Mentoring has been found to be an effective psychosocial buffer to occupational stress (Chao & Walz, 1992; Noe, 1988; Siege1 & Reinstein, 2001). Mentoring provides support for personal confirmation, acceptance, friendship and role modelling (Kram 1985, 1986) The current study was part of an initiative within the New Zealand Police to introduce mentoring as part of a supported induction for new Police Constables into the organisation. The aim was to evaluate the use of mentoring as a psychosocial support in this induction process. Using a Solomon Four Group design the 254 subjects (180 protégé(e)s and 74 mentors) were randomly assigned to four groups. These groups were (i) those who had a pre-test, assigned a mentor and post test (ii) those who had a pre-test and post test (iii) those who had a mentor and a post test (iv) those who had a post test only. Testing included two questionnaires; a Combined Measures Questionnaire – which incorporated six psychometric tests including BDI, BHS, MHI, CMTS, HSCL-21 and ITQ; and a Mentor Relationship Questionnaire. The former was administered at pre- and post- test in accordance with the experimental design while the later [i.e. latter] was only administered at the end of the mentoring programme. There was no clinically significant effect noted in terms of change in psychological well-being or distress for either protégé(e)s or mentors (p > .05). There was a significant effect of mentoring in terms of an increase in intent to quit, F(1,10) = 7.43, p = .02 and a trend toward significance for decreased general distress levels F(1,10) = 4.80, p = .53 for the mentors at the end of the experimental period. These findings are tempered by a small control group (n=2). The main finding of this study was that positive outcomes were reported about the mentor relationship, on the Mentoring Relationship Questionnaire, from both protégé(e)s and mentors. These results were achieved in less than three sessions. From these findings it may be concluded that there is a place for a formal mentoring programme in the induction process of the New Zealand Police organisation.

In broad terms, parentification can be defined as a child taking on the role of parent to his or her own parents; though in reality the construct is more complex. Although related constructs (e.g. boundary transgressions, role reversal, ‘hurried child’) have been discussed in the literature for many years, the term ‘parentification’ per se is a relatively new one within the field of psychological research and empirical studies are still limited. When researching in the field of parentification, an issue that is apparent is the lack of adequate measures of parentification available for children and adolescents. The few measures of parentification that exist have been (a) retrospective (asking adults to recall levels of responsibility within their families of origin as adolescents) and/or (b) uni-dimensional (measuring parentification as a single score rather than taking into account different facets such as confidant to one’s own parents, mediator between conflicting parents, ‘pseudo-parents’ to siblings, or excessive household responsibilities). The first aim of the current research was to develop a reliable and valid multidimensional measure of parentification that was appropriate for completion by children and adolescents. The series of studies that follow utilise this newly developed parentification scale to examine parentification of adolescents aged 10-16 years from families undergoing parental divorce. A comparison group of children from two-parent continuously married (not remarried) families were included. A previously validated uni-dimensional measure of parentification, the Parentification Questionnaire – Youth (PQ-Y: Godsall & Jurkovic, 1995) was also used throughout the studies (although in the current sample, this measure was multidimensional, yielding two factors labelled Alienation and Tangible Tasks). Broad research goals of the studies are: 1. to examine parentification (and its association with family functioning and sibling relationship quality) from the perspective of multiple family members, 2. to explore parentification differences between families on variables of age, sex, birth order, family size and parental marital status, and 3. to assess the extent to which parentification affects adolescent psychological adjustment, and how burden of parentification may mediate the relationship between parentification and psychological adjustment. Parents and children aged 10-16 years from 304 families (127 divorcing; 177 married) were invited to participate in a 12-month study of parentification that included questions about demographics, family responsibilities, family functioning, adolescent adjustment, and sibling relationships. In addition, in divorcing families, both parents and one child (target child) were invited to be interviewed regarding their experiences surrounding the separation and divorce. The measure of parentification designed for the current research adapted the multidimensional, retrospective measure written by Mika, Bergner and Baum (1987). This new measure was labelled the Youth Parentification Scale (YPS), and findings suggest that it is a reliable measure of parentification in the current sample of married and divorcing families. Results revealed that children from divorcing families and girls reported higher levels of parentification (across various factors). Results on multiple perspectives within the family were mixed. In general, children were more likely than their parents to report higher levels of parentification within the family, although this effect differed slightly dependent upon parental marital status. Siblings who reported offering support to other members of the family also rated their relationship with their sibling as warmer: this result held true for both firstand second-born children. Additionally, both first- and second-born children agreed that parentification may affect the relative status/power between siblings. While few direct associations between parentification and adjustment existed, negative adjustment outcomes (higher anxiety, higher depression and lower self-esteem) were evident when the burden associated with increased responsibility was taken into account. Taking on the role of confidant to one’s parents, playing ‘pseudo-parent’ to one’s siblings, or feeling alienated within one’s family of origin was associated with higher levels of burden, which in turn led children to report higher depression and anxiety and lower self-esteem. Additionally, taking on a parentified role was associated with higher levels of burden, which in turn was associated with reports of lower levels of family functioning (i.e. lower intimacy, higher conflict, and a more controlling parenting style). The current research has implications for the development and refinement of future measures of parentification for use in empirical studies. The Youth Parentification Scale showed that different facets of parentification do seem to exist, and that offering comfort and support to mothers or fathers seems to have an association with various aspects of adjustment, sibling relationships and general family functioning. Alienation (a factor emerging from the PQ-Y), while not actually associated with increased responsibility or parentification per se, showed associations with parentification that indicate that this may be an important construct to include in future attempts at developing a comprehensive measure of parentification. Additionally, the current research unveiled findings that may have clinical importance. Findings revealed that while children from divorcing families did exhibit higher scores on various scales of parentification, outcomes were not necessarily worse for these children than for children within married families who were similarly parentified. Adolescence is a time of emotional growth when some age-appropriate adoption of adult responsibility is warranted; and in fact for children undergoing the transition of parental separation and divorce, adoption of extra responsibilities may be adaptive, perhaps even protective inasmuch as it may bring the child closer to parents during a time when anxiety about family dissolution is high. Further studies (preferably longitudinal) exploring the adaptive facets of parentification are warranted.

