Using a modified version of photovoice in a European cross-national study on homelessness

The global development of community psychology as reflected in the American Journal of Community Psychology

This commentary presents a virtual special issue on the global growth of community psychology (CP), particularly, but not exclusively, as reflected in the American Journal of Community Psychology (AJCP). CP exists in at least 50 countries all over the world, in many of those for over 25 years. Yet, aside from several early Israeli articles, AJCP rarely published work from or about countries outside the US and Canada until the early 2000s, when the number of international articles began to rise sharply. The focus of CP developed differently in different continents. CP in Australia and New Zealand initially followed North America's emphasis on improving social service systems, but has since focused more on environmental and indigenous cultural and decolonial issues that are as salient in those countries as in North America, but have drawn much more attention. CP came later to most of Asia, where it also tended to follow the North American path, but starting in Japan, India, and Hong Kong and now in China and elsewhere, it is establishing its own way. The other two global hotspots for CP for over 40 years have been Europe and Latin America. The level and focus of CP in Europe varies in each country, with some focused on applied developmental psychology and/or community services and others advancing critical and liberation psychology. CP in Latin America evolved from social psychology, but like CP in Sub-Saharan Africa, is also more explicitly political due to a history of political oppression, social activism, and the limitations of individualistic psychology to focus on social change, overcoming poverty, and interventions by (not just for) community members. Despite those differences, CP literature over the past 23 years suggests an increasingly common interest in social justice, multinational collaborations, and decoloniality. There is still a need for more truly (bidirectional) cross-cultural, comparative work for mutual learning, sharing of ideas, methods, and intervention practices, and for CP to develop in countries and communities throughout the globe where it could have the greatest impact.

"How does your residential environment positively or negatively influence your well-being?": A multicase photovoice study with public housing tenants

Public housing aims to reduce social inequalities by providing affordable dwellings as a social policy. Anchored in an ecological perspective, the paper reports on a multicase photovoice study documenting public housing tenants' perceptions of how their residential environment influences their well-being. This design can provide a deeper understanding of the public housing environment to inform change at a programmatic level. To this end, 303 captioned photos were collected by 59 tenant-researchers at six sites in Québec (Canada). An in-depth cross-case analysis of the material led to two key themes with five subthemes each. In the Residential environment perceived as mostly positive theme, the subthemes were access to nature, community resources and services, positive relations among tenants, opportunities for participation, and specific aspects of their home. In the Negative aspects focused on life in public housing theme, the subthemes were strict regulations, lack of respect for tenants' needs, lack of intimacy, lack of proper maintenance, and conflicts between tenants. Findings highlight the dynamic interplay between the residential environment and public housing tenants' well-being. Two recurring programmatic issues are highlighted: problematic maintenance and limited opportunities for tenants' empowerment. Changes to address these concerns at the programmatic level of public housing could potentially increase tenants' well-being.