Month: January 2025

Abstract

This article advances the palimpsest as a tool for analyzing the multiplicitous, layered, and relational becomings of Latinidades. Contributing to scholarship about unruly Latinidades that pushes back against marginalization, oppression, and erasure, the palimpsest offers a spatial lens to this work. Drawing on research vignettes, media documents, and cultural texts about Latinx-driven demographic change in the US South, we show how critical spatial thinking adds insights to discussions about the construction, contingency, and complexity of Latinidades. As educational scholars, we use an interdisciplinary approach to contend that the palimpsest provides a heuristic to intertwine Black, Latinx, and Indigenous geographic thought with the often invisibilized layers of spatial narratives that entangle with and unravel bounded notions of Latinx identities and places. This critical spatial lens pushes back against linear, assimilationist, and fragmented logics that tend to dominate much education scholarship.

Abstract

Examining the quality of life outcomes and supports of autistic people, particularly without proxies, is important to inform research and service delivery – not only for it to be more evidenced-based, but also to ensure services and supports are successfully supporting autistic people in ways that are important to them. The aim of this exploratory study was to examine the quality of life personal outcomes of autistic people; our secondary aim was to examine the presence of person-centered organizational supports to facilitate autistic people’s outcomes. We analyzed secondary Personal Outcome Measures interview data from 860 autistic adults (January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2023), many of which also had additional intellectual/developmental disabilities. Autistic people had 50.4% of outcomes present; they were most likely to be safe and have the best possible health, and least likely to choose where and with whom to live, and choose their services. Autistic people had 52.1% of individualized supports in place. While there were differences in autistic people’s outcomes and supports based on their sociodemographics, the presence of supports played a larger role in quality of life. While much work remains, our findings indicate that with thoughtful, person-centered services and supports, autistic people’s outcomes improve tremendously.

Abstract

This paper examines the emancipatory potential of poetry as a methodological tool within Development Studies, arguing that poetry serves as a medium for amplifying marginalised voices and challenging dominant narratives of development. By employing critical poetic inquiry, researchers can embrace arts-based methods that recognise diverse epistemologies and foster inclusivity. This approach allows for a more nuanced understanding of the lived experiences of marginalised communities, empowering them to co-create knowledge and advocate for social justice. Drawing on theoretical frameworks from critical pedagogy, particularly the work of Paulo Freire, the paper underscores the importance of voice and dialogue with reflection as a catalyst for action and transformation. Furthermore, it explores how poetic inquiry disrupts traditional power dynamics in research, positioning marginalised individuals not merely as subjects but as active agents in the knowledge production process, while acknowledging the challenges faced in legitimising such methods within the development narrative in academia.

Abstract

Background

According to recent estimates, around 30 million people have taken Direct-to-Consumer DNA ancestry tests, typically marketed as a fun, harmless and exciting process of discovery. These tests estimate a user’s ethnic ancestry, also matching users with biological relations on their database. This matching can produce a surprising ‘not parent expected’ discovery, where a user learns that an assumed parent (typically the father) is not a biological parent. Such news may negatively affect mental health, self-identity and familial relationships, while prompting the utilization of putatively helpful resources by affected individuals. However, there is a lack of research on this topic. Thus, this study aimed to document the psychosocial experience of adults who have learnt that an assumed parent is not a biological parent via a Direct-to-Consumer DNA ancestry test. Specific objectives include investigating and understanding impact on mental health, familial relationships and subsequent resources mobilized.

Methods

To meet these objectives, we conducted an inductive qualitative study, allowing for the documentation of common experiences and perspectives. This involved 52 semi-structured interviews with affected individuals, analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results

This resulted in five overlapping themes, namely (i) participants typically described their experience as an extraordinary shock that had a negative impact on their mental health, with some exceptions; (ii) the experience typically led to a severe and troubling disruption of their self-identity, with some exceptions; (iii) the news often ruptured extant familial relationships, especially with the mother, and any experiences with the new biological family were mixed; (iv) participants sought support from a variety of resources including spouses, siblings, and online peer support groups, which were generally considered helpful, with some exceptions; and (v) many participants consulted mental health professionals, who were sometimes considered supportive, but some participants noted that they were ill-equipped to help. Common across these themes were issues of grief, loss and trauma.

Conclusions

This study reveals an expanding, vulnerable, and under-researched population facing unique stressors, that may be at high risk of developing a psychiatric disorder. There is a need for new services and supports for this population including tailored clinical interventions and specific self-care resources.

Abstract

Mountain regions are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts. Yet, little is known about local adaptation responses in African mountain regions, especially if these are incremental or transformational. First, using household questionnaires, we interviewed 1,500 farmers across ten African mountain regions to investigate perceived climate change impacts and adaptation responses. Second, through a reflective process involving all co-authors, we identified: (1) main constraints and opportunities for adaptation, and (2) if adaptation was incremental or transformational. Questionnaire data show that farmers in all sites perceive multiple impacts, and that they mostly respond by intensifying farming practices and using off-farm labour. We established that, while several constraints were shared across sites, others were context specific; and that adaptation was mostly incremental, but that certain attributes (for example, social capital) made three sites in East Africa slightly more transformational.

Abstract

Background

Children’s social-emotional development and mental well-being are critical to adult mental health. However, little is known about the mechanisms or factors that contribute to poor child mental health in low- and middle-income countries. Given the lack of child mental health research to guide interventions or social-emotional learning programs and policy planning, the present study aimed to address these knowledge gaps by examining the psychopathology mechanism involved in the development of childhood mental health problems.

Methods

This cross-sectional study recruited parents (N = 393) whose children attended preschool to primary classes in the Arghakhanchi district of Nepal. Data were gathered through parent interviews. Structural Equation Modeling was used to examine the pathways of the mediational mechanism that examined the influence of parental well-being on parenting and children’s mental health outcomes.

Results

Approximately 22% of the parents were at risk for moderate to severe mental health problems (anxiety: 24%, depression:19%). Parental mental health problems were higher in families who reported food insecurity, among female parents, less educated parents, and those who perceived themselves on a lower social ladder. Parental mental health, social support, and perceived class were associated with parent-child conflict. Greater parent-child conflict was associated with decreased social competence and increased anger, anxiety, and depression in children.

Conclusion

The results partially support the mediational model that Nepali parents’ well-being (especially in mental health symptoms, social support, and perception of family’s social class domains) is associated with less optimal parenting and, in turn, greater child mental health problems and lower social competence. This study provides new evidence of cross-cultural consistency in child psychopathology and guides the development of evidence-based programs to prevent and promote mental health among Nepali children and families.

Abstract

This article describes the findings of a study that explored potential factors that influence the pass rate for those taking marriage and family therapy (MFT) licensing exams, both the national and California exams. An online, national survey was conducted to determine factors associated with passing the MFT licensing exams. The survey included measures of test anxiety, coping strategies, perceived stress, and experience of discrimination. The demographic results included patterns of racial and age disparities similar to those reported by the Association of Social Work Boards (2022), especially for Black respondents. Specific and readily implemented recommendations for making the current exams more equitable include (a) changing the phrasing of questions, (b) clarifying and reducing the scope of the content, (c) reducing the number of questions during the 4-hour period, and (d) ensuring adequate accommodations for disabilities.