Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Social and community psychology'

Community psychology is a unique field of psychology that perceives individuals as linked to their context. The role of psychologist within this branch of psychology is viewed as one who is responsible for addressing the individual, as well as the social patterns and structures that adversely affect well-being. The use of community gardens as a therapeutic tool may serve as a two-fold intervention that can be used at both the individual and community levels. This doctoral project explores the therapeutic benefits of community gardening through the lens of the community psychology perspective. Framed within a community psychology perspective in which clients are inextricably linked to their social and physical context, engaging with nature through community gardening may lead to healthier client outcomes. A literature review was conducted to inform the author of current data related to the study of community gardens and their impact on mental health. The reviewed data pointed to the impact of community gardens on individual physical and mental health, and the social and physical community contexts that additionally affect mental health. Additional consultations with experts in the field were used to corroborate and extend research findings in the literature. The information collected from the current body of literature and consultations were presented as a professional presentation to mental health workers to increase their knowledge of the therapeutic benefits of community gardening. The limitations of the current body of literature, considerations for application in clinical practice, and recommendations for future areas of study were also considered.

Indirect exposure to a traumatic event is associated with the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Indeed, emerging research demonstrates that exposure to media coverage of violent acts has the potential to cause PTSD symptoms. Theoretical conceptualizations for the development and maintenance of trauma- and anxiety-related disorders suggest that avoidance behaviors of trauma-related stimuli may ultimately lead to the development and maintenance of PTSD symptoms through negative reinforcement processes. Assessing learned associations between environmental stimuli and anxiety may help identify those at risk for the development of PTSD such that those individuals with more learned associations between environmental stimuli and anxiety may engage in greater avoidance behaviors. A highly publicized traumatic event occurred in Lafayette, Louisiana in the summer of 2015. Following the trauma, the community held several vigils and slogans, and banners were displayed throughout the city to show support for the victims. For some individuals, these community support stimuli may have been associated with comfort; however, some may have developed associations between these community support stimuli and the traumatic event and anxiety. As such, the current study sought to examine the learned associations between community support stimuli and comfort and anxiety. Additionally, this study sought to explore the relation between these learned associations and avoidance behaviors, as well as PTSD symptoms. Overall, participants exhibited greater implicit associations between community support stimuli and anxiety stimuli than with community support stimuli and calm stimuli (M = 0.10, SD = 0.31, 95% CI [0.05, 0.16]). These associations did not predict PTSD symptoms or avoidance behaviors. Findings indicate that although community support stimuli were associated with anxiety, these associations may not contribute to the development and maintenance of PTSD symptoms. Rather, community support stimuli may serve to facilitate effective coping strategies through exposure to anxiety- and fear-eliciting stimuli.

Connections within communities have been recognized as a protective factor in the experience of collective trauma, yet many interventions have not accounted for the potential disruptions to connections within communities. The purpose of this dissertation project is to broaden the knowledge of ways to generate community connectedness through culturally appropriate and systemic interventions directed at social networks and communities, and the methodologies to implement them. One of the most notable findings following terrorism and immense psychosocial trauma is that family, community, and social network supports are the most significant factors in promoting recovery and preventing long-term mental health difficulties. This project utilized a content analysis of theoretical foundations and professional counselor competencies, which provided empirical evidence as to how community connectedness emerges following a collective trauma event. Given the significance for building community connectedness into collective trauma responses (Breckenridge & James, 2012; Charuvastra & Cloitre, 2008; Flynn, 2007; Hobfoll et al., 2007; Landau, 2012; Mears, 2008; Saul, 2014; Saul & Bava, 2009; Shultz, Cattaneo, Sabina, Brunner, Jackson, & Serrata, 2016), and the call for more leadership from counselors by CACREP (2016) in the area of disasters and crises, this project provides an instructional manual for mental health professionals who are called upon after a collective trauma. This instructional manual offers interventions and models to facilitate long-term post disaster recovery after a collective trauma.

