Childhood Adversity and the Continued Exposure to Trauma and Violence Among Adolescent Gang Members. Am J Community Psychol 2017 Mar;59(1-2):36-49
Date
03/07/2017Pubmed ID
28262961Pubmed Central ID
PMC5373929DOI
10.1002/ajcp.12123Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85014453314 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 33 CitationsAbstract
This study investigates interfaith groups from across the United States to understand how these religious settings may serve as mediating structures to facilitate individual political action. Based on a multilevel modeling analysis with 169 individuals from 25 interfaith groups, we found that core activities of the group, such as group members sharing community information (e.g., announcing upcoming events, political meetings, community issues) or sharing religious information (e.g., educating members about their religion) positively and negatively predicted individual political action as a result of group participation, respectively. Moreover, a sense that the interfaith group served as a community to work for local change, but not trust within the group, predicted political action as a result of group participation. However, this effect for a sense the group served as a community to work for local change was stronger and more positive as the degree of community information sharing in the group increased. These results show that a core activity of sharing community information may enhance the ability of a group to mediate political action. Overall, these findings demonstrate the potential role of interfaith groups to mediate political action, and show the importance of considering both individual and group characteristics when understanding these religious settings. Limitations and directions for future research are also discussed.
Author List
Quinn K, Pacella ML, Dickson-Gomez J, Nydegger LAAuthors
Julia Dickson-Gomez PhD Professor in the Institute for Health and Equity department at Medical College of WisconsinKatherine Quinn PhD Associate Professor in the Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine department at Medical College of Wisconsin
MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdolescentAdult Survivors of Child Adverse Events
Crime Victims
Exposure to Violence
Female
Humans
Male
Peer Group
Psychological Trauma
Qualitative Research
United States
