This paper examines theories and concepts relevant to sociopolitical development (SPD). As an emerging theory, SPD expands on empowerment and similar ideas related to social change and activism in community psychology--oppression, liberation, critical consciousness, and culture among them. SPD is the process by which individuals acquire the knowledge, analytical skills, emotional faculties, and the capacity for action in political and social systems necessary to interpret and resist oppression. Equally as important is a vision of liberation that is an alternative to oppressive conditions. All of these concepts have been underemphasized in the social change literature of U.S. community psychology. In our view, sociopolitical development is vital to human development and the creation of a just society. As part of identifying and illustrating concepts and processes relevant to SPD theory, we will draw from the words of young African American activists who were interviewed as part of a research study.

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Civic engagement is important for individual and community well-being. In the current study, we use survey data from a nationally representative sample to examine how sociopolitical attitudes, such as political cynicism, perceptions of institutional discrimination, and political efficacy, along with civic education relate to civic engagement among 593 Black youth, ages 15-25. We found perceived institutional discrimination, political efficacy, and civic education were associated with civic engagement, while political cynicism was not. There is evidence to suggest civic education may strengthen the association between perceived institutional discrimination and civic engagement. The present findings contribute to our understanding of how acknowledging systemic inequity promotes civic engagement among Black youth. Findings are discussed in terms of study limitations and future research directions.

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Social and emotional learning (SEL) has become more central to education because of demand from educators, parents, students, and business leaders alongside rigorous research showing broad, positive impacts for students and adults. However, all approaches to SEL are not equal. Systemic SEL is an approach to create equitable learning conditions that actively involve all Pre-K to Grade 12 students in learning and practicing social, emotional, and academic competencies. These conditions require aligned policies, resources, and actions at state and district levels that encourage local schools and communities to build the personal and professional capacities of adults to: implement and continuously improve evidence-based programs and practices; create an inclusive culture that fosters caring relationships and youth voice, agency, and character; and support coordinated school-family-community partnerships to enhance student development. Promoting social and emotional competencies-including the abilities to understand and manage emotions, achieve positive goals, show caring and concern for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions-are important for success at school and in life. In this article, we summarize key concepts and evidence for systemic SEL. Next, we explain interrelated Theories of Action and resources developed by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) to implement and continuously improve systemic SEL in schools, districts, and states. We discuss research on nested, interacting settings and processes involved in systemic SEL at proximal (classrooms, schools, families, and communities) and distal (districts, states, national, and international) ecological levels. We conclude with recommendations for future SEL research, practice, and policy.

This study employs the Triple Quandaryframework as a paradigmfor describing the cultural orientations of 50 inner-city African American sixth graders. The implications of the relative endorsement of these orientations and some specific expressionsfor social outcomes of empathy, Machiavellianism, delinquency, and aggression were also examined. Three cultural orientations-Anglocultural, marginalized minority, and Afrocultural as well as the component Afrocultural expressions of spirituality, communalism, and affect were operationalized. Results indicated greater endorsement of an Afrocultural orientation than of either of the other two. Greaterdivergence betweenAfrocultural variables and the other cultural orientations were associated with lower levels of undesirable attitudes and behaviors. This was particularly true of an Anglocultural orientation. Findings are discussed in terms of the methodological limitations and the apparent negative impact of an Anglocultural orientation among African American children. Directions forfuture research are considered.

Sociopolitical development theory asserts that critical social analysis informs prosocial behaviors. We suggest that one aspect of Black adolescents’ critical social analysis development is an oppression analysis, in which Black adolescents consider (1) the importance of race to they are, (2) their personal feelings about their racial group, and (3) the experience of oppression for minority groups. The current study examined oppression analysis as a latent construct among a sample of 265 Black male adolescents in Grades 7 to 10 from three suburban districts in the Midwestern United States. Structural equation modeling revealed that received parental racial pride messages, but not school-based discrimination experiences, predicted Black male adolescents’ oppression analysis. An oppression analysis and school-based discrimination had direct effects on prosocial behaviors. Racial pride messages had an indirect effect on prosocial behaviors through oppression analysis. In addition, an oppression analysis had an indirect effect on prosocial behaviors through social-emotional skills. This research offers insight into the role of Black boys’ critical social analysis among individual and contextual factors in facilitating positive developmental outcomes.

This study provides additional data on a newly developed paper-and-pencil measure of spirituality from an Afrocultural perspective. Sixty-eight African American and 75 European American college students completed the Spirituality Scale and indices of internal, external, and quest religious motivation, divine and personal agency, and religious and existential well-being. Results indicated that the Spirituality Scale had good internal consistency in both cultural groups and that the level of endorsement of females was significantly higher than that of males. However, after adjusting for gender effects, mean scale endorsement was significantly higher among African Americans than it was among European Americans. There were few differences in the patterns of bivariate correlations. Standard regression procedures yielded significant, but different, predictive models of Spirituality Scale scores for both groups. For African Americans, an internal religious motivation was predictive of scores on the Spirituality Scale. Divine causality and religious well-being emerged as predictors for Spirituality Scale scoresfor European Americans. The discussion highlightsfuture directions for research using the Spirituality Scale.