Multicultural Psychology Commons^™

Artists, Activists, And Therapists Making Meaning Of Collective Violence In Lebanon: A Community-Engaged Participatory Research Study, Nawal Muradwij

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study collaborated with community-engaged artists, activists, and mental health workers living in Lebanon to explore the community narratives that exist around collective violence in Lebanon. With the support of a community advisory board, in-depth interviews, and focus groups were utilized to understand the associations that participants had with the construct of collective violence as it pertains to communities in Lebanon and their understanding of its impact on collective mental health. The sample of artists, activists, and mental health workers framed collective violence in Lebanon as intergenerational, perpetual, and institutionally and politically entrenched. Cultural concepts that described the impact of …

Voiding The Unwanted Self: An Examination Of Racialized Violence In The United States, Benjamin Stark

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation is concerned with the role of the psychic defenses projection and projective identification in the processes which lead to racialized violence in the United States. The dissertation posits that projection has been less considered as a primary driver of racialized violence than other psychic processes and should be better integrated into psychological research and literature on racialized violence. The thesis begins with a detailed examination of two instances of racialized violence, the first a macro example of nation vs. nation: the United States’ invasion of Iraq in 2003, before which the United States fantasized Iraq was developing weapons …

Mental Illness And Ethnic Identity And Their Relationship With Internalized Stigma Among Individuals Identifying As Latinx And Diagnosed With A Mental Illness, Melissa V. Martinez

Student Theses

Identity plays a key role in all matters regarding mental health, especially in experiences of stigma. Stigma, a term used to describe the processes of labeling and stereotyping of particular groups, has been shown to be a major contributor to mental health outcomes. Internalization of stigma, is an emotional and behavioral response that further affects an individual’s functioning beyond the effects of a mental disorder. The relationship between stigma and certain identities, such as gender, have been clearly demonstrated in prior research. However, identity is a complex concept that varies in meaning between individuals. The significance of a particular identity …

Metaperceptions Of Interactions Between Asian And African American Adults, Ariana Schlegel

Student Theses

In recent years, there has been a drastic increase in anti-Asian hate crimes in the United States, as well as news stories highlighting African Americans as perpetrators of anti-Asian hate crimes. As such, the paper focuses on how Asian Americans expect to be perceived by others, and how those expectations may change depending on the race (African American or White) and gender (male or female) of the conversation partner. A survey was created, which employed deception to have participants believe that they would have a short video conversation with somebody else about a political topic, and which randomly assigned each …

Tied Together, Eiko Nishida

Theses and Dissertations

The paper is about a site-specific installation that questions a viewer’s norms and perspectives, through the use of multilingual newspapers as a sculptural material.

Racialized Experiences Of Covid-19: Help-Seeking Patterns In Response To Racial Discrimination Among Asian American College Students, Jeeyun Lee

Student Theses

In the United States, reported anti-Asian hate crimes increased by 164% from 2020 to 2021, with New York demonstrating a difference of 223% (Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism, 2021). Ample evidence suggested its deleterious emotional impact; COVID-19-associated racial discrimination was found to be significantly associated with increased levels of mental distress, such as anxiety, depression, and PTSD symptoms (e.g., Hahm et al. 2021). With an aim of addressing the significant dearth of research on Asian Americans’ help-seeking behaviors in response to COVID-19-associated racism and distress, this study employed grounded theory to explore the experiences of 10 self-identified …

Confusion Of Tongues: Translation And Transfers Of Attachment In A Post-Monolingual Condition, Hiji Nam

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

“Confusion of Tongues” proposes an intersubjective, dialogic approach to translation, psycholinguistics, and patient and clinicians’ relationships to the “mother tongue” and secondary languages. By tuning in to linguistic and translational shifts, stutters, and gaps, the study presents a consideration of the challenges and rewards presented by what I call a “post-monolingual clinical condition.” An individual’s self-state in a specific language will be shadowed by the emotional history and associations one brings to that language, which will also ripple into the counter-transferential matrix—we might call this the “transference to language,” or attachment styles that manifest and repeat an individual’s forgotten libidinal …

