Edison J. Trickett

Task force report: Social networks as mediators of social support. An analysis of the effects and determinants of social networks.

The intent of this paper is to present a representative, though not exhaustive, overview of the current literature on social networks, with an emphasis on research linking social networks to psychological adaptation. This overview includes a review of social network concepts; and analysis of the multiple determinants of social networks; an analysis of the varied effects of social networks; and the implications for policies and practices of community mental health centers. This paper adopts the view that the concept of social network is a useful tool in examining both the functional and the dysfunctional influences of ones primary group on individual adaption.

Cultural Transitions in First-Generation Immigrants Acculturation of Soviet Jewish Refugee Adolescents and Parents

This article focuses on the process of acculturation for first-generation Soviet Jewish refugee adolescents and their parents who have resettled in the United States. First, the extent of acculturation to the new and the old culture is assessed independently. Second, acculturation is assessed multidimensionally, including the constructs of language competence, behavioral acculturation, and cultural identity. Third, the extent to which life stage differences at immigration affect the acculturation process is assessed. Overall, the data suggest that acculturation appears to occur in a linear pattern over time for most dimensions of acculturation, with acculturation to the American culture increasing and acculturation to the Russian culture decreasing. However, Russian language competence for the parents did not diminish with length of residence in the country. Furthermore, an unexpected acculturative gap was observed between parents and children with respect to Russian identity, with adolescents being more identified with the Russian culture than their parents.

A Future for Community Psychology: The Contexts of Diversity and the Diversity of Contexts

Today I revisit a premise central to community psychology since its official inception (Bennett et al., 1966): the importance of developing theory, research, and intervention which locates individuals, social settings, and communities in sociocultural context. I return to this premise not because community psychology has not made significant substantive and distinctive contributions to research and practice during the last three decades but because of how much work remains to be done. We are still struggling with how to incorporate issues of culture and context into the questions we ask, the research strategies we pursue, and the ways we design and carry out interventions (Bernal & Enchautegui-de Jesus, 1994; Leidig, 1977; Loo, Fong, & Iwamasa, 1988; Myers & Pitts, 1977; Novaco & Monahan, 1980; Trickett, Watts, & Birman, 1993; Walsh, 1987a). Incorporating culture and context more fully into the conceptual frameworks and intervention activities of the field will both further the field’s originating vision and create an exciting and socially responsible agenda for the future. It represents an opportunity for community psychology to make a distinctive contribution to how we think and how we act.

Advancing the Science of Community-Level Interventions

Community interventions are complex social processes that need to move beyond single interventions and outcomes at individual levels of short-term change. A scientific paradigm is emerging that supports collaborative, multilevel, culturally situated community interventions aimed at creating sustainable community-level impact. This paradigm is rooted in a deep history of ecological and collaborative thinking across public health, psychology, anthropology, and other fields of social science. The new paradigm makes a number of primary assertions that affect conceptualization of health issues, intervention design, and intervention evaluation. To elaborate the paradigm and advance the science of community intervention, we offer suggestions for promoting a scientific agenda, developing collaborations among professionals and communities, and examining the culture of science.

Adolescent substance use: preliminary examinations of school and neighborhood context.

In considering the influences of microsystems on adolescent substance use, familial and peer contexts have received the most extensive attention in the research literature. School and neighborhood settings, however, are other developmental contexts that may exert specific influences on adolescent substance use. In many instances, school settings are organized to provide educational services to students who share similar educational abilities and behavioral repertoires. The resulting segregation of students into these settings may result in different school norms for substance use. Similarly, neighborhood resources, including models for substance use and drug sales involvement, may play an important role in adolescent substance use. We briefly review literature examining contextual influences on adolescent substance use, and present results from two preliminary studies examining the contribution of school and neighborhood context to adolescent substance use. In the first investigation, we examine the impact of familial, peer, and school contexts on adolescent substance use. Respondents were 283 students (ages 13 to 18) from regular and special education classrooms in six schools. Although peer and parental contexts were important predictors of substance use, school norms for drug use accounted for variance in adolescent use beyond that explained by peer and parental norms. Data from a second study of 114 adolescents (mean age = 15) examines neighborhood contributions to adolescent substance use. In this sample, neighborhood indices did not contribute to our understanding of adolescent substance use. Implications for prevention are presented.

