Third Places, Social Capital, and Sense of Community as Mechanisms of Adaptive Responding for Young People Who Experience Social Marginalization

Abstract

Many young people who experience social marginalization (such as young people of color, who identify as LGBTQ, and who have experienced housing instability, among others) have often faced significant trauma exposure and social oppression and may endure subsequent adverse impacts on their well‐being. Conversely, many such young people exhibit adaptive responding—the ability to maintain well‐being through and despite such contextual constraints. This theoretical paper illustrates a conceptual model for how third places—public settings which offer sociability and community connection—may foster adaptive responding through the mutually constitutive (i.e., mutually reinforcing and interrelated) mechanisms of psychological sense of community and social capital. As prior work on third places has not considered the social marginalization which many young people face, especially in public settings, this theoretical model also considers how social policing in third places potentially moderates the mutually constitutive relationships between participation in third places, social capital, and psychological sense of community. This paper ends with a proposed research agenda, which may empirically test this theoretical model and its assumptions through future model development. Lastly, key considerations for policy and practice are offered, with particular attention to how young people may be affirmed and welcomed in third places rather than socially policed.

An emerging youth‐centered model of community resilience in communities impacted by gun violence: Power through Black Community and Unity

“…These findings not only support the importance of neighborhood connection as a perceived buffer to violence in the community, but they further detail how Black communities come together to address adversity. Having said this, caution is warranted because sometimes these well‐intentioned community‐based interventions may in turn lead to increased informal “policing” of youth's actions by members of the community (Littman, 2022).…”

The gendered relationship between cumulative exposure to lower community attachment and adolescent health

“…Third, we were not able to examine the role of informal social control. For example, informal social control, such as social policing characterized by excessive monitoring and intervention of playgroups or street loitering, can have a detrimental effect on community attachment, as individuals may feel unwelcome in their surroundings (Littman, 2021). In future studies, it may be worthwhile to investigate whether negative aspects of informal social control contribute to adolescents’ community attachment and health.…”

Nepantleras‐in‐training: Using testimonios to unravel the tensions and transformative moments of YPAR

“…According to Gutiérrez (2008), YPAR classrooms can become a third space where “the potential for an expanded form of learning and the development of new knowledge are heightened” (p. 152). Unlike first spaces (the home) and second spaces (work) where people are expected to interact, third spaces such as community centers, libraries, youth groups are often neutral places for individuals to gather (Littman, 2022). According to Oldenburg (1999), third spaces lack social hierarchy, emphasize dialog, are accessible, have common visitors, and invite active engagement.…”

“…In many ways, third spaces, such as the YPAR classroom, can be considered counterspaces. Similar to third spaces, counterspaces offer restorative and psychological support where groups can imagine their liberation from oppressive forces (Littman, 2022; O'Meara et al, 2019). According to Case and Hunter (2012), counterspaces are settings that allow marginalized individuals to embrace their identities as they work against dominant narratives that have come to define their groups.…”