Issues
Issues
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.

Posted in: History of Community PsychologyPublished in: American Journal of Community Psychology“It was an exciting time… They [Swampscott conference participants] wanted to intervene in social problems that were not explicitly mental health in nature, and that’s why they talked about becoming “social change agents” – a vision that was a sea change for American psychology.”
Read MorePosted in: Education, Veterans | Tags: Practice, ResearchIn this participatory action research study, student veterans at a small midwestern community college collaborated to develop engaging programs and resources for veterans transitioning from soldier to student. Most notably, the veteran group worked with college administration as well as veteran organizations and community partners to develop a Veterans Resource Center (VRC) on campus.
Read MorePosted in: Poverty and Socioeconomic Status | Tags: ResearchPublished in: American Journal of Community PsychologyCan the income-level of the people we share our neighborhoods with affect our health? Does the income-level of our neighbors shape how we perceive our own social status?
Read MorePosted in: Children, Youth and Families, Marginalized Groups, Sense of CommunityPublished in: Global Journal of Community Psychology PracticePhotovoice increased the level of psychological sense of community and the wish for future participation in a group of teenagers who live in a vulnerable, multicultural neighborhood in southern Spain.
Read MorePosted in: Children, Youth and Families, Criminal Justice, Education | Tags: PracticeJudith Meyers, Jeana Bracey, and Jeffery Vanderploeg, with Ashley Simons-Rudolph “By diverting youth from juvenile justice involvement and connecting them to resources that address the underlying issues that contribute to challenging behaviors, there is a triple benefit of better outcomes for youth, better outcomes for schools, and significant cost savings.” The Connecticut School-Based Diversion Initiative […]
Read MorePosted in: Children, Youth and Families, Education, Violence Prevention | Tags: ResearchPublished in: American Journal of Community PsychologyThe researchers evaluate the WITS Program (Walk Away, Ignore, Talk it Out, Seek Help), which provides student, parents, and school administrators a common language to encourage prosocial behavior.
Read MorePosted in: Coalition Building, Prevention Science | Tags: ResearchWhat is left after the funding ends, staff leave, and programming decreases? Can we build coalitions that survive and even thrive after the research study? The answer is a resounding “yes!” We provide some key elements of sustainable coalition building.
Read MorePosted in: Children, Youth and Families, Criminal Justice, EnvironmentPublished in: The Community PsychologistThe SCRA Social Justice Mini-grant program provided seeds for the development of a vegetable garden for youth at a detention center (Boy’s Totem Town) located St. Paul, MN. Beginning in May 2017, youth participated in a vegetable garden program that taught them the principles of environmental sustainability, healthful and nutritious diets, and responsible ecological practices.
Read MorePosted in: Veterans, Violence Prevention | Tags: ResearchPublished in: American Journal of Community PsychologyThe United States Department of Defense (DOD) began organizational-wide sexual assault training in 2005. Holland et al. (2014) studied whether the training received predicted accurate knowledge of sexual assault resources and protocols and lower incidence of sexual assault, whether training differed across branches and ranks, and whether service members’ judgments of training effectiveness differed.
Read MorePosted in: Children, Youth and Families, Criminal Justice | Tags: ResearchYouth who become involved in the juvenile justice system are at increased risk for a range of negative outcomes. With early interventions, such as Juvenile Drug Court (JDC), long-term outcomes are likely to improve.
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