An important contribution to empowerment theory and community psychology practice can be made by examining how the concept of social power is developed and manifested in the context of community organizing. Theory and practice may be further informed through an ecological analysis of organizing processes and interventions. Lessons from a national community organizing network highlight the relationship between empowerment and power through a set of organizing principles and a cycle of organizing activity. Perhaps most important is the understanding that a reciprocal relationship exists between development of power for community organizations and individual empowerment for organization members. Implications for empowerment theory in the community organizing domain are provided in a matrix adapted from Zimmerman's description of empowerment processes and outcomes at multiple levels of analysis.

Concepts and research from community psychology can inform community development practice by reframing social capital theory. Social capital (SC) is generally defined and measured at the interpersonal, community, institutional, or societal levels in terms of networks (bridging) and norms of reciprocity and trust (bonding) within those networks. SC should be analyzed in a multi-level ecological framework in terms of both individual psychological and behavioral conceptions (sense of community, collective efficacy-or empowerment, neighboring, and citizen participation) and institutional and community network-level conceptions. Excessive concern for social cohesion undermines the ability to confront or engage in necessary conflict, and thus, it dis-empowers the community. Instead of emphasizing social cohesion, "network-bridging" opportunities to increase power, access, and learning should be emphasized. Institutional and community network analysis shows how SC operates at those levels and where to target service resources and develop mediating structures. Psychological and behavioral factors point to factors that motivate individuals to engage in building SC and methods to maintain and improve that engagement.

The Sociopolitical Control Scale (SPCS) is a widely used measure of the intrapersonal component of psychological empowerment. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were conducted with data from two samples to test the hypothesized structure of the SPCS, the potential effects of method bias on the measure's psychometric properties, and whether a revised version of the scale (SPCS-R) yielded improved model fit. Sample 1 included 316 randomly selected community residents of the Midwestern United States. Sample 2 included 750 community residents of the Northeastern U.S. Results indicated that method bias from the use of negatively worded items had a significant effect on the factor structure of the SPCS. CFA of the SPCS-R, in which negatively worded items were rephrased so that all statements were positively worded, supported the measure's hypothesized two-factor structure (i.e., leadership competence and policy control). Subscales of the SPCS-R were found reliable and related in expected ways with measures of community involvement. Implications of the study for empowerment-based research and practice are described, and strategies to further develop the SPCS are discussed.

This study assessed the geographic association between tobacco outlet density and three demographic correlates-income, race, and ethnicity-at the tract level of analysis for one county in the Midwestern United States. Data for residential census tracts in a Midwestern U.S. county were derived from year 2003 licenses for 474 tobacco outlets. Demographic variables were based on 2000 census data. Census tracts with lower median household income, higher percent of African American residents, and higher percent of Latinos residents had greater density of tobacco selling retail outlets. Areas characterized by lower income and disproportionately more African Americans and Latinos have greater physical access to tobacco products. Physical access to tobacco is a critical public-health issue because, given that smokers have been shown to be price sensitive, lowering access costs (e.g., reduced travel time) is likely to increase consumption. Findings also suggest the need for structural or environmental interventions, i.e., tobacco outlet zoning laws, to mitigate the health consequences associated with tobacco use in certain populations and geographic regions.

Instability in the factor structure of the Sense of Community Index (SCI) was

Analyzed empirical articles (N = 235) in the American Journal of Community Psychology and the Journal of Community Psychology for their methodological structure and contextual influences from 1984-1988. The study focused upon types of research designs, sampling procedures, designs for measurement, dependent variables, characteristics of research participants, author characteristics, and topic areas among other indicators. Analyses were similar to Lounsbury et al. (1980) so that changes over time couM be examined. Findings relative to Lounsbury et al. (1980) include greater numbers of field studies, more correlational approaches, a shift away from research topics on mental health services and programs in favor of studies focused on specific problem areas, and populations drawn increasingly from community settings. Results suggest changes in social context and methodological paradigms influence the conduct of empirical research. Additionally, changes in our research base may reflect changes in the field's understanding of the kinds of research it shouM be pursuing.Just over 10 years ago, several analyses critiqued the research base of community psychology

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The research reported here tested the factor structure of a measure for sense of community in community organizations, and it evaluated sense of community's potential as an empowering organizational characteristic within an organizational empowerment framework. Randomly selected community organization participants (N=561) were surveyed as part of a study of a substance abuse prevention initiative located in the northeastern United States. Confirmatory factor analysis verified the putative structure of the sense of community measure tailored to community organizations. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that community organization sense of community significantly predicted intrapersonal empowerment after controlling for demographics, participation, alienation, and other empowering organizational characteristic. Findings imply that organizational sense of community should be considered as an empowering organizational characteristic in community-based health education.