ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound societal impact with unprecedented impact on wo... more ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound societal impact with unprecedented impact on women’s labor force participation, including among academic mothers. Yet, persistent gendered and racialized inequities in academia remain structurally unaddressed, including in social work. We believe that as social work educators we are well-positioned to develop an academic culture that helps us refocus on what matters most; redefine excellence in teaching, service, and research; and make academic practice more equitable. To this end, we convened a group of social work academic mothers, representing various identities at teaching and research-intensive institutions, to offer collective perspectives and recommendations for structural change within the social work academy to buffer the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and exacerbating racial and gendered disparities.
This case report describes the application of Taoist cognitive therapy (TCT) to a 32-year old Chi... more This case report describes the application of Taoist cognitive therapy (TCT) to a 32-year old Chinese (Fujianese) American immigrant woman with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). TCT is a manualized adaptation of an indigenous psychotherapy developed in China (Zhang & Young, 1998; Zhang et al., 2002). Mrs. Liu received 16 sessions of TCT administered in Mandarin by a Chinese American social worker in conjunction with psychopharmacologic treatment. Sources of data included case notes, transcripts of session recordings, client thought records, and a battery of standardized measures. Mrs. Liu presented with significant guilt regarding her perceived failures to fulfill her filial obligations postmigration, which resulted in constant worry about family members' health, reassurance-seeking, and controlling behavior. Her anxiety and worry were conceptualized as the result of rigid attachments to beliefs, goals, and desires that are not reflective of the natural order of the universe (Tao). Mrs. Liu was guided in reevaluating stressful situations from the perspective of 8 Taoist principles that promote collective benefit, noncompetition, moderation, acceptance, humility, flexibility, wuwei (nonaction), and harmony with the laws of nature. Clinically significant reductions in anxiety, worry, and experiential avoidance were observed after 16 sessions. However, results were attenuated by the 4-month follow-up due to acute stress surrounding her husband's deportation proceedings. This case highlights how immigration-related stressors, including transnational family separation and cultural values, can shape the experience and expression of GAD. Further, the positive treatment response provides some evidence of the acceptability and applicability of TCT to Chinese immigrants with GAD.
This study integrates the conceptual and empirical research on mindfulness and intergroup bias to... more This study integrates the conceptual and empirical research on mindfulness and intergroup bias to guide a meta-analysis that examines associations between mindfulness and (a) different manifestations of bias, e.g., implicit and explicit attitudes, affect, and behavior, directed towards (b) different bias targets, e.g., outgroup or ingroup (internalized bias), by (c) intergroup orientation, e.g., towards bias or anti-bias. Of 70 independent samples, 42 (178 effect sizes; N = 3,229) were studies of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) and 30 (150 effect sizes; N = 6,002) were correlational studies. Unconditional mixed-effects structural equation models showed a large, negative effect of mindfulness on bias for intervention (d = -0.56, CI 95% [-0.72, -0.40]) and correlational (r = -0.17 [-0.27, -0.03]) studies. Effects were comparable for intergroup bias and internalized bias; the largest effects were for behavioral outcomes. We conclude by identifying gaps in the evidence base and o...
Ruptures are common in any therapeutic relationship and their successful resolution is associated... more Ruptures are common in any therapeutic relationship and their successful resolution is associated with positive outcomes. However, therapist and client differences with regard to power, privilege, identity, and culture increase social and cultural distance, contributing to alliance ruptures and complicating the repair process. Informed by critical race theories, cultural psychological perspectives, and relational principles, we highlight how power, privilege, identity, and culture shape the development of ruptures and thus, how analyses of these dynamics should inform the process of repair. We present an expanded critical-cultural-relational approach to rupture resolution that emphasizes essential skills of critical self-awareness, wise affect, and anti-oppressive interpersonal engagement, and extends Safran and Muran's (2000) general rupture resolution model to emphasize a critical analysis of the rupture and repair processes. We illustrate our approach through a case presentation involving a rupture in a cross-racial dyad with themes of racism and classism.