Exploring A Mediational Model Of The Relationship Between Skin Color And Mate Selection In Desi Young Adults, Rabiya Ahmed

Dissertations and Theses

Skin color bias is present in South Asia and is especially apparent within the Desi (i.e., South Asian) marriage market, where explicit preferences for fair-skinned marital partners are made and lighter skin is perceived as more attractive. It is also known that, through the halo effect, attractive people are perceived to possess positive personality traits. The present study aimed to determine if skin color is associated with long-term mate preference among U.S.-based Desi adults as it is among Desi in South Asia, and if so, if that relationship is mediated by perceived attractiveness. It also aimed to determine if, in …

Examining Cultural Orientation As A Moderator: Attachment Style, Forgiveness, And Depression, Linghsi Liu

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the moderating role of cultural orientation on the relation between attachment style and forgiveness and between forgiveness and depression. It was hypothesized that a secure attachment style would be associated with greater dispositional forgiveness of both self and others. Specifically, for those high in collectivism, insecure attachment will be associated with greater other-forgiveness and for those high in individualism, insecure attachment will be associated with greater self-forgiveness. It was also predicted that self and other forgiveness would be associated with fewer depressive symptoms. Specifically, for those high in collectivism, other forgiveness will …

Examining Afro-Cultural Values In African American Women With Childhood Sexual Abuse History: Its Relationship With Therapeutic Outcomes, Bibi Aneesa Subhan

Student Theses

In the United States, African American women are not only more likely to have experiences of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) but experience some of the severest forms of it. The presence of Afro-cultural values can play a significant role in the therapeutic outcomes of women who do seek out treatment after their experiences of CSA. That is, Afro-cultural values such as spirituality, communalism, utilization of the Black Church, and adherence to the Strong Black Women archetype (SBWA) can impact the efficacy of treatment for Black female survivors of CSA. The purpose of this study is to assess the separate relationships …

The Impact Of Racial Microaggressions And Major Discriminatory Events On Mental Health, Florence Lui

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The current study, a secondary data analysis, sought to determine the number and nature of latent groups for experiences of spectrum racial discrimination (i.e., both major and microaggressive racial discrimination) in a sample of emerging adults from a people of color (POC)-majority public university setting in the United States, and to understand the role of socio-demographic variables in defining each group. In addition, the study aimed to ascertain the extent to which endorsing spectrum racial discrimination experiences predicted anxiety and/or depression above the effects of general, non-race-related stress. Finally, the analyses gauged the mediating and/or moderating role of coping in …

Does Ethnic Identity, In-Group Preference, And Acculturation Protect Latinas With A History Of Interpersonal Trauma From Developing Symptoms Of Ptsd?, Evelyn M. Ramirez

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Previous research suggests ethnic identity, a sense of belonging to a particular cultural group, may be protective against symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, the role of ethnic identity, in-group preference (i.e., an individual’s preference for interactions with members of their own ethnic group) and acculturation (i.e., the level of comfort with the mainstream culture) have not been investigated as protective factors for Latinas with a history of interpersonal and sexual trauma. In this study, ethnic identity, in-group preference and acculturation were assessed via self-report on the Scale of Ethnic Experience in two samples of undergraduate Latina and non-Latina …

Impact Of Religiosity And Level Of Acculturation On Cultural Alignment: An Exploration Of Terror Management Mechanisms Among Muslim American Women, Farah T. Goheer

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

ABSTRACT

Impact of Religiosity and Level of Acculturation on Cultural Alignment: An Exploration of Terror Management Mechanisms among Muslim American Women

by

Farah Taha Goheer, M.A.

Advisor: Joel Sneed, Ph.D.

