Despite the fact that natural disasters occur more commonly in low and middle income countries than in wealthier countries, we know relatively little about how these disasters are experienced in such contexts. South Africa presents an especially telling example in which it is clear that natural events are affected profoundly by sociopolitical…

The present study was designed to examine the relationship between self-stigma and quality of life over a one year time period for 71 people with mental illness who were receiving compulsory community mental health treatment. It was hypothesized that, over time, self-stigma would have the direct effect of eroding quality of life among people with…

The current study aims investigate the relationship between participants' neighbourhood perceptions and social capital and resident well-being using data from the Neighbourhood Renewal Project (NRP; n = 7855). Resident well-being was positively associated with the quality of the physical environment and safety of the neighbourhood, but negatively…

This project explores the beliefs and perspectives of urban adults and youth regarding community violence prevention strategies and identifies points of overlap and differences of opinion that can contribute to the development of successful youth violence prevention programs. We coded transcript data from adults and 10-16-year-old youth from the…

The Community Organization Sense of Community Scale (COSOC) is a frequently used or cited measure of the construct in community psychology and other disciplines, despite a lack of confirmation of its underlying 4-factor framework. Two studies were conducted to test the hypothesized structure of the COSOC, the potential effects of method bias on…

A major resource of small voluntary neighborhood organizations is their members, who give their time and energy to the organization to improve their community. In recent years, there has been a revitalization of strategies that focus on engaging residents to volunteer for neighborhood-based organizations. The current study was guided by…

This article is a reflective narrative bringing together personal, collective, and action learning reflections from three women: all mothers, feminists, and community psychology practitioners. Its focus on mothering highlights the interconnectedness and tensions across these roles, as well as the shared learnings arising from this collaboration.…

Buckner (1988) extensively reviewed theoretical concepts proposed by a variety of scholars and developed the Neighborhood Cohesion Instrument (NCI) to measure three latent constructs (attraction to neighborhood, neighboring, and psychological sense of community). This instrument has been applied in most Western countries. The purpose of this…

Recent discussions about the conduct of community interventions suggest the importance of developing more comprehensive theorizing about their nature and effects. The present study is an effort to infer how community interventions are theorized by the way they are represented in the peer-reviewed scholarly literature. A coding of a random sample…

California's voter-approved Children and Families Act of 1998 calls for money collected from tobacco taxes to support services for families with children up to 5 years of age. Sacramento County uses a portion of its allocation for small community grants with the specific intent of building social capital among neighbors and across communities. The…

This study examines prevention system transformation as part of a community-randomized controlled trial of Communities That Care (CTC). Using data from surveys of community leaders, we examine differences between CTC and control communities 4.5 years after CTC implementation. Significantly higher levels of adopting a science-based approach to…

The current study utilized a longitudinal design to examine the effects of neighborhood and parenting on 120 at-risk children's academic and aggressive outcomes, concurrently and at two later timepoints during the transition to middle school. Random effects regression models were estimated to examine whether neighborhood characteristics and harsh…

In this article, we investigate the effectiveness of INSIGHTS into Children's Temperament (INSIGHTS), a temperament-based preventive intervention, in reducing the disruptive behavior problems of young children from low-income, urban families. Results indicate that children enrolled in INSIGHTS evidenced a decrease in disruptive behavior problems…

Community violence exposure (CVE) has been identified as a significant public health concern given its association with numerous mental health problems. Perceptions of neighborhood violence (PNV) also may adversely affect youth adjustment. In recognition that PNV may differ from individuals own experience of CVE, the current study utilized latent…

This study examined the impact of resource constraints on the psychological well-being of survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV), testing whether resource constraints is one mechanism that partially mediates the relationship between IPV and women's well-being. Although within-woman changes in resource constraints did not mediate the…