Cleveland has experienced population loss in the past decade because of the economic and foreclosure crisis, which caused many of the residents to move away, creating an increase in vacant homes and lots. Urban community gardens are a form of greenspace that repurposes vacant homes and lots that would otherwise be potential sites for debris, dumping, arson, squatters, and crime. Other forms of greenspace have been shown to positively increase feelings of community, ties to place, and create feelings of safety while offering social space and recreation areas in urban environments. I conducted a survey at three urban community gardens in different Cleveland neighborhoods to determine who was using the gardens, how they were using them and if garden participation increased feelings of community, community strength, and improved how the participants felt about their neighbors and neighborhood. Non-gardeners were also surveyed for comparison. Survey results indicate that the gardens are similar to other forms of urban greenspace in that they serve to increase feelings of community, create ties to place by creating neighborhood satisfaction, and increasing feelings of safety. This research suggests that urban gardens are a positive way to repurpose vacant land in residential neighborhoods by offering greenspace and strengthening the community.

This qualitative inquiry takes place within a growing body of interdisciplinary work dedicated to reimagining community, one’s relationship to it, and ultimately one’s place within the global community. The study is rooted in depth psychology’s recognition that the psyche is independently real and everything has meaning. Community is an ongoing story: a living myth. One can tally all the concrete aspects of community yet still not understand what makes community. To better understand community, this study used a hermeneutic-phenomenological approach to explore the lived experience of those living in a small Tuscan village, Pari. This entailed relying on an archetypal mythological lens to interpret a rich harvesting of interviews, storytelling, dreamy attention, and the researcher’s own reflections. The goal was to understand what it means to be part of this ancient community today, to appreciate the dynamics at work within the community psyche, and to dream the community on into the future. It was found that life in this community has a rhythmic structure that permeates everyone and everything. The most important common thread was that love connects people to this place. It was also found that as this once self-enclosed community becomes increasingly porous to the world, the population diversity increases and self-sufficiency decreases. It was concluded that Pari’s myth is to become a global village. The community’s challenge for survival is to integrate its core rhythmic structure with the incoming technology age.

Keywords: community, door, myth, rebirth, hermeneutic-phenomenology, Janus

Key concepts in liberation psychology describe the treatment and regard for children in public school: oppression, colonization, hegemony. This study asked whether public education is experienced as oppressive, creating students who are colonized. Through a frame of liberation psychology and a depth psychological perspective, the study examines whether children are systematically "civilized" by the dominant adult population. Is the indigenous child—the child born with unique intelligence, knowledge, and desire to learn—systematically stifled within the existing educational paradigm?

Findings revealed that several practices at the Middle School enhanced learning, personal empowerment, self-esteem, and happiness, and were termed Liberatory. Most significant was whole-child value, where nonacademic strengths, intrinsic worth, and creativity were valued. Mutual, positive, connected relationship between teacher and student was primary, enhanced by trips outside of school with faculty, emphasizing character and life lessons. Acceptance permeated the peer environment.

Practices at the public High School, referred to as Oppressive, contributed to alienation, separation, fear, boredom, and disincentive to learning. Focus on right answers on tests encouraged memorization/forgetting, paradoxically described as "academic" by students, and creativity was not valued. Students cited teacher overwhelm as the main reason for the absence of connected relationship between educators and students. Judgment permeated the peer environment.

Participants were 10 females between 18 and 20 years old who attended a private middle school that practiced humanistic, whole-child learning, and a public high school in Santa Barbara, CA. A Likert survey asked 25 identical questions regarding experience of both schools, followed by in-depth interview highlighting the difference between the subject's experiences of both schools. Using hermeneutic data evaluation, Findings fell into 4 strong themes at 2 poles of experience and practice: Liberatory and Oppressive.

There was 1 significant exception to the clear pattern in Findings: a teacher within the Oppressive system used Liberatory practices effectively. Simple changes like respect, care, listening, and personal connection could increase learning and happiness in school.

Approximately 10% of adults living in the United States meet criteria for a Substance Use Disorder. Although 12-step groups are considered evidence-based practices for substance use problems, an understanding of the underlying mechanisms by which they facilitate recovery practices remains in its infancy. The purpose of the current study was to explore whether attachment could be considered a possible mediator of the effects of recovery practices on positive psychosocial outcomes. Participants (N = 112) were self-identified NA members from 26 U.S. states who completed an online survey assessing attachment style, psychosocial sense of community, psychological well-being, and various other recovery and psychosocial constructs. Results indicated a number of recovery-related practices emerged as significant predictors of secure attachment, over and above covariates. For example, higher levels of home group comfort were associated with increased probability of secure attachment classification (by self-report). In general, psychological sense of community did not significantly predict secure attachment, over and above covariates. Although attachment predicted psychological well-being in univariate models, it generally failed to predict psychological well-being in models that included covariates and recovery-related predictors. Theoretically, these data suggest that functional social support variables are primary recovery-related predictors implicated in NA-involvement, above and beyond other structural social support variables. This further suggests that attachment-related dimensions of 12-step interventions may be integral to recovery outcomes.

