In response to the repeated police killings of Black people, including the recent deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and Rayshard Brooks, and the global mobilization demanding structural change to ensure that Black Lives Matter, the Society for Community Research and Action membership pulled together resources to support awareness raising and action for uprooting white supremacy and promoting racial justice. We hope this promotes the widespread adoption of anti-racist practices in our everyday lives and in the field of Community Psychology.
SCRA is partnering with the European Community Psychology Association to create The New Bank for Community Ideas and Solutions.
Subscribe to our E-Newsletter!
Keep current on Community Psychology-relevant research. Subscribe here: https://www.communitypsychology.com/e-newsletter/
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 Research
With Racism Everywhere, What makes Youth “Engage Against the Machine?”
Posted in: Coalition Building, Marginalized Groups | Tags: Featured ResearchPublished in: American Journal of Community PsychologyActivism is a crucial part of the democratic process. Social action can be helpful in combating the exhaustion of daily inequality.
Engaging Stakeholders about the “Wicked Problem” of Educational–Behavioral Health Disparities
Posted in: Marginalized Groups, Prevention Science | Tags: Featured ResearchPublished in: American Journal of Community PsychologyMany important societal problems can be defined as “wicked” because they have multiple, complex causes, impact individuals in different ways, and do not lend themselves to simple solutions. Researchers should seek to collaborate with the individuals most affected by the topic under study so that any (partial) solutions to identified problems can be informed by […]
Critical Reflection as an Antidote for Oppression
Posted in: Marginalized Groups | Tags: Featured ResearchPublished in: American Journal of Community PsychologyCritical reflection is associated with lower levels of internalized oppression and higher levels of collective efficacy. It can liberate people from oppressive ideologies and empower them to resist social injustice.
Don’t Start and End with ACEs: How Protective Factors Explain Youth Health
Posted in: Children, Youth and Families, Mental Health | Tags: Featured ResearchPublished in: American Journal of Community PsychologyProtective factors can mitigate the impact of ACEs and are just as important to understand a child’s physical and emotional health.
Community-Based Participatory Research is Authentic and Actionable
Posted in: Coalition Building, Prevention Science | Tags: Featured ResearchPublished in: American Journal of Community PsychologyConsumers collaborate with researchers in Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR) to create data that is authentic, useful, and can directly impact service delivery systems. The process is time intensive and can be challenging. Including consumer researchers as partners is essential to understand the experience of receiving services and the impact of those services when considering improvements.
Faith, Conservatism, and Discrimination
Posted in: Marginalized Groups | Tags: Featured ResearchPublished in: American Journal of Community PsychologyDespite significant strides for sexual and gender minority (SGM) rights in the United States, there continues to be opposition to these rights from many conservative Christians and political conservatives. This study advances the understanding of how unawareness of Christian privilege and support for Christian hegemony help to explain the association between Christian and political conservatism and […]
Featured New Content
Society for Community Research and Action Statement on Police Brutality
Posted in: Criminal Justice, Marginalized Groups, Public Policy, Uncategorized, Violence Prevention | Tags: Featured ContentWe, the Society for Community Research and Action (SCRA), are in solidarity with those calling to move funding out of policing and into systems that facilitate community wellness. For this reason, we take up policing as an institution.
After COVID-19: How School-Based Health Centers Can Help When Schools Re-Open
Posted in: Children, Youth and Families, Healthcare, Poverty and Socioeconomic Status | Tags: Featured ContentBy linking Community Psychology principles with health information, School-Based Health Centers (SBHC)s represent needed infrastructure when schools re-open after stay-at-home orders related to COVID-19.
Evaluation Consultants Get the Job Done Right for Community Interventions
Posted in: Coalition Building, Prevention Science | Tags: Featured ContentConsultants can assist communities to design, implement, and evaluate effective interventions. Evaluation consultants with a Community Psychology perspective are particularly valuable as the values of the field align with what many communities need.
What is Trauma-Informed Care: An Example
Posted in: Children, Youth and Families, Mental Health, Prevention Science, Public Policy | Tags: Featured ContentChildhood trauma and adversity are associated with chronic health and behavioral health problems. In a systems-wide approach to trauma, all individuals within the organization play a role in helping treat a child.
Leveraging our Role as Community Psychologists through Op-Eds and Letters to the Editors to Advocate for Immigrant Justice
Posted in: Immigrant Justice | Tags: Featured ContentPublished in: The Community PsychologistHow to write Op-Eds to support social justice.
Trauma-Informed Responses to Immigration Policies and Practices
Posted in: Immigrant Justice, Public Policy | Tags: Featured ContentWe call for an end to all traumatic policies, echoing U.S. Congressional calls to address the root of harm to children and recommendations to shift toward trauma-based systems of care for immigrant children and families.
