Community Psychology Research Research Articles

PERSONAL BENEFITS OF STRONG ORGANIZATIONAL AND COMMUNITY TIES: HEALTH, ENGAGEMENT AND RETENTION

This study extended past research on organizational commitment by proposing a new construct of community commitment. The authors drew from past organizational research to theorize distinct effects of affective and continuance community commitment in relation to nurses' health, retention, and engagement. These effects were investigated in a prospective study in which nurses' (N = 330) organizational and community commitment were assessed at one time point and measures of health, retention, and engagement were captured nine months later. Affective community commitment predicted health and retention outcomes after controlling for both types of organizational commitment, but continuance commitment did not. Mediation analyses suggested that continuance community commitment had indirect effects on outcomes through its relationship with continuance organizational commitment. Neither form of community commitment was associated with professional or organizational turnover intentions. We discuss the implications of these findings for future research in both community and organizational psychology.

The Role of Attitudes Toward White Privilege and Religious Beliefs in Predicting Social Justice Interest and Commitment

The current study examines links among attitudes toward White privilege, religious beliefs, and social justice interest and commitment for White Christian students. Two distinct patterns of results emerged from a path analysis of 500 White Christian students. First, a willingness to confront White privilege was positively associated with the sanctification of social justice (i.e., attributing spiritual significance to working for social justice) and both were positively associated with social justice interest and commitment. Second, awareness of White privilege was negatively associated with religious conservatism, and religious conservatism was negatively associated with social justice interest. These patterns show that White privilege attitudes directly (i.e., willingness to confront White privilege) and indirectly (i.e., awareness of White privilege through religious conservatism) predicted social justice interest and commitment. Moreover, religious beliefs demonstrated opposite patterns of association with social justice interest and commitment such that the sanctification of social justice positively predicted social justice interest and commitment whereas religious conservatism negatively predicted social justice interest. Overall, findings demonstrate direct and indirect links between White privilege attitudes, religious beliefs, and social justice interest and commitment. Limitations and implications for future community psychology research and collaboration also are discussed.

Critical Community Psychology and Qualitative Research

This article is a conversation between two critical community psychologists about the compatibility and theoretical connections between their field and qualitative research. Critical community psychology is driven by values of power-sharing and social justice, and is praxis-oriented, emphasizing solidarity with oppressed people to create transformative social change. The authors argue that qualitative research, by itself or mixed with quantitative methods, can enhance both epistemic and transformative psychopolitical validity in critical community psychology. Implications of this theoretical/methodological approach for action and social change are discussed.

Religious Congregations and Social Justice Participation: A Multilevel Examination of Social Processes and Leadership

Religious congregations have potential to be mediating structures for social justice participation. However, research has yet to examine the specific social processes or leadership characteristics within congregations that may promote social justice participation. In this study, we use data from 176,901 participants nested within 1,938 congregations to test how social processes (i.e., religious attendance at worship services, extra-worship participation, bonding social capital, a congregational norm for justice) and leadership characteristics (i.e., leader modeling of justice, horizontal leadership style) predict personal social justice involvement through the congregation (i.e., participation in social justice activities sponsored by the congregation) as well as personal social justice involvement outside the congregation (i.e., participation in social justice activities not sponsored by the congregation). We use multilevel logistic regression to examine these social processes and leadership characteristics at both individual and congregational levels of analysis. Results showed distinct patterns of associations at individual and congregational levels of analysis and that different social processes and leadership characteristics predicted personal social justice participation through or outside the congregation. These findings reveal the importance of social processes and leadership characteristics in understanding how congregations may mediate social justice participation. Implications for community psychology research and practiced also are discussed.

Community Psychology and Transformative Policy Change in the Neo‐liberal Era

I present ideas about how community psychologists, as researcher-activists, can influence public policy. I begin by describing the current neo-liberal era, noting the immense obstacles it poses to progressive policy change. Next I contrast two approaches to understanding policy formation, evidence-based policy and discursive policy analysis, and argue that transformative policy change can benefit from both approaches. I then propose three types of policy outcomes that community psychology research and activism should aim to promote: (a) shaping problem definition, (b) controlling channels for debate and participation, and (c) allocating resources. I use examples from community psychologists' involvement in policy, mostly in Canada, to illustrate how such policy change can be both achieved and constrained. I conclude by discussing implications for theory and practice related to policy change.

