Psychiatry and Psychology Commons^™

Perceiving And Feeling Personal Discrimination: Motivation Or Inhibition For Collective Action?, Mindi D. Foster, Kimberley Matheson

Psychology Faculty Publications

Relative deprivation and group consciousness theories differ in their predictions of how personal discrimination and personal discontent will be related to taking collective action. According to relative deprivation theory, assessments of personal status should be unrelated to taking collective action.

In contrast, group consciousness theories suggest that while perceiving personal discrimination is necessary for collective action to occur, feelings of personal discontent may inhibit it. Female students completed questionnaires assessing their perceptions of, and affective responses to personal discrimination, as well as their participation in collective actions. A hierarchical regression analysis found that personal discrimination and discontent interacted such that …

Changing Relationships Between Self-Help Groups And Mental Health Professionals: Shifting Ideology And Power, Vic Constantino, Geoffrey Nelson

Psychology Faculty Publications

Using qualitative methods, we studied current and desired relationships between members of mental health consumer/survivor and family self-help groups and mental health professionals. Two major themes, professional ideology and practices of power and control, captured both the positive and negative aspects of the relationships the participants had experienced. To move toward more desired relationships, participants suggested education and ongoing interaction between self-helpers and professionals are needed to change professional ideology and practices, while consumer/survivor and family participation and involvement in decision making are required to reduce the power imbalance between self-helpers and professionals. We discuss the implications of the findings …

Partnerships Between Community Residents And Professionals: Issues Of Power And Social Class Across The Lifespan Of Neighbourhood Organizations, Barbara Derksen, Geoffrey Nelson

Psychology Faculty Publications

We described a qualitative sutdy of four neighbourhood centres jointly created by a sponsoring agency and community members to prevent problems in the lives of chidlren and adults in these neighbourhoods. Individual and focus group interviews with staff, community members, and other agency workers were used to develop an understanding of issues involved at various stages across the lifespan of these settings. Two tensions noted in this process were between community members and professionals from the sponsoring organization and between lower-class and middle-class community members. We discuss the implications of these findigns for practice in community development.

Double Relative Deprivation: Combining The Personal And Political, Mindi D. Foster, Kimberley Matheson

Psychology Faculty Publications

Double relative deprivation, which has been virtually ignored in research on relative deprivation, was expected to predict women's collective action over and above egoistic and collective deprivation. The role of socio-political resources in perceiving deprivation and participation in action was also investigated. Female students (N=164) completed a questionnaire designed to assess their perceptions of egoistic, collective, double relative deprivation (defined as the interaction between egoistic and collective deprivation), resource availability and participation in collective action. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that double relative deprivation predicted collective action over and above egoistic and collective relative deprivation, and that resource availability also uniquely …

Recovered Memory Of Childhood Sexual Abuse, Aubrey Immelman

Psychology Faculty Publications

This article examines the psychological basis for repression and recovery of traumatic memories, presents the results of research on potential sources of error in delayed or recovered memories, and offers possible reasons (primarily related to clinical practice and collective behavior) for false accusations of sexual abuse.

Responding To Sexual Discrimination: The Effects Of Societal Versus Self-Blame, Mindi D. Foster, Kimberley Matheson, Megan Poole

Psychology Faculty Publications

While self-blame has been considered to be a useful coping tool for victims, its benefits within the context of group discrimination are equivocal. The present research hypothesized that women encouraged to engage in self-blame for sex discrimination would be more likely to endorse accepting their situation or endorse the use of individual, normative actions. In contrast, women encouraged to engage in societal blame for sex discrimination would be more likely to participate in non-normative actions aimed at enhancing the status of the group as a whole. Female students in Canada were subjected to a situation of discrimination and were encouraged …

Housing For The Chronically Mentally Disabled: Part I—Conceptual Framework And Social Context, G. Brent Hall, Geoffrey Nelson

Psychology Faculty Publications

This paper reviews research concerned with community housing programs for the chronically mentally disabled (CMD). In the first section, the ecological perspective is presented as a conceptual framework for the study of housing for the CMD. Several key concepts, such as the least restrictive environment, normalization, and integration, are tied into the ecological perspective. In the second section, literature on three dimensions of the social context of housing for the CMD is reviewed: (a) the geo-social environment; (b) responses from informal social systems; and (c) the planning, policy, and service delivery system. This literature is summarized within the framework of …

Housing For The Chronically Mentally Disabled: Part Ii—Process And Outcome, Geoffrey Nelson, Heather Smith Fowler

Psychology Faculty Publications

This paper reviews process and outcome research on community housing programs for the chronically mentally disabled. Several methods for conceptualizing and assessing housing environments are presented, and pertinent literature on each method is then reviewed. Next, research on the impact of various types of housing programs on clients’ adaptation is reviewed. Methodological problems in both the process and outcome research are highlighted, and directions for future research are suggested. It is concluded that future research requires an integration of the process and outcome findings and methods to ascertain how different program characteristics are related to different facets of adaptation for …

An Action-Oriented Assessment Of The Housing And Social Support Needs Of Long-Term Psychiatric Clients, Geoffrey Nelson, Mary Earls

Psychology Faculty Publications

This paper describes the context and process, as well as the content, of an assessment of the housing and social support needs of long-term psychiatric clients in a community. The principles of the ecological perspective were used as a framework for conceptualizing and analyzing the data. Using key informant interviews, community forums, and a survey of the clients, it was found that a visible minority of the population has significant housing problems and lacks adequate aftercare and supervision. The ways in which the data have been utilized are described, along with directions for further action.

Primary Prevention: Another Perspective, Geoffrey Nelson, Harry Potasznik, Edward M. Bennett

Psychology Faculty Publications

This paper is a response to the British Columbia mental health planning report's position on primary prevention. This report adopts the position of Lamb and Zusman (1979) that research and service aimed at primary prevention should not be funded with money allocated for mental health, and arguments are presented to support this viewpoint. This paper critically reviews the ideological underpinnings, the research base, and the action implications of these arguments, and provides another paradigm for mental health policy in Canada. It is proposed that a spirit of open inquiry is needed so that alternative paradigms can be explored and innovations …

Resource Exchange: A Case Study, Geoffrey Nelson, Edward M. Bennett, James Dudeck, Richard V. Mason

Psychology Faculty Publications

This paper describes a resource exchange program between two human service organizations: a public school board and a university. This case study illustrates the utility of the concept of resource exchange as a response to pressures for the effective management of limited human resources. With an emphasis on mutual goals, needs, and strengths, the resource exchange program expanded resources available to both organizations. For the public school board, new services in the form of primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention programs were developed. For the university, research and training opportunities were created. Finally, the fragmentation between and within the organizations was …

A Survey Of Graduate Education In Community Psychology In Canada, Geoffrey Nelson, Bruce M. Tefft

Psychology Faculty Publications

A national survey was conducted to determine current opportunities for graduate education in community psychology in Canada. The results show expanded offerings for academic and field work education in community psychology in the past decade. Also, faculty perceptions of the goals, activities, and adequacy of training in community psychology were obtained. Finally, similarities and differences between graduate education in community psychology in Canada and the U.S. are noted. Issues related to the development of community psychology in Canada are discussed.