{"title":"Looking back on childhood experiences of homelessness: Stories of ongoing residential instability and resilience","authors":"Marybeth Shinn, Emma J. Sacks, Kayla Fike","doi":"10.1002/ajcp.70096","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ajcp.70096","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Families' experience of homelessness is typically examined from the perspective of parents during or shortly after a shelter stay. Parents complain about rules, surveillance, crowding, and challenges to parenting in both homeless shelters and in doubling up with other households (sharing the others' homes), and relief when they attain their own place. The current study uses qualitative interviews to examine the retrospective views of housing and homelessness among young adults who were homeless as children with their families. We compare their perspectives to earlier reports of parents' contemporaneous experiences of similar settings. The 22 young adults interviewed in 2024–25 were children in families recruited from 16 homeless shelters in 10 states in 2010–2012 by the Family Options Study. They share many of parents' perspectives but focus on largely positive social relationships in all housing situations. They report ongoing housing instability, difficult experiences of racism in housing programs, and landlords who forced moves, but also their parents' and their own coping and resilience in the face of hardship. Policy implications include the need to address racial equity in the homeless service system. Reducing the shortage of affordable housing would not only reduce homelessness but also give households more leverage with landlords.</p>","PeriodicalId":7576,"journal":{"name":"American journal of community psychology","volume":"78 1-2","pages":"295-308"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ajcp.70096","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148700632","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Isha W. Metzger, Sawyer J. Adams, Karen Smith, Dominique L. La Barrie, Britni Surprenant, Lisa A. Bartolomeo, Kelly Rea, Julie Nguyen, Jamal Brown, Caleb Brown, Violeta J. Rodriguez
{"title":"The racial trauma task force: Clinical-community psychology approaches to healing racial trauma during COVID-19","authors":"Isha W. Metzger, Sawyer J. Adams, Karen Smith, Dominique L. La Barrie, Britni Surprenant, Lisa A. Bartolomeo, Kelly Rea, Julie Nguyen, Jamal Brown, Caleb Brown, Violeta J. Rodriguez","doi":"10.1002/ajcp.70072","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ajcp.70072","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Due to an increase in media and news attention on anti-Black racism in 2020, the APA declared racism a pandemic as the CDC highlighted the challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, the work described in the current manuscript took place during what is referred to as a double pandemic for Black people in the United States. This paper discusses the impact of this period on a department and its students, the training students advocated for in response to the urgent need for more support for Black communities, and the approaches they used to address racial stress and trauma during this unprecedented time. We outline how one Clinical Psychology program designed and disseminated resources, including a racial trauma guide, public health messaging campaign, podcast, and social media content to increase access to translational research, culturally relevant resources, and psychoeducation to combat racism and discrimination. Analytics and trends demonstrate the impact of the Task Force's initiatives. We summarize the process and recommend clinical-community approaches for healing racial stress and trauma among Black youth, families, and communities.</p>","PeriodicalId":7576,"journal":{"name":"American journal of community psychology","volume":"78 1-2","pages":"153-171"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147872972","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Palestinian mental health workers voicing tensions and transformations: Challenging complexities of colonial violence while working for healing and justice on the frontline","authors":"Hana R. Masud","doi":"10.1002/ajcp.70084","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ajcp.70084","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The experiences of Palestinian mental health professionals are particularly important because they occur while these professionals are working on the frontlines of healing and justice. Understanding their perspectives is essential for addressing the complexities of colonial violence and its profound impact on mental health in the occupied Palestinian territory. While existing research highlights the general mental health challenges faced by Palestinians, a gap remains in understanding how community health workers perceive the recovery journey as a process of decolonization, and how they support authentic recovery that empowers Palestinians. This study aims to explore the self-reported experiences and perspectives of Palestinian community health workers, focusing on their understanding of the recovery journey as a process of decolonization that requires critical awareness of internalized oppression. Employing qualitative methods, including semistructured interviews, this research examines how these workers strive to support authentic recovery journeys that empower Palestinians to challenge structural violence and reclaim their political subjectivity. Key findings highlight three central themes: (A) Being in contradiction, (B) professional schizophrenia, and (C) swallowing the oppression. These findings suggest a need to re-evaluate current approaches to mental health care in Palestine to address the specific challenges faced by community mental health workers and promote decolonized approaches to recovery.</p><p>This article makes a significant contribution to Community Psychology by:\u0000\u0000 </p>","PeriodicalId":7576,"journal":{"name":"American journal of community psychology","volume":"78 1-2","pages":"172-186"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148597370","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Motivation to collaborate: A qualitative exploration of the perspectives of nonprofit service providers on an alternative first response program","authors":"Desiree' J. DuBoise, Greg Townley","doi":"10.1002/ajcp.70057","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ajcp.70057","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Portland Street Response (PSR) is an alternative first response program located in Portland, Oregon. The program assists individuals experiencing mental health crises by providing an unarmed first response in non-violent situations that ordinarily would be responded to by armed police officers. In order for such programs to thrive, collaboration with other organizations is crucial. Service-providing organizations are uniquely prepared to collaborate with programs such as PSR due to their proximity to vulnerable communities. Currently, there is a lack of information about the perspectives of service providers concerning alternative first response programs, particularly regarding their motivations for collaboration. The current study utilizes qualitative interviewing methods to examine motivation to collaborate. