"I Just Want to Be Me, Authentically": Identity Shifting Among Racially and Ethnically Diverse Young Adults.

Identity shifting represents a common but complex social, behavioral, and cognitive phenomenon. However, some forms of identity shifting originate in response to structural, institutional, and interpersonal marginalization enacted on lower status groups, such as people of color in the United States. The current study investigated ways young adults from diverse ethnic/racial groups discussed shifting to fit in with White Americans (a dominant group) in the United States and their own ethnic/racial group (a minoritized group) and elucidated self-reported motivations for shifting. Participants consisted of 764 young adults (ages = 18-23) recruited from two large public universities in the Southeast and Southwest regions of the United States. The majority of participants identified as Black/African American (41%), Asian/Asian American (27%), or Hispanic/Latinx (22%). Analysis of participants' qualitative responses identified six types of shifts and two motivations for shifting. The shifts included: behavioral, linguistic, cognitive, physical, food, and affect. Motivations for shifting focused on avoiding risks and obtaining rewards. The discussion offers interpretation of the results and recommendations for future research on identity shifting.

Early Childhood Teachers' Perspectives on Social-Emotional Competence and Learning in Urban Classrooms.

The promotion of social emotional competence (SEC) and implementation of social emotional learning (SEL) programs have increased substantially in schools, however little is known about teachers' perceptions of such programs. This qualitative study explored early childhood (three- to eight-year-old) teachers' perceptions of classroom-based social-emotional programs for young, urban-dwelling children. A focus of the study included learning what teachers believe were the critical components and challenges of such programs. Five themes emerged from the content analysis: Responsibility, Curricula/Program Design, Contextual Relevance, Support, and Barriers. The findings from this study are discussed in regards to educational policy implications about SEL curricula and programs, especially those implemented in urban schools.

Father participation in a community-doula home-visiting intervention with young, African American mothers.

This article examines the extent and nature of father participation in a perinatal, community-based doula home-visiting intervention that served young, African American mothers from low-income backgrounds and their infants. Home-visitor service records were used to assess the quantity, setting, and content of father-attended visits. Correlates of fathers' participation and thematic insights from mothers' and home-visitors' perspectives on how fathers perceived and interacted with the home-visiting program were analyzed to further characterize the nature of father participation. Although the community-doula home-visiting model does not include special outreach to increase father participation, almost half of the mothers had a doula visit at which their baby's father was present, many of which took place in medical settings. Mothers and doulas reported that fathers were generally positive about the doula, but expressed that fathers viewed the doula as a substitute provider of support that fathers seemed reticent to provide themselves. These results suggest that community doulas who visit pre- and postpartum in multiple settings have unique opportunities to have contact with fathers that traditional home visitors or early childhood specialists may not have.

The good, the bad, and the ambivalent: Quality of alliance in a support program for young mothers.

The relationship that develops between early childhood service providers and parents is seen as a critical component in program implementation, although little is known about how service providers and parents view this relationship. The current qualitative study examines the helping relationship between doulas and 12 African American adolescent mothers who participated in a larger study of prenatal and postnatal support. Mothers and their doulas were interviewed separately at the beginning and the end of program participation about the quality of the helping relationship and how they spent their time together. Content analysis revealed positive, negative, and ambivalent themes in mothers' and doulas' descriptions of their relationships, although the majority of the relationships were considered positive. For the most part, doulas and mothers agreed on the quality of the relationship that they formed with each other. Mothers were more likely to note the enjoyable aspects of spending time with their doula while doulas focused more on issues of trust and acceptance. The young mothers and doulas often considered amount of contact and availability (or lack thereof) as a sign of the quality of the relationship. Results are discussed in terms of the professional role of the doula and cultural influences in help-giving behavior.

TEACHER AND OBSERVER RATINGS OF YOUNG AFRICAN AMERICAN CHILDREN'S SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL COMPETENCE.

