a general neurological clinic were invited to complete the CGHQ along with the EQ-5D-5L questionnaire. The CCI was simultaneously completed by the assessor. CGHQ comorbidity scores were compared with CCI, symptom burden and EQ-5D-5L scores. Results: The CGHQ captured 22 additional comorbidities not included on the CCI and more comorbidities were endorsed on the CGHQ. The CGHQ correlated weakly to moderately with CCI comorbidity scores. While both the CGHQ and CCI correlated negatively with the EQ-5D-5L Visual Analogue Scale, only the CGHQ correlated negatively with the EQ-5D-5L summary index. The CGHQ but not the CCI correlated strongly and positively with symptom burden scores. Conclusion: The CGHQ allows a more comprehensive assessment of comorbidities than the CCI and better correlates with patients' overall symptom burden and HR-QOL in neurological patients.

Validation of the Revised Multicultural Ideology Scale (MCI-r) in the UK.

As worldwide migration continues to grow, valid and reliable instruments are needed to assess the psychological processes that influence the successful management of intercultural relations in different sociopolitical contexts. In this study, we test whether the original Multicultural Ideology Scale (MCI) required a revision to remain 'fit for purpose' in the current culturally plural context of the UK (MCI-r). Specifically, six subscales are proposed to underlie the construct of a multicultural ideology: Cultural Maintenance, Equity/Inclusion, Social interaction, Essentialistic Boundaries, Extent of Differences, and Consequences of Diversity. With data from 300 UK nationals, we tested the psychometric properties of the MCI-r using various confirmatory factor analysis techniques to estimate the scale's factor structure followed by convergent and discriminant validity tests. The results indicated that a 4-factor solution (Cultural Maintenance, Equity/Inclusion, Social interaction, and Consequences of Diversity) fitted the data best. All four subscales demonstrated adequate internal consistency as well as convergent and discriminant validity. All four subscales were also negatively correlated with a right-wing political orientation, whilst especially Social Interaction and Consequences of Diversity were positively associated with intergroup contact frequency across domains (work, family and friends and/or acquaintances). Finally, UK participants with personal migratory experiences reported a stronger belief in positive consequences of multiculturalism and more support for Social Interactions between members of different ethnic groups. Overall, findings provide first insights into the applicability of the MCI-r as a reliable and valid tool for the assessment of multiculturalism within the present UK context.

Mental health literacy: a cross-cultural approach to knowledge and beliefs about depression, schizophrenia and generalized anxiety disorder.

Many families worldwide have at least one member with a behavioral or mental disorder, and yet the majority of the public fails to correctly recognize symptoms of mental illness. Previous research has found that Mental Health Literacy (MHL)-the knowledge and positive beliefs about mental disorders-tends to be higher in European and North American cultures, compared to Asian and African cultures. Nonetheless quantitative research examining the variables that explain this cultural difference remains limited. The purpose of our study was fourfold: (a) to validate measures of MHL cross-culturally, (b) to examine the MHL model quantitatively, (c) to investigate cultural differences in the MHL model, and (d) to examine collectivism as a predictor of MHL. We validated measures of MHL in European American and Indian samples. The results lend strong quantitative support to the MHL model. Recognition of symptoms of mental illness was a central variable: greater recognition predicted greater endorsement of social causes of mental illness and endorsement of professional help-seeking as well as lesser endorsement of lay help-seeking. The MHL model also showed an overwhelming cultural difference; namely, lay help-seeking beliefs played a central role in the Indian sample, and a negligible role in the European American sample. Further, collectivism was positively associated with causal beliefs of mental illness in the European American sample, and with lay help-seeking beliefs in the Indian sample. These findings demonstrate the importance of understanding cultural differences in beliefs about mental illness, particularly in relation to help-seeking beliefs.