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DaViera AL, Bailey C, Lakind D, Kivell N, Areguy F, Byrd K. Identifying abolitionist alignments in community psychology: A path toward transformation. Am J Community Psychol 2024; 73:44-56. [PMID: 37133454 DOI: 10.1002/ajcp.12678] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2021] [Revised: 12/01/2022] [Accepted: 02/13/2023] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Psychology is grounded in the ethical principles of beneficence and nonmaleficence, that is, "do no harm." Yet many have argued that psychology as a field is attached to carceral systems and ideologies that uphold the prison industrial complex (PIC), including the field of community psychology (CP). There have been recent calls in other areas of psychology to transform the discipline into an abolitionist social science, but this discourse is nascent in CP. This paper uses the semantic device of "algorithms" (e.g., conventions to guide thinking and decision-making) to identify the areas of alignment and misalignment between abolition and CP in the service of moving us toward greater alignment. The authors propose that many in CP are already oriented to abolition because of our values and theories of empowerment, promotion, and systems change; our areas of misalignment between abolition and CP hold the potential to evolve. We conclude with proposing implications for the field of CP, including commitments to the belief that (1) the PIC cannot be reformed, and (2) abolition must be aligned with other transnational liberation efforts (e.g., decolonization).
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea L DaViera
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Caroline Bailey
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Davielle Lakind
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Mercer University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Natalie Kivell
- Department of Psychology, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
| | - Fitsum Areguy
- Department of Psychology, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
| | - Kymberly Byrd
- Department of Human and Organizational Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
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Tocci C, Stacy ST, Siegal R, Renick J, LoCurto J, Lakind D, Gruber J, Fisher BW. Statement on the effects of law enforcement in school settings. Am J Community Psychol 2023. [PMID: 37994201 DOI: 10.1002/ajcp.12723] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Revised: 10/04/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 11/24/2023]
Abstract
School-based law enforcement (SBLE) have become increasingly common in U.S. schools over recent decades despite the controversy surrounding their presence and lack of consensus around their associated benefits and harms. Drawing on the history and evidence base regarding SBLE, we advocate for an end to SBLE programs. Grounding our argument in principles of Community Psychology and positive youth development, we outline how the presence and actions of SBLE negatively affect individual students as well as school systems, with particularly harmful outcomes for students with minoritized and marginalized identities. Research on SBLE and school crime does not provide consistent evidence of positive impacts, and many studies find null effects for the relationship between SBLE and school crime or increases in crime and violence in schools. Though funding for SBLE is often prompted by high-profile acts of gun violence in schools, evidence suggests that SBLE neither prevents these incidents, nor lessens the severity when they do occur. Thus, we advocate for removing law enforcement from school settings and redirecting resources into inclusive, evidence-informed responses that are generally safer and more effective than SBLE. We close by outlining the policy landscape governing SBLE programs and ways communities can lobby for change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles Tocci
- School of Education, Loyola University, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Sara T Stacy
- University of Cincinnati Evaluation Services Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
| | - Rachel Siegal
- Health Psychology Program, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
| | - Jennifer Renick
- Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Research, University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
| | - Jamie LoCurto
- Child Health and Development Institute of Connecticut, Inc., Farmington, Connecticut, USA
| | - Davielle Lakind
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Mercer University, Macon, Georgia, USA
| | - Jennifer Gruber
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
| | - Benjamin W Fisher
- Department of Civil Society and Community Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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Lakind D, Bradley WJ, Patel A, Chorpita BF, Becker KD. A Multidimensional Examination of the Measurement of Treatment Engagement: Implications for Children's Mental Health Services and Research. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol 2021; 51:453-468. [PMID: 34269632 DOI: 10.1080/15374416.2021.1941057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Objective: The gap between rates of children's mental health problems and their participation in services highlights the need to address concerns related to engagement in mental health services more effectively. To identify, understand, and resolve engagement concerns appropriately requires effective measurement. In this study, we employed a multidimensional conceptual framework of engagement to examine the measurement of engagement in intervention studies focused on improving children's and/or families' engagement in services.Method: We coded 52 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of interventions designed to enhance treatment engagement published between 1974 and 2019 to examine what engagement constructs have been measured, how these constructs have been measured, who has provided information about engagement, and when and why engagement measures have been administered.Results: Attendance was measured in 94.2% of studies, and 59.6% of studies measured only attendance. Furthermore, most studies (61.5%) measured only one engagement dimension. One hundred twelve unique indicators of treatment engagement were used (61.6% measuring attendance). Infrequent measurement of youth (19.2% of studies) or caregiver (26.9%) perspectives was apparent. About half (54.7%) of measures were completed on one occasion, with 53.7% of measures completed after treatment was concluded.Conclusions: Results highlight how the field's measurement of engagement has focused narrowly on attendance and on interventions that improve attendance. We consider promising new directions for capturing the multidimensional, dynamic, and subjective aspects of engagement, and for leveraging measurement in research and practice settings to feasibly and effectively identify, monitor, and address engagement challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Ajay Patel
