Community Psychology

Question 1

What is community psychology?

Answer 1

An emerging branch of applied psychology concerned with understanding people in the context of their communities using a variety of interventions to facilitate change and improve mental health and social conditions for individuals, groups and communities.

Question 2

What were key thoughts in the emergence of community psychology?

Answer 2

A disenchantment with mainstream psychology.
Found mainstream psychology was all biological and invasive and that there had to be better ways to help people besides institutionalisation.
The public health models was a big influence - how cholera was managed by prevention not just treatment.

Question 3

What socio-political factors were influential in the US development of community psychology?

Answer 3

Lots going on in the 60’s e.g., war on poverty and demands for equal rights.
Noted psychologists should have a role in social and political issues.
Movement away from psychiatry and towards social providers being activists.

Question 4

What socio-political factors were influential in the SA development of community psychology?

Answer 4

Intelligence and ability testing was used to justify apartheid (Fick’s analysis of mental age found black South African’s were 4/5 years below whites but poor whites experienced this gap because of poor education etc).
By the 1980’s NGO’s and black consciousness movements began to play an important role in community orientated work (base for comm psych).

Question 5

What is the mental health model?

Answer 5

Focus on prevention.
Notes there are many causative factors in psychological illness. Aims to decrease risk factors and increase protective factors.
Based on three levels
1) Primary - prevent occurrence
2) Secondary - identify at early stages
3) Tertiary - identify existing disorder

Question 6

What are the limitations of the mental health model?

Answer 6

Addressing experiment but not root causes of issues
Community psychologist is the expert (no collaboration with community)
Heavily uses medical discourse
Doesn’t consider the community norms and laws
Sees the community as homogenous
Highlights Western assumption of what health is

Question 6

What is the socio-ecological model?

Answer 6

GOAL: identify, manage and conserve resources to solve problems and enhance community development.
Created due to the limitations of mental health model.
Focus is on the individual and environment and states behaviour is the interactions between the two.
Therefore, we can better understand when behaviours when context is taken into account.
Intervention takes place at micro-, meso-, exo- and macro-systems

Question 7

What is the role of the psychologist in the mental health model?

Answer 7

Acts as an expert in the field

Question 8

What is the role of the psychologist in critical community psychology?

Answer 8

Act as a collaborator
Works as both an activist and a researcher
Move away from a colonised form of education
Challenge norms that perpetuate oppression
Be reflective and ask questions

Question 8

What is the role of the psychologist in the socio-ecological model?

Answer 8

Act as a consultant/ facilitator
Facilitate so that change comes from inside the community
Create a context in which community members can become aware of their own needs and resources.
Help the community find creative solutions
Use PAR

Question 9

Discuss child maltreatment in relation to levels of the socio-ecological model.

Answer 9

Micro-systems
- age, gender, demographics, family conflict, inconsistent parenting
Meso-systems
- neighbourhood factors, lack of electricity, overcrowding, corporal punishment
Exo-systems
- unemployment, poverty, policing
Macrosystems
- patriarchy, cultural norms

Question 10

What are the four common acts of child maltreatment?

Answer 10

Physical abuse
- 18%-34.4%, higher in girls than boys
Emotional abuse
- 12.6%-16.1%
Sexual abuse
Neglect
- you are able to provide for the child but do not

Question 11

What are some of the features of child maltreatment in infants, childhood, adolescents, and adulthood?

Answer 11

Infants
- clinging to caregiver, tantrums, fearing exploration of the natural world, sleep disruption, irritability.
Childhood
- intrusive thoughts, feelings of not belonging, low self-esteem, disruptive behaviour, poor school performance
Adolescents
- CMIs, aggression, substance abuse, risky sexual behaviour, self-harm
Adults
- PTSD, mood disorders, anxiety, stroke, liver disease, heart disease, obesity

Question 12

What is critical community psychology?

Answer 12

Taking an extra step from community psychology into social justice and action

Question 13

What are social inequalities?

Answer 13

Differences in the distribution of resources between different population groups, arising from the social conditions

Question 14

What does critical community psychology dislike about community psychology?

Answer 14

It is apolitical
It only benefits certain individuals and communities
It uses ameliorative practices

Question 15

What must critical community psychology do?

Answer 15

Transform the social conditions that continue to perpetuate oppressions
Enable community members as agents for change
Commit to the process beyond short-term volunteer positions and not limited to basic-needs
Expand implementation of values from the group and community contexts to the political contexts.

Question 16

What is critical analysis?

Answer 16

Critically evaluate assumptions, values, knowledge, evidence, policies and practices - keeping in mind multiple perspectives

Question 17

What is critical reflexion?

Answer 17

Awareness and reflection upon one’s values and assumptions and recognising one’s role in engagements and interventions