Community Violence in Early Adolescence: Assessing Coping Strategies for Reducing Delinquency and Aggression.

Objective: Exposure to community violence has disabling effects on the mental health of youth in the US, especially for African American adolescents from underserved, urban communities, fostering increased externalizing problems. The current study assessed the utility of problem-focused, emotion-focused, and avoidant coping strategies for reducing aggression and delinquency amidst this uncontrollable stress. It was hypothesized that greater use of avoidant strategies would most consistently reduce externalizing behaviors over time, with these effects being stronger for boys than girls. Method: Following confirmatory factor analyses, longitudinal moderated moderation analyses were conducted with a sample of 263 Black students from low-income, urban areas (60% female, M = 11.65 years), who completed surveys in sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. Results: For sixth grade boys who witnessed violence, using more problem-focused strategies increased delinquency in eighth grade, whereas less use of problem-focused, emotion-focused, and avoidant coping increased eighth grade delinquency for girls with both indirect and direct violence exposure. Girls showed a similar pattern for aggression in seventh and eighth grade. Problem-focused coping was endorsed most frequently overall by boys and girls. Violence exposure was associated with greater use of avoidant strategies in sixth grade. Conclusions: These results suggest that using fewer coping strategies was detrimental for girls, while boys may require more resources to support their coping efforts. This research enhances understanding of how boys and girls adaptively cope with community violence differently, while addressing concerns with conceptualizing categories of coping to inform clinicians in these communities.

Violence, Place, and Strengthened Space: A Review of Immigration Stress, Violence Exposure, and Intervention for Immigrant Latinx Youth and Families.

Latinx immigrant families are greatly impacted by US policies and practices that limit immigrant families' and children's rights. This article reviews the effects of such policies and the growing literature examining migration experiences. Latinx immigrant youth and parents may encounter multiple stressors across the stages of migration, including physical and structural violence, fear, poverty, and discrimination, which contribute to higher rates of mental health problems in this population. Despite significant trauma exposure, immigrants demonstrate incredible resilience within themselves, their families, and their communities and through movements and policies aimed at protecting their rights. Numerous culturally relevant universal, targeted, and intensive interventions were developed to magnify these protective factors to promote healing, advance immigration reform, and provide trauma-informed training and psychoeducation. Psychologistsplay a crucial role in implementing, evaluating, and advocating for accessible and collaborative approaches to care so that Latinx immigrant families have the resources to combat the harmful sequelae of immigration stress.

Working Memory Training for Adolescents With Cannabis Use Disorders: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Adolescent cannabis use is associated with working memory impairment. The present randomized controlled trial assigned adolescents ages 14 to 21 enrolled in cannabis use treatment to receive either working memory training (experimental group) or a control training (control group) as an adjunctive treatment. Cognitive function, drug use, and other outcomes were assessed before and after training. We observed few differences in cognitive, functional, or self-reported drug use outcomes as a function of training group, although tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) urinalysis results favored the experimental group. These findings are similar to previous studies in substance users, which have shown limited transfer effects for working memory training.

Experiences and insights of college students with autism spectrum disorder: an exploratory assessment to inform interventions.

Objective: College students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience elevated drop-out rates, peer difficulties, and mental health concerns compared to their neurotypical counterparts. Thus, the firsthand concerns of college students with ASD were examined, so that supports can be appropriately tailored. Methods: Responses of 31 college students with ASD were examined in relation to 39 demographically similar neurotypical students regarding students' college experiences (e.g., social interactions, mental health, daily living habits). Students with ASD also provided recommendations for improving college support programs. Results: Difficulties unique to students with ASD included trouble conversing with peers, feeling isolated despite preferences to be alone, inaccessible extra-curricular activities, and experiencing anxiety and depression resulting from social demands. Notably, these students endorsed desire for a "social group" to learn from the experiences of successful students. Conclusions: Practical targets were identified for university-implemented support groups, such as navigating social interactions and processing experiences with peers.