Case‐based Research in Community and Social Psychology: Introduction to the Special Issue

ABSTRACTCases are highly prevalent in teaching and practice in psychology. Case‐based research is crucial for engaged and relevant community and applied social psychologies, but is often subject to critique. This editorial responds to such critiques, clarifies various misconceptions regarding this research strategy, and argues for the utility of case‐based research. We explore the theoretical basis and implications of case‐based research for community action and participative interventions. This special issue offers a collection of articles that showcase the use of a range of methods in case‐based research. Contributions include: (i) a conceptual argument regarding the logic of case studies; (ii) a single‐person case study; (iii) a group‐level case study; (iv) a multi‐site case study, (v) a reflection on challenges of participative research, using the action‐researcher as the case. These contributions demonstrate how the use of exemplars is crucial for community and applied social psychologists developing knowledge about social issues in complex and diverse societies, with a view to improving the human condition. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Integrating Human and Natural Systems in Community Psychology: An Ecological Model of Stewardship Behavior

Community psychology (CP) research on the natural environment lacks a theoretical framework for analyzing the complex relationship between human systems and the natural world. We introduce other academic fields concerned with the interactions between humans and the natural environment, including environmental sociology and coupled human and natural systems. To demonstrate how the natural environment can be included within CP's ecological framework, we propose an ecological model of urban forest stewardship action. Although ecological models of behavior in CP have previously modeled health behaviors, we argue that these frameworks are also applicable to actions that positively influence the natural environment. We chose the environmental action of urban forest stewardship because cities across the United States are planting millions of trees and increased citizen participation in urban tree planting and stewardship will be needed to sustain the benefits provided by urban trees. We used the framework of an ecological model of behavior to illustrate multiple levels of factors that may promote or hinder involvement in urban forest stewardship actions. The implications of our model for the development of multi-level ecological interventions to foster stewardship actions are discussed, as well as directions for future research to further test and refine the model.

Psychologie communautaire et psychologie de la santé : l’implication de la recherche psychosociale dans la promotion de la santé

This paper presents the issues and main principles of community psychology and community research as well as associated relationships and viewpoints in terms of health psychology and social psychology. In this perspective, the paper presents the context in which community psychology has emerged and its fundamental principles such as empowerment, community involvement and the ecological model. Using two examples of research in prevention of HIV infection, the paper leads to a greater comprehension of how a particular community-based approach to involve affected populations may be particularly relevant, not only to better understand their beliefs and behaviors but also to try to encourage them to change current behaviors or generate new ones. Research with adolescents involved in promoting condom use illustrates the use of psychosocial models of behavior change through a community approach. A second research focus on medical and psychosocial innovation through the use of non-routine, rapid screening tests for HIV - which are neither carried out nor supervised by medical personnel - aims to highlight the impact of the development of preventive action by directly concerned communities. The article aims to present the innovative methodological and epistemological issues which underpin community research.

Querer No Basta: Deberes Éticos en la Práctica, Formación e Investigación en Psicología Comunitaria

The article presents a summary of the results of the research project FONDECYT No 1080528, which explores the ethical dimension in practice, training, and research in community psychology (CP) in Chile. An intentional opinatic sample of primary (93 participants—users, students, and psychologists—) and secondary information sources (194 documents—programs, courses, theses and codes—) was used. The use of various data collection techniques and qualitative analysis strategies led to the identification of two relevant results: the principle of respect for the other and community participation in identifying and addressing ethical issues. Divergences in the concept of CP and ethical duties in this field were also found. Finally, ethical guidelines for practice, training, and research in CP are suggested.

