SUMMARY New information on elder mistreatment and conflict management among certain ethnic groups has necessitated changes in the practice arena. Clinical approaches depend on the victims' ability to identify themselves as victims, their degree of collective self, preferred conflict management techniques, and ability to identify their own power resources. Practice considerations and modifications include looking for subtle behaviors indicative of psychological abuse and neglect, using words that are culturally familiar and acceptable, and educating elders and their families about how other families relate and solve problems. Other interventions involve the use of the third party for cathartic displacement, and based on a temporal model of the exchange process, creating a power balance by maximizing the victims' potential power while minimizing the perpetrators' potential power.

SUMMARY A qualitative, pilot study employing in-depth ethno-graphic interviews was conducted to examine perceptions and attitudes towards abuse and the help-seeking behaviors of a sample of ten battered immigrant Mexican women. Findings indicated that participants' attitudes about seeking help were influenced more by cultural factors (e.g., gender-role expectations, famialism) than by psycho-social stres-sors (e.g., immigrant status, financial dependency). Children's welfare played a salient role in women's decisions about seeking help, both as a deterrent and a motivating factor. Women's attitudes about their own abuse were more tolerant than their attitudes about hypothetical situations involving others. Changes in women's attitudes about abuse reflected changes only after some type of intervention had taken place. The majority of the women in the sample had misconceptions or were uninformed about shelters. Suggestions for further research and intervention with this population and a model of internal an...

SUMMARY This study compared Latino children who were victims of child abuse with similar children who were not abused on measures of depression, anxiety, behavior problems, and dissociation. Abused children were found to have higher levels of symptoms on the majority of symptom measures. There were differences in the evaluation of distress levels on the self report versus parent/guardian report measures. Mean scores of the abused children on the self report measures were not in the clinical range, although a substantial number of children had high levels of distress. In contrast, the results of the parent/guardian measures revealed mean scores in the clinical range of problems. Implications for research and practice are included.

SUMMARY Spouse abuse is an ignored, invisible, but significant problem in the Chinese community. This paper describes the experience of Chinese battered women in North America and provides suggestions for culturally sensitive and competent interventions for them. The discussion is based on an extensive review of the literature regarding Chinese battered women. In understanding the experience of Chinese battered women and their strategic responses to the abuse, helping professionals are urged to consider cultural, contextual, as well as individual factors including family dynamics. A three-tier model of intervention for treatment of spouse abuse in the Chinese community is proposed that targets the individual battered women, the family system, and the larger community.

SUMMARY This exploratory pilot project sought to determine what one group of Southeast Asian refugees, the Vietnamese, perceived were areas of difficulty in their adjustment to the United States. Furthermore, based on factors correlated with the physical abuse of children, and on literature that states that child abuse is not culture-specific, this study sought to assess whether child abuse is prevalent among this population. Findings were inconsistent and suggested that common methods of identifying the occurrence of child abuse may not be valid in its assessment among populations that may fear the repercussions of admitting to the use of corporal punishment to discipline their children. Implications for research are discussed.

ABSTRACT UNDERSTANDING ELDER ABUSE IN MINORITY POPULATIONS. Toshio Tatara, Editor. Philadelphia, PA: Brunner/Mazel, 1998. Reviewed by Alejandro Garcia.

SUMMARY Studies have found that professionals and the lay public differ consistently from one another in the ways in which they perceive elder abuse. A potential variable that may explain this observed difference is cultural norms among ethnic groups. Using 18 statements, this study examined similarities and differences among elderly from three ethnic groups in their tolerance for potential elder abuse, perceptions regarding perpetrators and the causes of elder abuse, and attitudes toward third-party intervention and reporting of elder abuse to the authorities. Results suggest that while African American and White elderly are remarkably similar in their responses to most statements, Korean American elderly differed significantly from the other two groups in their tolerance for medical mistreatment, financial exploitation and neglect, perceptions of causes, and attitudes toward reporting elder abuse. These findings have implications for understanding potential barriers to preventive outreach efforts, inves...

SUMMARY This paper will discuss the problem of sexual assault among Latinas, an under-researched population whose social and cultural characteristics contextualize the trauma of sexual assault in ways that need to be considered by service providers striving to provide culturally syntonic interventions. The authors will present the sparse empirical data on sexual assault among Latinas, Including prevalence, assault characteristics, and post-assault sequelae. Given the bicultural reality of most Latinas in the U.S., a working model of sexual assault in Latinas is presented that frames the problem as occurring within both traditional Latino and modern American gender role systems. The result is a dual dilemma for Latina victims of sexual assault with both negative and positive implications that need to be better understood by victims and service providers.

SUMMARY The focus of this study was on the association between family characteristics (e.g., family structure, family cohesion), race/ethnicity and their relationship to violent behaviors in adolescents. Family characteristics represent one piece of a larger ecological model that includes individual, peer, school, and neighborhood/community factors. The current study uses data from the National Study of Adolescent Health (Wave 1). Add Health was a longitudinal study of adolescents in grades 7 through 12. The survey gathered information about the respondent's health and health-related behaviors, emotional well being, and family and school environment. The variables of interest in this study are all self-reported measures of violent behavior: (1) being in a serious physical fight, (2) seriously injuring someone, (3) pulling a knife or gun on someone, and (4) shooting or stabbing someone. Differences between those who reported being involved in violent behaviors are related, at least in part, to family cohesion, family structure, gender, and race/ethnicity. Family cohesion served as a protective factor in all four models of violent behavior regardless of racial/ethnic group. Attention needs to be focused not only on the other domains involved in this ecological model (e.g., individual, family, peer, school, and neighborhood/community) but also on the possible interactive effects of variables both within and across these domains. Future interventions need to focus their efforts on the multiple dimensions of youth violence as well as give consideration to a multi-pronged approach in addressing the needs of youth at risk for violent behaviors.

SUMMARY This paper reports the results of a comparative study of youth gangs in minority communities in Los Angeles and London, England. A combined qualitative-quantitative research design was used to obtain information on the experiences, attitudes and behaviors of Black youth who were involved with or influenced by gangs. Measures included two semi-structured interview schedules for focus groups and individual youth, respectively. Demographic data and statistics on social indicators were obtained for this population in both cities from government and social agency reports on rates of school drop-outs, youth unemployment, involvement in the juvenile/criminal justice system, and health/mental health utilization. The sample included a total of 144 African-American youth, ages 15-30, in 17 focus groups and 32 for individual interviews in Los Angeles, and a total of 86 Afro-Caribbean youth, ages 15-24, in ten focus groups and 66 for individual interviews in London. Results suggest that gangs provide minority...