Reich & Diaz Presented at International Conference of Community Psychology, Santiago, Chile

Associate Professor Stephanie Reich and Postdoctoral Researcher Guadalupe Diaz presented their research at the 7th International Conference of Community Psychology, held October 5-7 in Santiago de Chile.

The central theme of the Conference emphasized the exchange and debate on the participation and organizational power of the current communities in the generation of spaces of coexistence, solidarity, and integration that promote respect for diversity, and the change, both in its structure as well as in its dynamics and contents. Presentations were organized according to six conference themes:

1. Training and research associated with professional practice
2. Public policies, community intervention, and action
3. Community perspectives of social cohesion and social justice
4. Methodologies and practices of community/collective action and multidisciplinary work
5. Social subjects and movements, governance and citizenship
6. Environmental conflict and socio-environmental catastrophes, responses from the community

Diaz and Reich contributed two posters: (a) Exploring Access to Services for Head Start Parents: Differences for Latino Parents and (b) Language as a Gatekeeper to Community Research.

Diaz presented her research with Alejandra Arce and Sara Buckingham: "Individuals in Context: What Helps Latinx Community Members Thrive across the U.S.?"

Abstract

​As extant literature has generally focused on increased risk for negative psychosocial outcomes and/or applied Eurocentric standards to the study of wellbeing in racial/ethnic minority communities, we explore multi-level factors that instead contribute to positive outcomes in Latinx communities. In this thematic table, we present three papers that examine individual and contextual-levels factors that may directly or indirectly contribute to positive outcomes among Latinx communities in the U.S. Arce found that, in the face of anti-immigrant practices, Latinx parents relied on family, peers, and religious community for support, and built community engagement through advocacy efforts. Buckingham found that both individuals and their communities contributed to Latinx immigrants’ acculturation processes through their sense of community and intergroup anxiety. Finally, in a primarily Latinx sample, Diaz and Reich found that minority families vary in their perceptions and satisfaction with their home environment and suggest that increased social support may be an accidental benefit of high household density for these families. Collectively, these papers demonstrate the value of examining multi-level factors when seeking to understand the mechanisms through which racial/ethnic minority communities experience positive outcomes in the face of adversity. Participants will discuss implications of these results for actions across these multiple levels.