Detroit has high rates of criminal activities and significant numbers of at-risk residents who have challenges with different types of hardship that include economic issues. Although hardships may include various types of challenges, at-risk residents of Detroit are economically challenged because of Detroit’s economic downfall. The economic hardships lead to the inability to provide for dependent family members, to battle poverty and addiction, and to possibly other family and societal problems. In larger cities, particularly those economically challenged such as Detroit, because of the inability to hire more patrol officers as the result of insufficient financial resources, police seek the collaboration efforts of community members in the form of community policing to reduce crime. Community policing programs are used to reduce the crime and improve the perception of the police among the residents of Detroit, but they are not effective community policing programs as they do not relate to the needs of economically challenged at-risk citizens. The problem is that ineffective community policing increases the crime in Detroit. The purpose of this study was to investigate and identify the needs of the economically challenged at-risk residents of Detroit as perceived by those at-risk residents of Detroit who are identified through private-public organizations and to compare those needs with those perceived by the police pertaining to community policing programs. This may help in developing effective community policing programs. It was important in this study to identify the needs of the community residents who may perceive that there is no other way to survive but to commit crime that should be considered in developing community policing programs. The study identified education and training as the most significant issues that challenge the economically at-risk residents of Detroit. This study found that the economically at-risk residents of Detroit believe no help is available to them, but the members of the community police officers stated that some help is available for the economically at-risk residents; however, they are unaware of the programs that can benefit them. Police stated that various programs that can feed, clothe, educate, and teach various skills to the economically at-risk residents of Detroit are available and the community policing officers through current neighborhood policing programs can direct the residents to proper resources that they may need. The research instrument consisted of semi-structured interviews of at-risk residents focusing on issues that could identify the people’s needs and attempt to understand if the current community policing programs have been addressing these needs of Detroit’s at-risk residents. In this study, the results of the interviews and the questionnaires’ responses were used to identify, code, and categorize patterns found in the improving the community policing in Detroit data.

Along with the deinstitutionalization movement, supports for persons with Intellectual Disabilities (ID) have shifted to promotion of person-centered supports inclusive in the community. Although successes have occurred regarding physical inclusion, skill building and social inclusion have not fared as well for those with more significant disabilities. This study evaluated a 5-week intensive, behavioral, specialized training and skill-building program for transition-age youth and emerging adults with more significant intellectual disabilities in a community college setting that utilized Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and Positive Behavior Support (PBS) strategies. Eighteen persons with significant IDs participated in the study in a mixed methodology research design. Through voluntary sampling, eight participants received the intervention first, in Group 1, and ten participants received the intervention second, in Group 2, through a quantitative switching replications design. Results were analyzed with a sequential explanatory approach for mixed methodology research. The results demonstrated a statistically significant increase when participants were in the intervention group, as compared to acting as the control group, on the Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Program Plan (VB-MAPP), which measures social and communication skills. A similar pattern was trending towards significance on the Assessment of Functional Living Skills (AFLS). No statistically significant difference occurred on the Adaptive Behavior Assessment System (ABAS-3). Subscales on the San Martin Scale (SMS) for Quality of Life demonstrated statistically significant interaction effects for five of six subscales, when individuals were in the intervention group, but the treatment gains did not maintain after the intervention ended. The multiple-probe across-behaviors design demonstrated that participants were able to gain one to three skills while in the intervention, but, again, little carry-over effect was found on skills in baseline until the skill teaching was implemented. Further analysis demonstrated high satisfaction on the part of caregivers. Qualitative focus groups demonstrated a significant dichotomy between Theme 1, Fitting into a System, which did not meet individual needs, and Theme 3, Learning is Meaningful, which described successes and skill increases from the intervention as seen by caregivers. Results provided evidence that a short-term behavioral intervention can be effective in increasing skills, demonstrating satisfaction, and improving quality of life, combining a focus on behavior with one deriving from the disability rights movement.

