Richard M. Suinn (1933-2024).

Richard M. Suinn, an eminent psychologist known for his work in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), sports psychology, ethnic minority issues, and professional association leadership, passed away on January 5, 2024, in Fort Collins, Colorado, at the age of 90 years. Suinn was born on May 8, 1933, in Hawai'i. Suinn was an expert in anxiety management and developed the widely used Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale. He was the first psychologist appointed team psychologist to a U.S. Olympic team, applying his CBT expertise to five Olympic teams. Suinn developed the Suinn-Lew Asian Self-Identity Acculturation Scale, the most widely used measure of Asian American acculturation. He served as a president of the American Psychological Association (APA) where he opened the door for APA presidents of color, and the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) and a member of the Board of Directors of APA, the American Psychological Foundation, American Board of Professional Psychology, Association for the Advancement of Psychology, ABCT, and the Asian American Psychological Association (AAPA). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Rendered invisible: Are Asian Americans a model or a marginalized minority?

In 1992, the United States government expanded a 1978 decision to observe Asian Pacific American Heritage Week to a month-long recognition of the contributions of Asian Americans to the country's history and ongoing cultural milieu. Since 2000, the Asian population in the United States has grown by 72%-the fastest rate of any racial/ethnic group in the country. Today, the Census reports that Asians comprise 22 million United States residents. Despite this unprecedented growth, Asian Americans remain largely invisible in the national dialogue and in scientific research. This special issue features theoretical, empirical, and policy articles that highlight Asian Americans in psychology. Asian Americans remain marginalized and invisible in scientific endeavors for several reasons. For example, consolidating many ethnic groups under an "Asian American" pan-ethnic umbrella masks meaningful cultural, linguistic, ethnic, migration, gender, sexual/gender identity/expression, and socioeconomic differences. These intersectional identities result in experiences that are multiply marginalized, contributing to invisibility. The model minority stereotype highlights high-achieving and successful individuals, rendering the segment of the Asian American population that is struggling irrelevant and unworthy of attention. This special issue directly interrogates sources of invisibility to synthesize theory, research, and policy focused on Asian Americans. The articles in this special issue focus on the intersectional spaces that Asian Americans occupy, unpacking the diversity behind the "Asian American" pan-ethnic label, experiences of identity and discrimination across a range of Asian American groups, and areas of theory/research/policy where Asian American experiences have been overlooked. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Reducing mental health disparities by increasing the personal relevance of interventions.

One of the most persistent health disparities is the underutilization of mental health services by people of color. Neither evidence-based treatments (universal focus) nor culturally adapted treatments (group focus) have reduced these disparities. We propose the personal relevance of psychotherapy (PROP) model, which integrates universal, group, and individual dimensions to determine the personal relevance of interventions. A cultural example of personal relevance among people of East Asian ancestry involves "face" (i.e., one's prestige and position in society), which may moderate treatment outcomes. Pragmatic intervention approaches focused on helping individuals cope with specific external problems, compared to managing a "personal" disease, can effectively "restore" face. Thus, social problem-solving interventions may be more personally relevant to many people of East Asian ancestry than are approaches that are internally focused. In addition, we posit that social neuroscience can offer unique opportunities above and beyond self-report measures when assessing the impact of PROP and the personal relevance of interventions for diverse populations. Our preliminary evidence upon testing this hypothesis indicated that among Asian Americans, exposure to problem-solving therapy content elicited significantly greater neural activity in brain areas associated with personal relevance compared to exposure to cognitive-behavioral therapy content. Identifying personally relevant interventions has the potential to reduce mental health disparities by increasing engagement with mental health services for diverse groups. The increased client engagement produced by personally relevant interventions also has the potential to make mental health services more effective for diverse groups. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Mental health and clinical psychological science in the time of COVID-19: Challenges, opportunities, and a call to action.