Beyond (the ABCs): education, community, and feminism in Afghanistan

AbstractThis article examines the meaning, operation, and outcomes of education and related formation of feminist identity development within an Afghan women's humanitarian and political organization. Qualitative data, including 110 interviews, archival review, and participant observations, were collected using a feminist, community, strengths‐based approach and were re‐analyzed here with a focus on educational processes. Findings revealed multiple educational mechanisms, both similar to and different from many Western assumptions. Within these educational mechanisms, themes of critical consciousness and feminist identity also arose. Outcomes were mapped against Downing and Roush's (1985) feminist identity development model. Similarities, differences, limitations, and lessons in the application of a Western model to an Afghan context are discussed. Findings have implications for understanding indigenous educational methods, the development of critical consciousness and “feminist” identity in global perspective, and cross‐cultural, feminist, community psychology research and application. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The ecology of achievement among students diverse in ethnicity and ability

AbstractThis longitudinal study uses an ecological framework to examine school and individual influences on academic achievement among African American and Latino students with and without disabilities who had recently transferred to more inclusive schools. The authors' ecological framework includes four domains: organizational policies and practices, school environment, student–school connections, and psychological symptoms. The authors tested a comprehensive model with 111 students from 16 schools over 3 years, as well as an organizational model with a smaller sample. Organizational policies and practices of inclusion and student–school connections of belonging each predicted higher academic achievement, and psychological symptoms of aggressive behavior predicted lower academic achievement across time. Their findings are consistent with and extend existing research through support of a comprehensive ecological model across time. Findings also yield significant implications for ecological theory and research in community psychology, school planning, intervention, and implementation of inclusive best practices for students with and without disabilities. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

From “Water Boiling in a Peruvian Town” to “Letting them Die”: Culture, Community Intervention, and the Metabolic Balance Between Patience and Zeal

While the concept of culture has long been central to community psychology research and intervention, it has most frequently referred to the communities in which such work occurs. The purpose of this paper is to reframe this discussion by viewing community interventions as instances of intercultural contact between the culture of science, reflected in community intervention research, and the culture of the communities in which those interventions occur. Following a brief discussion of the complexities of culture as a concept, two illustrative stories of failed community interventions are provided to highlight the centrality of cultural and contextual understanding as prelude to community intervention. These stories, set 50 years apart, reflect the depth and pervasive influence of both the culture of science and the culture of communities. Next, a series of propositions about the culture of social science as a partial reflection of the broader culture of the United States are offered, and their implications for the conduct of community interventions drawn. The paper concludes with a series of recommendations which, together, provide an ecological mind-set for taking culture seriously in community interventions. Central to this mind set are the importance of focusing on communities rather than programs and emphasizing the intervention goal of choice over change.

(De)colonizing Culture in Community Psychology: Reflections from Critical Social Science

Since its inception, community psychology has been interested in cultural matters relating to issues of diversity and marginalization. However, the field has tended to understand culture as static social markers or as the background for understanding group differences. In this article the authors contend that culture is inseparable from who we are and what we do as social beings. Moreover, culture is continually shaped by socio-historical and political processes intertwined within the globalized history of power. The authors propose a decolonizing standpoint grounded in critical social science to disrupt understandings of cultural matters that marginalize others. This standpoint would move the field toward deeper critical thinking, reflexivity and emancipatory action. The authors present their work to illustrate how they integrate a decolonizing standpoint to community psychology research and teaching. They conclude that community psychology must aim towards intercultural work engaging its political nature from a place of ontological/epistemological/methodological parity.

Reconcilable Differences? Human Diversity, Cultural Relativity, and Sense of Community

Sense of community (SOC) is one of the most widely used and studied constructs in community psychology. As proposed by Sarason in (The Psychological sense of community: prospects for a community psychology, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 1974), SOC represents the strength of bonding among community members. It is a valuable component of community life, and it has been linked to positive mental health outcomes, citizen participation, and community connectedness. However, promotion of SOC can become problematic in community psychology praxis when it conflicts with other core values proposed to define the field, namely values of human diversity, cultural relativity, and heterogeneity of experience and perspective. Several commentators have noted that promotion of SOC can conflict with multicultural diversity because it tends to emphasize group member similarity and appears to be higher in homogeneous communities. In this paper, we introduce the idea of a community-diversity dialectic as part of praxis and research in community psychology. We argue that systematic consideration of cultural psychology perspectives can guide efforts to address a community-diversity dialectic and revise SOC formulations that ultimately will invigorate community research and action. We provide a working agenda for addressing this dialectic, proposing that systematic consideration of the creative tension between SOC and diversity can be beneficial to community psychology.

