Understanding the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Mental Health of Latinx Children, Youth, and Families: Clinical Challenges and Opportunities.

Latinx children, youth, and families in the United States have been disproportionally affected by the COVID-19 pandemic compared to non-Latinxs, experiencing a higher burden of deaths, economic adversity, parental stress, and mental health problems. At the same time, Latinx children, youth, and families in the United States have rich cultural and community resources that serve as a source of protection and promotion. To our knowledge, no special issue has been devoted to the impact of the pandemic on Latinx children, youth, and families, which limits opportunities to examine its implications for clinical theory, research, assessment, policy, and practice. To address this gap, we present this special issue entitled "Understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of Latinx children, youth, and families: Clinical challenges and opportunities," a collection of nine articles written by Latinx scholars. In this introduction, we explain why it is important to center Latinx children, youth, and families and why we need to use a structural-intersectional approach. We summarize the articles in this collection by grouping them by themes: immigration and family separation; the impact of family economic adversity; school and family contexts of mental health; the pandemic experience of Latinx LGBTQ and AfroLatinx youth; and a model to imagine the future of Latinx children, youth, and families. We conclude with a brief summary and suggestions for future research.

PARQUES: Dreaming a Future for Our Latinx Children, Youth, and Families.

A growing body of evidence suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionally affected Latinx children, youth, and families in the United States by increasing the prevalence and incidence of mental health problems. While it is important to document the repercussions of the pandemic, it is also necessary to articulate what a future of wellbeing and positive mental health will look like for Latinx children, youth, and families. To address this need, we propose PARQUES, a framework to dream about the future of Latinx children, youth, and families in the United States. We imagine PARQUES as communal spaces for connection, joy, play, rest, and healing that result from activism and collective action. We use the Spanish word for parks as an acronym "PARQUES," which stands for políticas (policies), alegría (joy), reparación (healing and reparations), querencia (love and belonging), unión (unity), empleo (employment), and seguridad (safety). These components work together to create an ecosystem to foster the physical and mental wellness and wholeness of Latinx children, youth, and families.

BIPOC experiences of (anti-)racist patient engagement in adolescent and young adult oncology research: an electronic Delphi study.

Aims: To characterize Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer patients' experiences of patient engagement in AYA oncology and derive best practices that are co-developed by BIPOC AYAs and oncology professionals. Materials & methods: Following a previous call to action from AYA oncology professionals, a panel of experts composed exclusively of BIPOC AYA cancer patients (n = 32) participated in an electronic Delphi study. Results: Emergent themes described BIPOC AYA cancer patients' direct experiences and consensus opinion on recommendations to advance antiracist patient engagement from BIPOC AYA cancer patients and oncology professionals. Conclusion: The findings reveal high-priority practices across all phases of research and are instructional for advancing health equity.

Reclaiming the past and transforming our future: Introduction to the special issue on foundational contributions of Black scholars in psychology.

The contributions of Black scholars to psychology have been erased or marginalized within mainstream, U.S.-centered psychology. As such, psychologists and trainees have little exposure to strengths-based theories and schools of thought that center and humanize the experiences of people of African descent. This special issue intervenes on anti-Black racism at the epistemic level by curating a review of foundational contributions by diverse Black scholars in psychology and related fields. The special issue is organized around five integrative and overlapping themes: (a) Black scholars who have written on topics related to race, racism, and racial identity; (b) schools of thought that embody decolonial, liberation, and African psychologies and the scholars writing within these traditions; (c) scholars who have created new theories and approaches to conceptualizing the mental health of Black children, youth, and families; (d) Black scholars adopting an intersectional lens to research and practice; and (e) Black scholars creating spaces within existing organizations to theorize about and research the experiences of people of African descent. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Novel measures of family orientation and childhood self-regulation: A genetically informed twin study.

There is a dearth of research examining the relation between culture and childhood self-regulation in family psychology. Family orientation refers to the emphasis on providing support, respect, and obligation to the family system, and it is important for children's functioning, yet existing literature on related constructs often relies on parent-reported measures. Additionally, twin research has neglected the role of culture in the genetic and environmental contributions to children's self-regulation. Using observational and self-reported data from children, parents, and teachers, this study (a) proposed novel coding schemes and factor analytic approaches to capture family orientation, (b) examined associations between family orientation and self-regulation, and (c) tested whether family orientation moderated the heritability of self-regulation in middle childhood. Twin children (N = 710; Mage = 8.38 years, SD = 0.66; 49.1% female; 28.3% Hispanic/Latino/x, 58.5% White) were drawn from the Arizona Twin Project, which recruited children from birth records at 12 months of age. Family orientation values were indexed by parent-reported familism, and family orientation behaviors comprised coded measures of children's family orientation and experimenter ratings of caregiver and child behavior. Self-regulation was assessed using multiple task-based assessments of executive function and parent- and teacher-reported effortful control. Net of covariates, higher family orientation behaviors positively predicted nearly all measures of children's self-regulation, and associations were consistent across sex, family socioeconomic status, and race/ethnicity. There was no evidence that family orientation values nor behaviors moderated the heritability of children's self-regulation. This study highlights the complex nature of cultural variation within the family and its importance for children's self-regulatory abilities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Acculturation and Psychopathology.

