Ximena B. Arriaga - US grants

[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): PACE - Parenting Our Children to Excellence - is a research-based intervention to support young families in their parenting task through group discussions and activities that address practical childrearing issues and promote child coping-competence. PACE has been delivered successfully in more than 45 preschools and daycare centers over the past 3 years, but it is presented in English and cannot reach a growing population of Latino families. This application reflects community calls for a Spanish version of PACE and is in response to PA-06-181 (formerly PA-03-111) inviting research on adherence to interventions to treat or prevent mental disorders. The PA notes that effective interventions exist but that large segments of those who stand to benefit have no access to them because of multiple barriers, including cultural and language barriers. To remove those barriers, the proposed research will adapt and translate the PACE program into Spanish, develop culturally appropriate recruitment and retention procedures, and pilot test the new program and procedures. Specific aims are, (1) to obtain community input to design a culturally sensitive Spanish program with recruitment and retention procedures that maximize adherence among Latino parents of young children; (2) to adapt and translate the PACE manual and recruitment materials into Spanish in light of community input, and to translate measures not already available in Spanish; (3) to pilot test the new program with six groups of Spanish-speaking families and staff; and (4) to obtain pilot data on program efficacy at post and 3-month follow up, on characteristics of participants or their context that contribute to adherence, and on the applicability of the coping-competence model underling PACE to Latino families. This project represents the first two phases of the IOM's (1994) five phases of prevention research: development of a new, culturally sensitive intervention, and of supportive materials and measures (Phase I), and preliminary testing of the intervention and its underlying model (Phase II). If successful, the P.I. intends to apply for additional funding to conduct a randomized clinical trial (Phase III) and further testing with similar and different Latino subgroups (Phase IV), prior to a dissemination study to test the program's effectiveness when brought to scale (Phase V). to public health: This research will develop and test a Spanish version of the PACE parenting program. It will provide a much-needed service to Latino families who have no access to the English program because of cultural and language barriers, and it will inform public health efforts to improve access and adherence to culturally sensitive interventions to treat or prevent mental disorders. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]

This workshop at Purdue University draws together a global group of interdisciplinary scholars who, together with Purdue faculty, offer analyses of a series of pressing global challenges. The workshop focuses on finding new perspectives on seemingly "intractable" global policy problems by examining a cutting edge area of research in the social sciences: the role of social norms, considered as a kind of informal institution, in shaping policy design, adoption, and implementation. The workshop aims to apply these theoretical insights on multipe difficult problems that have faced policy makers internationally. The workshop involves a series of substantive issue panels focusing on the actual and/or potential role of informal institutions in offering solutions. It also includes an intergrative, cross-issue panel drawing out broader lessons about informal institutions as they relate to multiple diverse issues. The presentations and broader conclusions of this work will be disseminated in both scholarly and non-scholarly outlets.

With regards to intellectual merit, informal institutions (or norms) are increasingly recognized as vital determinants of human behavior in multiple contexts and disciplines. Where simpler models of rationality once dominated our understanding of human behavior, more complicated models emphasizing the influence of norms are now recognized as playing a critical, but poorly understood role. While much progress has been made in the past decade in studying these informal institutions in multiple disciplines and as they operate in many different contexts, the intellectual challenges of understanding the impact of these norms remain daunting and the integration of this work remains limited. By convening this interdisciplinary, cross-national group of scholars, the organizers aim to contribute to the understanding of solutions to policy challenges as well as to advance theoretical understanding of the ways that informal institutions and social norms affect global problems.

With regards to broader impacts, the workshop will offer new solutions to serious problems, promote the professional and intellectual development of graduate students working on vital scientific questions that affect serious policy problems, and build international, interdisciplinary networks and partnerships that include scholars and students from underrepresented gender, racial, and geographic groups.

Strong relationships with close others are important for psychological and physical well-being. However, people differ in how willing and able they are to forge bonds in which they feel secure with others. People who achieve greater security in their close relationships ("attachment security") have better relationship outcomes, are more confident in pursuing personal goals and are better able to handle challenges. Although attachment insecurity is often a chronic condition, it can and does change with new experiences. This project capitalizes on interactions in romantic relationships, which evoke experiences that have powerful effects in regulating a sense of security. This research introduces relationship strategies, such as communication strategies that strengthen trust or confidence and perception exercises that aid in positive reinterpretations of interactions, that could regulate attachment security. This work will therefore shed light on fundamental questions in attachment research and relationship science, such as what are the interpersonal processes that lead to increased attachment security over time? Specifically, the research will test theoretically-derived pathways through which short- and long-term changes in attachment processes could be achieved. The relationship strategies examined in this research target each type of insecurity and are designed to be incorporated in typical couple interactions and daily events. These strategies may also be adopted in non-romantic settings by individuals who have endured negative interpersonal experiences.

The primary goal of this project is to identify mechanisms through which insecure relational dynamics may be reduced, and attachment security enhanced, over time. Specifically, the research will test whether communication strategies mediate these processes in the short-term; and, whether changes in mental models (beliefs about the self and others) lead to longer-term shifts in attachment security. In a series of randomized experiments, couples are assigned to strategies to target anxious tendencies or avoidant tendencies. The first aim will test the mediating role that communication strategies play in mitigating anxiety versus avoidance. Such communication may reduce immediate relational tension but may not be sufficient to cause enduring changes in attachment security. The second aim, therefore, involves examining interactions and perceptions that can increase confidence among anxious individuals and increase trust among avoidant individuals. The effect of these security-enhancing strategies, combined with communication that mitigates insecurity, will be examined over an extended time. These relatively minor changes in couples' communication patterns and beliefs are expected to ripple into more profound changes in general attachment security, which benefits relationships and promotes meaningful activities that are fundamental to societal well-being. This proposal is awarded under the SBE-RCUK Lead Agency Agreement.