Posttraumatic Growth (PTG) refers to positive psychological change experienced as a result of the struggle with grievous life circumstances that often coexist with significant psychological distress (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1996). PTG makes clear that persons experiencing this phenomenon have grown beyond their previous level of psychological functioning. PTG is recognized in four domains of change, including perception of self, relationships with others, philosophy of life, and spiritual transformations (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1996). The present study explored the concept of PTG and transformation among twelve Cambodian community leaders who are survivors of the Khmer Rouge genocide. Based on a phenomenological qualitative paradigm, this study utilized the PTG model to explore coping, meaning making, and positive growth as both a process and outcome. Four core themes emerged for the process of posttraumatic growth: (a) separation, loss, enslavement and other dehumanizing experiences; (b) distress and psychological responses to trauma; (c) methods of coping used to manage debilitating distress; and (d) process of healing and meaning making. Five core themes emerged for the outcome of posttraumatic growth: (a) gratitude and greater appreciation of life; (b) new priorities and goals; (c) importance of family and interpersonal relationships; (d) increased personal strength; and (e) effective leadership. Overall, principal findings in this study highlighted the importance of self-disclosure, hard work, hope, optimism, and education as a foundation to recovery and growth, as well as community activism and the continued pursuit to fulfill their survivor's mission (Herman, 1992). These factors greatly supported participants in their process of PTG and gave them profound life purpose and meaning. Theoretical, societal, and clinical implications of findings as well as future directions are discussed.

There are currently an estimated 93 million children with disabilities in the world. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report each year that 1 in every 700 babies is born with Down syndrome. Yet in spite of the enormity of numbers, they remain one of the most marginalized groups in society. Discrimination, negative attitudes, inadequate healthcare, and segregated education systems effectively bar differently abled children from realizing their full potential. This study uses a single-subject case study of one spectacular sport event involving one child with Down syndrome. It is framed by Vygotsky’s "zone of proximal development" (ZPD) theory, which suggests that social interaction, adult guidance, and peer collaboration, can support development that exceeds what can be attained alone. A thematic analysis was used to measure differences in recurring themes among three separate sources of data including (1) online YouTube video comments, (2) written correspondence, and (3) focus group interviews. Four emerging themes including servant leadership (31%), happiness (27%) inclusion (20%), and community (17%), were most frequently identified. However, significant differences in frequencies of thematic responses were noted between the three sources of data. Findings support past research that has found comparative differences between participants and observers in how one relates to people and scenarios. Observers are likely to remove themselves from “understanding” an experience, and may be less likely to feel the full spectrum of human emotion and character. This unintentional yet impactful event points to the power and mystery of how a person’s influence can extend much further than their immediate community, but to external observers from the wider world. Findings also confirm the role of Servant Leadership, Community, and Inclusion as critical for reshaping attitudes and assuring equity across policies and programs so that children who are differently abled can reach their full potential.

This study examines a relatively new area of investigation: the relationship between attachment theory (Bowlby, 1973, 1980, 1982) and transformational leadership theory. Using self-report surveys and controlling for demographic variables, California community college chief executive officers’ (CEOs) attachment styles and transformational leadership characteristics are measured and the potential relationship between them examined (N=74). The two measures used are Kouzes and Posner’s (2002a) Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) and Brennan, Clark, and Shaver’s (1998) Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (ECR).

No significant correlation between attachment scores and the demographic variables was found in the study. Three moderate strength positive correlations were found between LPI scores and the demographic variables: between age and the LPI Enable Others to Act score, between female CEOs and the LPI Challenge the Process score, and between female CEOs and the LPI total score. The analysis demonstrated moderate correlations between the two attachment scales and the five transformational leadership characteristics as well as the LPI total score, with all 12 resulting correlations being negative and significant at the p <.05 level both before and after controlling for demographic variables.

The moderate correlation found in this study between more securely attached leaders and their self-assessed transformational leadership style found provides insight into the complex fields of leadership study and personality theory. Implications include the possibility of incorporating attachment and leadership measures into employee selection to better match desired styles to the organization’s needs. Individual leaders may also be able to leverage the relationship explored in this study to further their personal leadership development.