Acculturation and psychopathology are linked in integrated, interactional, intersectional, and dynamic ways that span different types of intercultural contact, levels of analysis, timescales, and contexts. A developmental psychopathology approach can be useful to explain why, how, and what about psychological acculturation results in later adaptation or maladaptation for acculturating youth and adults. This review applies a conceptual model of acculturation and developmental psychopathology to a widely used framework of acculturation variables producing an Integrated Process Framework of Acculturation Variables (IP-FAV). This new comprehensive framework depicts major predisposing acculturation conditions (why) as well as acculturation orientations and processes (how) that result in adaptation and maladaptation across the life span (what). The IP-FAV is unique in that it integrates both proximal and remote acculturation variables and explicates key acculturation processes to inform research, practice, and policy.

Innovative theory and methods for the next generation of diversity, equity, and inclusion sciences: Introduction to the special issue.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion sciences were invigorated by Plaut's (2010) landmark publication "Diversity science: Why and how difference makes a difference." As this field has expanded over the last decade, it is timely to reflect on its current state and future directions. The goal of this special issue is to bring together a collection of articles that advance innovative theory and methods for the next generation of diversity, equity, and inclusion sciences. The articles in this special issue cover cutting-edge themes, such as critical research methods for liberation, healing, and reconciliation; advancing intersectional theory and methods; innovative theory and methods on individual-social dynamics; promoting equity and advancing research on culture, ethnicity, and race; and new approaches to measuring and overcoming racism. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

"More is better" or "better near the middle"? A U.S.-based individual participant data meta-analysis of socioeconomic status and depressive symptoms.

Socioeconomic status (SES) is a widely researched construct in developmental science, yet less is known concerning relations between SES and adaptive behavior. Specifically, is the relation linear, with higher SES associated with better outcomes, or does the direction of association change at different levels of SES? Our aim was to examine linear ("more is better") and quadratic ("better near the middle") associations between components of SES (i.e., income, years of education, occupational status/prestige) and depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale), and to explore moderation by developmental period (adolescence, young, middle, and older adulthood), gender/sex (female, male), and race/ethnicity (Asian American, Black, Latinx, multiracial, Native American, White). We hypothesized that there would be more support for a model containing quadratic associations. We conducted a two-stage meta-analytic structural equation model of 60 data sets (27,242 correlations, 498,179 participants) within the United States, accounting for dependencies between correlations, which were identified via the Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research and handled using a two-step approach. Income was quadratically associated with depressive symptoms, but the quadratic model did not explain more variance in depressive symptoms than the linear model. Developmental period and race/ethnicity moderated the associations: Income was quadratically associated with depressive symptoms among middle-aged adults, and years of education were quadratically associated with depressive symptoms among White samples. Our findings suggest that researchers and clinical practitioners should consider the elevated risk of depressive symptoms for individuals from low and high-income backgrounds in the United States. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The importance of research about research on culture: A call for meta-research on culture.

OBJECTIVES: It is crucial to examine how research on culture is fueled by assumptions, policies, and practices. The goal of this article is to promote meta-research on culture, the critical study of how investigations on culture are performed and interpreted, how scientific knowledge about culture is produced and transmitted, and the importance of scrutinizing assumptions, policies, and practices in a way that challenge views of minoritized groups as deviant and pathological. METHOD: We define key concepts, such as meta-research, culture, and meta-research on culture. RESULTS: We approach cultural research as a system of people (researchers, participants), places (academic institutions, journals), practices (sampling, comparing groups), and power (legitimizing some groups as normative and others as deviant). We discuss assumptions, policies, and practices, and review landmark studies and methods. CONCLUSIONS: Meta-research on culture is an emerging field that can improve scientific understanding of human culture, guide efforts to elevate the perspectives of people who have historically experienced marginalization, inform institutional support and the creation of nurturing academic spaces, and guide the implementation of better research and training practices. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Future Directions on BIPOC Youth Mental Health: The Importance of Cultural Rituals in the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Culture plays an important role in the development of mental health, especially during childhood and adolescence. However, less is known about how participation in cultural rituals is related to the wellbeing of youth who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), and part of the Global Majority. This is crucial amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a global event that has disproportionally affected BIPOC youth and disrupted participation in rituals. The goal of this paper is to promote advances in clinical child and adolescent psychology focused on rituals. We begin by defining culture and rituals and examining their role on development. We illustrate these issues with the Lunar New Year in China, Maya rituals in México, Ramadan in Turkey, and Black graduations and Latinx funerals in the United States. We discuss how the pandemic has affected participation in these rituals and their potential impact on BIPOC children and adolescents' mental health. We propose future directions and recommendations for research.

