Sundari Balan

Assessment of a postdeployment Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program for National Guard members and supporters.

The Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program (YRRP) was created to meet the needs of National Guard members and their families throughout the deployment cycle. This study examined the perceived utility of the YRRPs delivery of information and assistance during the postdeployment reintegration period by National Guard members and accompanying supporters who were mostly spouses. Over 22 months, from 10 YRRP events, 683 service members and 411 supporters completed questionnaires immediately after the YRRP. We analyzed questions on information and avenues for help, timeliness and concerns related to education, employment, legal, family, and health. Service members and supporters most often endorsed information delivery on education being met (76.8% and 78.2%, respectively) and were least likely to endorse legal information delivery (63.5% and 60%, respectively). Significantly more supporters than service members (p < 0.0001) reported that the YRRP was the first time they learned of available services across all domains. Service members were significantly more likely than supporters to report concerns about education, employment, and health, while supporters were significantly more likely to report concerns about family. Results suggest the YRRP fills gaps in supporter knowledge and provides needed information and resources to most National Guard families 2 to 4 months after a deployment.

Are we losing the war on missing girls

Systematic gender-based neglect and violence has been a chronic social problem encompassing the entire lifespan for women in India. Ram and colleagues (October issue) reiterate this point in their Article indicating higher mortality in girls than in boys younger than 5 years in almost all districts of India, even in high-literacy states. Evidently, decades of policy changes, improved literacy, economic development, and social opportunities for women have not had a major eff ect. Crime, sexual assaults, and the general climate of violence against women continue to rise in areas where there are skewed sex ratios. Greater societal controls are imposed, especially on women (eg, early marriage and pregnancy, poor maternal nutrition, low literacy, and denial of opportunities for economic mobility). Thus, son preference, and ensuing missing girls, presents an escalating burden in other areas of gender-imbalanced health and safety. Furthermore, son preference also prevails as a cultural problem in some land-owning groups, legitimised by centuries of patriarchal resource control. The psychological notion of masculinity and valuation of female chastity might also be a reason for why women are married early and have lower access to education and nutritional resources. Even though disentanglement of ecological, cultural, and psychological factors is crucial to reduce day-today perpetration of gender-based neglect within families, there is no theoretical, evidence-based policy, and targeted implementation framework to do so. Cultural psychological research findings in the communities with male-biased sex ratios suggest that even women prefer sons who have more boys than they do sons who have more girls. Women who internalise patriarchal values might continue to practise preferential treatment of sons despite their educational and economic empowerment. At an individual level, internalisation of patriarchal gender beliefs might reduce incentives for academic achievement among girls in these communities. Clearly, literacy and economic development in themselves, and if only directed at girls or women, are insufficient to address the problem of missing girls. There is a great need for evidence-based multimodal approaches to combat son preference and gender-based neglect. Community education programmes that raise awareness about the eff ect of gender disparities across the lifespan and improve the safety and wellbeing of communities should be developed. Additionally, curricula, such as around dialogue between boys and girls about gender, directed at masculinity attitudes, need to be introduced at an early stage for both boys and girls. Mobile technology could be of substantial use in this process.

Motherhood, psychological risks, and resources in relation to alcohol use disorder: Are there differences between black and white women?

Rates of alcohol use disorders (AUD) are generally low among women who have ever had children (mothers) compared to women who have never had children (nonmothers), presenting a motherhood advantage. It is unclear if this advantage accrues to “Black” and “White” women alike. Using National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) wave 2 cross-sectional data that is rich in alcohol use and psychological measures, we examined the following: (a) if motherhood is protective for past-year AUD among Black (N = 4,133) and White women (N = 11,017); (b) potential explanatory psychological mechanisms; and (c) the role of race. Prevalence of a past-year DSM-IV AUD was lower among White mothers compared to White nonmothers, but this same advantage was not observed for Black women. Perceived stress was a risk for all women, but race-ethnic segregated social networks and perceived discrimination predicted current AUD for Black mothers. Unlike White mothers, current psychological factors but not family history of alcohol problems predicted AUD for Black mothers. Future prospective studies should address the mechanisms by which race, motherhood, and psychological factors interactively affect AUD in women.

The Impact of Hazardous Alcohol Use on Behavioral Healthcare Utilization Among National Guard Service Members.

ABSTRACT Background: Prior research suggests that both posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol abuse affect behavioral healthcare utilization among combat-exposed military populations. However, their interactive effect is not well documented, especially after experiencing psychological trauma. Objective: This study examined the role of hazardous alcohol use (i.e. repeated patterns of drinking which lead to harmful consequences) on behavioral healthcare utilization among service members stratified by past-year combat exposure. Method: This study utilized a sample of National Guard service members who participated in an in-depth survey 2–4 months after returning from Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, or Operation New Dawn deployments (2011–2013) (n = 467). We examine the marginal effect (the change in the probability) of hazardous alcohol use on utilization while controlling for trauma exposure, PTSD and other potential covariates. Results: In the unadjusted logistic model, hazardous alcohol use reduced the probability of behavioral healthcare utilization by 77% among service members who had been exposed to combat within the past year. In the adjusted model, which controlled for socio-demographics (age, gender, and race), health status (PTSD symptoms, depression and physical health), and measures of stigma (perception of services as embarrassing or harmful to ones career or social networks), hazardous alcohol use further reduced the utilization probability by 302%. Conclusion/Importance: Although these findings require replication, they appear to demonstrate that when combat-exposed service members engaged in hazardous alcohol use at postdeployment, they were much less likely to utilize behavioral healthcare to manage their posttraumatic stress symptoms during this period.

“Good Asian Moms”: Engendering the Model Minority Myth among Indian Immigrant Working Women

Asian Americans have been popularly recognized as one of the most successful groups of immigrants in the United States (Abraham, 2006; Mahalingam, 2006; Pedraza, 2006; Seth, 1995; Zhou, 2002). As a consequence of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, foreign-born Asian migrants have occupied several newly created professional and managerial jobs that also constitute the highest-paying jobs in the American hierarchy (Kanjanapan, 1995; Seth, 1995). Among Asian Indians, who make up the third-largest immigrant group in the United States, more than 77 percent of the foreign-born population is likely to be employed in white-collar jobs; only 58 percent of the white population maintains employment in these types of jobs (Seth, 1995). The relatively poor economic conditions and opportunities for career mobility in their countries of origin have provided further impetus for skilled Asians to migrate to the United States.

Chastity Beliefs, Female Neglect, Academic Achievement, and Psychological Well-Being of Adolescent Girls in Tamilnadu, India

In this study, we examined the relationship between chastity beliefs and psychological well-being among adolescent girls with a specific focus on culturally valued beliefs about gender in communiti...

Is voluntary household smoking ban differentially effective for men's and women's smokeless tobacco use and addiction? Findings from the global adult tobacco survey in India

Divya Balaji 1, Barrot Lambdin2, Jessie Mbwambo3, Olivia Chang2, C. Nyandindi3, Michael Copenhaver4, Robert Bruce1,2 1 Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States 2 Pangea Global AIDS Foundation, Oakland, CA, United States 3 Psychiatry, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania 4 Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, United States