Joseph Prewitt Diaz's Schools

• Neumann College , Class of 1999 MS in Counseling Studied pastoral counseling and spiritual direction. Served an internship at the El Mesias United Methodist Church in Allegheny and Front St., Philadelphia, PA

• University of Connecticut , Class of 1979 Ph.D in Education and Psychology Conducted research on the psychosocial needs of Puerto Rican children. Was a World Education Fellow

• Trinity College , Class of 1974 MA in Psychology Completed a Certificate in Advanced Study in Educational Psychology

• University of Puerto Rico , Class of 1972 MA in Counseling Obtained a Master’s degree in Educational Psychology. Performed a one year practicum with VESPRA.

Joseph Prewitt Diaz's Affiliations

• American Psychological Association Washington, D.c. 2009 - 2010 Member of the APA Advisory Group on International Humanitarian Emergencies. The charge of the Advisory Group is to: 1) recommend trigger points for APA's response to international disasters; 2) point out policy nuances that need to be considered in the draft CIRP policy; and 3) develop a web resource/toolkit for international psychosocial humanitarian responses.

• Research Prioritites Advisory Group for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Humanitarian Settings Geneva, Switzerland 2009 - 2010 Member of the Research Priorities Advisory Group for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Humanitarian Settings. The objective of this group is to define the key issues and questions that will drive the study of mental health and psychosocial support in humanitarian settings over the next 10 years. The group will gather consensus on which research activities can benefit the protection and promotion of psychosocial wellbeing and the prevention and treatment of mental disorders of people living in humanitarian settings.

• APA Advisory Group to the Ethics Office Washington, D.c. 2006 - 2007 With a group developed ethical guidelines for International Humanitarian responses

• SPHERE International Committee Geneva, Switzerland 2003 - 2004 With a group developed international standards for mental health and psychosocial support in disasters

• Pennsylvania Heritage Committee Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 1993 - 1996 Member of the Executive Committee

• Pennsylvania Association for Bilingual Education State College, Pennsylvania 1988 - 1992 President

• Volunteer Organizations in Disasters (VOAD) Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 1989 - 1998 Member, representing the Civil Air Patrol

• Board of Trustees, Community Colleges, State of Connecticut Hartford, Connecticut 1974 - 1979 Appointed by the Governor as a member of the Board of Trustees, representing the Hispanic Community of Connecticut

Joseph Prewitt Diaz's Publications

• Words to action: Pictorial contextualization of the IASC MHPSS guidelines, Intervention October, 2009

• Integrating psychosocial programs in multisector response to international disasters, American Psychologist October, 2008

• Sense of Place: A model for community based psychosocial support programs, The Australasian Journal of Disasters and Trauma Studies February, 2008 The most catastrophic impact of natural disasters is an individual feeling of ‘loss of place’. Re-establishing ‘sense of place’ refers to psychosocial support activities which help people survive enormous personal losses following disasters. This paper discusses psychosocial support as a core component of the recovery and reconstruction efforts, by identifying ‘place’ as a physical parameter in which human competence is achieved and the techniques used to offset the trauma of displacement following disasters. Psychosocial support identifies survivors as the main actors in the reestablishment of ‘sense of place’ and as an internally-focused process in which the survivors prioritize their activities to plan, establish, and coordinate responses to protect and improve their own psychosocial well-being, instead of relying on outside help.

• Role of Psycho-social Support Programmes following Natural Disasters, Journal of Disaster Advances October, 2008

• Psychosocial Support as a platform for an integrated development program., Coping with Crisis March, 2007

• Assessment of Puerto Rican childdren in bilingual education programs in the United States: A critiqeu of Lloyd Dunn's monograph, Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences September, 1988 This article comments on Dunn’s translation of the PPVT-R into Castillian Spanish and the process he used to norm this instrument with Puerto Rican and Mexican American children. Demographic characteristics of Hispanics, specifically Puerto Ricans and Mexican Americans, in the United States are provided. A review of relevant literature excluded by Dunn in his discussion of the scholastic, intellectual, and linguistic assessment of Puerto Rican and Mexican American children follows. It is concluded that the Spanish version of the PPVT-R is inappropriate to measure receptive language in Puerto Rican and Mexican American children in the United States because it does not follow cross cultural methods for test translation and validation.

• A Cross-Cultural Study of the Reliability of the Coopersmith Self Esteem Inventory, Educational and Psychological Measurement September, 1984 he purpose of the study was to determine the realiability of the spanish translation of the Self Esteem Inventory (SEI) with a group of Puerto Rican students on the island and another on the mainland. The sample was composed of 296 high school students ages 15-18. The study concluded that the Spanish translation of the SEI was a reliable instrument in evaluating the personal judgment of worthiness for Puerto Rican students in the island and the mainland United States.

