We didn't say that: Challenges in the Public Dissemination of a Research Finding with Controversial Implications

In the March 2014 issue of American Journal of Community Psychology, we published an article that examined the tension between two core values in the field of community psychology: promoting contextual conditions that foster respect for diversity and promoting contextual conditions that foster sense of community. We concluded that processes of social network formation could help explain why diversity and sense of community are seemingly incompatible goals. The study's findings initially disseminated through the usual academic channels, and later through mainstream media outlets. However, they also eventually appeared on blogs and discussion forums devoted to white nationalism. The findings were viewed there as having demonstrated the evils of diversity, and thus having vindicated the white nationalist agenda. As a result, we were forced to consider whether and how to set the record straight. In this first‐person narrative, we describe our study's journey from AJCP to white nationalist blogs, discussing how we ultimately responded to the situation, and concluding with some lessons learned.     

Community‐Based Learning and Critical Community Psychology Practice: Conducive and Corrosive Aspects

Community‐based learning (CBL) has been more recently introduced into some psychology programmes in the UK than in the USA, where it has existed for a number of decades in the form of ‘service learning’. CBL holds promise as a means of promoting and developing critical community psychology practice, but there are risks involved in its acritical adoption in the psychology curriculum. If associated power dynamics are not considered, CBL has the capacity to serve neoliberal interests and perpetuate, rather than challenge, oppressive social relations. This article examines ways in which CBL can be both conducive and corrosive to critical community psychology practice. Drawing on interdisciplinary literature, it explores ways in which students participating in CBL can be vulnerable to exploitation—both as victims and perpetrators—through collusion and cultural voyeurism. Consideration is given to ways of resisting institutional and other pressures to comply uncritically with the demands of the ‘employability agenda’. These include the importance of facilitated reflective processes in associated modules, to consider aspects of the interactions of people and systems. The article concludes that whilst CBL is inherently risky and involves discomfort for students, this enables development of a more informed consciousness where truly participatory work evolves towards greater social justice. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Developing theories and models to serve: A manifesto for indigenous psychologists

This article reviews the theoretical foundations of Height Psychology, which proposes that researchers not only do research but act on their ideas to make the world a better place. It is posited that researchers should be passionate humanist whose thoughts propel actions and whose actions propel new thoughts, and they should be engaged change agents who work with communities in defining and solving problems rather than being disinterested scientists who are only interested in creating a body of objective knowledge. This approach is likely to fit the worldview of non‐western psychologists engaged in indigenous psychology, and also allow the development of global psychology that is culturally integrated and not excessively biased toward western or experimental psychology.     

Understanding and management of epilepsy in a rural community in South Africa: An exploratory study

The aim of the study was to explore how people living with epilepsy in an indigenous rural South African community understood and managed their epilepsy. Six people with epilepsy were informants (male = 3, female = 3; age range = 16 to 58 years, unemployed = 5, learner = 1). They completed individual interviews on their meanings of epilepsy and also on their experiences managing the illness. The results indicated that the participants’ understanding of epilepsy is closely linked to their own experiences of the condition, as well as to cultural beliefs about seizure disorder. Moreover, they reported that the unpredictability associated with a seizure generated a greater level of distress to the participants than the fact that they had seizure disorder. The participants reported to rely on family, and both traditional and Western medicine to manage their epilepsy.     

中职生家长投入与子女学业投入的关系：教养风格的调节作用

中职生的家庭资源是影响其学业发展的重要因素。本研究调查了国内8个省市1185名中职生和高中生,探讨了中职生家长投入的现状特点及其与教养风格、学业投入的关系。结果发现：中职生家长投入水平显著低于高中生家长;家长教养风格（自主支持/控制）调节了家长投入对中职生学业投入的预测作用。在自主支持的教养风格条件下,家长的在家辅导、参与决策能显著预测学生学业投入的水平,而在控制的教养风格条件下则不成立。     