COVID-19 presents significant social, economic, and medical challenges. Because COVID-19 has already begun to precipitate huge increases in mental health problems, clinical psychological science must assert a leadership role in guiding a national response to this secondary crisis. In this article, COVID-19 is conceptualized as a unique, compounding, multidimensional stressor that will create a vast need for intervention and necessitate new paradigms for mental health service delivery and training. Urgent challenge areas across developmental periods are discussed, followed by a review of psychological symptoms that likely will increase in prevalence and require innovative solutions in both science and practice. Implications for new research directions, clinical approaches, and policy issues are discussed to highlight the opportunities for clinical psychological science to emerge as an updated, contemporary field capable of addressing the burden of mental illness and distress in the wake of COVID-19 and beyond. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Cultural Adaptations of Psychotherapy: Therapists' Applications of Conceptual Models with Asians and Asian Americans.

Although conceptual models of cultural adaptations of psychotherapy have been developed, little is known about how therapists apply these models in clinical practice. The purpose of the current study was to examine, using a directed content analysis, how therapists culturally adapt cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), one of the most widely used evidence-based approaches, for application with clients of Asian ancestry. The study also examined if there were major differences in adaptation strategies between therapists who practice in the United States (N = 9), a predominantly individualistic society as opposed to those who practice in Japan (N = 6), a predominantly collectivistic society. Semi-structured, open-ended interviews revealed that interdependent conceptualizations of the self and indirect communication were addressed by therapists in both countries, and therapist credibility issues were addressed only by therapists in the United States. These results imply that when culturally adapting psychotherapy, therapists incorporate elements of conceptual models that are relevant to their clients' cultures.

The role of spousal relationships in fibromyalgia patients' quality of life.

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic pain syndrome that includes debilitating symptoms such as widespread pain and tenderness, fatigue, and poor physical functioning. Research has shown FM patients' choice of coping style and relationship quality with their spouse can impact their mental quality of life (QoL), but no known study has examined the protective nature of relationship quality and coping behaviors on both patient physical and mental QoL in the context of chronic pain. We examined 204 patients with FM on the (a) roles of coping styles and relationship quality on patient quality of life, and (b) moderating effect of relationship quality on the association between negative coping style and patient QoL. A series of multiple regressions found patients' coping styles were not significantly associated with physical QoL, but were significantly associated with mental QoL. Patients' relationship quality with their spouse was significantly associated with mental QoL, but not physical QoL and no significant interactions with negative coping style were found. Our results emphasize the importance of coping styles and relationship quality between patients and their spouses in the context of chronic pain. Clinicians can incorporate the patient's relationship as part of a more holistic approach to care and improving outcomes.

Perceptions of general and postpresidential election discrimination are associated with loss of control eating among racially/ethnically diverse young men.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine the association between young men's perceived experiences with discrimination, both general and following the 2016 presidential election, and their loss of control (LOC) eating. The degree to which men identified with their ethnic identity was evaluated as a moderator. METHOD: The sample included 798 men (18-30 years; M = 24.0 ± 3.6) who identified as African American (n = 261), Asian/Asian American (n = 266), or Hispanic/Latino (n = 271). Participants completed an online survey of items assessing demographic characteristics; perceived discrimination; perceptions of race-related discrimination following the 2016 U.S. presidential election; ethnic identity; and LOC eating. RESULTS: After adjusting for income, education, generational status and body mass index, perceived discrimination was positively associated with LOC eating frequency in African American and Hispanic/Latino men (ps < .01). Ethnic identity was inversely associated with LOC eating frequency in Hispanic/Latino men (p < .001). In Asian/Asian American men, perceived discrimination was only associated with more LOC eating among those with a low ethnic identity (p < .001). Higher levels of perceived discrimination following the presidential election were uniquely associated with more frequent LOC eating (p < .01) only among Asian/Asian American men who were not born in the United States or whose parents were not born in the United States. DISCUSSION: LOC eating may partially explain known associations between discrimination and heightened risk for obesity and chronic diseases among African American and Hispanic/Latino men. Asian/Asian American men's LOC eating may be linked to postpresidential election and general experiences with racial discrimination, particularly if they report a low sense of belonging to their ethnic group.

The American Psychological Association Task Force assessment of violent video games: Science in the service of public interest.

