American journal of community psychology最新文献

Asylum-seeking immigrants from Central America experience high prevalence rates of traumatic experiences and posttraumatic stress (PTS). Nonetheless, it is unknown how each type of trauma correlates uniquely to PTS variance and how cultural values may uniquely lower PTS. The present study hypothesized that, after controlling for demographics, (1) general trauma/natural disasters would be the strongest trauma-type correlates to PTS, and (2) religiosity, familismo-support, and self-efficacy would be negatively correlated to PTS. As part of a larger international study, n = 103 participants were sampled at the Texas-Mexico border. Participants were administered a series of mental health and cultural-values screeners in Spanish. A multiple hierarchical regression analysis revealed a significant model predicting PTS, with general exposure to natural disasters as the strongest correlate to PTS. Moreover, familismo-support, but not self-efficacy, significantly correlated with lower PTS scores. Finally, contrary to the hypothesized direction, religiosity was positively correlated to PTS. In this sample of Central American asylum-seekers, religiosity was correlated with higher PTS, aligning with negative religious coping models. Familismo-support was the only association to lower PTS scores. Clinical implications and future directions relevant to culturally responsive interventions and psychological assessments are discussed.

In the U.S., crime and violence are concentrated in cities that have lost industry and population due to economic disinvestment and structurally racist policies. Researchers, practitioners, and policymakers have called for community-level approaches that reduce violence in these cities by improving unsafe physical environments, increasing social equity and cohesion, and engaging community members in neighborhood change. We tested Busy Streets Theory by examining how community-engaged Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) strategies implemented by a community coalition may reduce violent and violent firearm crime incidents in Flint, Michigan, a legacy city in the Midwestern U.S. We used linear mixed effects regression models to examine how the annual aggregate intensity of physical and social CPTED activities from 2015 to 2018 was associated with changes in annual violent crime levels from 2016 to 2019 for 505 street segments in Flint, MI. After adjusting for baseline violent crime density, neighborhood disadvantage, property maintenance, and spatially lagged violent crime density, we observed that higher levels of community-engaged CPTED intensity were associated with steeper declines in violent crime density over time (β = −0.14, p < 0.001). Similarly, higher levels of community-engaged CPTED intensity were associated with steeper declines in violent firearm crime density over time (β = −0.19, p < 0.001). The results suggest the vital role that creating busy streets through community-engaged CPTED may play in community violence prevention.

Intergenerational connectedness broadly encompasses relations among humans, lands, and all living and spiritual beings, and functions as an important part of Indigenous well-being. Many public health campaigns and interventions aim to promote connectedness to support holistic wellness and reduce health inequities. Currently, however, there are no measurement tools to assess intergenerational connectedness to support culturally grounded research and program evaluation. The purpose of this qualitative study is to understand and describe Indigenous intergenerational connectedness as part of a larger community-based participatory research study to develop a measure of Indigenous intergenerational connectedness. We convened a community advisory board and an Indigenous measurement development group to steer the project. We conducted N = 23 interviews with 21 Indigenous participants to learn about intergenerational connectedness. An inductive, thematic analysis yielded three primary themes: (1) dimensions of intergenerational connectedness, (2) facilitators of intergenerational connectedness, and (3) qualities and outcomes of intergenerational connectedness. These findings highlight the profound importance of intergenerational connectedness for Indigenous communities and its role in promoting health, mental health, and well-being. This study adds to the growing field of American Indian/Alaska Native strengths-based public health and mental health research promoting Indigenous values, worldviews, cosmologies, and epistemologies to promote healthy, thriving Indigenous communities.

Drawing from a liberation psychology framework, this paper describes a community soccer program designed to address inequalities in education, health, and social inclusion among newcomer immigrant girls. The mixed-methods study drew upon youth voices to explore how the program fostered resilience, effective coping, and academic achievement. The study included a quantitative sample (n = 20) and a qualitative sub-sample (n = 13), as well as school-wide comparison data (n = 431). Participants were from 13 countries of origin and spoke ten languages. Data collection involved community-based participatory methods and a convergent parallel mixed-methods design. Quantitative data included a demographic questionnaire, school records of grade point average (GPA), and program participation; qualitative data were gathered through semi-structured interviews. A one-sample t-test determined that academic achievement (GPA) among program participants (M = 3.12; SD = 0.86) was significantly higher (p = .003; t [18] = 3.462) than the school's average (M = 2.44; SD = 1.42). Directed content analyses of qualitative data explored mechanisms for promoting achievement and empowerment through three distinct forms of resilience: academic, psychological, and social, and problem- and emotion-focused coping strategies. This study offers a unique, sports-based pathway to address inequalities among an understudied population of immigrant girls.

