Blog: We Said it’d be Meaningful Not Easy: Navigating the (Unexpected) Hardships of Qualitative Research

Issues

We define community broadly and engage in communities of many kinds. Pieces are arranged topically and the list of issue topics is continually expanding.

Supports that White Mentors and BIPOC Mentees Need

Posted in: Children, Youth and Families, Marginalized Groups | Tags: Featured Research
Published in: American Journal of Community Psychology
There is often a mismatch between volunteer mentors’ backgrounds and the diverse youth they serve. Anti-racism training and applying a social justice framework throughout the mentor-mentee relationship may be important to their success.

Immigrants Who Actively Participate in Receiving Communities have Better Mental Health

Posted in: Marginalized Groups, Sense of Community | Tags: Featured Content
Published in: American Journal of Community Psychology
Active community participation is positively associated with a sense of community and adding value which, in turn, increases immigrant wellbeing. Supporting organizations in their outreach to immigrants and promoting their active engagement in the community can contribute to support immigrant mental health.

Including Clinical Psychologists in Assertive Community Treatment Teams

Posted in: Healthcare
ACT Teams provide therapeutic mental health and substance use assessments and interventions. Data supports the integration of clinical psychologists into ACT teams to enhance capacity and provide equitable services. Policy makers and healthcare administrators can include psychologists into ACT teams as a first step to addressing barriers to accessing mental health care.

Counterspaces: Fostering Healthy Identity Development

Posted in: Anti-Racism, Education, Marginalized Groups, Sense of Community | Tags: Featured Content
Published in: American Journal of Community Psychology
The Cultural Identity Project facilitated a space where students spoke to their own empowering actions developing from critical awareness, healing, and solidarity. People with power in any system must work to uproot oppression for spaces to live up to their potential.

The Power of Policy: Business Closures in Rural Communities

Posted in: Poverty and Socioeconomic Status, Rural Communities | Tags: Featured Content
Published in: The Community Psychologist
Twenty percent of the population, or one out of five people, live in rural USA, where the rural population holds 12.4 percent of the manufacturing jobs. Deciding what to do with closed plants or manufacturers is an environmental issue and a public health issue. Outside of the immediate loss of jobs, the impact of closures […]

Colonial Ideologies are Embedded in Unreturned Cultural Artifacts

Posted in: Anti-Racism, Sense of Community | Tags: Featured Research
Published in: American Journal of Community Psychology
Cultural heritage is often found in the museums of colonizers. Returning historical artifacts to their rightful, original home is an important step to restoring that cultural heritage. A shift in thinking removes the colonizer’s viewpoint and replaces it with reclamation of indigenous history and pride.

Intimate Partner Violence in People Who are Non-Cisgender and/or Heterosexual

Posted in: Marginalized Groups, Uncategorized, Violence Prevention | Tags: Featured Research
Published in: American Journal of Community Psychology
Social stigma puts LGBTQ+ people at a greater risk for IPV. IPV is under-reported in all groups, and this may be particularly true in the LGBTQ+ community. IPV can present differently in the LGBTQ+ community and therefore explicit and inclusive training for behavioral health professionals is needed.

“At Risk” Framing of Black Youth Can Fuel Anti-Blackness in Research and Practice

Posted in: Anti-Racism, Children, Youth and Families | Tags: Featured Research
Published in: American Journal of Community Psychology
To counteract the effects of racism, community practitioners and researchers must take intentional steps to address common expectations for Black youth. Emphasizing Black youths and Black communities’ strengths and supporting their agency are essential.

Blog: Taíno Psychology Offers Different Ways of Thinking and Engaging in Academic Research

Posted in: Blog, Inspiration, Marginalized Groups
Indigenous Taíno psychology is not usually centered in mainstream western thought. My own Taíno lineage has been the “fertile ground” that has informed the spirituality that I practice.

Blog: We Said It’d be Meaningful Not Easy: Navigating the (Unexpected) Hardships of Qualitative Research

Posted in: Blog, Children, Youth and Families, Prevention Science | Tags: Featured Content
Published in: The Community Psychologist
The Hope Resilience Action Study was developed by Black and Latina women scholars to amplify the lived experiences of Afro Latina/Caribbean, Black, and Latina girls. The study required review by the institutional review board (IRB). The IRB reviewers shared concerns about inclusive definitions of gender and sexual orientation. This is what we did next.