Children, Youth and Families
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Children, Youth and Families
Children, youth, and families are members of many communities which may include neighborhoods, schools, and religious and civic groups. Community Psychologists study the interests of child and adolescents within these communities. Particular attention is paid to development in high risk contexts and especially the impact of urban poverty and community structures on child and family development.

Posted in: Children, Youth and Families, Marginalized GroupsPublished in: American Journal of Community PsychologyCollective norms around race and immigration talk facilitated or impeded the extent to which these were discussed. Advisors and student leaders can embrace a “brave space” rather than a “safe space” dynamic to encourage students to participate in intersectional conversations.
Read MorePosted in: Children, Youth and Families, Mental HealthPublished in: American Journal of Community PsychologyNatural mentors can provide young adults critical support as they transition to college or university. Colleges and universities should help students develop and maintain close relationships with mentors.
Read MorePosted in: Children, Youth and Families, Mental HealthPublished in: American Journal of Community PsychologyMasculinity and mental health are related, especially for adolescent boys. Findings reveal the need to support adolescent boys to resist expectations of stereotypical masculinity.
Read MorePosted in: Children, Youth and Families, Criminal JusticePublished in: American Journal of Community PsychologyYouth are not best served in JDC environments and should be diverted to community-based and therapeutic environments whenever possible. Girls’ feedback through a confidential youth advisory process prompted systemic change better suited to meet their needs.
Read MorePosted in: Children, Youth and FamiliesPublished in: American Journal of Community PsychologyThere are many commonalities among Community-Psychology-informed youth participatory approaches. However, approaches differ on the level of emphasis on research to inform action, how much decision-making power young people have throughout the process, and the role and power of adults.
Read MorePosted in: Children, Youth and Families, Criminal JusticePublished in: American Journal of Community PsychologyTreatments and programs in the juvenile justice system may not work as well for girls as they do for boys. Rehabilitation programs must be understood in context including different program format types (individual, group, family) and program emphases (cognitive, behavioral, family systems).
Read MorePosted in: Children, Youth and Families, Criminal JusticePublished in: American Journal of Community PsychologyFamily-based interventions have the potential to reduce recidivism in girls. Contextual factors such as poverty, an unstructured home life, domestic violence, and neglect must be addressed in successful interventions.
Read MorePosted in: Children, Youth and FamiliesPublished in: Journal of Participatory Research MethodsMeaningfully engaging youth in research, evaluation, and practice is important. We examined the value of Youth GO as an emerging participatory qualitative method to engage youth in collecting and analyzing data.
Read MorePosted in: Children, Youth and Families, Coalition Building, Marginalized GroupsPublished in: The American PsychologistMost adults report at least one ACE and ACEs disproportionally impact marginalized communities. Supporting community resilience helps promote child development within families, peer groups, schools, and communities.
Read MorePosted in: Children, Youth and Families, Poverty and Socioeconomic StatusGroup mentoring is a promising strategy for building resilience among young people vulnerable to school dropout. Mentoring in small groups is more scalable than traditional one-on-one mentoring.
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