• Acculturative Stress and Self-Esteem among Puerto Rican Migrant Children., Migration World March, 1998 Studied how acculturative stress affects self-esteem of 240 upper elementary school children in Puerto Rico, half of whom had never migrated, and half of whom had spent at least one academic year in the United States. Data suggest lower self-esteem for migrants and more disadvantages because they are placed in second-language programs and delayed in content areas. (SLD)

• Early Childhood: Theories, Research and Implications for Bilingual Education., Proceedings of the research symposium on Limited Proficient Students' September, 1990 wo theoretical frameworks, which underlie education programs for young Limited-English-Proficient (LEP) children, are explored: cognitive/developmental and maturational/linguistic theories. The cognitive/developmental view supports the idea that intellectual and language growth and learning are action oriented and variable among young children and are affected by factors such as direct experiences with the physical and social worlds. The maturational/linguistic view stresses development and learning as a series of overlapping, predetermined, and continually emerging traits. A third view is recommended that is an offshoot of the maturational/linguistic view: the sociolinguistic perspective, which recognizes the significant affect that the sociocultural milieu has on children’s language and intellectual traits. Several cognitive developmental implications for young LEP children are discussed, including practical applications to the early childhood classroom and home environments. Discovery learning (free, prompted, and directed) and the selection of materials for language and intellectual development are also suggested. Implications for further research are noted. Contains 62 references. (LB)

• Stressors in Puerto Rican Children as a Result of Hurricane Georges, Education October, 1999

• he Social Psychological Adjustment of Migrant and Non-Migrant Puerto Rican Adolescents., Migration World July, 1987 Reviews research literature on Puerto Rican youth and summarizes findings on factors influencing return migration and the cultural and physical adjustment of return migrants. Presents findings of a survey of Puerto Rican students, non-migrants and return migrants, which attempted to determine whether there was a relationship between reading achievement and adjustment.

• The Effects of Migration on Children: An Ethnographic Study., Book August, 1989 This report re-examines previously gathered ethnographic data derived from approximately 3,000 hours of interviews with migrants across the United States to determine what factors associated with migration affect children’s educational outcomes. The data suggest the existence of a “culture of migrancy,” which is manifested in similar attitudes, lifestyles, and behavioral patterns among migrants of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds in the three major migration streams. The survival-oriented priorities of the culture of migrancy make all migrant children potential dropouts. Migrant children are affected by poverty, poor living conditions, isolation from mainstream society, fragmented education received between moves, and low self-esteem related to the trauma of moving. A migrant child’s success or failure in the educational system is related to the emotional and economic support available to the child, the child’s decision-making power, and the child’s economic contribution to the family. Migrant education programs differ greatly among states and often are not coordinated with other social services. The seven chapters in this report define the migrant population, outline the ethnographic methodology used, discuss migrant lifestyles and living conditions in home-base states and “upstream” states, describe the move from the first kind of state to the other, examine role relationships and social behavior among migrants, detail the component parts and services of the Migrant Education Program, and highlight national questions of educational policy.

• The Return Circulatory Migrant Student: A Perception of Teachers, School, and Self., Migration World January, 1983 Discusses adjustment problems of Puerto Rican return migrant students (those who return to Puerto Rico after living in the United States for over three years). Compares return migrants’ perceptions regarding self, teachers, and school with those of circulatory migrant students (those who constantly shuttle between Puerto Rico and the United States).

• Psychological Support in events of mass destruction: Challenges and lessons, Economic and Political Weekly May, 2004 he 1990s saw the introduction and implementation of psychosocial support as an important component of disaster management programmes. This article presents a community-based psychosocial programme that seeks to address three challenges identified in India when providing psychosocial support services. These challenges included assessment of the impact of a disaster on survivors, participatory planning to involve the community in support programmes and lastly the development and preparation of material to help the community help itself.