Background: Terror management theory (TMT) is based upon the notion that human beings require ongoing psychological protection from the unyielding, existential threat of death. A large body of evidence has shown that human beings manage death-related terror by aligning with and endorsing the dominant views of their cultural worldviews. Notably, as immigrants experience a new culture, worldviews become rearticulated to incorporate elements of host and heritage cultures. However, it is …

Behavioral Hypervigilance In A Normative Population, Karly Weinreb

Theses and Dissertations

Hypervigilance is conceptualized as a symptom of trauma-related disorders, however it can also occur in a normative population. To distinguish normative hypervigilance from trauma-related hypervigilance, 372 participants (123 trauma-exposed and 249 non-trauma-exposed) completed a questionnaire assessing hypervigilance in contexts. Trauma-exposed participants reported greater levels of hypervigilance in 3 contexts.

The Measure Of A Man: A Critical Methodology For Investigating Essentialist Beliefs About Sexual Orientation Categories In Japan And The United States, Brian R. Davis

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Methods for studying laypeople’s beliefs about sexual orientation categories have evolved in step with larger theoretical and epistemological shifts in the interdisciplinary study of sexuality. The dominant approach to measuring laypeople’s sexual orientation beliefs over the past decade was made possible through an epistemological shift from a nature vs. nurture paradigm to a social constructionist theoretical model of psychological essentialism (Medin, 1989; Medin & Ortony, 1989; Rothbart & Taylor, 1992). Despite this shift, I argue that the forced-response scale-based survey methodologies typically used to operationally define essentialist beliefs about sexual orientation at best only partially realize the social constructionist potential …

A Parade Of Identities: Negotiation Of Ethnic Identities In Three New York City Cultural Parades, Julia M. Herrera-Moreno

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

“A Parade of Identities” is a digital project that applies social theories of international migration, psychology and cultural anthropology to ethnographic visual data in order to analyze ethnic identity and urban space appropriation found in three of New York City’s cultural parades. The project traces and analyzes the historical meaning and emerging directions in terms of ethnic identity construction, of NYC immigrant parades through the use of the author’s photography and video collections (2012-2018) of St. Patrick’s Day, Columbus Day and Chinese New Year parades, in association with a website and blog via digital humanities’ platform. Additionally, by activating the …

Colorism In Assessor Ratings: Exploring The Roles Of Social Dominance Orientation, Metaphorical Associations And Skin Tone Stereotypes, Tiwi D. Marira

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In recent years, public awareness of colorism, or discrimination based on skin tone, has grown. A previous study (Marira & Sommer, 2014) revealed that Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) (i.e., the desire for group-based hierarchy) predicted Black participants’ discriminatory résumé ratings and hiring decisions in favor of lighter-skinned over darker-skinned, African American job applicants. This investigation focused on replicating and extending these findings by utilizing a more racially inclusive sample of Black and White adults and by examining more realistic candidate evaluation and hiring assessments. These simulated workplace assessments were embedded in an online business simulation requiring participants to make …

Casualties Of Racism: Racial And Ethnic Discrimination And Suicidal Thoughts And Behaviors Among Racial And Ethnic Minority Emerging Adults, Lillian Anais Polanco

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The evidence demonstrating that experiences of racial/ethnic discrimination is detrimental to the mental health of racial/ethnic minority youth is unequivocal. What remains unclear, however, is whether racial/ethnic discrimination increases vulnerability for suicidal thoughts and behaviors in particular, and if so, what are the underlying mechanisms to explain this relation. Drawing upon the Race-based Traumatic Stress Theory (Carter, 2007), which suggests that some individuals may experience racial/ethnic discrimination as a traumatic stressor, and thus, eliciting a traumatic stress response, the present study examined posttraumatic stress reactions (i.e., posttraumatic stress, depression, dissociation, stress sensitivity) as mediators in the relation between racial/ethnic discrimination …

Beyond The Binary: Gender Identity And Mental Health Among Transgender And Gender Non-Conforming Adults, Chassitty N. Fiani