Advancing a Community Psychology of Men

This commentary reviews and integrates several themes described in this special issue on men. Social forces of the past and present such as colonialism and hegemonic masculinity are noted as a continuing influence on men's social roles, as are the social-justice movements that contribute to the liberation of women and sexual minorities. The early sections of the commentary examine the studies in the context of these forces and movements, emphasizing how men both resist and accept traditional masculinities. In the latter sections the commentary turns to the research process -first with a discussion of the structural and constructionist themes in the studies, followed by the issue of how men are classified (implicitly or otherwise) as either agents or targets of oppression. The implications of these for community psychology research with men are considered, along with the idea that research is a social "performance" in which a researcher's concern about her or his audience influence the research process. The conclusion summarizes the challenges of conducting research with men while making the case that community psychology offers some distinct advantages in managing them. Of particular value is the field's emphasis on diversity, social justice, and social ecology.

Introduction to community psychology in Canada: Past, present, and future.

The introduction to the special section on community psychology in Canada provides background information about the field in Canada and provides summaries of the four articles and the commentary that comprise the issue. The articles address (a) theory, research, and practice in community psychology; (b) training in community psychology; (c) community psychology practice; and (d) a vision for the future of community psychology in Canada. These articles highlight the many contributions of Canadian community psychologists to a field that is growing throughout the world to address pressing social problems. Keywords: community psychology, community training, community research, community practice, vision Community psychology (CP) has a lengthy history in Canada. Pols (2000) traced the roots of community psychology to the Psychology Department at the University of Toronto, beginning in the mid 1920s. Moreover, the term community psychology was first used in 1951 by University of Toronto psychology professor William Line (Babarik, 1979). In spite of this history, community psychology remains a marginalized specialty in Canadian psychology with a relatively small network of researchers and practitioners. In this context, the special section in the current issue of Canadian Psychology was developed to inform Canadian psychologists about the many and varied contributions of this subdiscipline of psychology, as well as the current status of community psychology in Canada. The special section is a project developed by participants at the 2008 Quebec-Ontario Community Psychology Conference. The conference, held biennially since 2002, involves participation of faculty and students from Universite Laval, University of Ottawa, Universite de Quebec a Montreal, and Wilfrid Laurier University. All of these universities offer training in community psychology. While some articles on community psychology have been previously published in Canadian Psychology (Davidson, 1981; WalshBowers, 1 998), much of the literature on community psychology in Canada has been published elsewhere, including a previous special issue on community psychology (Tefft, 1 982) and a recent historical and substantive review (Nelson, Lavoie, & Mitchell, 2007). In developing the project, participants in the 2008 biennial conference believed that it was important that the work be presented in Canadian Psychology, the flagship journal of Canadian psychology. There are indications that community psychology as a subdiscipline of psychology is growing outside of Canada. The Society of Community Research and Action, which represents Division 27 of the American Psychological Association, has approximately 900 members. In addition, there has been increasing internationalization of community psychology globally with self-identified community psychologists in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Central America, South America, and Japan (Reich, Riemer, Prilleltensky, & Montero, 2007; Vazquez Rivera, Figueroa Rodriguez, Pacheco Bou, & Perez-Jimenez, 2009). International community psychology conferences have been held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 1996; in Lisbon, Portugal, in 1998; and in Puebla, Mexico, in 2010. In Canada, there is a small committed group of community psychologists, as is reflected in attendees at the Quebec-Ontario conference and the membership of Section 3, the community psychology section of the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA), which was started in 1982. In light of the many contemporary complex social issues facing Canadian society - such as underdeveloped early childhood education and prevention, mental health problems in the population, economic and social marginalization of First Nations people, and integration challenges faced by new immigrants - the contributions that community psychology can make to social programs and policies to address these issues on behalf of Canadian psychology are as important today as they were when the subdiscipline first developed in Canada. …

Contributions of Canadian community psychology.

