Journal of community psychology最新文献

Due to changes in life course complexity, cultural norms, and welfare policies, older adults' preferences, resources, and living arrangements have become increasingly diverse. Yet, the relationship between older adults' living arrangements and how they experience loneliness remains underexplored. This article investigates the often-overlooked meaning-giving processes that underlie the association between living arrangements and loneliness in old age. To explore how living arrangements shape loneliness and belonging in later life, we conducted a grounded theory analysis of 72 interviews with older adults who did not live with a partner. Across living arrangements, three loneliness drivers were salient across living arrangements: losses, exclusion, and time. Participants used temporal reference points to construct mental representations of these drivers, evaluating their current spatial embeddedness in light of past experiences and anticipated future trajectories. The affective outcome of this comparison determined whether respondents perceived the spatial belonging of home and, in turn, experienced loneliness or belonging.

Mentoring programs are a popular approach for supporting youth through relationships with adult mentors, but few mentoring studies have included the mentor perspective. The present study comprised 80 undergraduate mentors (M age = 19.83, 52.5% White, 76.3% female) and elementary-aged mentees (M age = 10.61, 91.3% Black, 53.8% female). Mentee and mentor perceptions of the mentoring relationship and their other adult social supports were assessed over an academic year, in addition to mentor internalizing problems. It was hypothesized that mentor and mentee mentoring relationship quality would both be predicted by and predict the other variables of interest. For mentees, cross-lagged panel models indicated pre-existing adult social supports were positively associated with perception of the mentoring relationship, while for mentors, multiple regression highlighted the negative association of mentor internalizing problems with perceived mentoring relationship quality. These findings highlight the need for dyadic perspectives in future mentoring research.

Although adult allies often play crucial roles in mentoring and supporting young people who are activists, there remain gaps in our understanding of how community leaders interpret youth activism and the nature of organizational supports they provide for Black young people. We aimed to clarify perceptions about young people's involvement in social activism surrounding policing among community leaders who serve Black young people (ages 12–21) in Baltimore, Maryland. We interviewed 11 community leaders. Results indicated community leaders believed young people engage in activism due to mistrust and negative perceptions of police, a desire for justice, and to influence policies and laws. Most participants supported youth activism and emphasized the importance of increased adult involvement in amplifying youth voices. Some expressed concerns regarding youth activists' understanding of movement goals and their safety while protesting. Most community leaders reported that their organizations supported youth activism, though the level and nature of support varied widely. Participants shared strategies their organizations implemented to facilitate and sustain youth engagement in activism. Findings highlight the need for structured support systems that empower and protect young activists. Future efforts should foster intergenerational collaboration, enhance educational resources on activism, and develop policies safeguarding youth participation in social movements.

To analyze the outcomes of a Community-Based Mental Health Rehabilitation intervention on loneliness, resilience, depressive symptoms, continuity of care, and psychosocial disability, and to compare the outcomes of municipalities that implemented labour inclusion strategies with those that employed alternative approaches. An analytical, longitudinal, quasi-experimental study with pre- and post-intervention design was conducted. 130 individuals participated in support groups and labour inclusion processes, framed within a community-based recovery strategy (community strengthening, QualityRights). The disability model explained 40.1% of the variance in psychosocial disability (adjusted R² = 0.401), while the labour disability model was refined through four iterations, with the final model explaining 12.6% of the total variance (adjusted R² = 0.120). At the intervention level, large to moderate effect sizes were observed across all proposed scales. Furthermore, municipalities that incorporated labour inclusion were associated with better outcomes. Psychosocial variables improved through community strengthening, system reinforcement, and recognition of human rights.