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Despite increasing endorsement of non-binary gender identities among TGNC (transgender or gender non-conforming) populations, research regarding TGNC experiences often over-emphasizes pathology relative to positive psychology and reinforces binary conceptualizations of gender (exclusively male/female). TGNC individuals face increased rates of depression, suicide risk, anxiety, substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, homelessness, victimization, and negative police interactions. These disparities are exacerbated by discrimination, lack of culturally competent resources, and internalized stigma. Despite these negative experiences and increased risks, TGNC individuals hesitate to seek treatment and/or police assistance due to fears of discrimination, cultural incompetence, and/or re-victimization. To address these gaps, the present investigation utilized a …

Differences In The Role Of Acculturation On The Correlates Of Suicidal Ideation Among Asian Subgroups, Khadijah Ahmad

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Ethnic and racial differences have been acknowledged in the relationship between culture and psychopathology, and acculturation has been associated with risk for suicidal ideation. The present paper examined the relation between acculturation and the correlates of suicide (i.e., hopelessness, depression) among Asian subgroups. Because an emphasis on Asians as a homogenous group obfuscates important ethnic differences that may influence risk for suicide, the present paper sought to highlight differences in risk for suicide among different Asian subgroups. This paper is divided into seven sections that address the role of acculturation and cultural values, norms, and beliefs on the correlates of …

Persistence Of Cultural Heritage In A Multicultural Context: Examining Factors That Shaped Voting Preferences In The 2016 Election, Anna M. Schwartz

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The prevailing discourse about the myth of the “melting pot” of American culture implies that heritage cultures are eliminated in favor of a homogenous “American” norm. However, this myth belies the persistence of our cultural heritage in forming our attitudes, morals, and habitual patterns of thought, each of which shape how we participate in our democracy through voting. By contextualizing voting predictors such as authoritarianism, social dominance, and sexism in developmental and ecological theories, this dissertation shows how they are shaped by culture and transmitted through consumption of media and interaction with members of one’s community and family. In an …

Race, Sexuality, And Masculinity On The Down Low, Stephen Kochenash

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In a so-called post-racial America, a new gay identity has flourished and come into the limelight. However, in recent years, researchers have concluded that not all men who have sex with other men (MSM) self-identify as gay, most noticeably a large population of Black men. It is possible that a tainted history of Black enslavement in this country that is inextricably linked with ideas of space, surveillance, subversion, and survival inform a Black male’s self-identification as being “on the down low” (DL). This begs the question: What does mainstream society view as gay-ness and how is the DL constructed …

Well-Being And Academic Performance In Immigrant Students: The Role Of Inequality Of Country Of Origin And Resilience, Yumiko Yamaguchi

Dissertations and Theses

Abstract

Research on the psychology of immigrants has primarily focused on their socioeconomic status, but has not factored in macroeconomic indicators. These provide a deeper understanding of the stressors experienced by immigrants through the lens of cultural gaps between home and host countries. This study examined predictors of psychological well-being (PWB) and academic performance among 376 immigrant college students by employing Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model of development (1994) consisting of four levels of environmental factors: Macrosystem, exosystem, mesosystem and microsystem. The results revealed that higher PWB was predicted by mesosystem variables (lower perceived stress, lower acculturative stress) and microsystem variables (higher …

Racial Microaggressions And Health Status: The Moderating Effect Of Emotion Regulation, Kristin C. Davidoff

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The current study seeks to explore the relationship between racial microaggressions and physical and mental health. Significant racial disparities in health status persist in the United States (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2013). Previous research asserts that racial discrimination negatively impacts physical health (Williams, Neighbors, & Jackson, 2003), and studies of subtle discrimination support an inverse relationship with mental health (Borrell et al., 2006). The immediate process following the commission of a microaggression and the target’s internal response may have significant consequences for physical and mental health. The purpose of the current study is twofold: (1) to examine …

Past Peer Victimization Experiences And Current Psychological Well-Being And Ethnic Identity Among South Asian College Students, Rejitha Nair

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Very little is known about the peer victimization experiences of South Asian immigrant students and the factors involved in these experiences. The present study retrospectively investigated the peer victimization experiences of South Asian immigrant students in high school, the perceived reasons for victimization, and how these experiences relate to their psychological well-being and ethnic identity as college students. Two hundred and twenty college students, who were first or second generation immigrants from South Asia (e.g., India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal) and attended high school in the United States, participated in the study.