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 16 participants and then analyzed to uncover key themes. The current study resulted in themes pertaining to motivations for collaboration, including the importance of building relationships, establishing and maintaining trust, and themes pertaining to shared values, such as a commitment to equity. The current study also revealed the importance of concrete program features in relation to collaboration, specifically access to resources and mobility. This research has implications for other alternative first response programs collaborating with local service providers in communities across the US.</p>","PeriodicalId":7576,"journal":{"name":"American journal of community psychology","volume":"78 1-2","pages":"109-119"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147300922","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Becoming resilient: Community-driven change and the Civic Capacity Index","authors":"David MacPhee, David Chrislip, Patti Schmitt","doi":"10.1002/ajcp.70100","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ajcp.70100","url":null,"abstract":"<p>One of the principal features of successful community governance is that it is collaborative and thus dependent on a community's ability to work together. However, there are no valid, comprehensive means to assess a community's capacity to respond to civic challenges in collaborative ways, and that are predictive of community resilience and well-being. In this study, we describe the conceptual foundations of the <i>Civic Capacity Index</i> (CCI) and the multiple methods used to validate it. Findings from a large statewide sample show the CCI's scales to have high internal reliabilities and conform to a bifactor model, using confirmatory factor analysis. As hypothesized, CCI scores are predictive of multiple measures of community processes that in theory should be related to civic capacity; e.g., trust in governance, social control and cohesion, and community connectedness; public health indicators such as child abuse and suicide rates; and especially community resilience and well-being, even a year after baseline. The empirical findings align with the conceptual basis of the CCI, in particular, the association between a community's civic capacity and resilience. This tight-knit relationship has profound implications for promoting community resilience by building civic capacity.</p>","PeriodicalId":7576,"journal":{"name":"American journal of community psychology","volume":"78 1-2","pages":"277-294"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ajcp.70100","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148710964","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sarah M Stilwell, Emily Torres, Heather Murphy, Allison Schreiber, Alison Grodzinski, Justin E Heinze, Brent Miller, Marc Zimmerman
{"title":"From trust to translation: A trust-based, evidence-informed, and adaptive model for scalable technical assistance.","authors":"Sarah M Stilwell, Emily Torres, Heather Murphy, Allison Schreiber, Alison Grodzinski, Justin E Heinze, Brent Miller, Marc Zimmerman","doi":"10.1002/ajcp.70114","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ajcp.70114","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Technical Assistance (TA) is an essential strategy for supporting organizational growth and aiding implementation of evidence-based interventions in mission-driven sectors, including education. While TA is crucial for addressing challenges and improving performance, the field has limited consensus on key features and best practices, particularly in the context of school safety. This paper explores the development, implementation, and application of the Trust-based, Evidence-informed, and Adaptive Model for Scalable Technical Assistance (TEAMS-TA), a comprehensive approach to providing tailored support for organizations, particularly schools, to address complex challenges in school safety. TEAMS-TA is rooted in data-driven decision-making and culturally responsive practices, ensuring that support is customized to meet unique organizational needs and available resources for individual schools, districts, or statewide systems. This model's focus on trauma-informed approaches, continuous feedback, and collaborative partnerships enhances effectiveness in addressing school safety, particularly for contexts with challenging circumstances. Through a multi-phase approach integrating proactive and responsive assistance, the model provides comprehensive support from needs assessment to crisis response, fostering long-term sustainability and capacity building. This paper discusses core model features, school safety applications, and potential for expansion to other sectors. It also identifies future research opportunities, including the effects of TA relationships and alternative frameworks for evaluating success.</p>","PeriodicalId":7576,"journal":{"name":"American journal of community psychology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149056958","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Virtual mindfulness-based wellness coaching to support mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: Thematic analysis of participants' experiences.","authors":"Slobodan Stojanovic, Meysam Pirbaglou, Carolyn Tyner, Erin Smith, Camrie Kerry, Paul Ritvo","doi":"10.1002/ajcp.70110","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.70110","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The COVID-19 pandemic and associated disruptions adversely impacted physical and mental health. The shift to remote delivery of medical and psychological services provided opportunities to disseminate effective community interventions, unimpeded by needs for local in-person meetings. This study focuses on the responses of older adults to the virtual community Mindfulness-based Wellness Coaching (MBWC) intervention that was delivered by the YMCA of Greater Toronto. We focus on the thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews of 23 participants who were regular attendees. Themes identified pertain to participants perspectives on reasons for attendance, key intervention practices, and benefits. In relation to reasons for attendance, responses indicated the influence of (1) pandemic-related coping difficulties, and (2) prior experiences with meditation-based practices. Responses highlighted in key intervention practices were: (1) regular practice, (2) open and nonprescriptive guidance, and (3) group dialogue. Participants found the intervention effective in supporting mindful attitudes which manifested in increased: (1) interpersonal awareness, (2) intrapersonal awareness, and (3) effective coping. Given the consistent enrolment during the pandemic and participants' perspectives, virtual MBWC is a feasible and scalable mental health intervention.</p>","PeriodicalId":7576,"journal":{"name":"American journal of community psychology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-09-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149011771","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kristina Conroy, M Grace Albright, Kendall B Roberts, Meghan A Costello, Anthony J Jannetti, Alexis R Wing, Randi M Schuster