Children's social and emotional competence abilities have been linked to successful social interactions and academic performance. This study examined the teacher and observer ratings of social and emotional competence for 89 young (3- to 5-year-old), African American children from economically stressed urban environments. There was a specific interest in understanding the convergence and divergence of the raters on these competence behaviors within the classroom. This study also examined the association among children's competence abilities and their overall functioning at school. There were significant associations between teacher and observer reports of children's competence. Children who were observed to be socially and emotionally competent were rated by their teachers as functioning well in school. However, there were differences among teacher and observer reports in terms of the specific behaviors that represented social and emotional competence. These findings provide support for the use of multi-method, multi-informant measures to assess competence among African American children.

Predictive validity of DSM-IV oppositional defiant and conduct disorders in clinically referred preschoolers.

BACKGROUND: Diagnostic validity of oppositional defiant and conduct disorders (ODD and CD) for preschoolers has been questioned based on concerns regarding the ability to differentiate normative, transient disruptive behavior from clinical symptoms. Data on concurrent validity have accumulated, but predictive validity is limited. Predictive validity is critical to refuting the hypothesis that diagnosing ODD and CD in young children leads to pathologizing normal behavior. ODD and CD have emerged as gateway disorders to many forms of adult psychopathology. Establishing how early we can identify symptoms and disorders that herald poor prognosis is one of the most important goals for research on etiology and prevention. METHODS: Subjects were 3-5-year-old consecutive referrals to a child psychiatry clinic (n=123) and demographically matched children from a pediatric clinic (n=100). A diagnostic interview was used to assess DSM-IV ODD and CD in a prospective follow-up design from preschool to school age. Stability of ODD and CD diagnoses and level of impairment were tested as a function of preschool diagnosis. RESULTS: Over 80% of preschoolers diagnosed with ODD and approximately 60% of preschoolers diagnosed with CD met criteria for the same disorder during follow-up. Impairment over time varied significantly as a function of stability of diagnosis across three years. CONCLUSIONS: These results provide the first evidence of the predictive validity of DSM-IV ODD and CD in clinically referred preschool children. The findings challenge the assumption that symptoms of disruptive behavior disorders that occur during the preschool period tend to be transient.

Further evidence of the reliability and validity of DSM-IV ODD and CD in preschool children.

OBJECTIVE: To test the reliability and validity of DSM-IV oppositional defiant and conduct disorders (ODD and CD) and symptoms using the Kiddie Disruptive Behavior Disorders Schedule and generate data on the manifestation of symptoms of ODD and CD in 3- to 5-year-old children. METHOD: One hundred twenty-three consecutive referrals to a child and adolescent psychiatry clinic and 100 children recruited from a pediatric clinic and their biological mothers participated. Mothers were interviewed about current ODD and CD symptoms, and mother and teachers completed measures of impairment. Twenty-five percent of the interviews were randomly selected and coded by a second rater to test interrater reliability. A separate sample of 31 children was recruited for a 1-week test-retest study. RESULTS: Overall, reliability of ODD and CD symptoms as measured by interrater and test-retest reliability was moderate to high. Reliability was not affected by age or sex of the child. Validity was demonstrated via associations with impairment and differentiation between referred and nonreferred children. CONCLUSIONS: Most DSM-IV ODD and CD symptoms can be reliably and validly assessed in preschool children. Some developmental modifications are recommended. The results add to the literature on best methods of assessment of preschool psychopathology.

Theoretical, developmental & cultural orientations of school-based prevention programs for preschoolers.

Schools are the primary environment in which to conduct prevention programs for school-age children. Educators, policy makers, and psychologist argue that prevention efforts should begin as early as possible to maximize their effectiveness. Surprisingly, there are relatively few school-based prevention programs targeted for preschoolers. Given the evidence supporting earlier rather than later prevention efforts and the fact that many children in the United States attend preschool programs, more research on the feasibility and effectiveness of prevention programs administered in preschool environments is warranted. In this article, we review the existing literature on school-based prevention programs targeted for preschool children. We examine whether school-based prevention programs are theory driven, developmentally appropriate, culturally sensitive, and aimed specifically at symptom reduction or behavior promotion. Based on the findings of this review, our aim is to identify gaps in the prevention research literature regarding programs for preschoolers and propose research to address such gaps to create more effective school-based prevention programs for young children.