A task force of experts was convened by the American Psychological Association (APA) to update the knowledge and policy about the impact of violent video game use on potential adverse outcomes. This APA Task Force on Media Violence examined the existing literature, including the meta-analyses in the field, since the last APA report on media violence in 2005. Because the most recent meta-analyses were published in 2010 and reflected work through 2009, the task force conducted a search of the published studies from 2009-2013. These recently published articles were scored and assessed by a systematic evidentiary review, followed by a meta-analysis of the high utility studies, as documented in the evidentiary review. Consistent with the literature that we reviewed, we found that violent video game exposure was associated with: an increased composite aggression score; increased aggressive behavior; increased aggressive cognitions; increased aggressive affect, increased desensitization, and decreased empathy; and increased physiological arousal. The size of the effects was similar to that in prior meta-analyses, suggesting a stable result. Our task force concluded that violent video game use is a risk factor for adverse outcomes, but found insufficient studies to examine any potential link between violent video game use and delinquency or criminal behavior. Our technical report is the basis of this article. (PsycINFO Database Record

Disciplinary perspectives on multicultural research: Reply to Dvorakova (2016) and Yakushko et al. (2016).

In their comments on Hall, Yip, and Zárate (2016), Dvorakova (2016) addresses cultural psychology methods and Yakushko, Hoffman, Consoli, and Lee (2016) address qualitative research methods. We provide evidence of the neglect of underrepresented groups in the publications of major journals in cultural psychology and qualitative psychology. We do not view any particular research method as inherently contributing to "epistemological violence" (Yakushko et al., 2016, p. 5), but it is the misguided application and/or interpretation of data generated from such methods that perpetuate oppression. We contend that best practices for representing ethnocultural diversity in research will require a diverse toolbox containing quantitative, qualitative, biological, and behavioral approaches. (PsycINFO Database Record

A Meta-Analysis of Cultural Adaptations of Psychological Interventions.

Forehand and Kotchick (1996) issued a wake-up call to the field to develop culturally responsive interventions. Since that time, 11 meta-analyses on culturally adapted interventions have been conducted. To reconcile the differences of the previous meta- analyses, a new meta-analysis was conducted that included 13,998 participants, 95% of whom were non-European American, in 78 studies evaluating culturally adapted interventions with psychopathology outcomes. Using a random effects multilevel regression model, the overall effect size (g = 0.67, p < .001) favored the effectiveness of culturally adapted interventions over other conditions (no intervention, other interventions). There was a medium effect size favoring the effectiveness of culturally adapted interventions over unadapted versions of the same intervention (g = .52). The overall effect size was moderated by whether the study involved treatment (g = .76) vs. prevention (g = .25, p = .03) and whether the study involved specific measures of mood or anxiety symptoms (g = .76) vs. general measures of psychopathology (g = .48, p = .02). Culturally adapted interventions had 4.68 times greater odds than other conditions to produce remission from psychopathology (p < .001) in 16 studies that reported remission. There were greater effects in no intervention control designs (marginal odds ratio = 9.80) than in manualized intervention (marginal odds ratio = 3.47, p = .03) or another active, nonmanualized intervention (marginal odds ratio = 3.38, p = .04) comparison designs in remission studies. Research has yet to adequately investigate whether culturally adapted or unadapted interventions impact culture-specific psychopathology. These findings indicate a continuing need for rigor in the conceptualization and measurement of culture- specific psychopathology and in developing culturally responsive interventions.

On becoming multicultural in a monocultural research world: A conceptual approach to studying ethnocultural diversity.

Race, culture, and ethnicity are critical components of the human experience, yet they are often treated as nuisance variables or as post hoc explanations for poorly predicted results. Mandates to pay attention to ethnocultural diversity in research have largely been ignored. Here, we affirm some basic principles of multicultural psychology in conceptually grounded research. We first identify the importance of clear and conceptually guided ethnocultural research, and describe multiple perspectives in the field. The first perspective, a generalizability approach, seeks to find similarities and universalities across diverse groups. The second perspective, a group differences approach, attempts to determine the generalizability and limits to generalizability across different groups that are assumed to represent different cultures. The third perspective, multicultural psychology, involves specifying and measuring the mechanisms of cultural influences on behavior in ethnocultural groups underrepresented in research. In contrast to conventional approaches to culture that apply existing models to other groups, we propose an "inside-out" model that prizes the perspectives of those in ethnocultural communities that are underrepresented in research and places a secondary emphasis on generalizability. We follow with examples and new directions for multicultural psychology research. This approach has the potential to enhance researchers' ability to answer conceptually derived research questions and in combination with the other approaches promises to enhance the advancement of psychological science generally. (PsycINFO Database Record

A Comparison of Two Models of Risky Sexual Behavior During Late Adolescence.

