A growing body of research suggests a link between adverse childhood experiences and negative health outcomes. However, less is known about where racial discrimination ranks compared to other adverse childhood experiences, such as maltreatment. To address this issue, I conducted two systematic reviews of meta-analyses to compare the magnitudes of the links between racial discrimination and depressive symptoms and childhood maltreatment and depressive symptoms. My aim was to establish if racial discrimination should be considered an adverse childhood experience. My results demonstrated that the link between racial discrimination and depressive symptoms (r = 0.27) is comparable to the links between 4 different manifestations of maltreatment and depressive symptoms (physical abuse: r = 0.257, emotional abuse: r = 0.301, neglect: r = 0.381, sexual abuse: r = 0.408). I discuss the implications of these findings and propose future research directions.

This study examined the associations between Mexican-origin adolescent mothers’ and their female family members’ familism values and prenatal healthcare among Mexican-origin adolescent mothers. Participants were 204 adolescent mothers between the ages of 15 and 18 (M = 16.19 years; SD = .97) as well as their female family members who were visited in their homes when adolescent mothers were in their third trimester. Adolescent mothers and their female family members reported on their familism values and adolescent mothers reported on the timing of the first prenatal care visit, number of prenatal visits, and barriers to prenatal care. On average, adolescent mothers had their first prenatal care appointment at 11.5 weeks and averaged slightly less than eight prenatal care visits. A number of associations emerged between dimensions of familism and prenatal care. For example, adolescent mothers’ higher familism support values were associated with less barriers to receiving prenatal care, and female family members’ higher family obligation values were correlated with adolescent mothers having their first prenatal visit later in the pregnancy. In the overall pattern, more correlations emerged for Mexico-born as compared to U.S.-born family members. These findings provide insights about the associations between familism and Mexican-origin adolescent mothers’ prenatal care, suggesting the need for further study of the links between cultural values and prenatal care among vulnerable populations.

Culture is a living, dynamic concept that influences the lives of all human beings, making it one of the cornerstone building blocks of the human experience. However, there is a widespread assumption that culture matters more for some people than others. Recent studies have found evidence of a cultural (mis)attribution bias among psychologists, the tendency to exaggerate the role of cultural factors in the behavior of racial/ethnic minorities while simultaneously exaggerating the role of personal psychological factors in the behavior of the racial/ethnic majority (Causadias, Vitriol, & Atkins, 2018a; 2018b). This study aims to explore the cultural (mis)attribution bias, and how it manifests in the beliefs and attitudes of undergraduate students at ASU. Additionally, this paper will also explore the implications of those results and how to apply that knowledge to our daily interactions with the people around us.

A growing body of research suggest that experiencing racial discrimination is associated with the development of mental health problems. Lee and Ahn (2011) conducted a meta-analysis that documented the relationship between racial discrimination and psychopathology, including depressive symptoms among Asian Americans. However, evidence of an increase in racial discrimination in the last decade requires examining to what degree its link to depressive symptoms has changed since Lee and Ahn (2011)’s seminal study. To address this issue, I conducted a systematic review of research on racial discrimination and depressive symptoms among Asian Americans from 2009-2019 in the United States. I used PsycINFO, Web of Science, PubMed, and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global to perform my search. My aims were to: 1) understand the relationship between racial discrimination and depressive symptoms, 2) understand how studies vary across sex, age, measures, socioeconomic and ethnic subgroup (e.g., Chinese Americans, Vietnamese Americans). My results demonstrated that the relationship between racial discrimination and depressive symptoms was primarily positive. Factors regarding sex, age, measures, and socioeconomic status varied across studies. Future research should focus more on current issues regarding Asian Americans and use meta-analytic techniques to further investigate any potential moderators such as socioeconomic status and ethnic subgroups.