- College of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina
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Shernoff ES, Frazier SL, Maríñez-Lora AM, Lakind D, Atkins MS, Jakobsons L, Hamre BK, Bhaumik DK, Parker-Katz M, Neal JW, Smylie MA, Patel DA. Expanding the Role of School Psychologists to Support Early Career Teachers: A Mixed-Method Study. School Psychology Review 2019. [DOI: 10.17105/spr45-2.226-249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
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Lakind D, Cua G, Mehta TG, Rusch D, Atkins MS. Trajectories of Parent Participation in Early Intervention/Prevention Services: The Case for Flexible Paraprofessional-led Services. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology 2019; 50:243-257. [DOI: 10.1080/15374416.2019.1689823] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Grace Cua
- Educational Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago
| | - Tara G. Mehta
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago
| | - Dana Rusch
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago
| | - Marc S. Atkins
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago
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Mehta TG, Lakind D, Rusch D, Walden AL, Cua G, Atkins MS. Collaboration with Urban Community Stakeholders: Refining Paraprofessional-led Services to Promote Positive Parenting. Am J Community Psychol 2019; 63:444-458. [PMID: 30825221 DOI: 10.1002/ajcp.12316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
This paper describes the process of a community-academic partnership to navigate implementation challenges for a school-based service model led by paraprofessionals to promote positive parenting in high poverty urban communities. We describe the process by which we (a) identified implementation challenges, (b) sustained a university-community collaboration to redesign the paraprofessional service model, and (c) assessed the feasibility of the new model involving four social service agencies in 16 schools with over 600 families. The structure and process of the collaboration and refinement are described with attention to who was best positioned to engage in the collaboration and how the partnership worked to balance scientific rigor with responsiveness to paraprofessional workforce strengths. Feasibility data indicated that the revised model was successfully implemented by paraprofessional staff; 92.2% of possible staff monthly reports were completed and discussion of key goals was incorporated into 94.2% of interactions. Continual monitoring provided critical feedback from stakeholders as we drew on and interpreted these various sources of information to build and refine the service model. We suggest that these processes are critical steps to bridge the research-to-practice gap, by promoting practices that are aligned with the needs of children and families, and the staff who serve them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tara G Mehta
- Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Juvenile Research, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Davielle Lakind
- Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA
| | - Dana Rusch
- Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Juvenile Research, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Angela L Walden
- Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Juvenile Research, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Grace Cua
- Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Juvenile Research, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Marc S Atkins
- Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Juvenile Research, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
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Rusch D, Walden AL, Gustafson E, Lakind D, Atkins MS. A qualitative study to explore paraprofessionals' role in school-based prevention and early intervention mental health services. J Community Psychol 2019; 47:272-290. [PMID: 30161268 PMCID: PMC6431079 DOI: 10.1002/jcop.22120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2018] [Revised: 07/11/2018] [Accepted: 07/23/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
This study explored the role of paraprofessionals within a school-based prevention and early intervention program to promote children's engagement in learning and positive parenting practices. Study aims were designed to understand how paraprofessionals perceive their role in high-need communities and how they define their work within schools. Two focus groups were conducted with school family liaisons (SFLs) during the 2015-2016 school year. Transcribed audio recordings were coded using thematic analysis wherein 2 authors coded independently, followed by audited discussion and final consensus codes. SFLs acknowledged the importance of serving high-need communities and relationship building was central to their role. They leveraged contextual knowledge (culture, language, and neighborhood) to engage parents, allowing them to serve as effective advocates for parents/families in the school setting. Findings support the importance of paraprofessionals in prevention-focused services and highlight how leveraging shared experiences and prioritizing relationship building facilitates their work as advocates within schools.
