Faculty Bibliography

Regular family meal times have been associated with enhanced family cohesion and positive developmental outcomes for children-youth, especially in White and/or middle-class families. Less is known about the meal time experiences of low-income African American families. Guided by a family resilience perspective, this study examines meal times among a sample of low-income African American caregivers of preschoolers in an inner-city neighborhood. We conducted in-depth qualitative interviews and a photo elicitation interview with 11 low-income African American caregivers about their family meal time experiences. We found that caregivers valued family meal times and acknowledged their benefits for family life. However, competing demands such as family schedules, household configurations, chores, time pressures, fast food restaurants, and low-wage work affected the schedule and structure of meal times. This study adds to discussions of family meal times among low-income African American families and provides suggestions for enhancing mealtimes through culturally and developmentally appropriate interventions.

As part of a larger ethnographic study, this article explored the ways lowincome Kurdish families negotiated child characteristics identified as determinants in child labor decisions. Of the 27 Kurdish mothers who participated in the larger study, 18 were included for the purpose of this article. Data for this article primarily relied on demographic surveys and indepth interviews. Mothers' accounts showed that children's age, birth order, gender, and school success/continuation were critical factors in the decision-making process for child labor. Older children were more likely to work. Birth order was moderated by children's educational prospects. Gender was more critical in determining appropriate workplaces for girls and not whether they could work. In contrast to the existing literature, findings of this study showed that the relationship between child labor and education was bidirectional. More specifically, while child labor affected education, children's school success/attendance also shaped child labor decisions. Mothers' accounts also pointed to the complex and dynamic family processes that took into account children's and families' unique circumstances. As a result, this article offered a deeper understanding of family processes behind child labor decisions, which in turn had important policy and practice implications.

BACKGROUND: The process to seek for care by patients who experience episodes of mental disorders may determine how and where they receive the needed treatment. This study aimed to understand the pathways that people with mental disorders traversed for psychiatric services, particularly where these individuals will first seek treatment and the factors that influence such pathways to mental health care. METHODS: A cross-sectional study conducted at Pantang psychiatric hospital in Accra, Ghana involving 107 patients of ages 18 and older and their family members. The study adapted the World Health Organization's (WHO) pathway encounter form to collect information about patients' pathway contacts for psychiatric care. Chi Square test was done to determine patients' first point of contact and any association between the independent variables (clinical diagnosis and socio-demographic factors) and first pathway contact. Multiple regression analyses were also done to estimate the odds of patients' first pathway contact. RESULTS: Overall, nearly 48 % of patients initially contacted non-psychiatric treatment centers (faith-based, traditional healers and general medical practitioners) as their first point of contact for treatment of mental disorders. A little more than half of the patients went directly to the formal public psychiatric facility as their first point of contact for care of their mental disorders. Patients' occupation was significantly associated with their first point of contact for psychiatric care (chi2 = 6.91; p < 0.033). Those with secondary education were less likely to initially seek care from the formal public psychiatric hospital compared to those with no formal education (uOR = 0.86; 95 % CI 0.18-4.08). CONCLUSION: Patients used different pathways to seek psychiatric care, namely direct pathway to a psychiatric hospital or through transition from informal non-psychiatric service providers. Since nearly half of patients do not initially seek mental health care directly at the formal psychiatric facility, it is important for the government of Ghana to increase funding to the mental health authorities in Ghana as a matter of priority so that more individuals can be identified and integrated into mainstream psychiatric treatment and general health facilities where there are trained Community Mental Health Officers (CMHO) and Clinical Psychiatric Officers (CPO) to provide early intervention and treatment.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s13033-016-0095-1.].

Child labor is a serious issue in Turkey. This article provides a review of the current literature on risk factors associated with child labor in Turkey. Emphasizing their multilayered nature, the article examines risk factors contributing to child labor in Turkey by clustering them under individual, family, and structural factors. Recommendations for future research, policy, and practice are also discussed.

Very little research exists on how self-perceived emerging adult status is associated with substance use among low-income emerging adults. The Inventory of Dimensions of Emerging Adulthood (IDEA) was administered to emerging adults (EAs) ages 18-25 screened for substance use problems (n = l05) in a state-subsidized, not-for-profit treatment agency. We examined whether the defining dimensions of Arnett's (2000a) emerging adulthood theory were associated with substance use frequency and substance-related problems, including: identity exploration, self-focus, possibilities, optimism, negativity/instability, and feeling in-between. In multivariate models, feeling in-between was positively associated with substance-related problems. An interaction term between minority status and feeling in-between approached statistical significance (p = .057). Further, IDEA scale score means were comparable to those found in college student samples. Implications for theory revision are discussed.