Attachment research and anti-racism: learning from Black and Brown scholars.

Preliminary evidence suggests that people and scholars of African and/or Latin American and Caribbean origin are often under-represented in mainstream attachment scholarship. In this commentary, we highlight the difficulty of conducting attachment theory research outside of the United States, particularly in Latin American countries. We reflect on the contributions by the authors of this special issue . We also identify (a) ways in which to center the experiences of Black and Brown people and scholars to push the field toward antiracism, and (b) the challenges of attachment theory and research in becoming anti-racist by considering the structural nature of racism.

A Systematic Overview of Meta-Analyses on Socioeconomic Status, Cognitive Ability, and Achievement: The Need to Focus on Specific Pathways.

Meta-analyses on the relation between socioeconomic status (SES) and performance on measures of cognitive ability and achievement arrive at the same general conclusion of a small to medium association. Advancements in methods make possible for meta-analyses to examine specific pathways linking SES to cognitive ability and achievement, as well as the moderators of these pathways. In this study, we conducted a systematic overview of meta-analyses on SES to address three research questions: 1) what is the direction and overall strength of association between SES and performance on measures of cognitive ability and achievement, and how precise are the effect sizes reported? 2) to what extent have meta-analyses examined moderation by components of SES, age, sex, and race/ethnicity? and 3) to what extent have meta-analyses examined mechanisms linking SES to cognitive ability and achievement? We conducted a systematic search using online archives (i.e., PsycINFO, ERIC, PubMed, Sociological Abstracts, and Web of Science), searching issues in Psychological Bulletin and Review of Educational Research, and examining references and citations. We identified 14 meta-analyses published between 1982 and 2019. These meta-analyses consistently reported positive associations of small to medium magnitude, indicating that SES is a meaningful contributor to the development of cognitive ability and achievement. Fewer meta-analyses reported evidence of moderation by age, sex, and race/ethnicity. None of the meta-analyses directly examined mechanisms, but provided evidence of possible mechanisms for future research. We suggest that meta-analyses can increase their contribution to future research, interventions, and policy by narrowing their focus on specific pathways.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of racial/ethnic differences and similarities in executive function performance in the United States.

OBJECTIVE: The extent that executive function performance varies between racial/ethnic groups in the United States is unclear, limiting future studies on the problems underlying these differences. The aim of this meta-analysis was to test two competing hypotheses: The cultural differences hypothesis asserts large differences between Whites and racial/ethnic minorities in the U.S., and small differences between- (e.g., African Americans, Latinos) and within- (e.g., Latinos: Mexican Americans, Cuban Americans) minority groups. The cultural similarities hypothesis posits small differences between Whites and minorities, and these differences are equal or smaller in magnitude than differences between- and within-minorities on executive function performance. We also tested moderators of these differences. METHOD: We focused on overall executive functioning performance and its three core components: inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility.. A systematic search on PsycINFO, Web of Science, ERIC, PubMed, and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global identified 46 records (17% unpublished; 38 independent samples) with 56,067 total participants (Mage = 44.48 years; range = 3.05-80.45; 52% female; 39.5% racial/ethnic minority). RESULTS: Absolute differences between Whites and minorities (d = 0.85, 95% CI [0.65, 1.05]) were larger in magnitude compared to between-minorities (d = 0.44, 95% CI [0.28, 0.60]) and within-minorities (d = 0.09, 95% CI [0.03, 0.15]). White-minority differences were moderated by type of executive function measure and year of data collection. Post hoc analyses revealed large relative differences between some groups but not others. CONCLUSIONS: Findings support the cultural differences hypothesis for executive function performance. This meta-analysis underscores the need to address social inequalities in the U.S. that drive performance differences. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

A systematic review and meta-analysis of the association of neighborhood ethnic-racial concentrations and adolescent behaviour problems in the U.S.

INTRODUCTION: Evidence suggesting a link between neighborhood ethnic-racial concentrations and adolescent behaviour problems in the U.S. is mixed, with some studies documenting negative and others positive associations. This work raises important questions about promoting and inhibiting effects of neighborhood environments characterized by high concentrations of ethnic-racial minority groups, including Asian Americans, Blacks or African Americans, and Latinos. We conducted a meta-analysis to examine 1) the magnitude, direction, and variability of the association between neighborhood ethnic-racial concentrations and adolescent behaviour problems, and 2) whether these associations varied by putative moderators. METHODS: We conducted a systematic search in PsycINFO, Web of Science, and PubMed as well as searching reference lists and relying on expert knowledge (285 initial records). We coded the records for theoretical and design elements. RESULTS: We included 40 effect sizes from 17 records (24% unpublished) with N = 11,858. The average association between neighborhood ethnic-racial concentrations and adolescent behaviour problems was not significantly different from zero (r = -0.001, 95% CI -0.048, 0.046, p = .964, τ2= 0.006); there was a large percentage of systematic heterogeneity (I2 = 77.1%), which was not explained by putative moderators. CONCLUSIONS: There is substantial unexplained systematic heterogeneity in the association between neighborhood ethnic-racial concentrations and adolescents' behaviour problems. There is heavy reliance on a small number of parent datasets in research on this topic, alongside critical reporting omissions. We offer recommendations to guide future work, in hopes of supporting culturally and developmentally informed policies and programs capable of addressing residential segregation.