In behavioral health settings, prejudice is a serious problem with significant implications for s... more In behavioral health settings, prejudice is a serious problem with significant implications for service delivery. Despite genuine efforts to help, clinicians behave in prejudiced ways toward clients and patients, often leading to problems in treatment or to the abandonment of treatment altogether. In this chapter, we outline the history of prejudice research, discuss definitions of prejudice, and review the empirical research on prejudice reduction interventions. We then critique prejudice reduction research from the perspective that collective action may more effectively produce social change. Finally, we return to the necessity of prejudice reduction in behavioral health care, offering practical suggestions from the literature and from our own experience as clinicians, researchers, and educators.
The authors tested the hypothesis that race bias in teacher evaluations may be problem specific b... more The authors tested the hypothesis that race bias in teacher evaluations may be problem specific by examining the extent to which ratings of child behavior were influenced by the interaction between the race of the child and the type of presenting behavior. Teachers (N 197) were presented with three vignettes (overcontrolled, undercontrolled, and “normal”), systematically paired with a photograph of a male child (African American, Asian American, or Caucasian). Respondents rated the seriousness, referability, and typicality of the behavior; the child’s family life; academic ability and performance; and causal dimensions. Although results did not reveal a bias in the ratings of African American students, data suggest that stereotypes remain embedded in teachers ’ interpretive framework for Asian Americans, particularly regarding expectations of overcontrolled traits. As early as the 1960s, psychologists and educators examined the influence of racial stereotypes on ethnic minority stud...
BACKGROUND Domestic violence (DV) is not only a devastating societal problem, but also a severe m... more BACKGROUND Domestic violence (DV) is not only a devastating societal problem, but also a severe medical and mental health problem worldwide. Our previous study has shown that perpetrators were with higher prevalence of self-reported symptoms than that of controls. This study based on our former large scale population-based samples is aimed to further explore the correlations between the symptoms and psychosocial factors of the perpetrators with DV. It was helpful to provide some insight into possible strategies for clinicians to reduce the symptoms of the perpetrators with DV in China. METHODS From our former population-based epidemiological samples, 1098 households with a history of DV in preceding year, 318 perpetrators with DV were randomly selected. Face-to-face interviews were conducted. Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90) was administrated to check and classify the symptoms of perpetrators, Eysenck's personality questionnaire (EPQ), trait coping style questionnaire (TCSQ), life ...
Around the world, in highand low-income countries alike, mental illness and high-risk behaviors c... more Around the world, in highand low-income countries alike, mental illness and high-risk behaviors contribute to profound suffering and loss at the level of the individual and the state. In the case of China as in other developing countries, gains made in the areas of economics, technology, education, and overall standard of living are being offset by a rise in mental and behavioral problems that suggest the human costs of economic development and rapid social change. Although most Chinese would agree that there has never been more opportunity or freedom to pursue one’s capitalistic dreams, the process of adjusting to life in the new economy and its shifting demands and possibilities is adversely affecting the Chinese social world. Such social transformations include (1) an increase in numbers of individuals and families who suffer from major economic losses due to risky ventures or pathological gambling, (2) higher rates of extra-marital affairs, family violence, and divorce, (3) risi...
Questionnaire based field survey was conducted with the purpose to access the production and mark... more Questionnaire based field survey was conducted with the purpose to access the production and market situation of mandarin orange among 120 farmers in Gulmi district. For the ease of the study, the sampled farmers were categorized according to their orchard land holding into small holders and commercial producers respectively. The average production of mandarin for smallholders and commercial producers were 0.987 tons and 3.645tons with productivity of 7.45 t/ha and 9.66 t/ha respectively. The average variable cost of production for small holder growers was found higher with NRs. 385581.16/ha. However, gross margin and B: C ratio was found higher in commercial producers which were NRs. 388040.43/ha and 2.59 respectively. Cobb-Douglas production function was used for the analysis of factor of production which showed human labor, irrigation cost, manure cost and transport cost was significant contributor in the return of mandarin. Pre-harvest contract was the most common marketing pattern with 60% of the producers following producer to contractor channel. The major production and marketing problems were lack of irrigation, lack of quality sapling, fruit drop. Low price offered to farmers, lack of processing activities and technical constraints in the study area.