Two models of risky sexual behavior (RSB) were compared in a community sample of late adolescents (N = 223). For the traumagenic model, early negative sexual experiences were posited to lead to an association between negative affect with sexual relationships. For the cognitive escape model, depressive affect was posited to lead to engagement in RSB as a way to avoid negative emotions. The current study examined whether depression explained the relationship between sexual trauma and RSB, supporting the cognitive escape model, or whether it was sexual trauma that led specifically to RSB, supporting the traumagenic model. Physical trauma experiences were also examined to disentangle the effects of sexual trauma compared to other emotionally distressing events. The study examined whether the results would be moderated by participant sex. For males, support was found for the cognitive escape model but not the traumagenic model. Among males, physical trauma and depression predicted engagement in RSB but sexual trauma did not. For females, support was found for the traumagenic and cognitive escape model. Among females, depression and sexual trauma both uniquely predicted RSB. There was an additional suppressor effect of socioeconomic status in predicting RSB among females. Results suggest that the association of trauma type with RSB depends on participant sex. Implications of the current study for RSB prevention efforts are discussed.

Studying Sexual Aggression: A Review of the Evolution and Validity of Laboratory Paradigms.

OBJECTIVE: Researchers have endeavored for decades to develop and implement experimental assessments of sexual aggression and its precursors to capitalize on the many scientific advantages offered by laboratory experiments, such as rigorous control of key variables and identification of causal relationships. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of and commentary on the evolution of these laboratory-based methods. CONCLUSIONS: To date, two primary types of sexual aggression laboratory studies have been developed: those that involve behavioral analogues of sexual aggression and those that assess postulated precursors to sexually aggressive behavior. Although the study of sexual aggression in the laboratory is fraught with methodological challenges, validity concerns, and ethical considerations, advances in the field have resulted in greater methodological rigor, more precise dependent measures, and improved experimental validity, reliability, and realism. Because highly effective sexual aggression prevention strategies remain elusive, continued laboratory-based investigation of sexual aggression coupled with translation of critical findings to the development and modification of sexual aggression prevention programs remains an important task for the field.

Validity for an integrated laboratory analogue of sexual aggression and bystander intervention.

This study sought to develop and validate an integrated laboratory paradigm of sexual aggression and bystander intervention. Participants were a diverse community sample (54% African American) of heterosexual males (N = 156) between 21 and 35 years of age who were recruited to complete the study with a male friend and an ostensibly single, heterosexual female who reported a strong dislike of sexual content in the media. Participants viewed a sexually explicit or nonsexually explicit film clip as part of contrived media rating task and made individual choices of which film clip to show the female confederate. Immediately thereafter, participants were required to reach consensus on a group decision of which film clip to show the female confederate. Subjecting a target to an unwanted experience with a sexual connotation was operationalized as selection of the sexually explicit video, whereas successful bystander intervention was operationalized as the event of one partner individually selecting the sexually explicit video but then selecting the nonsexually explicit video for the group choice. Results demonstrated that a 1-year history of sexual aggression and endorsement of pertinent misogynistic attitudes significantly predicted selection of the sexually-explicit video. In addition, bystander efficacy significantly predicted men's successful prevention of their male peer's intent to show the female confederate a sexually explicit video. Discussion focused on how these data inform future research and bystander intervention programming for sexual aggression.

U.S. Mental Health Policy: Addressing the Neglect of Asian Americans.

Although Asian Americans are proportionally the fastest-growing ethnic group in the United States, federal mental health policies have neglected their special needs. U.S. federal mental health policy has shifted in the past 50 years from an emphasis on increasing accessibility to treatment to improving the quality of care and focusing on the brain as the basis of mental illness. However, the mental health needs of Asian Americans have been a relatively low priority. Myths about Asian Americans that have led to the general neglect of their mental health needs are that they: (a) are a small group; (b) are a successful group and do not experience problems; and (c) do not experience mental health disparities. Nevertheless, Asian Americans are a significant proportion of the population which experiences acculturative stress and discrimination that are often associated with psychopathology. However, Asian Americans who experience psychopathology are less likely than other groups to use mental health services. Political efforts must be made to get Asian Americans into positions of leadership and power in which they can make decisions about mental health policy priorities.

