In the United States (US), communities that share the reality of relatively poor health are often on differing sides of a growing political divide. Might community-based participatory research (CBPR) promote inter-community understanding and mutual support? We conducted a scoping review of English-language literature on CBPR in the United States that utilized what we term "purposeful diversity." By purposeful diversity, we mean studies that intentionally involved partnerships with communities of differing race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, geographic regions, gender/sexual orientation, religions or age in order to achieve a specific result. Only 41 partnerships (described in 65 papers) met our review criteria. Purposeful diversity in ethnicity/race was most common. Community advisory boards, community co-investigators, and community membership on steering committees were prevalent forms of community participation. Frequently, reasons for involving diverse partners were not given; those offered most often were the disproportionate burden of poor health on the communities participating. While many partnerships reported benefits of diversity, the only benefit frequently mentioned was success in recruiting diverse participants. Fewer than 40% of partnerships addressed challenges from working with diverse communities; barriers to communication and understanding were the most common. Fewer than 20% of partnerships reported strategies to address these challenges. Even fewer documented results of such strategies or methods they used to explore the influence of community diversity. Despite the focus of CBPR on structural disadvantage and the possibility of structural change, the potential of this approach for addressing inter-community conflict is virtually unexplored.

Scholars of community psychology have demonstrated that religion and spirituality play an important, yet often overlooked, role in social justice activity. However, more research is needed to understand the nuances of how religious actors utilize their faith in the pursuit of social justice. This study draws on the community psychology of religion and social movement studies to examine how Episcopalians employ religion/spirituality in their racial justice organizing. Based on 3 years of ethnographic fieldwork with an Episcopal Beloved Community Commission, findings reveal that members leveraged four specific religious resources-theology, sacrament, liturgy, and communal events-to frame racism as a spiritual, not solely social or political, problem. These strategies functioned as sanctification processes, ultimately recasting antiracism as a sacred endeavor. Unlike prior research that depicts sanctification as an individual process, the Commission practiced it collectively, leveraging Episcopal theology (e.g., naming racism as sin) to create new pathways for racial justice engagement among their faith community. Interventions in religious contexts can be strengthened by integrating theological teachings, sacramental practices, liturgical framing, and community gatherings into racial justice efforts.

Although peer support is central to the social model approach emphasized in sober living houses (SLHs), no longitudinal studies have examined helping among SLH residents. This longitudinal study examined benefits of helping in three contexts among SLH residents. Data were from 205 participants entering 28 SLHs across 2021-2023. Interviews were at baseline and 1, 2, 3, and 6 months; focal variables were assessed at all interviews using a past-30-day timeframe. Predictors were help given to and received from SLH residents, 12-step attendees, and family/friends; outcomes included drinking days and alcohol problems. Analyses included hurdle and GEE models (both accounting for repeated measures) predicting outcomes from time-lagged helping measures and covariates. In controlled models, more help given in all three contexts and help received in 12-step and family/friends contexts predicted lower odds of alcohol use, while greater family/friends help given predicted fewer drinking days among drinkers. Greater help received in both SLH and 12-step contexts predicted lower odds of alcohol problems. In sum, help both given and received predicted better alcohol outcomes, and helping in all three contexts appeared to be beneficial. Implications are that SLH operators and other service providers might foster helping in recovery-related and other contexts to improve outcomes.

Highlights Lonnie Snowden's early years as a professor at the University of Oregon. Descriptions of Lonnie Snowden's first writings on community psychology. Shared memories of Lonnie Snowden by Ricardo F. Muñoz.

Youth participatory action research (YPAR) has been effectively used for substance use prevention. Yet, YPAR has not been evaluated for opioids, which negatively impact individuals and communities across the United States. The current study evaluated an opioid‐focused YPAR project. YPAR participants (n = 28) completed a pre‐ and post‐survey capturing psychological empowerment and opioid knowledge and behavior. A non‐YPAR comparison group (n = 18) provided post‐survey data. Mean comparisons were conducted to identify changes among participants and between intervention and comparison groups. YPAR participants demonstrated increased psychological empowerment and opioid knowledge and behaviors. In contrast to the comparison group, YPAR participants reported increased psychological empowerment and opioid knowledge, but not behaviors. Evaluation of this opioid‐focused YPAR project indicated positive outcomes. Findings expand research on YPAR effectiveness for substance use prevention. Engaging youth is an effective approach for individual and community change and a promising strategy to address the opioid epidemic.