Meditation and mindfulness are commonly understood and studied as solitary practices with persona... more Meditation and mindfulness are commonly understood and studied as solitary practices with personal benefits. Recent research has begun to explore the interpersonal nature of meditation and mindfulness practices, especially in regard to close relationships (Gale 2009 ; May and Reinhardt, Mindfulness, 9 (1), 105–116, 2018 ). This study sought to build upon and improve the development of an observer measure of mindfulness and further understand the interpersonal benefits of meditation practice. The study recruited 30 meditators and a close other (CO) for an online survey study. COs were defined as: Significant Others, Close Friends that are seen daily/near daily, Close Roommates, or Family Members Living Together. A robust correlation was found between the main participant’s (MP) self-score on the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS M ) and their CO’s rating of the MP’s mindfulness (MAAS O ), providing support for MAAS’s construct validity, and the use of the MAAS O as an observer measure of mindfulness. MAAS O was also shown to highly correlate with the CO’s relationship satisfaction and perception of MP’s attunement during conflict. An exploratory measure of Buddhist Values was also investigated and exhibited equally strong correlations with these relationship variables as the MAAS O . This suggests that how present and attuned in relationship a CO rates their meditating partner depends on the additive effect of their partner’s meditation practice and the ways in which they are able to thread their meditative mindfulness skills into daily interactions. Further, this study found that observer measures out-performed self-report measures in predicting all outcomes, indicating important next steps in the field.
Abstract “Fa'a'amu” is a type of adoption commonly found in French Polynesia involving op... more Abstract “Fa'a'amu” is a type of adoption commonly found in French Polynesia involving open, informal adoption arrangements, in which the child maintains ties to the family of origin. Although the function that child circulation plays in Oceanic societies has been widely documented by anthropologists, the implications of fa'a'amu at the individual level have yet to be examined. To address this gap, an exploratory qualitative study was conducted to 1) examine the lived experiences of adults who were fa'a'amu as children, and 2) identify experiences and characteristics associated with positive psychosocial and mental health outcomes in adulthood. The sample consisted of 22 Tahitian adults, who had been fa'a'amu during childhood. Applying a developmental and attachment lens, we explored how participants experienced relationships with birth and adoptive families, and how being fa'a'amu impacted their sense of well-being, attachment, identity, and belonging. Data was collected through The Adult Attachment Interview and the Fa'a'amu Experience Interview, which were coded using thematic analysis. Factors associated with positive outcomes in adulthood included early age at adoption, sensitive fa'a'amu parents, positive or benign relationships with birth parents, and respect between fa'a'amu and birth families. Factors associated with emotional distress included late age at adoption, abandonment and rejection, exploitative fa'a'amu parents, and conflict between birth and fa'a'amu families.
This study examines diagnostic concordance, symptomatology and disability among Chinese patients ... more This study examines diagnostic concordance, symptomatology and disability among Chinese patients with shenjing shuairuo, ICD-10 neurasthenia, and DSM-IV diagnoses. Patients (N=139) with unexplained somatic complaints completed the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III (SCID), the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), and the Short Form 36 (SF-36). Shenjing shuairuo could be reclassified as DSM-IV undifferentiated somatoform disorder (30.6%) and somatoform pain disorder (22.4%); however, 44.9% did not qualify for a core DSM-IV diagnosis. Concordance of neurasthenia and shenjing shuairuo was significant (p < .001). Symptom distress and disability was similar to that reported by patients with somatoform and anxiety disorders. Within the Chinese context, shenjing shuairuo describes a heterogeneous group with clinically significant levels of disturbance and disability.
ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound societal impact with unprecedented impact on wo... more ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound societal impact with unprecedented impact on women’s labor force participation, including among academic mothers. Yet, persistent gendered and racialized inequities in academia remain structurally unaddressed, including in social work. We believe that as social work educators we are well-positioned to develop an academic culture that helps us refocus on what matters most; redefine excellence in teaching, service, and research; and make academic practice more equitable. To this end, we convened a group of social work academic mothers, representing various identities at teaching and research-intensive institutions, to offer collective perspectives and recommendations for structural change within the social work academy to buffer the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and exacerbating racial and gendered disparities.
This case report describes the application of Taoist cognitive therapy (TCT) to a 32-year old Chi... more This case report describes the application of Taoist cognitive therapy (TCT) to a 32-year old Chinese (Fujianese) American immigrant woman with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). TCT is a manualized adaptation of an indigenous psychotherapy developed in China (Zhang & Young, 1998; Zhang et al., 2002). Mrs. Liu received 16 sessions of TCT administered in Mandarin by a Chinese American social worker in conjunction with psychopharmacologic treatment. Sources of data included case notes, transcripts of session recordings, client thought records, and a battery of standardized measures. Mrs. Liu presented with significant guilt regarding her perceived failures to fulfill her filial obligations postmigration, which resulted in constant worry about family members' health, reassurance-seeking, and controlling behavior. Her anxiety and worry were conceptualized as the result of rigid attachments to beliefs, goals, and desires that are not reflective of the natural order of the universe (Tao). Mrs. Liu was guided in reevaluating stressful situations from the perspective of 8 Taoist principles that promote collective benefit, noncompetition, moderation, acceptance, humility, flexibility, wuwei (nonaction), and harmony with the laws of nature. Clinically significant reductions in anxiety, worry, and experiential avoidance were observed after 16 sessions. However, results were attenuated by the 4-month follow-up due to acute stress surrounding her husband's deportation proceedings. This case highlights how immigration-related stressors, including transnational family separation and cultural values, can shape the experience and expression of GAD. Further, the positive treatment response provides some evidence of the acceptability and applicability of TCT to Chinese immigrants with GAD.
This study integrates the conceptual and empirical research on mindfulness and intergroup bias to... more This study integrates the conceptual and empirical research on mindfulness and intergroup bias to guide a meta-analysis that examines associations between mindfulness and (a) different manifestations of bias, e.g., implicit and explicit attitudes, affect, and behavior, directed towards (b) different bias targets, e.g., outgroup or ingroup (internalized bias), by (c) intergroup orientation, e.g., towards bias or anti-bias. Of 70 independent samples, 42 (178 effect sizes; N = 3,229) were studies of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) and 30 (150 effect sizes; N = 6,002) were correlational studies. Unconditional mixed-effects structural equation models showed a large, negative effect of mindfulness on bias for intervention (d = -0.56, CI 95% [-0.72, -0.40]) and correlational (r = -0.17 [-0.27, -0.03]) studies. Effects were comparable for intergroup bias and internalized bias; the largest effects were for behavioral outcomes. We conclude by identifying gaps in the evidence base and o...
Ruptures are common in any therapeutic relationship and their successful resolution is associated... more Ruptures are common in any therapeutic relationship and their successful resolution is associated with positive outcomes. However, therapist and client differences with regard to power, privilege, identity, and culture increase social and cultural distance, contributing to alliance ruptures and complicating the repair process. Informed by critical race theories, cultural psychological perspectives, and relational principles, we highlight how power, privilege, identity, and culture shape the development of ruptures and thus, how analyses of these dynamics should inform the process of repair. We present an expanded critical-cultural-relational approach to rupture resolution that emphasizes essential skills of critical self-awareness, wise affect, and anti-oppressive interpersonal engagement, and extends Safran and Muran's (2000) general rupture resolution model to emphasize a critical analysis of the rupture and repair processes. We illustrate our approach through a case presentation involving a rupture in a cross-racial dyad with themes of racism and classism.
