Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology最新文献

This study addresses the issue of adolescents' susceptibility to racial misinformation, testing a socio-analytical intervention within an educational community through the inducement of analytical processing of misleading news on one side, and mediated contact on the other. Rolling Minds web app has been designed to implement a hybrid schools intervention thanks to which classmates engage with conversational agents, guiding them in deconstructing racial stereotypes, reframing misleading narratives and empathizing with immigrants' point of view. All the intervention activities aim to enhance intergroup contact. For this purpose, in this study, which involved 208 young participants (mean age 14.65; SD = 0.74), we pursued two research objectives. Firstly, by employing a person-centred approach, our first research question (RQ1) is to identify subgroups of adolescents based on their propensity to engage in analytical reasoning, stereotypical beliefs and self-transcendence values, finding different vulnerability clusters to racial misinformation. In relation to the emerging profiles, their reactions to the misleading news were initially observed (ie, sharing and fact-checking). Secondly, regarding the second research question (RQ2), through path analysis we aim to understand whether and how adolescents characterized by different profiles vary in performing activities of socio-analytical intervention aimed at enhancing contact intentions. These results can guide the development of tailored hybrid educational strategies to engage young people in approaching racial online misinformation in a more reflective and unbiased manner, considering the adolescents' individual differences in vulnerability to racial hoaxes.

Given the recognised benefits of organisational identification (OI) on workers' well-being, we investigated the underlying mechanisms of this association in this work. We conducted a cross-sectional study (N = 192) to examine the possible mediating role of three factors related to individuals' workplace experiences (organisational trust, the meaning of work and self-objectification) in the relationship between OI and well-being. Specifically, the research aims to examine the relationship between identification in the workplace and favourable well-being outcomes. The study results demonstrated the significant indirect effects of the hypothesised model. In particular, OI was positively related to well-being via increased trust and meaning of work and through a reduced self-objectification experience. The findings highlight the significance of OI in relation to distal outcomes despite the potential presence of negative perceptual experiences within the relationship. This study seeks to offer innovative perspectives through which we can observe the relationship between less-examined variables within the workplace, thus providing guidance for practitioners and researchers in this field.

According to the cognitive liberalization hypothesis, exposure to intergroup contact improves cognitive outcomes related to open-mindedness and out-of-the-box thinking. In a sample of Italian adults (N = 708), we: (a) investigated the profile of cognitive liberalization through a latent profile analysis including cognitive (i.e., cognitive flexibility, socio-cognitive mindfulness, curiosity and low need for structure) and socio-cultural (i.e., deprovincialization, beliefs supporting societal diversity and low social dominance orientation [SDO]) dimensions of cognitive liberalization; (b) tested how intergroup contact experiences differed between the profile of cognitive liberalization and the other profiles. Results showed three profiles: Cognitive Liberalization (high scores in both cognitive and socio-cultural dimensions of cognitive liberalization), Cognitive Rigidity (low scores on cognitive, high scores in socio-cultural dimensions) and Anti-Liberalization (low scores on all liberalization variables). Individuals belonging to the Cognitive Liberalization profile reported less negative, and more positive and intimate contact experiences with the outgroup compared with the other two profiles; they had a higher proportion of outgroup members in their acquaintances, and perceived those outgroup members involved in positive contact as more representative of their outgroup. Diversity of contacted outgroup members did not matter for the profiles. Close and positive relationships with the outgroup could be key to cognitive liberalization. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.

While globalisation brings opportunities for cultural enrichment, it may also present challenges as individuals attempt to make sense of and integrate fragmented and often conflicting cultural influences into a coherent self-concept. A qualitative inquiry into contemporary Australians' cultural identity experiences indicated that some people perceive themselves as a product of multiple influences from diverse contacts and learnings, and they mix and reconcile these influences into their self-concept. Building on this prior work, the current study developed and tested a new quantitative measure of polycultural identity. Using two diverse Australian samples (N = 301; N = 525) recruited from Prolific, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported a single-factor structure and a high Cronbach's α among the final 10 items. Correlational analyses revealed that, as expected, the Polycultural Identity Scale (PIS) was more strongly linked with the endorsement of polycultural ideology than multicultural ideology and was uncorrelated with colourblind ideology. Also, as expected, the PIS correlated moderately with generalised identity blendedness, interest in diverse contact and endorsement of global citizenship but not with identity compartmentalisation or generalised identity harmony. The PIS has the potential to provide valuable insights into the dynamics of multifaceted cultural identity and how individuals organise and synthesise a breadth of cultural influences into a meaningful self-concept.

Homelessness is a complex social, economic and psychological issue, and compared with the general population, people experiencing homelessness suffer disproportionately from mental health and substance use issues. Evidence suggests that psychological interventions can improve the quality-of-life of people experiencing homelessness. A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted on studies identified in five databases. Global studies published before July 2023 were included. A total of 35 studies were identified from 30 independent trials conducted in five countries. Outcomes were divided into six domains: substance use, mental health, psychological wellbeing, health behaviour, antisocial behaviour and social outcomes. A meta-analysis was performed on data from 22 studies investigating outcomes of substance use, abstinence, anxiety, depression and PTSD. Evidence demonstrates the effectiveness of psychological interventions for a range of outcomes affecting people experiencing homelessness. Cognitive behaviour therapy and motivational interviewing were deemed particularly effective across a range of outcomes and were also considered a cost-effective option. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.