Toward a distinctive community psychology: An ecological metaphor for the conduct of community research and the nature of training

ConclusionIn conclusion, I have attempted today to cast the current status of the field of community psychology within the framework of partial paradigm acquisition—to slightly revise Ray Lorions phrase, of promises kept, and promises still to keep—and have outlined one fledgling perspective which, I hope, will stimulate discussion and debate about the fields future. In focusing on the conceptual connections among community research, the research relationship with citizens, and the training of community psychologists, I have put my money on the unfinished business of integrating the historical values of the field with its research and training efforts. If, when conducting our work, be it as Director of a CMHC, research scientist, social activist, or mental health practitioner, we “see,” we have a world view that focuses on the community-embeddedness of our programs and the persons they are designed to serve, if we develop a perspective that centers on the creation and expansion of resources for our community, and if our actions for the quick fix are embedded in a vision about the long haul, then we can, by both wordand deed, assert both the distinctiveness of community psychology and further the aspirations underlying the creation of our field.Let me close by sharing with you the only paradigm joke I know. Fortunately, its on target for my purpose here today. René Descartes is attending a cocktail party and is approached by a waiter. Would you care for a cocktail, Mr. Descartes?, the waiter says. “I think not,” says Descartes, and promptly disappears.For Descartes, paradigm premises held consequences for ensuing behavior. Let us remember Descartes.

Multilevel Community-Based Culturally Situated Interventions and Community Impact: An Ecological Perspective

The purpose of this paper is to apply an ecological perspective to the conduct of multilevel community-based culturally-situated interventions. After a discussion of the emerging consensus about the value of approaching such interventions ecologically, the paper outlines a series of questions stimulated by an ecological perspective that can guide further theory development in conducting multilevel interventions. These questions all derive from the importance of assessing the local community ecology where the intervention occurs. The paper concludes with a series of topics which, taken together, provide a roadmap for further conceptual development of multilevel interventions as vehicles for long-range community impact.

Means—ends problem-solving skills, life stress, and social support as mediators of adjustment in the normative transition to high school

Examined the transition of adolescents from middle school to high school through a longitudinal research design. Consistent with other studies, results indicate that the transition is associated with declines in grade point average and attendance, and that these changes persist or worsen over the course of the freshman year. Life stress and social support from family, friends, and school personnel each showed expected relationships with some outcome variables, though these varied in pattern and magnitude. Furthermore, there was some indication that these sources could be used in multivariate analyses in assessing their relationship to outcomes. Finally, means-ends problem-solving skills did not predict levels of posttransition support. Results are seen as supporting a differential model of the role of individual and environmental resources in the high school transition, especially with regard to the negative changes in grades and attendance and the pattern of correlations between social support sources and outcomes.

Community Psychology: Individuals and Interventions in Community Context

Community psychology has historically focused on understanding individual behavior in sociocultural context, assessing high-impact contexts, and working in and with communities to improve their resources and influence over their futures. This review adopts an ecological perspective on recent developments in the field, beginning with philosophy of science and progressing through a series of substantive research and intervention domains that characterize current work. These domains include research on the ecology of lives, the assessment of social settings and their impact on behavior, culture and diversity as expressed in the community research process, and community intervention.

Immigrant adolescents behaving as culture brokers: a study of families from the former Soviet Union.

In immigrant families, culture brokering (CB) occurs when children mediate the new culture for their family. The authors examined CB in Russian immigrant adolescent-mother dyads (N = 226) to determine the types and amounts of CB that Russian adolescents performed, why adolescents assumed the CB role, and how the role affected adolescent and familial functioning. The present results indicated that most adolescents reported CB for their families (89%). Children of families that more recently arrived in the U.S., with mothers who were less American-language acculturated, culture brokered more. Higher levels of CB related to (a) higher adolescent stress and reports of problems at home and with friends and (b) lower feelings of school membership. Parent-reported problems at home did not relate to CB. The authors discussed implications for future research on the role of the child as culture broker.