Testing the Moderating Effect of Parent–Adolescent Communication on the Acculturation Gap–Distress Relation in Korean American Families

Although the acculturation gap generally has been associated with poor mental health outcomes among Asian American children, some studies have failed to find a significant relationship between the gap and distress. Using two different methods of operationalizing the gap between mothers and their children, the current study addressed this tension in the literature by testing the following hypotheses in a sample of Korean American families. It was hypothesized that mother–adolescent discrepancies in acculturation and enculturation levels would be associated with youth internalizing and externalizing symptoms and that parent–adolescent communication would moderate the gap–distress relationship. Multi-informant questionnaires were administered to 77 Korean American mother–adolescent dyads from the Midwest. Surprisingly, results indicated that consonance in low levels of mother–adolescent enculturation was associated with the highest levels of externalizing symptoms (interaction term method). Adolescents’ perception of communication with their fathers significantly moderated the relationship between the enculturation gap and internalizing symptoms, such that in dyads with a greater enculturation gap, less perceived open communication with fathers was associated with more internalizing symptoms (difference score method). Clinically, the findings indicate a potential target (i.e., parent–adolescent communication) for treatment programs that aim to improve family relations and youth adjustment in immigrant families.     

Regional coordination of federal programs: Has the difficult grown impossible?

As the various categorical programs of federal assistance proliferated during the 1960s and 1970s, the U.S. government sought to bring about some degree of coordination among the programs in any given region through a network of regional clearinghouses. Operating with inadequate resources, limited authority, and various other difficulties, the clearinghouses nevertheless chalked up some modest accomplishments. In 1982, as a step in the New Federalism concept of the Reagan administration, the clearinghouse system was drastically shrunk back in scope and decentralized in structure. If the concept of regional coordination among federal programs is to survive, it will have to depend on action at the state and local levels; but such action does not seem promising.     

Perennial Budget Reform Proposals: Budget Staff versus Elected Officials

This article defines budget reform perennials at the national level as those that reoccur multiple times, with little chance of passage and little change from one iteration to the next. The literature has seldom examined proposals that do not pass or the staff effort that goes into keeping flawed proposals from passing. The article describes the sources of such proposals and what can conceivably be done to lessen the tension they cause. The research is based primarily on qualitative interviews and legislative testimony. Examples of reform perennials include biennial and capital budgeting.     

Therapeutic cloning in Australia: one small stem from man, one giant leap for mankind

In 2002 the Australian Parliament enacted legislation which prohibited both therapeutic and reproductive embryonic cloning. Just four years later, in December 2006, this same legislation was amended, reversing the prohibition on therapeutic cloning, while retaining the ban on reproductive cloning. The Prime Minister, sensing the political mood, allowed a conscience vote. This contrasted with his decision several months earlier against introducing any changes to the 2002 Act, despite 54 recommendations having been made by a Statutory Review Committee. Approval of the legislation had as much to do with the careful drafting of the provisions as with any rational, social or scientific factor. The legislation is narrow in scope, retains an absolute prohibition on reproductive cloning and contains strict regulations with heavy criminal penalties. The Act requires a review after three years. A number of questions remain. Does stem cell research demand a global rather than a local approach, by way of an international Covenant? Does the legal status of a cloned embryo need further examination? Will the embryo have a separate legal standing recognised by law? These are some of the questions which will need addressing as the law tries to keep up with science.     

Insight into stress-induced cardiomyopathy and sudden cardiac death due to stress. A forensic cardio-pathologist point of view

Emotional, physiological and physical stress is associated with increased rates of cerebrovascular events and sudden deaths. The pathophysiology of stress-induced cardiomyopathy is not well understood. Proposed mechanisms for catecholamine-mediated stunning in stress cardiomyopathy include epicardial vasospasm, microvascular dysfunction, hyperdynamic contractility with midventricular or outflow tract obstruction, and direct effects of catecholamines on cardiomyocytes. Studies show evidence of significant heritable influences on individual responses to adrenergic stimulation. Data from such studies may be of help for a more accurate comprehension of clinical and morphological alterations of the heart. Irrespective of the cause, patients with the classic stress-induced cardiomyopathy morphology deserve special attention because this extensive distribution of wall motion abnormalities has implications for potential associated complications. Cardiac response may be significantly coupled to genetic differences at candidate loci that encode components of catecholamine biosynthesis, storage, and metabolic pathway. Given the role of the sympathetic nervous system in responses to acute stress, it is reasonable to explore whether genetically determined alterations in catecholamine system functions contribute to acute and chronic cardiovascular disorders such as stress-induced cardiomyopathy.