The contributions of Canadian community psychologists to ethics, theory, methodology, research, and practise are highlighted in this article. Important debates about ethical issues in psychological research and practise have been advanced by Canadian community psychologists. Canadian community psychologists have also introduced theoretical perspectives (e.g., cognitive community psychology) that have provided an impetus for research and practise, and they have broadened the focus of research in community settings with contributions to participatory action research, program evaluation, and qualitative methods. A variety of substantive contributions have been made to the research literature, especially in the areas of community mental health, prevention, and social inclusion. Finally, Canadian community psychologists have contributed to practise in terms of policy, programs, and social interventions. The article concludes with a discussion of future potential areas of contribution for Canadian community psychology. Keywords: community, mental health, evaluation, prevention, action Contemporary Canadian community psychologists have made important contributions to psychology and the public good since the formation of the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) Section on Community Psychology in 1982 (Nelson, Lavoie, & Mitchell, 2007). Yet, as Walsh-Bowers (1998) observed, the contributions of Canadian community psychology receive little to no acknowledgement in reviews of psychology in Canada. Adding to the invisibility of community psychology in Canada is the fact that Canadian community psychologists tend to publish their work in the two U.S. community psychology journals (American Journal of Community Psychology [AJCP] and Journal of Community Psychology [JCP]) and the Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health ([CJCMH]; Fortin-Pellerin, Pouliot-Lapointe, Thibodeau, & Gagne, 2006), to which they have contributed substantially as editors and authors. Moreover, much of the Canadian community psychology theory and research originating in Quebec is published in French, which limits its diffusion to English speakers. The purpose of this article is to raise the visibility of Canadian community psychology amongst the broader Canadian psychological community by highlighting some of the major contributions of Canadian community psychology. Historically, community psychology in Canada, the United States, and many other parts of the world grew out of clinical psychology and community mental health (Nelson et al., 2007). Dissatisfied with an individualistic, deficit-based, treatmentoriented approach to theory and practise, community psychology strived to develop a more ecological, strengths-based, prevention-focused approach. Born in the 1960s, community psychology also emphasises social change to promote well-being and a more just world, especially for people who are disadvantaged by virtue of poverty, race, and other forms of social exclusion. To identify the contributions of Canadian community psychology, we began by identifying Canadian community psychologists who had published their work in Canadian Psychology, CJCMH, AJCP, or JCP. We then sorted the areas of contribution into five broad areas: values and ethics, theory, methodology, research, and practise. It is common in applied psychology to consider the domains of theory, research, and practise, and this approach seemed to fit the contributions of community psychology fairly well. However, we decided to break the research area down into methodology and substantive areas of research, as we believed it was important to capture some of the unique methodological approaches that have become widespread in community psychology. Finally, we decided to add the area of values and ethics, as values have long been a central focus for community psychology (Rappaport, 1977), and Canadian community psychologists have made important contributions to values and the examination of ethical issues in research and practise. …

La ricerca in psicologia di comunità: conoscenza, finalità trasformative e partecipazione

- The paper is focused on the methodology of research in community psychology pointing out its principals and critical aspects. In particular, the authors define the main characteristics of intervention research, and specifically action-research, in community psychology. Three topics are deepened: participation, trust and validity of the research. The paper closes with the comments on the papers that are collected in this number of the Journal. Keywords: intervention research, action-research, participation, aims, validity, methodology

Is It Necessary to Discuss Person‐Oriented Research in Community Psychology?

A brief overview of the person orientation is provided. It is then argued that research in community psychology, similar to every other field in psychology, has mainly focused on variables, not individuals. Suggestions are provided for how the person orientation can be applied to understanding settings and environments as well as the theoretical and methodological contributions community psychologists can make to further person oriented methods.

In defence of disability studies: a response to Forshaw (2007) ‘In defence of psychology: a reply to Goodley and Lawthom (2005)’

We welcome Forshaw’s reply to our paper because it opens up debate about psychology and its relationship with the development of an emancipatory disability studies. In our paper we aimed to: (1) raise possibilities for disability studies researchers’ engagement with psychology (rather than psychology colonizing disability studies); (2) trace some of the epistemological journeys we underwent in carrying out disability research and community psychology research; (3) consider these possibilities and journeys in relation to previous literature on emancipatory disability research. Forshaw’s reply appears to ignore aims (2) and (3) and instead focuses on the ways in which we (mis)represent psychology. He suggests that we: present an inaccurate account of qualitative research in contemporary psychology; make a divisive argument for a ‘breakaway group’ of community psychologists; epistemologically contradict ourselves because of our concern with ‘reality’ and social constructionism; argue for only adopting participatory action research; not least, adopt ‘simplistic’ and ‘outdated’ views of psychology. We will respond to these criticisms.