[pt] A presente tese tem o propósito de revelar alguns desdobramentos da atuação, em Psicologia Comunitária, de uma equipe de estagiários do Serviço de Psicologia Aplicada, sob a supervisão da autora. Este trabalho está sendo desenvolvido, desde janeiro de 2002, no Posto de Saúde IADAS (Instituto dos Amigos da Saúde), uma ONG da própria comunidade de Muzema. Atualmente, a Psicologia Social Comunitária contribui para a análise das relações entre o mundo subjetivo e o objetivo, sendo, também, um espaço de alargamento dos domínios tradicionais da Psicologia. Através desta perspectiva pudemos realizar um trabalho clínico, tomando como norteador de nossa prática o conceito de Clínica Ampliada. A inserção do psicólogo nas comunidades de baixa renda promove o diálogo entre sujeitos de contextos diferentes, possibilitando a reconstrução cultural, a ética da solidariedade e a construção de projetos coletivos, num cenário de individualismo urbano crescente. Seguindo a metodologia da pesquisa participante e apresentando um referencial teórico sócio-histórico, foram realizadas doze entrevistas semi-estruturadas com mulheres da comunidade. As falas das entrevistadas foram entendidas à luz das teorias utilizadas e articuladas à realidade cultural observada. Uma reflexão sobre a comunidade na cultura contemporânea, o individualismo, a ausência do Estado e a realidade dos excluídos serviram como temas nesta articulação teórico-prática. Os resultados mostraram que os discursos das mulheres indicaram pistas de problemas compartilhados, mas que, na contemporaneidade, são vistos como algo centrado no plano individual. A valorização das falas em sua singularidade, além de não generalizar um percurso de sujeitos excluídos, impede a desqualificação da potência de sujeitos moradores das comunidades e a homogeneização das subjetividades que observamos hoje. Finalmente, defende-se a tese de que a comunidade é analisada como um microcosmo de um contexto mais amplo de análise, possibilitando, assim, a construção de políticas públicas e sociais a partir dos principais temas investigados neste estudo. / [en] The objective of this thesis is to discuss recent developments in Community Psychology as practiced by a team of trainees at the Applied Psychology Service, under the author's supervision. This project has been carried out since January 2002, at the IADAS Health Center (IADAS meaning Friends of Health Institute), an NGO managed by the community at Muzema. Today, Social Community Psychology contributes to analyses of the relationships between the subjective and objective worlds, and is also a space for broadening the traditional spheres of psychology. From this perspective clinical work can be carried out on the basis of the Broadened Clinic Concept. The insertion of psychologists into lowincome communities can also bring about dialog among subjects from different contexts. Cultural reconstruction thus becomes possible, as well as the ethic of concern for others and the construction of collective projects in today's context of growing urban individualism. Using the methodology of participated research and based on a framework of sociohistorical theoretical reference, twelve semi-structured interviews were held with women of the community. Their discourse was interpreted in the light of the theories employed by the author and articulated with the cultural reality observed. Several different topics were discussed and reflected upon in this theoretical-practical articulation, such as the community in contemporary culture, individualism, the absence of the State, and the reality of excluded populations. The results showed that the women are aware of problems that are common but which, in contemporary life, are seen as existing only on the individual level. Besides avoiding generalizations on histories of excluded subjects, the recognition of words in their uniqueness prevents one from disregarding the power of subjects who live in communities and the uniformization of today's subjectivities. Finally, the position is held that communities can be analyzed as microcosms of a broader context, it therefore being possible to construct public and social policies on the basis of the main themes investigated in this study.