• MMPI (Spanish Translation) in Puerto Rican Adolescents: Preliminary Data on Reliability and Validity, Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences June, 2004 The MMPI was translated into Puerto Rican Spanish, adapted on the basis of back-translation and judgment of local experts, anld applied to three groups of adolescents in Puerto Rico between the ages of 15 and 18: 321 female and 194 male normal high-school students; 18 female and 104 male clients at several Mental hlealth Centers; and 90 female and 58 male high school studenlts who lhad returned to Puerto Rico from the United States. Kuder-Riclhaidsoni 20 reliabilitv coefficients for the 3 validity anid 10 cliniical scales rainged fromIn .54 to .88. The mental health-center gIroup was foundl to differ from the two high school groups on all clinical scales except D and Hy. There were only three significant differenices between migrant and non-imigrant high school stdents. A few sex and age differenices also appeared, but were 1)oth less consistent and less pronouinced than those between mnental health centers and high school suibjects. These results are initerpretecl as providing preliminar-y inidicationis of clinical tutility of’ the presenit tranislationi of the MNIPI with adolescents in Petirto Rico.

• Integrating Psychosocial Programs in Multisector Responses to International Disasters, American Psychologist December, 2008 This article describes the role of psychosocial support programs in American Red Cross–sponsored humanitarian assistance efforts in international disasters. The American Red Cross psychosocial support program consists of four specific components: participatory crisis assessment, dealing with survivors’ root shock, community mobilization, and community development. The program is predicated on the assumption that after a disaster, survivors lose their sense of “place.” Psychosocial community programs are based on outreach activities by local practitioners trained and supported by the American Red Cross. The approach sees psychological advantages to survivors of continuing to mobilize their own resources; familiarity, trust, and human capital build. The community members themselves decide the steps they are going to take to reestablish “place,” thus becoming active participants in reducing the traumatic stress caused by the disaster. The article concludes with three actions that signal successful integration of psychosocial support programs into multisector responses to disasters: reestablishment of a sense of place, community mobilization, and taking actions that lead to a sense of physical and psychological well-being.

• Psycho-Educational Variable Affecting the Cognitive Development of Puerto Rican Bilingual Students., Reading Improvement February, 1981 Discusses J. Piaget’s concepts of assimilation and accommodations in relation to bilingual education. Suggests that age differences must be considered when planning such a program for Puerto Rican adolescents. Concludes that motivation, the usefulness of the second language, and identification with speakers of the language are key to second language learning.

• Considerations for the Development of a Reading Program for Puerto Rican Bilingual Students., Reading Improvement November, 1981 Discusses the role of reading in bilingual education and proposes that teachers in bilingual classrooms be grounded in cognitive development theory and practices. Concludes that once students have mastered English communication skills they will be able to transfer their thinking abilities into the second language without major difficulty.

• The Predictive Validity of the Spanish Translation of the WISC-R (EIWN-R) with Puerto Rican Students in Puerto Rico and the United States, Educational and Psychological Measurement June, 1986 The WISC-R was translated into Spanish and published by the Psychological Corporation as a research edition in 1982. The Escala de Inteligencia Wechsler para Ninos-Revisada (EIWN-R) was published as a research edition. This paper reports on two preliminary studies with Puerto Rican children and adolescents. The first study was performed in Puerto Rico with 51 upper elementary school children. The EIWN-R was found to be a reliable instrument for this population. The second study was performed with a population of 80 students in Hartford, Connecticut. The purpose of the Hartford study was to determine if the EIWN-R would be a good predictor of achievement for students in a bilingual program. The results indicated that the EIWN-R is an appropriate predictor of academic achievement for the population in this study.

• Theory base for the implementation of a psychosocial support program in tsunami affeected countries in South Asia, 4th World Conference on Mental health promotion and prevention of mental and Behavioral Disorders, Oslo, Norway October, 2006

• Development of Psychosocial Support program after a disaster , International workshop in Psychological Trauma and Disasters, University of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia November, 2009 A three day workshop for 35 MS in psychology candidates representatives of Indonesia.

• Psychosocial Support as a central tool in international disaster response, 26th Conference of Applied Psychology, Athens, Greece July, 2006

• Developing integrated Psychosocial Support programs in Tamil Nadu, India, India Pediatric Medical Association, Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, India March, 2008 Key Note speech introducing the Psychosocial support concept as part of the medical response in a Humanitarian emergency

• Psychosocial Support programs in India: Moving forward, All India National Disaster Mitigation Workshop, New Delhi, India September, 2007 Introduced a “road map” for an integrated psychosocial support program in India to meet the needs during Humanitarian Emergencies.

• Developing International Guidelines for psychosocial support programs, Regional workshop on psychosocial support IFRC, Negombo, Sri Lanka April, 2006 Introduced the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support International guidelienes to a group of 120 medical personnel and psychologist from South Asia and the United States.

• Disaster Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in disasters, Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, Bangkok, Thailand May, 2005 The impact of Mental Health and Psychosocial support in a humanitarian emergency

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