Culturally-Competent Treatments for Asian Americans: The Relevance of Mindfulness and Acceptance-Based Psychotherapies.

The development of effective treatments for Asian Americans is important because treatment disparities continue to exist for this population. Because of their theoretical grounding in East Asian philosophies, mindfulness and acceptance-based psychotherapies appear to constitute promising ways to provide culturally responsive mental health care to Asian Americans. However, in practice these approaches often reflect conceptions of mental health that are more consistent with Western world views. We review points of intersection and divergence between Western-based mindfulness and acceptance psychotherapies and Asian American cultural values. We then propose a culturally syntonic approach that accentuates certain components of mindfulness and acceptance psychotherapies and adapts other components of these approaches to be more consistent with Asian American cultural values.

Toward ethnocultural diversification of higher education.

Attitudes toward ethnocultural diversification in higher education mirror attitudes toward paying taxes. Dissenters are opposed to paying taxes or to ethnocultural diversification. Passive Supporters value the benefits of taxes or ethnocultural diversification, but pay taxes or engage in diversity efforts only when required to do so. Active Supporters pay taxes or support diversity efforts even if they are not required to do so. Mandatory approaches to decrease the resistance of Dissenters to ethnocultural diversification may be necessary, whereas compelling voluntary approaches may be useful to mobilize Passive Supporters. Solutions need to be tailored to the needs of European Americans and persons of color. This article offers a conceptual framework for future research and interventions.

Application to graduate psychology programs by undergraduate students of color: the impact of a research training program.

The top 86 students were selected from a pool of approximately 400 applicants to a summer clinical psychology research training program for undergraduate students of color. Forty-three of the students were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 clinical psychology research training programs, and 43 were randomly assigned to a control condition without training. The multicultural version of the training program emphasized the cultural context of psychology in all areas of training, whereas cultural context was de-emphasized in the monocultural version of the program. Although the cultural content of the 2 training programs was effectively manipulated as indicated by a fidelity check by an outside expert, there were no significant differences between the effects of the 2 programs on the outcomes measured in this study. The primary differences in this study were between students who did versus those who did not participate in a training program. Sixty-five percent of the students who completed the multicultural training program applied to graduate schools in psychology, compared with 47% of those who completed the monocultural training program, and 31% of those in the control group. Participation in summer research training programs also increased self-perceptions of multicultural competence.

Use of coercive sexual tactics across 10 years in at-risk young men: developmental patterns and co-occurring problematic dating behaviors.

Men's use of two coercive sexual tactics was tracked over 10 years in a sample of at-risk young men (N = 201). Patterns were identified for each tactic. For the tactic using drugs or alcohol to go further sexually, non-coercers (63%) and coercers (37%) were identified. For the tactic of going further sexually after the woman said "no," three patterns were identified-noncoercers (10%), low-level coercers who used the tactic five times or less over 10 years (42%), and high level coercers who used the tactic more than five times over 10 years (48%). The associations between coercive tactics and two dating behaviors-physical aggression toward a partner and risky sexual behaviors-were examined using multilevel linear modeling. For both coercive tactics, main effects and interaction effects with time occurred for physical aggression toward a partner. The most coercive men perpetrated the most physical aggression toward a partner between ages 18 and 22 years, but sexual coercion was unrelated to partner abuse between ages 22 and 27 years. Results suggest men vary in their use of coercive sexual tactics over time and the frequency of coercion varies based on tactic. Preliminary evidence suggests the use of coercive sexual tactics is associated with physical aggression toward a partner but not risky sexual behaviors, though the strength of the association varies over time.

The case for cultural competency in psychotherapeutic interventions.

Cultural competency practices have been widely adopted in the mental health field because of the disparities in the quality of services delivered to ethnic minority groups. In this review, we examine the meaning of cultural competency, positions that have been taken in favor of and against it, and the guidelines for its practice in the mental health field. Empirical research that tests the benefits of cultural competency is discussed.