Creative and humorous activism, both online and offline, has historically been important for queer communities during public health crises like the AIDS epidemic. Online activism and affinity became critical during the COVID-19 pandemic due to reduced in-person healthcare, social support, and resources. General functions of online meme humor expanded during COVID-19, including using dark humor and defining in-group political values and positions. In the current study, we used a convergent, mixed methods approach informed by COR theory and Photovoice methodology to examine the use of memes by sexual minority men and nonbinary individuals (SMMNI; N = 43) during COVID-19, including the role of memes in promoting humor, coping, and online community-building. We analyzed the content of participant-selected memes (n = 53), their experiences described in semi-structured interviews, and surveys about demography, online networks, and technology use and attitudes. Almost all memes contained text- and/or image-based humor, and most used dark humor. Participants' descriptions of memes during interviews hierarchically clustered in four distinct meme-related strategies: Validation-seeking, Community-seeking, Personal coping and social advocacy, and Systemic advocacy. Current study findings have implications for community healthcare praxis and research, including the importance of participatory research, intervention development in collaboration with queer communities, and online resources to improve public health and health literacy.

Migrant mothers of African origin (MMAO) face multiple situations of vulnerability in receiving societies, with implications for their right to the highest level of mental health. This study examines the intersecting social determinants that shape the experiences of suffering and well-being expressed by MMAO engaged in transnational motherhood in southern Spain. Sixteen MMAO users of the Spanish Red Cross participated in individual interviews and photovoice-based group sessions. The qualitative results show the existence of an interconnected web of six key human rights that are often violated, which impact the mental health of the MMAO. Specifically, MMAO frequently refer to their rights to (a) legal status, (b) access to decent work, (c) family reunification with their children, (d) enjoying supportive social networks in terms of transnational relationships as well as relationships with other MMAO in the receiving society, (e) maintaining their cultural and spiritual roots, and (f) self-determination as a way to ensure their mental health. This proposal contributes to the literature by offering a human rights-based approach to the mental health of a population that is particularly sensitive to the intersectionality of oppression and by offering recommendations for ensuring the right to the mental health of MMAO in receiving societies.

The aim of this research was to adapt and validate the Civic Engagement Scale (CES) developed by Doolittle & Faul for the Spanish adolescent population while providing empirical support for its psychometric properties. After administering the instruments to 965 adolescents from high schools, confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to explore the structure, and reliability was assessed through two approaches: internal consistency and composite reliability. The study confirmed a first-order factor structure with two correlated factors, and the proposed model exhibited satisfactory internal consistency indices. External evidence supporting the validity of the instrument was also established. This research underscores that the Spanish version of the CES is a valid and reliable tool for evaluating civic attitudes and behavior among Spanish adolescents.

Bullying victimization and perpetration negatively affect African American students' physical and mental health. Among the many risk factors associated with bullying behaviors, associating with antisocial peers, and exposure to community violence may function as important contextual risk factors, particularly among African American youth residing in underserved urban communities. However, few studies have explored the degree to which family closeness may mitigate these risk factors and serve as a potential promotive mechanism. The current study applies an ecological systems model to assess the nature of associations among adolescents' family, community, and peer contexts with bullying victimization and perpetration while assessing for gender differences (moderation). Results based on a sample of African American adolescents (n = 637, mean age = 15.83, SD = 1.39; 45.6% boys) indicated that for both boys and girls, indirect effects suggested that bullying victimization partially explained the association of associating with antisocial peers and community violence exposure on bullying perpetration. For boys, a significant indirect effect was found from family closeness to bullying perpetration via community violence exposure, and for girls, a direct effect was found from family closeness to bullying perpetration. These latter findings supported the potential promotive functioning of family closeness. Additional implications are discussed.

Structural inequities impacting immigrant health in the United States were intensified during two recent time periods—the anti-immigrant socio-political context of 2017–2021 and the COVID-19 pandemic beginning in 2020. Our community-university research team adapted and implemented a community-based mental health intervention with Latinx immigrants during these periods, which allowed us to reflect on the role of our community-based participatory research (CBPR) partnership in addressing the disparate impacts of these events on Latinx immigrants. We documented the factors and processes that enabled our partnership to navigate crises, address immediate needs, and promote long-term social change. We analyzed focus groups with community-based organization staff, research team meetings, retreat notes, and interviews with Latinx immigrants. Exacerbated challenges included fear, uncertainty, limited resources, and restricted mobility and isolation. By prioritizing immigrant individual, community, and organizational knowledge and epistemologies, our team built upon immigrants' experiences of survival and resistance in the face of ongoing exclusion to navigate the difficulties of both periods. Instead of developing reactive processes, our partnership centered on immigrants' existing strategies, ensuring responses were rapid, effective, and aligned with community needs. These findings highlight that immigrant communities survive continual “crises” and engage in ongoing resistance and survival strategies that can provide the basis for effective CBPR and other social change efforts.

This article examines how university-based teacher education programs in diverse historical, sociocultural, and political settings in the U.S. and in Chile, served to foster immigrant empowerment and liberation. Using a Funds of Knowledge approach, the study analyzed the educational practices of migrant families and their integration into early childhood teacher education curricula in both countries. Ethnographic methods, including teacher interviews, household visits, and case studies, revealed that engaging with immigrant families fostered critical thinking among teachers, deepened their respect for the families' values and aspirations, and highlighted the rich educational resources within immigrant households. The study underscores the importance of recognizing and incorporating these practices to support young immigrant children's development. However, it also stresses the urgent need to address systemic oppression and entrenched colonial-racial ideologies that persist in educational systems in both contexts.