Acculturative stress and acculturation discrepancies are universal challenges associated with the mental health of the growing population of immigrant and ethnic-minority youth globally. In particular, the avoidance of parent-child communication has garnered attention as a maintaining factor for their psychological distress. The present study aimed to develop the Parent Communication Avoidance Scale for Youth of Korean Descent in Japan (PCAS-KJ) and to examine its reliability and validity among youth of Korean descent residing in Japan. The participants were 278 individuals aged 18-30 years (M = 21.68, SD = 2.81, 133 women, 142 men, three participants chose not to answer). Confirmatory factor analysis supported a two-factor structure consisting of Avoidance of Discussion and Expression and Negative Thoughts toward Parents. Internal consistency, as assessed by McDonald's omega (omega = .81-.90), and test-retest reliability, as indicated by intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC = .74-.84), were satisfactory. The PCAS-KJ subscales showed significant weak-to-moderate positive correlations with measures of acculturation discrepancy, depression, anxiety, social isolation, and cognitive fusion, thereby supporting convergent validity. Furthermore, cross-sectional mediation analyses revealed significant indirect effects of the PCAS-KJ on the relationship between acculturation discrepancy and depression, anxiety, and social isolation. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses demonstrated that adding the PCAS-KJ to experiential avoidance (EA) and acculturation discrepancy significantly improved the prediction of depression and social isolation. These findings suggest that the PCAS-KJ is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing EA specifically related to parent-child communication among youth of Korean descent in Japan. Furthermore, this study may inform theories of psychological distress, scale development, and ACT-based interventions for ethnic-minority populations.
Strengths-based research consistently shows positive group-level associations between strength use and well-being. However, whether these associations hold uniformly within individuals remains untested. This study examined whether daily strength and well-being links are ergodic, meaning the pattern observed at the group level characterizes each individual's daily experience. Two hundred and thirty-five Pakistani undergraduates (Mage = 20.72, SD = 1.70; 77 women, 157 men, one missing) completed up to 21 daily diaries (M = 17) and pre–post assessments. Individual-level autoregressive integrated moving average models with exogenous predictors (i-ARIMAX) were estimated for each participant and then meta-analyzed. At the group level, experience sampling may have functioned as a light-touch intervention: participants increased their daily enactment of strengths and, on average, reported reductions in negative affect from the pre-test to the post-test. Group-level analyses also suggested that greater daily strength use predicted higher positive outcomes such as vitality, meaning, and life satisfaction, with smaller and often nonsignificant effects on negative affect. However, individual-level analyses revealed a different picture: the size and even the direction of daily strength–distress links varied substantially across participants. Clustering analysis showed that only a subset of students (responders) translated increased strength use into reduced distress, whereas others (nonresponders) did not. i-ARIMAX slopes distinguished these groups, suggesting that daily dynamics may help identify who is most likely to benefit. These findings illustrate how group averages can mask unique individual experiences, underscoring the potential value of person-centered approaches that tailor strengths-based interventions.
Mental illness stigma among healthcare providers is a primary barrier to the global shift towards community-based mental health care. University mental health service providers (MHSPs) have received limited attention in stigma reduction efforts. This mixed-methods study evaluated the acceptability of ACE-LYNX, an intervention integrating acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and group empowerment psychoeducation, and examined whether participation was associated with changes in stigma among Chinese university MHSPs. A sample of 409 MHSPs from six Chinese universities participated in the intervention. Stigmatizing attitudes were measured pre-intervention, post-intervention, and at the 3-month follow-up using the Community Attitudes Toward the Mentally Ill (CAMI) scale and were analyzed using generalized estimating equations. Acceptability was assessed using the Training Session Feedback Form. Nine focus groups (n = 69) explored participants' experiences and perceived impacts at follow-up using thematic analysis. The intervention demonstrated high acceptability (mean score ≥ 4.38/5.0) and was associated with significant reductions in social restrictiveness attitudes (p < .001). Authoritarianism and benevolence improved immediately after the intervention, whereas community mental health ideology showed no significant change. Qualitative findings identified three themes: potential mechanisms of change from cognitive defusion to embodied practice, barriers to sustained practice, and catalyzing future action as agents of change. These data signal that the ACE-LYNX intervention was highly acceptable, and provided preliminary evidence of reduced provider stigma. Culturally adapted ACT-based interventions may represent a promising pathway within global mental health task-sharing frameworks. Future efforts should combine training with supportive implementation ecosystems, including ongoing peer support and supervision.