{"title":"Transitioning to nonpunitive school policies for addressing student substance use: Qualitative interviews with key school administrators.","authors":"Kristina Conroy, M Grace Albright, Kendall B Roberts, Meghan A Costello, Anthony J Jannetti, Alexis R Wing, Randi M Schuster","doi":"10.1002/ajcp.70107","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.70107","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Recent policy change in Massachusetts encourages schools to limit their use of exclusionary discipline to \"extraordinary circumstances,\" but little work has explored the opportunities and challenges of transitioning to nonpunitive practices after student substance use infractions in schools. As such, the current study conducted semistructured interviews with key school administrators involved in disciplinary decisions to examine their personal beliefs about punishment, their policies for addressing student substance use, and their perceptions of transitioning to nonpunitive approaches. Participating school administrators (N = 24) served 20 schools, with 25% of participants working in schools serving students from predominantly ethnically/racially minoritized groups. Analyses leveraged a combined inductive and deductive content analysis. Qualitative themes highlighted how suspension remains the most common response, and yet, administrators have mixed feelings (e.g., perceived advantages, concerns about equity and effectiveness) about punishment for student substance use. Accordingly, school administrators are exploring alternative responses and believe in incorporating educational components into substance use response. School administrators discussed logistical (e.g., staff capacity) and attitudinal (e.g., \"old-school\" discipline mindset) determinants of transitioning to nonpunitive school practices. As key school decision makers, continued partnership with school administrators is vital to inform sustainable policy change that optimizes adolescent outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":7576,"journal":{"name":"American journal of community psychology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149007799","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Francesca Esposito, Federica de Cordova, Julia Manek, Sara Buckingham, Camilla Ponti, Francesco Tommasi, Bradley Olson
{"title":"Immigration detention centers as torturing environments: Ethical reckonings, radical refusals, and implications for a psychology of resistance.","authors":"Francesca Esposito, Federica de Cordova, Julia Manek, Sara Buckingham, Camilla Ponti, Francesco Tommasi, Bradley Olson","doi":"10.1002/ajcp.70105","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ajcp.70105","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This paper examines psychologists' ethical dilemmas in immigration detention centers. Using critical psychology, border, and detention scholarship, it highlights psychologists' historical complicity in state violence, from the U.S. Enhanced Interrogation Program to current border regimes. We argue that the structural conditions of migrant detention, characterized by profound dehumanization and harm, make ethical psychological practice in these torturing environments impossible. We analyzed the APA Ethics Code guidance, including reforms addressing past abuses and revisions focusing on human rights, social justice, and systemic accountability. Using our research, activism, and other evidence, we examine various psychologist responses to the torturous violence in detention operations. We contend that existing ethical frameworks remain inadequate for navigating the constitutive harms of carceral border systems. Using a post-conventional ethical framework, we call for a liberation-oriented psychological praxis that, grounded in an ethos of radical refusals and healing justice, resists complicity, rejects neutrality, and speaks truth to power to interrupt systems of violence. This is what we call a psychology of resistance. We argue that psychologists have an ethical duty to engage in transformative and liberatory efforts, including detention abolition, and contribute to collective struggles for everyone's freedom to move, to stay and to breathe.</p>","PeriodicalId":7576,"journal":{"name":"American journal of community psychology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148982277","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Isabel Rice, Mallory Lastrapes, Enie Lee, Austen R Anderson
{"title":"Pathways to play: Race, neighborhood safety, and other correlates of outdoor play in early childhood.","authors":"Isabel Rice, Mallory Lastrapes, Enie Lee, Austen R Anderson","doi":"10.1002/ajcp.70106","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.70106","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Outdoor play contributes to children's development and well-being, yet engagement in outdoor play has declined and there is some evidence of disparities in outdoor play across sociodemographic groups. This study examined individual, family, and community factors associated with outdoor play among children (3-5 years) in the United States. Using structural equation modeling, we analyzed cross-sectional data from 35,178 parents in the National Survey of Children's Health. Outdoor play was significantly negatively associated with race and ethnicity (Asian, Black or African American, Hispanic, and multiracial relative to non-Hispanic White children), urbanicity, household income, and screen time. It was positively associated with neighborhood safety, daycare usage, and child health. The racial and ethnic disparities were partly mediated by neighborhood safety and socioeconomic factors, although significant direct associations remained. Contrary to expectations, urbanicity did not moderate the association between income and outdoor play. These findings underscore the importance of multilevel influences on early childhood play. Future research should integrate neighborhood-level and surveillance data to better understand how safety, environmental hazards, and access contribute to disparities. Community-level interventions that reduce structural barriers and improve equitable access to safe outdoor spaces may increase outdoor play and support healthy child development.</p>","PeriodicalId":7576,"journal":{"name":"American journal of community psychology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148944140","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}