Born Do

Psychological adaptation and development under acculturative stress: Toward a general model

Abstract Psychological stresses affecting individuals from tradition-oriented societies who are subjected to acculturative pressures from western, modernized societies are examined. A cognitive construct, the mazeway, is used as a psychological frame-of-reference because of its adaptability to several sociocultural approaches to behavior theory. Primary stress is seen to derive from relative deprivation and, in particular, withdrawal of status respect. Adaptation to socially-induced stress approximates four modes: Retreatism, Reconciliation, Innovation and Withdrawal. Innovation and Withdrawal are seen to be improbable in the tradition-oriented society. Both Retreatism and Reconciliation can lead to successful psychocultural adaptation; several case studies lend support to this theoretical framework.

Self-reported oral health perceptions of Somali adults in Minnesota : a pilot study

OBJECTIVE To assess self-reported oral health perceptions and associated factors in an adult Somali population living in Minnesota, USA. METHODS We analysed data from a cross-sectional study of Somali adults aged 18 to 65+ years attending a dental school clinic for care. A comprehensive oral examination was performed by the dental school outreach team on all patients who attended a 2-week designated Somali dental clinic. Adults who consented were given an oral health questionnaire to collect information on sociodemographics, marital status, language preference and self-rated oral and general health. We performed summary statistics and differences between proportions using Fishers exact test and a comparison of means using one-way anova or a two-sample t-test. RESULTS The sample consisted of 53 adults, 75% of whom were females. About 49% of subjects reported poor/fair oral health and 38% reported poor/fair general health. Seventy-four percent rated their access to dental care as poor/fair and 83% reported that they did not have a regular source of dental care. Self-rated oral health was significantly associated with marital status (P < 0.05) and self-rated general health (P < 0.01) using Fishers exact test. CONCLUSION A substantial proportion of Somali adults rated their oral health and access to dental care as poor/fair. These findings suggest that this population would benefit from improved access to oral health care and culturally appropriate oral health education and promotion programs.

Male Dentists at Midlife: An Exploration of the One Life/One Career Imperative.

A self-administered questionnaire was mailed to a random sample of male dentists (ages 35–50) in a single midwestern state. All dentists surveyed held similar views on the role that their careers played in shaping their identity, and 84 percent agreed with an hypothesis which suggests that most Americans believe they have the opportunity to pursue but one career during their lifetimes and that professionals, in particular, are likely to feel “trapped” in their careers as they age. A “crisis index” sought to isolate men undergoing the so-called midlife crisis, and both high and low crisis groups were identified. High-crisis dentists were markedly more concerned about health problems than were low-crisis dentists. High-crisis dentists were less satisfied with their careers, were far more likely to feel “trapped” in their positions, and experienced a greater entanglement of their domestic and professional lives.