Cultural development and psychopathology.

Culture plays a pivotal role in adaptive and maladaptive development. However, culture remains disconnected from theory, research, training, assessment, and interventions in developmental psychopathology, limiting our understanding of the genesis and epigenesis of mental health. Cultural development and psychopathology research can help overcome this limitation by focusing on the elucidation of cultural risk, protective, and promotive factors, at the individual and social levels, that initiate, derail, or maintain trajectories of normal and abnormal behavior. The goal of this Special Issue is to showcase research on the association between culture, development, and psychopathology that investigates equifinality and multifinality in cultural development, the interplay between culture and biology, cultural assessment and interventions, and cultural differences and similarities.

Are Whites and minorities more similar than different? Testing the cultural similarities hypothesis on psychopathology with a second-order meta-analysis.

The cultural differences hypothesis is the assertion that there are large differences between Whites and racial/ethnic minorities in the United States, while there are small differences between- (e.g., African Americans and Latinos) and within- (e.g., Latinos: Mexican Americans and Cuban Americans) minority groups. Conversely, the cultural similarities hypothesis argues that there are small differences between Whites and minorities, and these differences are equal or smaller in magnitude than differences between and within minorities. In this study, we conducted a second-order meta-analysis focused on psychopathology, to (a) test these hypotheses by estimating the absolute average difference between Whites and minorities, as well as between and within minorities, on levels of psychopathology, and (b) determine if general and meta-analytic method moderators account for these differences. A systematic search in PsycINFO, Web of Science, and ProQuest Dissertations identified 16 meta-analyses (13% unpublished) on 493 primary studies (N = 3,036,749). Differences between Whites and minorities (d+ = 0.23, 95% confidence interval [0.18, 0.28]), and between minorities (d+ = 0.30, 95% confidence interval [0.12, 0.48]) were small in magnitude. White-minority differences remained small across moderators. These findings support the cultural similarities hypothesis. We discuss their implications and future research directions.

Unpacking the link between socioeconomic status and behavior problems: A second-order meta-analysis.

Substantial evidence links socioeconomic status to internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. However, it is unclear how these two categories of behavior problems relate to specific components of socioeconomic status (e.g., income, educational attainment, and occupational prestige) or overall social status. In this study, we conducted a second-order meta-analysis to estimate the average associations of income, education, occupation, and overall socioeconomic status with internalizing and externalizing behavior problems, and to examine if age, sex, and race/ethnicity moderated these associations. Our systematic search in PsycINFO, PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global identified 12 meta-analyses (17% unpublished), including approximately 474 primary studies and 327,617 participants. In relation to internalizing, we found small average associations with income, r+ = -.18, 95% confidence interval (CI) [-.31, -.04], and education, r+ = -.12, 95% CI [-.15, -.09]. In relation to externalizing, we found smaller associations with income, r+ = -.02, 95% CI [-.15, .10], education, r+ = -.03, 95% CI [-.16, .10], and overall socioeconomic status, r+ = -.05, 95% CI [-.11, .01], but these CIs included zero. Only sex composition of the samples moderated the latter association. We provide recommendations for best practices and future research directions.

Reframing marginalization and youth development: Introduction to the special issue.

The field of developmental science was revolutionized, in part, by the publication of García Coll and colleagues' (1996) integrative model for the study of developmental competencies in minority children. Nevertheless, much work remains as changes within and beyond academia will require greater innovation in the way marginalization is conceptualized and studied. In this introduction to the Special Issue, "New Directions in Developmental Science with Youth Experiencing Marginalization," we situate the contribution of the integrative model within a sociohistorical context and discuss how recent changes push us to reconsider the models and theories that guide existing work with youth who experience marginalization. We also introduce a nuanced definition of the term marginalization for the field to consider in relation to research on youth development. We define marginalization as a multidimensional, dynamic, context-dependent, and diverse web of processes, rooted in power imbalance and systematically directed toward specific groups and individuals, with probabilistic implications for development. In the context of this discussion, we also highlight the important insights gleaned from the collection of articles included in this Special Issue and how they advance the field. (PsycINFO Database Record