Modern local communities are undergoing deep changes due to modern social and cultural processes and to the widespread use of ubiquitous, neighbourhood-related social media. Indeed, the latter shape citizens' experiences in terms of both local relationships and opportunities for shared aims and behaviours. Therefore, this study endeavours to unravel the impact of neighbourhood-related social media on users' sense of community (SoC), sense of responsible togetherness (SoRT), and perceptions of community resilience via their potential in enhancing their informal neighbouring behaviours and civic engagement. Nine hundred and sixty-five Italian citizens (30.1% males; M_age = 22.80; SD_age = 4.88) answered an online questionnaire; Structural Equation Modelling was used to run a multiple sequential mediation model having community resilience as the final outcome. The results confirm the positive relationship of such social media with users' informal neighbouring behaviours and civic engagement but show that only civic engagement mediates its relationships with SoC, SoRT, and perceptions of community resilience. Altogether, this opens interesting venues for future developments in both research and intervention fields, with reference to (a) further unravelling the intertwinement between online and local social dynamics and environments, and (b) better understanding how such intertwinement and this kind of social media could represent tools for the promotion of community building processes and of local resilience in community interventions.

Expanding upon Duckitt's dual-process motivational model of ideology and prejudice (DPM; Duckitt, 2001), this research explores the psychological underpinnings of the approval of hostile design (AoHD) measures. Hostile design measures are interventions designed to deter undesirable behaviours and specific social groups in urban areas. Across three correlational studies (N = 798) conducted in Germany and the US, we investigated the relationship between AoHD, Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA), Social Dominance Orientation (SDO), as well as dangerous and competitive worldviews. AoHD was positively associated with RWA and SDO, as well as with dangerous and competitive worldviews. In line with the DPM, the relationship between a competitive worldview and AoHD is mediated by SDO in Studies 2 and 3. In addition, the relationship between a dangerous worldview and AoHD is mediated by RWA in Study 2 but not in Study 3. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.

My aim is to map the socioecology of rural emergent adults Not in Employment, nor in Education or Training (NEET)'s hope during the COVID-19 pandemic period. The study involved 213 participants (M age = 26.35; DP = 4.15; 66.20% women) in a three-wave longitudinal study running between June 2020 and June 2021, in The Azores Islands, Portugal. Inspired by the bioecological model and using a linear mixed model approach, I found that: (i) female NEETs presented a significantly worse evolution of hope dimensions levels compared to men; (ii) while inactive NEETs' agency estimates increased as a result of an increment in Public Employment Services' (PES) support, unemployed NEETs' estimates decreased over time to the point that they were below inactive NEETs' agency rates at higher levels of PES support; and (iii) at higher levels of collectivism, unemployed NEETs showed more positive and significant estimates of perceived ability to achieve goals compared to inactive NEETs, conversely to what happened at lower levels of perceived collectivism. These results show the need to better tailor PES' services and interventions to different types of NEETs, addressing structural inequalities (e.g., gender gap) or the role of service digitalization for rural NEETs' different subgroups. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.

Regional depopulation is an increasingly common demographic issue in many countries, as population growth becomes concentrated in small number of urban centres. Depopulation has adverse effects on the region's socioeconomic development, and often leads to worse living circumstances, such as poor availability of services. Population growth, by contrast, has many socioeconomic benefits but may also introduce unwanted consequences, such as urban alienation. However, the associations of regional population change with inhabitants' psychological and social wellbeing have not been examined as extensively as the associations with socioeconomic outcomes. With a large survey dataset from Finland (n = 99,034 participants from 299 municipalities), we examined whether regional, municipality-level population decline and growth over the preceding 10 years were associated with psychological and social wellbeing of the inhabitants of the municipalities. We were specifically interested in whether growth and decline were both related to these outcomes, or whether the associations were more pronounced for either decline or growth. Overall negative population change was related to lower social wellbeing (e.g., lower social support) and that these associations were more pronounced for the adverse associations of population decline than for the beneficial associations of population growth (e.g., less frequent social contact and higher risk of loneliness). Population change was not associated with inhabitants' depressive symptoms. These findings suggest that regional population decline can be particularly relevant for worsening social wellbeing of the inhabitants.

This article is part of a research context that examines the impact of new technologies on psychological practice. We argue that the use of technological mediators in the execution of the psychological profession goes beyond mere modifications to methods and tools, transforming the very nature of the discipline and influencing the associated professional identity. Specifically, our focus is on ‘psychological platforms’ as emerging work contexts that represent a relatively recent but rapidly growing phenomenon. Beginning with what is present in the literature on the subject of platform classification, this research project is intended to create functional and useful indicators for an analysis of psychological platforms. Based on these indicators, it is possible to reflect on the impact that the various characteristics of psychological platforms have on the psychological profession and psychological professionals themselves. In doing so, we seek to address the following research questions: (a) What are the main characteristics of psychological platforms, (b) which dimensions of the psychological profession are influenced by the use of a given platform in conducting psychological interventions and (c) how does the platformisation of the psychological profession affect the role of the psychologist? Our analysis is based on an in-depth literature review regarding the platforms, followed by a desk analysis of 44 psychological platforms operating in the Italian context. By adopting this perspective, this article illuminates the dynamics shaping psychological practice in the digital era and suggests guidelines for future research in this continually evolving field.