Citation

Nation M. J. Community Psychol. 2008; 36(2): 187-198.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/jcop.20230

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Psychology and community psychologists have been only peripherally involved in studying the sociopolitical factors including power differentials and resource inequities that are at the heart of the connection the between neighborhood conditions and individual well-being. In this article, the author describes how the concept of psychopolitical validity provides community psychologists a framework for reconceptualizing the research on the effects of low-income neighborhoods on well-being. Specific elements of this framework include (a) analyzing the role of power in societal conceptions of social problems and targets of intervention, (b) posing research questions that illuminate the connection between individual and neighborhood well-being, and (c) developing and implementing a range of techniques that both ameliorate an individual's symptoms and transform the neighborhood context. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.