Contextualizing negative sense of community and disconnection among urban youth of color: "Community…We ain't got that".

We explore the experiences of urban youth of color, as well as perceptions, of feeling disconnected and having an overall negative sense of community (SOC). Drawing on data from 11 focus groups, youth (N = 59) describe their communities and lived experiences. We document several themes put forward through the lens of SOC and community connection that highlight perceived lack of membership, needs fulfillment, influence, and overall emotional connection to their community.

Community coalitions as spaces for collective voice, action, and the sharing of resources.

This study examined how a community coalition, focused on prevention efforts, can aid in bridging resources between community organizations in a resource-deprived area. We also explored how it may serve as a venue to support significant changes to the community, adults, and youth who live there. Drawing on 18 individual interviews with adult coalition members from various community organizations, in a large, underserved city in the northeastern United States, we examined these data for narrations of the coalition's place within the broader prevention community and how the coalition may be an organizational venue for collective voice.

Communitarianism and youth empowerment: Motivation for participation in a community-based substance abuse prevention coalition.

In recent years, collaborative efforts between universities and community-based coalitions have helped develop prevention-intervention efforts to decrease the prevalence of drug and alcohol use among youth in low-income, majority-minority urban areas.  One theory often employed to understand the efficacy of community member involvement is McMillian and Chavis's (1986) sense of community (SOC) model. This model posits how 4 main tenants (i.

Social Worker Identity: A Profession in Context.

Social work is a broad field encompassing micro, mezzo, and macro areas of practice. Consequently, the field lacks a unifying professional identity due to the expansiveness of the profession. Professional identity is conceptualized as an extension of social identity, vis-à-vis the embodiment of three qualities: connectedness, expansiveness, and effectiveness.

An Exploratory Analysis of Unhealthy and Abusive Relationships for Adults with Serious Mental Illnesses Living in Supportive Housing.

Individuals living with serious mental illness are at high risk of chronic homelessness, victimization, and intimate partner violence. In recent years, supportive housing programs have emerged as one way to prevent homelessness and victimization for this population, while also expanding social interactions and social networks. In concert with a focal supportive housing program, this research conducted two focus groups with 18 individuals who have a serious mental illness diagnosis.

Exploring Service Provider Perceptions of Treatment Barriers Facing Black, Non-Gay-Identified MSMW.

Non-gay-identified men who have sex with men and women and who use alcohol and other drugs are a vulnerable population. Little is known about health and medical service provider interaction with these underserved clients. This article presents a thematic analysis of two focus groups undertaken with social and medical service providers regarding the needs of non-gay-identified men who have sex with men and women.

Let our voices be heard: Urban minority adolescents share their perspectives regarding substance abuse and HIV/AIDS prevention messages.

Purpose: This study explored the substance abuse and human immunodeficiency virus prevention needs of urban minority adolescents.

Design: Six 1-hour focus groups.

Setting: Two high schools and two community-based organizations located in the city of Paterson, New Jersey.

The provider perception inventory: psychometrics of a scale designed to measure provider stigma about HIV, substance abuse, and MSM behavior.

Nongay identified men who have sex with men and women (NGI MSMW) and who use alcohol and other drugs are a vulnerable, understudied, and undertreated population. Little is known about the stigma faced by this population or about the way that health service providers view and serve these stigmatized clients. The provider perception inventory (PPI) is a 39-item scale that measures health services providers' stigma about HIV/AIDS, substance use, and MSM behavior.