Sally M. Hage

Prevention and Counseling Psychology Revitalizing Commitments for the 21st Century

This article advocates the need for a much stronger emphasis on and commitment to the science and practice of prevention in counseling psychology. Historical and recent developments in the profession are highlighted, as are the changing U.S. demographics and societal needs that mandate an enhanced prevention focus for the field. A prevention-based agenda of four fundamental goals for counseling psychology is articulated. The goals include eight training domains and objectives as well as skills needed to support a prevention agenda for counseling psychology. Barriers and adjustments needed to give renewed vitality toward prevention are discussed. Prevention resources and funding opportunities are presented.

Best Practice Guidelines on Prevention Practice, Research, Training, and Social Advocacy for Psychologists:

Preventive interventions have been shown to successfully aid the development of children, youths, and adults and avert maladjustment in individuals at risk for negative outcomes. Continued scientific advancement of preventive interventions is crucial to further the health of U.S. children, youths, and families. This article presents 15 best practice guidelines on prevention practice, research, training, and social advocacy for psychology. These guidelines articulate clear standards and a framework for moving the profession toward improving the well-being of a greater number of individuals and communities. The guidelines are intended to assist psychologists in evaluating their preparation for engaging in prevention work and in furthering their understanding through increased knowledge, skills, and experience in prevention.

A Closer Look at the Role of Spirituality in Psychology Training Programs

Should psychology training programs take steps to incorporate content related to spiritual and religious diversity in their curriculum? This article provides a critical discussion of research demonstrating minimal integration of spiritual and religious issues in psychology training, supervision, and course work. Unique aspects of training related to spiritual diversity and interventions across various subdisciplines in psychology are highlighted. Suggestions for integrating spiritual and religious diversity into psychology training are presented. For the benefit of students, clients, and their communities, psychologists are encouraged to obtain specialized training to enhance their spiritual and religious competency.

The Next Frontier: Prevention as an Instrument of Social Justice

Preventive interventions that reduce oppressive societal structures, change attitudes that contribute to oppression, and enhance individual, family, and community strengths that empower persons to resist oppression represent important vehicles for advancing social justice. Social justice prevention is informed by the work of George Albee, in conjunction with ecological theory, positive psychology, the emancipatory communitarian framework, and multiculturalism. This manuscript describes the convergence of these influences in defining a social justice approach to prevention that integrates concerns relevant to context, strengths, culture, and power differentials, and evaluates social justice prevention as represented in current prevention literature.

Unhealthy parenting and potential mediators as contributing factors to future intimate violence: a review of the literature.

Efforts to understand and prevent intimate violence have often focused on the intergenerational transmission of intimate violence. Although witnessing and/or experiencing abuse in the family of origin is well supported in the literature as a key component of the intergenerational transmission of intimate violence, there has been less attention to other family-of-origin factors that contribute to or mediate and/or moderate future intimate violence. Particularly, a focus on the effect of parenting on future intimate violence is needed beyond the effect of modeling abusive behavior. In this article, corporal punishment and poor parenting are reviewed as familyof-origin factors related to future intimate violence. In addition, attachment theory, interpersonal skills, and emotional and behavioral regulation and/or conduct disorder are reviewed as variables that may result and mediate the relationship between family-of-origin factors and future intimate violence. Implications for preventing intimate violence by intervening in thefamily of origin are also identified.

Promoting a Social Justice Approach to Prevention: Future Directions for Training, Practice, and Research

The final paper of this special issue devoted to prevention and social justice calls for prevention practitioners and researchers to redirect their energy and resources to creating genuine social change. To begin, the contribution of the American Psychological Association ethical code to social justice-oriented prevention work is explored, and significant ethical issues that need to be further addressed by the current code are briefly outlined. Second, we discuss the implications of a social justice approach to prevention for training, practice and research. Finally, we invite readers to take the lead in putting a social justice prevention approach into practice.

Religious self-identification and cultural values in Black and White Americans1

Racial groups differ in religious denomination, yet the variations between denominations as they are related to cultural values remain unclear. This study examined differences in self-identified religious denominations in the cultural values of Black and White Americans. A multivariate analysis of variance revealed a significant effect for race and cultural values supporting that self-identified religious denomination differs by racial group membership. Discriminant function analyses for Blacks and Whites separately also revealed significant differences in cultural value preferences and self-identified religious denomination, such that certain values predicted participant self-identified denomination. Results inform efforts to increase counselling competence for the inclusion of religiousness in therapy. Suggestions for further research are considered.

Special Issue: Prevention and Social Justice

The late George Albee recognized and promoted the importance of primary prevention as a tool for promoting social justice. Amidst ongoing oppressive realities in U.S. society and across the globe, psychologists and other helping professionals are voicing a renewed commitment to social justice activity. Despite growing interest in social justice and prevention, relatively little attention has focused explicitly on social justice prevention. As Albee was also well aware, all prevention activity does not advance social justice. In response to these gaps, The Journal of Primary Prevention is preparing a special issue on Prevention and Social Justice. We are interested in soliciting articles that will serve to further prevention theory, research, and practice for social justice and contribute to the refinement of a model of social justice prevention. Following from Albee’s incidence formula, which conceptualized mental health as derived from environmental and personal factors, we understand social justice prevention as entailing intervention at both the personal and environmental levels. Authors are encouraged to submit papers on any aspect of the social justice and prevention, including—but not limited to—the development, implementation, and evaluation of prevention programs to reduce oppression related to: