A comparison of classroom-based and online multicultural training course within a marriage and family therapy training program.

This study contributes to an emerging area of research on online learning within marriage and family therapy training programs while responding to the need for research on the effectiveness of multicultural training marriage and family therapists receive. Using 32 students in a marriage and family therapy program and a pretest-posttest design, this study focused on student outcomes across a classroom-based multicultural training course and an online section of the same course. Support was found for the effectiveness of each instructional modality in delivering multicultural training. Findings also indicated that student gains did not significantly differ across students in the two course sections. This is the first study to provide evidence that online learning does not compromise the effectiveness of multicultural training for marriage and family therapists and adds evidence to the claim that the multicultural training marriage and family therapists receive is effective in achieving its aims.

School Burnout Inventory: Latent Profile and Item Response Theory Analyses in Undergraduate Samples.

The current research reports both latent profile (person-oriented) and item response theory (IRT) analyses of the School Burnout Inventory (SBI) in United States undergraduate samples. Study 1 (n = 1,007) comprises a latent profile analysis (LPA) that identified four mutually exclusive subgroups based on patterns of school burnout responses. Covariate analyses of grade point average and negative affect suggested that school burnout profiles function similarly to variable-oriented approaches. Study 2 (n = 544) explored longitudinal patterns of school burnout among college students via use of a repeated measures LPA. Findings suggested that the profiles identified reflect a relatively stable school burnout trajectory over time. Covariate analysis of sleep quality and academic engagement demonstrated differences across profiles, but the patterns were similar to variable-oriented statistical approaches. Study 3 (n = 2,364) utilized an IRT analysis of the SBI to identify a short, efficient measure. Item information curves and graded response model item discrimination parameters identified a 4-item SBI scale (SBI-4) that offered reasonably high levels of information for assessing school burnout in comparison to the original nine-item SBI. Implications and future research are identified.

Linking Patterns of Substance Use With Sexual Risk-Taking Among Female Adolescents With and Without Histories of Maltreatment.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to determine the associations between patterns of substance use and sexual risk-taking among female adolescents with and without histories of maltreatment. METHODS: Data are from a prospective cohort study examining the impact of maltreatment on subsequent female adolescent sexual health (N = 504). Participants averaged 18.24 years in age (SD = 1.12), and approximately 63% had substantiated incidences of maltreatment filed with Child Protective Services prior to age 18. The present study used latent class analysis to examine patterns in adolescent substance use, and negative binomial regression models to examine the links between patterns of substance use and sexual risk-taking and to determine whether these associations were moderated by adolescents' maltreatment status. RESULTS: Six classes emerged from latent class analysis labeled as follows: abstainers (25% of sample); polysubstance users-early initiators (13%); polysubstance users-late initiators (23%); alcohol and cannabis users-late initiators (9%); alcohol users-late initiators (18%); and tobacco users (12%). Patterns of adolescent polysubstance use were associated with the highest levels of sexual risk-taking, and patterns of late-initiated polysubstance use, late-initiated alcohol use, and tobacco use were more strongly related to sexual risk-taking for female adolescents with histories of maltreatment. CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first to determine the specific patterns of substance use that are more strongly related to sexual risk-taking for maltreated female adolescents. By doing so, this study demonstrates how a person-centered approach can facilitate our understanding of how to best leverage sexual risk-taking prevention efforts.

Latent Classes of Maltreatment: A Systematic Review and Critique.

This article reviews and critically evaluates available research on latent classes of maltreatment. Three major databases (PsycINFO, Web of Knowledge, and Academic Search Complete) were used to identify studies on latent classes of maltreatment published before June 1, 2016. Of 365 potentially relevant studies, 14 met inclusion criteria for review. Our analysis was guided by the following questions: (a) What observed indicators are being used to model classes of maltreatment? (b) What are the most commonly identified classes of maltreatment? and (c) What are the predictors and outcomes of classes of maltreatment? Across the studies, findings demonstrated how person-centered methods (i.e., latent class/profile analysis) may facilitate the study of maltreatment by concurrently addressing several methodological limitations common to the study of maltreatment, while also addressing heterogeneity in experiences of maltreatment. After providing an account of existing trends within the literature employing person-centered methodology in the study of maltreatment, we offer a critique of extant research, note recent methodological developments, and make numerous recommendations for future research using person-centered approaches to understanding maltreatment.

Family Violence Exposure and Sexual Risk-Taking Among Latino Emerging Adults: The Role of Posttraumatic Stress Symptomology and Acculturative Stress.

This study proposes that posttraumatic stress symptomology and acculturative stress may further explain the relationship between family violence exposure and sexual risk-taking behaviors among Latino emerging adults (N=1,100). A moderated mediation analysis indicated that lifetime rates of family violence exposure were positively associated with sexual risk-taking via posttraumatic stress symptomology, and this mediation significantly varied as a function of acculturative stress. Overall, the findings of the current study underscore a need for a better understanding of how family violence exposure puts Latino emerging adults at risk for aversive health outcomes and suggest the use of an ecological systemic framework that examines the interactions between family, individual, and cultural systems in relation to health risk-taking behaviors.

Forgiveness as a mediator of the intergenerational transmission of violence.

Bowen Family Systems Theory and Social Learning Theory served as a framework for examining the potential role of offspring maternal forgiveness in the intergenerational transmission (IGT) of violence. Using 285 emerging adults, we tested the hypotheses that higher accounts of witnessed interpersonal violence perpetrated by either parent would relate to increased reports of dating violence, and that offspring's capacity to forgive mothers for current transgressions would mediate this relationship. Witnessing interpersonal violence perpetrated by either parent significantly related to offspring dating violence perpetration and victimization. In addition, witnessing violence perpetrated by either parent significantly related to offspring dating violence perpetration, via offspring's capacity to forgive. Contrary to expectation, offspring's capacity to forgive mothers did not mediate the link between father-perpetrated violence and dating violence victimization; however, it did serve as mediator in the association between mother-perpetrated violence and offspring dating violence victimization. Overall, the findings suggest that witnessing violence perpetrated by either parent explains a portion of the variance in offspring dating violence indirectly through offspring's capacity to forgive mothers for current transgressions. The present study contributes to previous research on the IGT of violence by identifying forgiveness as a mechanism in which intimate partner violence is transmitted generationally. Implications and future directions are discussed for researchers and clinicians.