Latinas in college are systematically disadvantaged and face many unique stressors and adversities such as race-related discrimination and family stress; however, perceived availability of social support has been shown to have positive effects on students, such as positively influencing adjustment and academic persistence. In an effort to determine what factors help Latinas thrive in college, an experimental study with a 2x2 factorial design is proposed to investigate if in the face of adversity, does peer support/community preserve the thriving of Latinas in college. Community is defined by sense of membership and validation, and both will be manipulated in the in-lab community experience through a confederate (race of the confederate x support offered). The results are expected to show that main effects in the influence of validation on thriving and main effects in the influence of sense of membership on thriving. Furthermore, an interaction is predicted such that the effect of being validated depends on whether or not the confederate is Latina. It is also predicted that participants will feel a higher sense of communality with Latina students than Latinx students. The proposed study works to add to the small body of literature that highlights ways to help underrepresented students in higher education, rather than simply investigating factors that work to their detriment. The implications of the research are to work to legitimize community as a form of self-care and support, so that institutions help foster and support Latina communities on college campuses.

O desenraizamento acontece quando pessoas ou grupos são afastados de suas tradições e das historias de vida de seus ancestrais, por razões ligadas à dominação e à espoliação econômica. Assim, o processo de dominação privilegia o acumulo de dinheiro em detrimento à cultura e à tradição de povos inteiros. Este processo tem sido recorrente durante a história da ocupação da Amazônia desde o período colonial. Atualmente, a construção da Usina hidroelétrica de Santo Antônio no rio Madeira representa uma ameaça às comunidades localizadas na região. Entendemos que esta obra pode ser extremamente nociva à cultura e à tradição dos povos que ali vivem. Embora existam conselhos comunitários com o objetivo de garantir a participação dos moradores na gestão do território, efetivamente suas vozes não têm sido ouvidas durante os processos de decisão, assim como as informações sobre os impactos da obra no território não estão sendo compartilhadas com a população. Podemos entender esta falta de informação e impedimento de participação como uma possível ferramenta de dominação, o que evidencia o preconceito sofrido pelas pessoas que vivem nas periferias do capitalismo brasileiro. Assim, o registro e a discussão de como os moradores de uma específica comunidade chamada Nazaré vivem as diversas ameaças de desenraizamento pode oferecer subsídio aos que estão por enfrentá-lo. Durante a pesquisa de observação participante e entrevistas de longa duração, organizamos dissertação a partir de nove itens que compõem um retrato etnográfico da comunidade, sendo eles: histórico de formação e estrutura da comunidade de Nazaré, relação com o rio, organização do trabalho, lendas, religiosidade e manifestações artísticas, vida política e vida comunitária. A partir da observação destes itens e de suas relações entre si, foi possível notar uma presente luta por enraizamento diante das pressões que contribuem para a desintegração de sua cultura / The uprootedness happens when people or groups are taken away from their traditions and the life stories of theirs ancestors, for reasons related to economic domination. Thus, the process of domination favors the accumulation of money over the culture and tradition of an entire ethnic group. This process has occurred in the history of the Amazon occupation since the colonial period. Currently, the construction of the Santo Antonio\'s dam, in Madeira River, represents a threat to the communities located in the region. We understand that this work can be extremely harmful to the culture and traditions of the peoples there. Although there are community councils, created to ensure the participation of residents in the land management; effectively, their voices haven\'t been heard during the decision-making process, as well as the information about the impacts of the construction are not being shared with the public. We can understand this lack of information and the denial of the population\'s right to participate as a possible domination\'s tool, which shows the prejudice suffered by people that are pushed to the outskirts of the Brazilian capitalism. Thus, the registration and the discussion of how the currents residents of a community called Nazaré are living this constant threat of uprootedness can provide subsidy to those who are yet to face it. During the field research, we organized the work in nine items that compose an ethnographic portrait of Nazaré. These items are: history and structure of the community, the relation to the river, organization of work, legends, religion, artistic manifestations and political and communitarian life. From the observation of those points and the relationship that they establish among themselves, it was possible to notice the presence of a strong struggle for rootedness, in face of social pressures that may cause the disintegration of their culture