Women account for over one-third of the unhoused population in the U.S. (United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2023) and oftentimes experience barriers when seeking to manage their fertility while unhoused (Begun et al.,2019; Kennedy et al.,2014). Previous research examining contraceptive experiences while homeless has, for the most part, failed to account for the experiences of individuals who report less engagement with homeless services, such as those living in encampments and other unsheltered environments. Therefore, the present study sought to document the contraceptive experiences of unsheltered individuals capable of pregnancy. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 15 individuals capable of pregnancy residing in unsheltered locations to identify meaning ascribed to contraceptive access and use and linkages between reproductive health practices and feelings of empowerment. Findings offer novel contributions to the literature and have implications for future research and service delivery with individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness.

Youth advisory boards are ubiquitous in community‐based research, yet there is limited description of their development or direct benefits to participants within international research contexts. This convergent mixed‐method study describes and evaluates the design and implementation of a bilingual International Youth Advisory Board (IYAB) of 10 sexual and gender diverse youth (SGDY) aged 15–21 from Canada, the USA, and Mexico. During a 1‐year term, youth participated in six virtual meetings, each incorporating an affirming group check in activity, bespoke youth‐development workshop requested by participants (e.g., maintaining healthy relationships, managing conflict), and a feedback session to review draft study materials (e.g., recruitment flyers, surveys, and infographics). Participants completed brief quantitative measures at pre‐ and posttest and reported increased hope, self‐esteem, sense of SGD community, self‐advocacy skills, access to supportive adults, groupwork skills, and research competence. Qualitative data collected during a focus group in the final meeting were analyzed using inductive content analysis, producing five content categories of growth, diversity, action, connection, and reciprocity. Integrating these findings, three recommendations for implementing an IYAB are described: (1) support youth development and impact, (2) integrate diverse perspectives, and (3) design a transparent feedback loop. Implications for community psychology and community‐based participatory research are discussed.

Community coalitions are well-positioned to address local conditions affecting health. Coalitions rely on interactions among members to address community issues and plan for sustainability. Individuals and agencies participate voluntarily, and substantive decisions are generally made as a group. Hence, coalitions operate largely through advice rather than top-down directives. This study examined whether advice-seeking patterns within coalitions influenced members' perceptions of their collective outcomes. Indegree advice-seeking is centered on consulting a few specialized sources and outdegree advice-seeking draws upon a few people to reach out to numerous others. Surveys at two timepoints collected data from an unduplicated total of 1256 members of 62 coalitions in Pennsylvania and Missouri on their advice-seeking ties, with responses aggregated to the coalition level. Regression analyses examined how coalition patterns of intersectoral communication and indegree and outdegree centralization, respectively, were associated with changes in perceived community improvement, sustainability planning, and coalition sustainability. Intersectoral communication was not related to coalition outcomes. Indegree advice-seeking centralization was negatively associated with planning for coalition sustainability (B = -0.43, β = -0.22, 95% confidence interval [-0.84, -0.01], p < .05); and outdegree advice-seeking centralization was negatively associated with coalition sustainability (B = -0.88, β = -0.31, 95% CI [-1.65, -0.10], p < .05). These findings suggest that decentralized advice-seeking patterns foster coalition sustainability.

Intergenerational connectedness broadly encompasses relations among humans, lands, and all living and spiritual beings, and functions as an important part of Indigenous well‐being. Many public health campaigns and interventions aim to promote connectedness to support holistic wellness and reduce health inequities. Currently, however, there are no measurement tools to assess intergenerational connectedness to support culturally grounded research and program evaluation. The purpose of this qualitative study is to understand and describe Indigenous intergenerational connectedness as part of a larger community‐based participatory research study to develop a measure of Indigenous intergenerational connectedness. We convened a community advisory board and an Indigenous measurement development group to steer the project. We conducted N = 23 interviews with 21 Indigenous participants to learn about intergenerational connectedness. An inductive, thematic analysis yielded three primary themes: (1) dimensions of intergenerational connectedness, (2) facilitators of intergenerational connectedness, and (3) qualities and outcomes of intergenerational connectedness. These findings highlight the profound importance of intergenerational connectedness for Indigenous communities and its role in promoting health, mental health, and well‐being. This study adds to the growing field of American Indian/Alaska Native strengths‐based public health and mental health research promoting Indigenous values, worldviews, cosmologies, and epistemologies to promote healthy, thriving Indigenous communities.