Trauma exposure and associated sleep problems in Black adolescent and young adult students attending an alternative high school.

OBJECTIVE: Given the dearth of literature examining the link between trauma exposure and sleep among youth and young adults of color, the current study examined the association between individual types of trauma exposure, accumulation within subtypes of trauma exposure, and overall cumulative trauma exposure with sleep problems in a sample of Black students attending an alternative high school. METHOD: Participants were recruited from an alternative high school in a large, southeastern city in the United States, of which all students qualify for free/reduced lunch. The sample included 101 students (53% female) ages 16-24 (M = 17.86 years, SD = 1.36) who identified as Black. RESULTS: Participants reported a high rate of trauma exposure (M = 6.03 unique traumatic experiences, SD = 2.63). Linear regression models showed that exposure to more overall cumulative trauma and to interpersonal loss was significantly associated with higher levels of insomnia symptoms. Threats to health were significantly related to daytime sleepiness. Other threats to safety were associated with restless legs syndrome symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescence and young adulthood are a time of complex sleep-related issues. Black youth and young adults have elevated risk of trauma exposure and sleep problems; therefore, targeted assessment and intervention are warranted. Clinicians and researchers addressing sleep in youth and young adults, and those working within alternative school settings, should also consider a trauma-informed lens to optimize outcomes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Bridging the gap: A pilot study of a lay health worker model to decrease child mental health stigma and promote parents' professional help-seeking for Black/African American children.

Unmet mental health needs among children in the United States (U.S.) are at a critical status (Kimball & Miller, 2015; Perou et al., 2013), with less than half of children receiving needed care (Whitney & Peterson, 2019). Unmet mental health needs are especially pronounced for racial/ethnic minority children, including Black/African American children (Alegria et al., 2010; Cokley et al., 2014), whose rates of suicide among those aged 5-11 years has increased in the past two decades (Bridge et al., 2015). Culturally responsive strategies that build on common mental health help-seeking pathways for Black/African American families are needed to improve access to care. The Bridging the Gap pilot project described in this paper used an innovative lay health worker model embedded in faith-based networks to target child mental health stigma and promote professional help-seeking among 65 Black/African American parents of children 5-12 years old. A single-group, pretest, posttest, follow-up (PPF) design (with double pretest and double follow-up) was used to structure the delivery of the pilot program and data collection. Child mental health stigma significantly decreased after the intervention portion of the program but help-seeking attitudes stayed constant. Thirteen parents had children with clinically significant mental health needs. Of the eight parents reached for follow-up, five sought child mental health services based on individualized recommendations and the rest endorsed intentions to follow through on service recommendations. Parents endorsed satisfaction with the program and several program evaluation themes were identified through qualitative data. Recommendations and future directions are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

COVID-19, Telehealth, and Pediatric Integrated Primary Care: Disparities in Service Use.

OBJECTIVE: The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic (COVID-19) may increase pediatric mental health needs due to its social, economic, and public health threats, especially among Black, Indigenous, and People of Color and those served within disadvantaged communities. COVID-19 protocols have resulted in increased provision of telehealth in integrated primary care (IPC) but little is known about pediatric telehealth IPC utilization during the pandemic for diverse and traditionally underserved groups. METHODS: A comparative study was conducted to explore variability between in-person (pre-COVID-19; n = 106) and telehealth (mid-COVID-19; n = 120) IPC consultation utilization among children 1-19 years old served through a large, inner-city primary care clinic. Logistic regression modeling was used to examine the association between service delivery modality (i.e., in-person vs. telehealth) and attendance, referral concerns, and several sociodemographic variables. RESULTS: Service delivery modality and attendance, referral concerns, and race/ethnicity were significantly associated. The odds of non-attendance were greater for children scheduled for telehealth, the odds of children with internalizing problems being scheduled for telehealth were greater than those with externalizing problems, and the odds of Black children being scheduled for telehealth were less compared to White children. CONCLUSION: Though telehealth has helped provide IPC continuity during COVID-19, findings from this study show troubling preliminary data regarding reduced attendance, increased internalizing concerns, and disparities in scheduling for Black patients. Specific actions to monitor and address these early but alarming indications of telehealth and Covid-19 related behavioral health disparities are discussed.

Examining the psychometric validity of the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure-Revised (MEIM-R) in a community sample of African American and European American adults.

The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure-Revised (MEIM-R), focusing on a sample drawn from a geographic region in the United States that has not been included in previously published research on the MEIM-R. Data were obtained from a community-based sample of 105 African American (AA) and 91 European American (EA) adults located in the state of Alabama. The MEIM-R was best represented by two constructs-exploration and commitment. AA adults reported higher levels of racial/ethnic identity exploration and commitment than EA adults. Differential item functioning was found among 1 of the exploration items. The current study provides additional support for the structural validity of the MEIM-R. Further research on the invariance of responses to the MEIM-R across a variety of sociodemographic factors is still necessary.