Overall, the results revealed that …

A Cross-Cultural Examination Of The Conformity Effect When Co-Witnesses Discuss A Crime, Sungil Bang

Student Theses

Prior research has shown that discussions with a co-witness can lead to the spread of false information, better known as the memory conformity effect. Specifically the effects of independence and interdependence on memory conformity have been examined. People who perceived their selves as a distinctive and unique were related to less memory conformity whereas those who identified themselves within their social relationships were not related to memory conformity. One of the limitations of the previous study is that they only focused on Western populations even though there is a cultural difference between Western European culture and Eastern Asian culture in …

Embodying Rhythm Nation: Multimodal Hip Hop Dance As A Site For Adolescent Social-Emotional And Political Development, Lauren M. Roygardner

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This exploratory study employed qualitative methodology, specifically values analysis, to learn more about how being involved within Hip hop dance communities positively relates to adolescent development. Adolescence was defined herein as ages 13-23. The study investigated Hip hop dance communities in terms of cultural expertise (i.e. novice, intermediate and advanced/expert) to look specifically at dance narratives (i.e. peak experience narratives and “I dance because” essays) and hip hop dance performances. The primary purpose of this dissertation was to (1) explore how adolescents use multimodal Hip hop dance discourse for social-emotional development and critical consciousness, and to (2) understand how values …

Encountering Place, Pedagogy, And Culture: Study Abroad And Experiential Learning In Morocco And Indonesia, Jennifer M. Pipitone

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Efforts to globalize higher education have resulted in study abroad climbing to an all-time high in the United States. Amidst this growth, emergent bodies of literature have uncovered problematic trends in study abroad that reproduce hierarchies of power and colonialism, perpetuate views of an exotic cultural “other,” and privilege tourism over education. In my dissertation, I respond to these problems by exploring ways of teaching and learning in study abroad that embrace the pedagogical power of place to foster awareness of the self in relation to other, cultivate relationality, and deconstruct the exotic. Rather than focusing on the individual as …

Letter To The President: Longitudinal Critical Discourse Analysis Of Academic And Hip Hop Genres In A Rap Narrative Program, Debangshu Roygardner

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The objective of this study was to examine an in-school rap narrative workshop through critical discourse theory (Bamberg, 2012; Daiute, 2014). Twelve youth from a public school serving youth in urban Houston, TX were recruited from an in-school and after-school Hip hop/Rap narrative program to participate in a two-year cohort research study. The primary research question guiding the study was “How do young people participating in a school-based Hip hop/Rap program use a wide range of narrative genres for literacy and psycho-social development over two years in the program?”

The data-intensive study involved assessments of literacy and psycho-social development via …

Latino/A Adolescents And Young Adults Coping With Parental Cancer Within A Cultural Context, Amanda Mia Marin-Chollom

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Parental cancer has a strong influence on the psychological well-being of children at all ages. Children and adolescents whose parents have more distress and advanced disease tend to have lower rates of healthy psychological adjustment. Children from the U.S. Latino/a population may face additional challenges, such as racism and acculturative stress that compound the stress of having a parent with cancer. At the same time, facets of the Latino/a culture may play a crucial role in how Latino/a adolescents adapt to parental cancer, specifically the Latino/a cultural values of familismo (familism), espíritu (spirit), and respeto (respect).

This cross-sectional study examined …