Contextualizing negative sense of community and disconnection among urban youth of color: “Community…We ain't got that”

Abstract

We explore the experiences of urban youth of color, as well as perceptions, of feeling disconnected and having an overall negative sense of community (SOC). Drawing on data from 11 focus groups, youth (N = 59) describe their communities and lived experiences. We document several themes put forward through the lens of SOC and community connection that highlight perceived lack of membership, needs fulfillment, influence, and overall emotional connection to their community. Unpacking youth's perceptions of their community, we suggest that—in the face of such realities—community‐based organizations, such as those the youth find themselves in, aid in creating connectedness and help heal youth from the effects of social conditions experienced daily.

The brief sense of community scale: Testing dimensionality and measurement invariance by gender among Hispanic/Latinx youth

“…Psychological sense of community is theorized to capture those social processes that lead to more cohesive, supportive (Cantillon et al, 2003), and collectively engaged communities (Bermea et al, 2018;Brodsky, 2017;Forenza & Lardier, 2017a;Lardier et al, 2019;McMillan, 2011;Peterson et al, 2017).…”

“…Psychological sense of community is theorized to capture those social processes that lead to more cohesive, supportive (Cantillon et al, 2003), and collectively engaged communities (Bermea et al, 2018; Brodsky, 2017; Forenza & Lardier, 2017a; Lardier et al, 2019; McMillan, 2011; Peterson et al, 2017). Concepts of psychological sense of community are based in feelings of collective efficacy and neighboring (i.e., sharing neighbors and mutual assistance) (Perkins & Long,).…”

“…Beyond this study, psychological sense of community has also been qualitatively associated with foster care alumni's (Forenza & Lardier, 2017b) and mentally ill adult's sense of belongingness to their supportive housing community (Forenza & Lardier, 2017a). Recently, Lardier et al (2019) also showed through the voices of young people of color the way in which a negative psychological sense of community contributed to youth's perceived sense of community isolation and loneliness, as well as their inability to change their community or even have interest in engaging in community‐level change. Despite such work, further investigation is needed into the measurement of psychological sense of community, particularly among diverse groups of adults and youth, such as Hispanic/Latinx adolescents.…”

Community Participation and Empowerment in a Post-disaster Environment: Differences Tied to Age and Personal Networks of Social Support

“…This phenomenon can also be approached from the point of view of the real inclusion of the young population as full citizens ( Smith et al, 2005 ). This implies that participation is an instrumental mechanism through which young people guarantee their own inclusion in the social context, something that in the case of the study population is particularly relevant insofar as mobility processes often involve phenomena such as uprooting and even disempowerment that can be mitigated through participation ( Lardier et al, 2019 ).…”

“…This phenomenon can also be approached from the point of view of the real inclusion of the young population as full citizens (Smith et al, 2005). This implies that participation is an instrumental mechanism through which young people guarantee their own inclusion in the social context, something that in the case of the study population is particularly relevant insofar as mobility processes often involve phenomena such as uprooting and even disempowerment that can be mitigated through participation (Lardier et al, 2019). Likewise, critical situations, while they can be stressful and difficult to manage for some affected people, can also empower processes and skills for other participants in the community context, generating responses such as strengthening social organizations, increasing organizational capacity and community preparedness to deal with environmental disasters (Mavhura et al, 2017).…”