Empirical Support for the Critical Assumptions of Empowerment Theory

This exploratory case study provides empirical support for three critical assumptions of empowerment theory. Many empowerment theorists have argued that empowerment takes on multiple forms across people, is contextually embedded, and shifts over time (Rappaport, 1984; Zimmerman, 1990, 1995). To better understand the implications of these assumptions for empowerment theory and the research and intervention methods we employ, the empowerment experiences of 49 employees within a large human service delivery organization were explored. A method well suited to investigate empowerment's assumptions of multiplicity and dynamism—a constructivist approach to inquiry—was employed. Content analyses of interview and observational data revealed that the process of empowerment may be more complex than originally conceived. Not only did multiple meanings and desires for empowerment emerge across employees and between employees and leaders, but several shifting ecologies impacted the employees' lives, causing the employees' empowerment experiences to fluctuate. Empowerment emerged as a dynamic, highly individualistic, contextually layered process. Multiple forms, contexts, and dynamics that influenced employee empowerment are described. Implications of these findings for empowerment research and intervention are discussed.     

Expansion strategies of a mutual help organization

Described a study of the expansion strategies of a successful self- and mutual help organization for persons with mental illness. Resource mobilization and behavior-setting theories were used as conceptual frameworks to guide the investigation. Collaborative methods and a grounded theory approach were used. Archives, reports of contacts outside of the organization, and naturalistic observations were data sources. Of particular interest are the processes used by the organization to mobilize internal and external resources and to start new mutual help groups. Results suggest that the organization mobilizes resources from a variety of sources, displays flexibility in securing resources and defining organizational roles, and creates underpopulated settings to encourage individual involvement. The strategies appear to avoid overtaxing resource pools, reduce role ambiguity, and encourage pluralistic participation. Discussion includes several potential explanations for the successful growth of the organization.     

Giving and Receiving Help: Interpersonal Transactions in Mutual-Help Meetings and Psychosocial Adjustment of Members

The helping transactions that occur in group meetings have been theorized to be important therapeutic mechanisms within mutual-help (or self-help) groups. Hypothesized links between giving and receiving help and psychosocial adjustment were examined in a mutual-help group for individuals with serious mental illness (GROW). Participants' adjustment was assessed at two time points and helping behaviors were measured with observational coding of weekly group interactions during the period between assessments. Frequencies of helping behaviors were used to predict Time 2 adjustment after controlling for initial adjustment. Consistent with the helper therapy principle, giving help to others predicted improvements in psychosocial adjustment; giving advice was a unique predictor. Total amount of help received was not associated with adjustment, but receiving help that provided cognitive reframing was associated with better social adjustment. A predicted interaction suggested that receiving help was related to better functioning when members experienced high levels of group integration.     

Initial examination of the validity and reliability of the female photographic figure rating scale for body image assessment

The present study reports on the reliability and validity of an improved body image assessment scale, namely the female Photographic Figure Rating Scale (PFRS). This scale consists of ten photographic images of real women varying in body mass index (BMI) from emaciated to obese. The PFRS was designed to overcome many of the limitations associated with line-drawn figures that are currently in use, including a lack of realism and poor ecological validity. Based on a sample of 208 adult women, the results of the present study showed that the PFRS had good validity in that all images were correctly rank-ordered by BMI. In addition, construct validity was supported by the finding that current self-ratings of body size based on the PFRS were significantly correlated with participants’ BMI and that body dissatisfaction was negatively correlated with positive body image. Finally, test–retest reliabilities showed that the PFRS remained stable after a three-week interval. The discussion focuses on the strengths and limitations of the PFRS in relation to existing scales used in body image assessment.     

The adoption of innovation in collective action organizations

This study used a quantitative/qualitative methodology to explore how collective action organizations (CAOs) remain open to organizational change and innovation. It examined the adoption of inclusion—a recent innovation in the field of disabilities—by local chapters of The Arc Michigan (a disabilities CAO). We found considerable variability in the adoption of inclusion by local Arc chapters. This variability was significantly related to the ecology surrounding these chapters. Local Arc chapters that had adopted an inclusion philosophy had significantly different internal and external environments from those that had not adopted inclusion. Our qualitative findings make it clear, however, that innovative Arc chapters were not the passive recipients of these internal and external influences. These chapters were proactive players in defining and shaping the nature of their internal and external environments. Strategies that were related to a chapter's ability to remain open to innovation included (a) a change orientation, (b) a conscious philosophy or vision, (c) a proactive strategy for achieving chapter goals and overcoming barriers to change, (d) the creation of a supportive organizational network, and (e) avoidance of resource dependencies that required them to engage in activities that were inconsistent with the innovation. These findings provide a framework by which CAOs can maintain an openness to innovation and remain on the forefront of social change.     

Longitudinal evaluation of anhedonia as a mediator of fear of positive evaluation and other depressive symptoms

ABSTRACT

Fear of positive evaluation (FPE) is experiencing dread during real or potential praise. FPE is associated with social anxiety, but its relation to depressive symptoms is unclear. Anhedonia is a core symptom of depression related to symptoms of anxiety in cross-sectional research. The current study investigated the indirect effect of FPE on depressive symptoms via anhedonia over time. One-hundred ninety-six participants completed three waves of questionnaires over a total timespan of approximately four months via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk, including measures of FPE, depressive symptoms, and anticipatory and consummatory anhedonia. Findings indicated that anticipatory anhedonia at Time 2 mediated the relationship between FPE at Time 1 and depressive symptoms at Time 3. Consummatory anhedonia, however, did not. Each model was contextualised by accounting for prospective covarying relationships, such as depressive symptoms predicting the same symptoms at later waves. The constellation of findings is considered within a reward devaluation framework.     

Book Club Groups to Aid Relational Connection and Trust among Addicted Trauma Survivors

This is a secondary analysis of qualitative data from a literacy study, which examines Book Clubs as a creative approach to engage female addicted trauma survivors in developing psychologically safe, trusting therapeutic relationships. This approach is respectful of the participants’ experiences of relational trauma and diverse cultural contexts, in part because book clubs are ‘normal’ experiences in which the client is better able to have control over the level of vulnerability she engages in within the therapeutic milieu. Themes indicating increasing levels of vulnerability and psychological safety include use of book club discussions to identify with text, plot, or characters; to discuss escape coping and aggressive coping; and to discuss self as a victim and as a survivor.     

CONCEPT MAPPING AS A FEMINIST RESEARCH METHOD

A method used in program evaluation and public health research called concept mapping is examined in this article for its usefulness in feminist research. This method embodies several defining characteristics of feminist social science. Concept mapping is a single method that integrates qualitative and quantitative approaches, provides an opportunity for participants to work together as a group to develop an understanding of a concept, and places the participants in control of interpretation. Over the course of a six-step process, a group of people are assembled to discuss an issue or concept, moving toward a group understanding of that concept, which is then represented in a visual picture, or map. Concept mapping was used in the current study to examine how community resources for sexual-assault victims could be improved. A national random sample of 168 rape-victim advocates provided ideas as to how the legal, medical, and mental health systems could better serve victims. A subgroup of advocates then constructed and interpreted a concept map. The map suggested that rape victims still face many problems in seeking community help. Twelve clusters of broad-based and specific system changes were identified (e.g., fighting victim blaming, community education, sensitizing medical staff, legal reform). Implications for research on sexual assault and feminist research methodology are discussed.