In behavioral health settings, prejudice is a serious problem with significant implications for s... more In behavioral health settings, prejudice is a serious problem with significant implications for service delivery. Despite genuine efforts to help, clinicians behave in prejudiced ways toward clients and patients, often leading to problems in treatment or to the abandonment of treatment altogether. In this chapter, we outline the history of prejudice research, discuss definitions of prejudice, and review the empirical research on prejudice reduction interventions. We then critique prejudice reduction research from the perspective that collective action may more effectively produce social change. Finally, we return to the necessity of prejudice reduction in behavioral health care, offering practical suggestions from the literature and from our own experience as clinicians, researchers, and educators.
The authors tested the hypothesis that race bias in teacher evaluations may be problem specific b... more The authors tested the hypothesis that race bias in teacher evaluations may be problem specific by examining the extent to which ratings of child behavior were influenced by the interaction between the race of the child and the type of presenting behavior. Teachers (N 197) were presented with three vignettes (overcontrolled, undercontrolled, and “normal”), systematically paired with a photograph of a male child (African American, Asian American, or Caucasian). Respondents rated the seriousness, referability, and typicality of the behavior; the child’s family life; academic ability and performance; and causal dimensions. Although results did not reveal a bias in the ratings of African American students, data suggest that stereotypes remain embedded in teachers ’ interpretive framework for Asian Americans, particularly regarding expectations of overcontrolled traits. As early as the 1960s, psychologists and educators examined the influence of racial stereotypes on ethnic minority stud...
BACKGROUND Domestic violence (DV) is not only a devastating societal problem, but also a severe m... more BACKGROUND Domestic violence (DV) is not only a devastating societal problem, but also a severe medical and mental health problem worldwide. Our previous study has shown that perpetrators were with higher prevalence of self-reported symptoms than that of controls. This study based on our former large scale population-based samples is aimed to further explore the correlations between the symptoms and psychosocial factors of the perpetrators with DV. It was helpful to provide some insight into possible strategies for clinicians to reduce the symptoms of the perpetrators with DV in China. METHODS From our former population-based epidemiological samples, 1098 households with a history of DV in preceding year, 318 perpetrators with DV were randomly selected. Face-to-face interviews were conducted. Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90) was administrated to check and classify the symptoms of perpetrators, Eysenck's personality questionnaire (EPQ), trait coping style questionnaire (TCSQ), life ...
Around the world, in highand low-income countries alike, mental illness and high-risk behaviors c... more Around the world, in highand low-income countries alike, mental illness and high-risk behaviors contribute to profound suffering and loss at the level of the individual and the state. In the case of China as in other developing countries, gains made in the areas of economics, technology, education, and overall standard of living are being offset by a rise in mental and behavioral problems that suggest the human costs of economic development and rapid social change. Although most Chinese would agree that there has never been more opportunity or freedom to pursue one’s capitalistic dreams, the process of adjusting to life in the new economy and its shifting demands and possibilities is adversely affecting the Chinese social world. Such social transformations include (1) an increase in numbers of individuals and families who suffer from major economic losses due to risky ventures or pathological gambling, (2) higher rates of extra-marital affairs, family violence, and divorce, (3) risi...
Questionnaire based field survey was conducted with the purpose to access the production and mark... more Questionnaire based field survey was conducted with the purpose to access the production and market situation of mandarin orange among 120 farmers in Gulmi district. For the ease of the study, the sampled farmers were categorized according to their orchard land holding into small holders and commercial producers respectively. The average production of mandarin for smallholders and commercial producers were 0.987 tons and 3.645tons with productivity of 7.45 t/ha and 9.66 t/ha respectively. The average variable cost of production for small holder growers was found higher with NRs. 385581.16/ha. However, gross margin and B: C ratio was found higher in commercial producers which were NRs. 388040.43/ha and 2.59 respectively. Cobb-Douglas production function was used for the analysis of factor of production which showed human labor, irrigation cost, manure cost and transport cost was significant contributor in the return of mandarin. Pre-harvest contract was the most common marketing pattern with 60% of the producers following producer to contractor channel. The major production and marketing problems were lack of irrigation, lack of quality sapling, fruit drop. Low price offered to farmers, lack of processing activities and technical constraints in the study area.