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Atkins MS, Shernoff ES, Frazier SL, Schoenwald SK, Cappella E, Marinez-Lora A, Mehta TG, Lakind D, Cua G, Bhaumik R, Bhaumik D. Redesigning community mental health services for urban children: Supporting schooling to promote mental health. J Consult Clin Psychol 2015; 83:839-52. [PMID: 26302252 DOI: 10.1037/a0039661] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This study examined a school- and home-based mental health service model, Links to Learning, focused on empirical predictors of learning as primary goals for services in high-poverty urban communities. METHOD Teacher key opinion leaders were identified through sociometric surveys and trained, with mental health providers and parent advocates, on evidence-based practices to enhance children's learning. Teacher key opinion leaders and mental health providers cofacilitated professional development sessions for classroom teachers to disseminate 2 universal (Good Behavior Game, peer-assisted learning) and 2 targeted (Good News Notes, Daily Report Card) interventions. Group-based and home-based family education and support were delivered by mental health providers and parent advocates for children in kindergarten through 4th grade diagnosed with 1 or more disruptive behavior disorders. Services were Medicaid-funded through 4 social service agencies (N = 17 providers) in 7 schools (N = 136 teachers, 171 children) in a 2 (Links to Learning vs. services as usual) × 6 (pre- and posttests for 3 years) longitudinal design with random assignment of schools to conditions. Services as usual consisted of supported referral to a nearby social service agency. RESULTS Mixed effects regression models indicated significant positive effects of Links to Learning on mental health service use, classroom observations of academic engagement, teacher report of academic competence and social skills, and parent report of social skills. Nonsignificant between-groups effects were found on teacher and parent report of problem behaviors, daily hassles, and curriculum-based measures. Effects were strongest for young children, girls, and children with fewer symptoms. CONCLUSION Community mental health services targeting empirical predictors of learning can improve school and home behavior for children living in high-poverty urban communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc S Atkins
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Tara G Mehta
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago
| | | | - Grace Cua
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago
| | - Runa Bhaumik
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago
| | - Dulal Bhaumik
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago
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Atkins MS, Rusch D, Mehta TG, Lakind D. Future Directions for Dissemination and Implementation Science: Aligning Ecological Theory and Public Health to Close the Research to Practice Gap. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol 2015; 45:215-26. [PMID: 26155972 PMCID: PMC4706825 DOI: 10.1080/15374416.2015.1050724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Dissemination and implementation science (DI) has evolved as a major research model for children's mental health in response to a long-standing call to integrate science and practice and bridge the elusive research to practice gap. However, to address the complex and urgent needs of the most vulnerable children and families, future directions for DI require a new alignment of ecological theory and public health to provide effective, sustainable, and accessible mental health services. We present core principles of ecological theory to emphasize how contextual factors impact behavior and allow for the reciprocal impact individuals have on the settings they occupy, and an alignment of these principles with a public health model to ensure that services span the prevention to intervention continuum. We provide exemplars from our ongoing work in urban schools and a new direction for research to address the mental health needs of immigrant Latino families. Through these examples we illustrate how DI can expand its reach by embedding within natural settings to build on local capacity and indigenous resources, incorporating the local knowledge necessary to more substantively address long-standing mental health disparities. This paradigm shift for DI, away from an overemphasis on promoting program adoption, calls for fitting interventions within settings that matter most to children's healthy development and for utilizing and strengthening available community resources. In this way, we can meet the challenge of addressing our nation's mental health burden by supporting the needs and values of families and communities within their own unique social ecologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc S. Atkins
- University of Illinois at Chicago, Institute for Juvenile Research (MC 747), 1747 W. Roosevelt Rd., Rm 155, Chicago, IL 60608, (312) 413-1048
| | - Dana Rusch
- University of Illinois at Chicago, Institute for Juvenile Research (MC 747), 1747 W. Roosevelt Rd, Rm. 155, Chicago, IL 60608, (312) 413-1708,
| | - Tara G. Mehta
- University of Illinois at Chicago, Institute for Juvenile Research (MC 747), 1747 W. Roosevelt Rd., Rm 155, Chicago, IL 60608, (312) 996-3910,
| | - Davielle Lakind
- University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Psychology (MC 285), 1007 W. Harrison St., Chicago, IL 60607, (312) 413-1039,
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Abstract
Youth mentoring is primarily understood as a relationship between mentor and mentee, yet mentors often enter into home, school, and other community settings associated with youth they serve, and interact regularly with other people in mentees' lives. Understanding how and why mentors negotiate their role as they do remains underexplored, especially in relation to these environmental elements. This qualitative study drew on structured interviews conducted with professional mentors (N = 9) serving youth at risk for adjustment problems to examine how mentors' perceptions of their mentees and mentee environments informed their sense of how they fulfilled the mentoring role. Mentors commonly characterized problems youth displayed as byproducts of adverse environments, and individual-level strengths as existing "in spite of" environmental inputs. Perceptions of mentees and their environments informed mentors' role conceptualizations, with some mentors seeing themselves as antidotes to environmental adversity. Mentors described putting significant time and effort into working closely with other key individuals as well as one-on-one with mentees because they identified considerable environmental need; however, extra-dyadic facets of their roles were far less clearly defined or supported. They described challenges associated with role overload and opaque role boundaries, feeling unsupported by other adults in mentees' lives, and frustrated by the prevalence of risks. Community-based mentoring represents a unique opportunity to connect with families, but mentors must be supported around the elements of their roles that extend beyond mentor-mentee relationships in order to capitalize more fully on the promise of the intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davielle Lakind
- University of Illinois at Chicago Department of Psychology (M/C 285) 1007 W. Harrison Street Chicago, IL 60607
| | - Marc Atkins
- University of Illinois at Chicago Department of Psychiatry (M/C 747) Institute for Juvenile Research 1747 W. Roosevelt Rd., Rm. 155 Chicago, IL 60608
| | - J Mark Eddy
- Partners for Our Children School of Social Work, University of Washington UW Mailbox 359476 Seattle, WA 98195-9476
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Atkins MS, Lakind D. Usual care for clinicians, unusual care for their clients: rearranging priorities for children's mental health services. Adm Policy Ment Health 2013; 40:48-51. [PMID: 23238909 DOI: 10.1007/s10488-012-0453-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Marc S Atkins
- Institute for Juvenile Research (MC 747), University of Illinois at Chicago, 1747 W. Roosevelt Rd., Chicago, IL 60608, USA.
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