西方社区心理学形成背景与发展历程考略

本文考察了西方社区心理学的形成背景与发展历程,并展望其在中国的应用前景。西方社区心理学的形成受到美国社区心理卫生运动、民权运动的深刻影响。1965年社区心理学诞生后,经过众多学者的努力,已发展成一门以预防问题行为、促进社会能力为核心内容,以多学科交叉、行动研究为鲜明特色的应用心理学新兴领域。目前中国正在推进和谐社会建设。社区既是社会生活的基础,又是社会结构中承上启下的中枢,因而社区心理学在中国具有广阔的发展前景。     

Negative consequences of community group participation for women's mental health and well‐being: Implications for gender aware social capital building

Participation in community groups is argued to be an important way to create health‐promoting social capital. However, relatively little attention has been paid to the ways in which gender affects the health promotion potential of participation. This paper reports on a qualitative study of women's experiences of participation in a diverse range of community groups, and considers how such involvement can potentially have a negative impact upon mental well‐being. In‐depth interviews were conducted with 30 women in Adelaide, South Australia. Women's accounts of their group involvement reflected that their identities as mothers were particularly important in shaping their participation. Some women reported difficulties in combining group involvement with their family responsibilities. Stress attached to negotiating social interaction within groups was also raised as an issue. It was found that participation can reinforce gender inequality and potentially have severe negative consequences for mental health, issues that need to be considered alongside the potential health benefits. The findings are considered in light of Bourdieu's critical conceptualization of social capital. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Perceived Meeting Effectiveness: The Role of Design Characteristics

Purpose  The aim of this investigation was to test hypotheses about meeting design characteristics (punctuality, chairperson, etc.) in relation to attendees’ perceptions of meeting effectiveness. Design/Methodology/Approach  Two studies were conducted: Study 1 investigated meetings attended in a typical week (N = 958), whereas Study 2 examined the last meeting attended on a particular day (N = 292). Findings   A number of design characteristics (in particular agenda use and quality of facilities) were found to be important in predicting perceived effectiveness. Attendee involvement served as a key mediator variable in the observed relationships. Neither meeting type nor size was found to affect the relationships of the design characteristics and involvement with effectiveness. Meeting size, however, was negatively related to attendee involvement. Implications  The findings help us to better understand relationships between design characteristics and attendees’ perceptions of meeting effectiveness. Meeting organizers can use the findings to guide administration of meetings, with potential to enhance the quality of meetings. Originality/Value   Meetings are a common organizational activity but are rarely the focus of empirical research. The use of two complementary studies, to our knowledge, provides a unique account of the contribution of design characteristics to perceptions of meeting effectiveness. Received and reviewed by former editor, George Neuman.     

Sequence and Timing of Three Community Interventions to Domestic Violence

Community responses to domestic violence typically involve the introduction of multiple interventions. Yet very little is known about the impact of the timing and sequencing of these interventions on community outcomes. A reason for this is the inherent limitations of traditional methods in social science. New methods are needed to understand the effect of varying the sequence and timing of interventions. This study responds to the issue by introducing system dynamics as a method for modeling community interventions. The paper presents a model of domestic violence cases moving through a criminal justice response, and uses the simulation model to evaluate the impact of implementing three interventions—mandatory arrest, victim advocacy, and changes in level of cooperation—on two system-level outcomes: improving offender accountability and increasing victim safety. Results illustrate the complex nature of these relationships. Implications for community practice and future research are also discussed.     

RESPONSIBILITY AND DISABILITY

Abstract: This essay explores the boundaries of the moral community—the collection of agents eligible for moral responsibility—by focusing on those just inside it and those just outside it. In particular, it contrasts mild mental retardation with psychopathy, specifically among adults. For those who work with and know them, adults with mild mental retardation are thought to be obvious members of the moral community (albeit not full-fledged members). For those who work with and theorize about adult psychopaths, by contrast, they are not members of the moral community (albeit not in such a full-fledged fashion as the insane). Both psychopaths and adults with MMR have a disability, and the essay is interested in how disability sometimes exempts one from the moral community and sometimes doesn't. It will be through two associated puzzles that we will eventually come to see the complicated tripartite relation between disability, responsibility, and moral community.