Meditation and mindfulness are commonly understood and studied as solitary practices with persona... more Meditation and mindfulness are commonly understood and studied as solitary practices with personal benefits. Recent research has begun to explore the interpersonal nature of meditation and mindfulness practices, especially in regard to close relationships (Gale 2009 ; May and Reinhardt, Mindfulness, 9 (1), 105–116, 2018 ). This study sought to build upon and improve the development of an observer measure of mindfulness and further understand the interpersonal benefits of meditation practice. The study recruited 30 meditators and a close other (CO) for an online survey study. COs were defined as: Significant Others, Close Friends that are seen daily/near daily, Close Roommates, or Family Members Living Together. A robust correlation was found between the main participant’s (MP) self-score on the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS M ) and their CO’s rating of the MP’s mindfulness (MAAS O ), providing support for MAAS’s construct validity, and the use of the MAAS O as an observer measure of mindfulness. MAAS O was also shown to highly correlate with the CO’s relationship satisfaction and perception of MP’s attunement during conflict. An exploratory measure of Buddhist Values was also investigated and exhibited equally strong correlations with these relationship variables as the MAAS O . This suggests that how present and attuned in relationship a CO rates their meditating partner depends on the additive effect of their partner’s meditation practice and the ways in which they are able to thread their meditative mindfulness skills into daily interactions. Further, this study found that observer measures out-performed self-report measures in predicting all outcomes, indicating important next steps in the field.
Abstract “Fa'a'amu” is a type of adoption commonly found in French Polynesia involving op... more Abstract “Fa'a'amu” is a type of adoption commonly found in French Polynesia involving open, informal adoption arrangements, in which the child maintains ties to the family of origin. Although the function that child circulation plays in Oceanic societies has been widely documented by anthropologists, the implications of fa'a'amu at the individual level have yet to be examined. To address this gap, an exploratory qualitative study was conducted to 1) examine the lived experiences of adults who were fa'a'amu as children, and 2) identify experiences and characteristics associated with positive psychosocial and mental health outcomes in adulthood. The sample consisted of 22 Tahitian adults, who had been fa'a'amu during childhood. Applying a developmental and attachment lens, we explored how participants experienced relationships with birth and adoptive families, and how being fa'a'amu impacted their sense of well-being, attachment, identity, and belonging. Data was collected through The Adult Attachment Interview and the Fa'a'amu Experience Interview, which were coded using thematic analysis. Factors associated with positive outcomes in adulthood included early age at adoption, sensitive fa'a'amu parents, positive or benign relationships with birth parents, and respect between fa'a'amu and birth families. Factors associated with emotional distress included late age at adoption, abandonment and rejection, exploitative fa'a'amu parents, and conflict between birth and fa'a'amu families.
This study examines diagnostic concordance, symptomatology and disability among Chinese patients ... more This study examines diagnostic concordance, symptomatology and disability among Chinese patients with shenjing shuairuo, ICD-10 neurasthenia, and DSM-IV diagnoses. Patients (N=139) with unexplained somatic complaints completed the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III (SCID), the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), and the Short Form 36 (SF-36). Shenjing shuairuo could be reclassified as DSM-IV undifferentiated somatoform disorder (30.6%) and somatoform pain disorder (22.4%); however, 44.9% did not qualify for a core DSM-IV diagnosis. Concordance of neurasthenia and shenjing shuairuo was significant (p < .001). Symptom distress and disability was similar to that reported by patients with somatoform and anxiety disorders. Within the Chinese context, shenjing shuairuo describes a heterogeneous group with clinically significant levels of disturbance and disability.
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