What is Community Psychology?
Social justice. Action-oriented research. Global in nature. Influencing public policy. Working for empowerment. Multidisciplinary in focus. Celebrating culture. Preventing harm. Behavior in context. Social action. Supporting community strengths. Reducing oppression. Promoting well-being. Scientific inquiry. Honoring human rights. Respecting diversity.
Community psychology goes beyond an individual focus and integrates social, cultural, economic, political, environmental, and international influences to promote positive change, health, and empowerment at individual and systemic levels.
Featured New Content
PAR and Photovoice: Using a Decolonized Lens Working with Communities
Posted in: Anti-Racism, Blog | Tags: Featured ContentPublished in: The Community PsychologistGiven the ubiquitous polarizing gap that has been dividing and driving U.S. political affairs, we have an opportunity to use participatory approaches and listen to those most impacted in innovative ways. Aspects of Participatory Action Research (PAR) can be utilized to support engagement, organizing, and conversations around community issues.
Resisting State Sanctioned Violence: A Toolkit for Community Organizers
Posted in: Coalition Building, Marginalized Groups | Tags: Featured ContentPublished in: American Journal of Community PsychologyMarginalized communities have long persisted in the work toward liberation despite continued state-sanctioned violence (SSV). We created a toolkit for organizers, community members, allies, and mental health professionals who want to build individual and community resilience while resisting SSV. We aimed to support marginalized communities through making psychological literature accessible and relevant to community-based through […]
Beyond Diversity Statements: Necessary Considerations for Designing Health Equity Approaches
Posted in: Anti-Racism, Blog, Healthcare | Tags: Featured ContentPublished in: The Community PsychologistWhat does “anti-racism” look like in healthcare? It is early intervention, affordable, integrated, trauma-informed, and strengths-based.
Drawing on the Experiences of Trans Students to Inform Pronoun Disclosure in Higher Education Settings
Posted in: Blog, Marginalized Groups | Tags: Featured ContentPublished in: The Community PsychologistHow pronouns are addressed can seriously impact a student’s well-being. I provide some considerations for how an instructor or mentor might approach pronoun disclosure with the goal of increasing comfort and decreasing coercion, based on the experiences of six trans undergraduate students who advised these recommendations through qualitative interviews and text submissions, and my own […]
Brief Report: Analyzing Radical Self-Care Origins and Community Self-Care Practice
Posted in: Marginalized Groups, Self Help | Tags: Featured ContentPublished in: The Community PsychologistIt seems very normalized for Black women to make ultimate sacrifices to personal health and wellness for the betterment of others. Heart disease, stroke, diabetes, breast cancer, cervical cancer, fibroid tumors, premature birth rates, sickle cell disease, sexually transmitted diseases, and mental health issues are killing Black women in the United States at disproportionate rates. […]
The Great Replacement Theory: Linkage to The Possessive Investment in Whiteness
Posted in: Marginalized Groups | Tags: Featured ContentPublished in: The Community PsychologistHow do we begin to make sense out of these continuous attacks on Black and Brown bodies in America? We can decenter whiteness and move equity and inclusion to the forefront. by dismantling conspiracy theories and ideologies that seek to destroy and harm.
Featured Research
Fixes that Fail: Reducing Food Deserts, Poverty, Crime, and Intergenerational Incarceration
Posted in: Criminal Justice, Marginalized Groups, Poverty and Socioeconomic Status | Tags: Featured ResearchPublished in: American Journal of Community PsychologySubmitted by: Megan M. Card There is a clear connection between food deserts and structural racism. Food deserts are areas/locations where residents lack convenient access to affordable healthy foods like fresh fruit and vegetables. Food deserts are disproportionately located in communities of color. Bailey et al. defines structural racism as “the totality of ways in […]
Using Existing Program Data to Assess the Health of Mentor/Mentee Relationships
Posted in: Children, Youth and Families | Tags: Featured ResearchPublished in: American Journal of Community PsychologyData were collected from a large national sample of Big Brothers/Big Sisters mentors and mentees. Assessment data can provide a signal for those who may be at risk for terminating the program relationship early. Additional support can be offered in struggling dyads.
Effective Community-Based Parent Training with Low-Income African American and Latino Parents
Posted in: Children, Youth and Families, Marginalized Groups | Tags: Featured ResearchPublished in: Prevention ScienceParent training programs designed in partnership with parents can be effective for a culturally and economically diverse population of parents. Parents who attended at least 50% of the CPP intervention reported increased parenting self-efficacy, consistency in discipline, greater expression of warmth toward their children, and fewer child behavioral problems.
Adapting Evidence-Based Suicide Prevention Practices in Alaskan Native Villages
Posted in: Marginalized Groups, Prevention Science | Tags: Featured ResearchPublished in: American Journal of Community PsychologyTransplanting evidence-based practices into new contexts requires extensive thought and consideration as most interventions are not developed with populations at highest risk in mind. Our study highlights the importance of including community members and everyday people in plans to take action for social change.
Using Policy to Advance Social Justice for Justice-Involved Youth
Posted in: Criminal Justice, Public Policy | Tags: Featured ResearchWe can scale up prevention science through policy frameworks to improve lives. Policies can be used to improve social justice through more effective and preventative solutions for justice-involved youth.
Improving Health Equity Through Improving Data in Community Health Needs Assessments
Posted in: Healthcare | Tags: Featured ResearchPublished in: Journal of Public Health Management and PracticeHospitals, public health, and policy makers seek to reduce health disparities. Community Health Needs Assessments can be more representative of the population to ensure that the data used to make decisions includes populations with the greatest need.
