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Are Preschoolers' Neurobiological Stress Systems Responsive to Culturally Relevant Contexts?

ABSTRACT: Adults are biologically responsive to context, and their responses to particular situations may differ across cultures. However, are preschoolers' biological systems also responsive to situational contexts and cultures? Here, we show that children's neurobiological stress responses, as indexed by salivary cortisol, are activated and responsive to psychosocial stressors relevant to their sociocultural emphases. By examining cortisol changes across different contexts among 138 preschoolers living in the United States, China, and Japan, we found that an achievement-related stressor elicited an increased cortisol response among Chinese preschoolers, whereas interpersonal-related stressors elicited an increased cortisol response among Japanese preschoolers. By contrast, U.S. preschoolers showed decreased cortisol responses after these stressors but consistently higher levels of anticipatory responses to separation at the beginning of each session. Our findings suggest that children's neurobiological stress systems may be a critical biological mechanism allowing societal-level cultural phenomena to be embodied in individual-level responses, even among preschoolers.

SUBMITTER: Ip KI

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8641131 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Are Preschoolers' Neurobiological Stress Systems Responsive to Culturally Relevant Contexts?

Ip Ka I KI Felt Barbara B Wang Li L Karasawa Mayumi M Hirabayashi Hidemi H Kazama Midori M Olson Sheryl S Miller Alison A Tardif Twila T

Psychological science 20210702 7

Adults are biologically responsive to context, and their responses to particular situations may differ across cultures. However, are preschoolers' biological systems also responsive to situational contexts and cultures? Here, we show that children's neurobiological stress responses, as indexed by salivary cortisol, are activated and responsive to psychosocial stressors relevant to their sociocultural emphases. By examining cortisol changes across different contexts among 138 preschoolers living ...[more]

PMID: 34213380

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Project description:BackgroundA culturally responsive health workforce is essential to ensure the delivery of culturally safe health services that meet Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples needs. In partnership with universities, placement providers play an essential role in creating opportunities for immersive experiences that enable students to develop their cultural responsiveness. This study evaluated students' experiences of an innovative student placement model embedded within an urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community-Controlled Health Organisation.MethodsStudents completed pre and post placement surveys administered using a web-based interface. The surveys involved five-point Likert and open-ended response items exploring students' perceptions of their knowledge, skills development, awareness and self-development, and overall placement experience. Frequencies were calculated for the variables of interest and compared between pre and post surveys. The sign test for matched pairs was used to calculate differences between pre and post surveys, and a one-sided hypothesis test was utilised to determine if the level of agreement increased from pre to post survey. Qualitative data obtained for seven questions were thematically analysed using Groundwater Method, an Indigenous data analysis technique.ResultsBetween January 1, 2017, and June 30, 2019, 938 students from 32 disciplines were placed within the organisation and its Member services. Survey responses were received from 338 participants pre-placement, and 158 participants post-placement. The matched pre-post group contained 81 students. The results indicate significant positive changes in cultural responsiveness, skills development, awareness, and self-development when comparing pre- and post-placement responses. Students' overall satisfaction with the quality of their placement was positively associated with their intention to work in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health contexts in the future. Key pre-placement themes included competence, cultural skills, support and fear, and key post-placement themes included expertise, cultural responsiveness, learning environment and challenges.ConclusionsIndigenous-led, regionally coordinated placements in urban Indigenous health contexts can support transformative learning and the development of a culturally responsive workforce. Universities should aim to develop reciprocal relationships with Indigenous-led organisations to support students to develop their cultural responsiveness and improve the provision of culturally safe care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. Future research should explore the longer-term impacts of student placements on cultural responsiveness, attitudes, values, and behaviours, as well as the experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples interfacing with university students on placement in urban settings. NOTE: We will predominantly use the term 'Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples', as opposed to 'Indigenous' or 'First Nations'. When the term 'Indigenous' is used, it largely relates to government policy - except when referring to Indigenisation of curriculum and Indigenous Knowledges - and where 'First Nations' is used, it is in a global context. In addition, we use the term 'Peoples' to signify that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples are not one People or Nation, but a collective of Peoples and Nations.

Project description:BackgroundWhen a person dies by suicide, it takes a reverberating emotional, physical, and economic toll on families and communities. The widespread use of social media among youth and adolescents, disclosures of emotional distress, suicidal ideation, intent to self-harm, and other mental health crises posted on these platforms have increased. One solution to address the need for responsive suicide prevention and mental health services is to implement a culturally-tailored gatekeeper training. The Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board (NPAIHB) developed Mind4Health, an online gatekeeper training (90 min) and text message intervention for caring adults of American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth.MethodsThe Mind4Health intervention was a multi-phase, single-arm, pre-and post-test study of users enrolled in the intervention that is available via text message (SMS) or via a 90 min online, self-paced training. We produced four datasets in this study: Mobile Commons, pre-survey data, post-survey data, and Healthy Native Youth website's Google Analytics. The analysis included data cleaning, basic frequency counts, percentages, and descriptive statistics. Qualitative data were analyzed using thematic content analysis methods and hand-coding techniques with two independent coders.ResultsFrom 2022 to 2024, 280 people enrolled in the Mind4Health SMS training, and 250 completed the 8-week intervention. Many messages in the sequence were multi-part text messages and over 21,500 messages were sent out during the timeframe. Of the 280 subscribers, 52 participated in the pre-survey. Pre-survey data show that 94% of participants were female, and nearly one-fourth lived in Washington state, 92% of participants in the pre-survey were very to moderately comfortable talking with youth about mental health (n = 48). Most participants interact with youth in grades K-12. Post-survey data demonstrate changes in knowledge, beliefs, comfort talking about mental health, and self-efficacy among participants. Mind4Health improved participant's skills to have mental health conversations with youth and refer youth to resources in their community.

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Are Preschoolers' Neurobiological Stress Systems Responsive to Culturally Relevant Contexts?

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Are Preschoolers' Neurobiological Stress Systems Responsive to Culturally Relevant Contexts?

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