Online courses can be a source of isolation for both students and instructors. Social presence as a human connection in the online learning environment has been researched, yet the findings have not been easily implemented to support a sense of community. This study examined doctoral students’ perception of social presence and results indicated that it correlates to their sense of community in online courses (r = .82, p <.01). The participants were primarily female doctoral students over the age of 40. Responses to the open-ended questions provided support for the various social presence definitions identified by researchers. Additional level of analysis included thematic review. Themes of satisfaction, frustration, and peers mattered were evaluated by raters with confirmed inter-rater reliability. Participant responses were found to express the theme of satisfaction over 50% of the time when perception of community was present in the course. They expressed almost 80% of the time that their peers’ sharing of knowledge mattered. Although textual analysis word count did not support the importance of the facilitator or instructor, content evaluation of participant responses indicated there was value of instructor course design allowing peer-to-peer discussion, learning, and emotional support. This study confirms that instructor facilitation of social presence is essential for students to experience their own social presence and sense of community in an online course. The results of this study can be used to help guide instructors intending to use collaborative constructivism design techniques to improve student engagement and retention in doctoral online courses.

Colonial legacies affect neocolonial experiences of conflict in the 20th and 21st centuries. A critical and comprehensive appreciation of the global "war on terror" reveals terrorism "from above'" (state-sponsored terrorism) as a growing issue in the international community. Further, women's varied experiences within communities of resistance are often undermined, ignored, or maligned within formal research on conflict and peace. Liberation psychologists are called to align with oppressed, marginalized, and suffering communities. To this end, this work explores the experience of women political prisoners of the Irish conflict for independence from Great Britain. A qualitative critical psychosocial analysis was used to understand the phenomenology of women's political imprisonment through the firsthand narratives of Republican women imprisoned during the "Troubles" of Northern Ireland. The intention of this study was to 1) provide an analysis of power and its connection to social conditions, 2) to provide a psychological analysis of how oppression may breed resistance in communities struggling for liberation, and 3) to explore the gendered experience of Irish women political prisoners. The results indicated that political imprisonment may be understood as a microcosm of oppression and liberation, and the subjective experience of political prisoners may glean insights into how communities develop critical consciousness, organize politically, resist oppression, and meaningfully participate in recognizing their human rights. Additionally, this research challenged the exclusion of women's voices as members of resistance movements and active agents in both conflict and peace building and challenged the failure to investigate state-sponsored terrorism, or terrorism from above.

The purpose of this project is to develop a school curriculum prevention program for elementary school students. The identifying school for implementation will be Garfield Elementary School. This prevention program aims to work with elementary school students by providing psycho-education on healthy behaviors and unhealthy behaviors. This project will consist of providing a social support group for students to feel safe when talking about any type of violence from home, school, and the community. The class will consist of providing different activities in order to provide the information to the students. Students will also be giving a pre-test and a post-test in order to evaluate their knowledge before and after treatment. The purpose of this prevention program is to decrease bullying, teen-dating violence, and school violence. As part of the goals and objectives to decrease maladaptive behaviors this program will focus teaching and increasing the level of healthy behaviors, which includes, asking for help, walking away, speaking up, and conflict resolution among others.

In light of the increasingly complex sustainability problems facing local and global communities, and the need to improve the scientific basis for decision making, sustainability science elevates the role of research collaborations and communication among scientists and stakeholders in developing solutions. Although many universities are heeding the calls for collaborative research and are making progress on bringing diverse groups together to address sustainability issues, disconnections between the production of knowledge and its actual use in society persist. These persistent divisions indicate that we still have a great deal to learn about how to develop university-stakeholder partnerships that facilitate collaboration between the various actors in society.

Building successful, enduring research partnerships is essential for improving links between knowledge and action. The overarching question addressed in this dissertation is: "In the quest to develop sustainable solutions, what factors may strengthen or hinder the development of robust stakeholder-university research partnerships?" In answering this question, I interrogate the role of communication in partnership development, the influence of communication practices on stakeholder and researcher interactions, and ways that we can use interdisciplinary forms of and approaches to research to improve communication with partners. The goal of this research is to improve university and community capacity for collaborative, problem-focused research to address pressing societal problems.

Using quantitative and qualitative survey data from the Maine Municipal Official Survey and the Collaboration and Stakeholder Engagement Survey, each chapter addresses the overarching research question in different ways. In the first and second chapters, I develop theoretically and empirically supported statistical models to identify a set of factors influencing officials' reported interest in developing a community-university research partnership and factors influencing officials' participation preferences in community-university research partnerships, respectively. The models strengthen the capacity for co-learning by providing data on interest and preference alignment between potential project partners, and they provide data on stakeholder preferences and experiences that may improve communication between partners and inform partnership interactions. The third chapter bridges interdisciplinary theories from social psychology and communication to deepen the conversation about justice in community-university research partnerships. The dissertation concludes with lessons learned about developing community-university research partnerships.