Cultural socialization has been linked with child development and outcome, but, to date, the majority of research has focused on race and ethnicity. However, since families headed by gay and lesbian parents experience stigma related to parental sexual orientation, socialization practices may be uniquely important for families headed by gay and lesbian parents. The present study examined same-sex parent socialization among 54 families headed by gay and lesbian parents (52 fathers, 43 mothers, 51 school-aged children) using a cultural socialization framework. Findings revealed that parents engaged in socialization along three dimensions: Cultural Socialization, Preparation for Bias, and Proactive Parenting. Children perceived same-sex parent socialization with less frequency than parents reported engaging in these behaviors across all dimensions. In general, same-sex parent socialization was not associated with child behavioral adjustment. Neither same-sex parent socialization nor child behavioral adjustment was associated with whether parents were gay or lesbian. Results from this study justify the need to broaden our conceptualization of cultural socialization to be more inclusive of these diverse family structures.

In what became a classic rural community study, Lowry Nelson concluded in his first Mormon village series in the 1920's that the Mormon village is characterized by an extraordinary sense of solidarity. He claimed that this strong solidarity can be primarily explained by four factors of the social group: leadership, conflict, cooperation, and ideology. After resurveying the Mormon village in 1950, he concluded that solidarity had declined. However, a few problems become apparent to the present researcher looking back upon Nelson's findings. One of them is that Nelson never had a clear definition of solidarity to begin with. Another is that the research focus shifted between the first and the second Mormon village series. Primarily using ethnographic methods, the present research project attempts to derive a new definition and evaluation of solidarity within the Mormon village. The evidence produced by the study suggests that the solidarity is best not seen as uniformity, nor as coordinated action, but as an affective attachment to a common purpose. The original factors promoting solidarity are still relevant, but in different ways than they were seventy-five years ago. In addition, Mormon villagers have also found other means to promote solidarity in the local context. These include particular applications of gossip, service, and heritage or collective identity.

Analyzing the relationship between the visual imagery used in music videos, and the sexual cognition of viewers. Sexual cognition is the awareness of one's own sexual behavior, and its implications. The visual content of music videos was analyzed focusing only on the imagery used. The Heterosexual Script (Jhally, 2007) in particular is observed in most music videos, highlighting the sexual objectification of women and the dominant role of males. The direction of causality between the visual imagery and sexual cognitions can only be speculated using a number of theories, namely cognitive dissonance (Festinger, 1957), cultivation theory (Gerbner et al., 1994), Objectification theory (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997), Social Learning theory (Bandura, 2001; 2002), and that of semantic constructs. Significant results would suggest that music videos have the potential to alter an individual's sexual cognitions, which may lead to riskier sexual behavior and negative views of women sexually.

No description available.

This study disaggregates and evaluates conventional community psychology as reflected in both the Community Mental Health and Social Action Models. In so doing, it provides evidence in support of its plea for a radical paradigm shift towards ecosystemic theorising in the field of community psycho logy. It further illustrates that an ecosystemic point of departure would have significant implications for the reformulation of conventional notions of community. It concludes by teasing out some alternative praxis related community psychological formulations. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)