Westliche Psychologie gegen Jugendgewalt weltweit : Plädoyer für eine kultursensitive Anwendung

In den letzten Jahren haben Kinder- und Jugendprojekte in der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit stark an Bedeutung gewonnen. Zum einen liegt dies daran, dass die Arbeit mit jungen Menschen besonders gut mit dem Nachhaltigkeitsgedanken vereinbar ist. Zum anderen spielt der Bevölkerungsaspekt eine große Rolle, denn über 50% der Bevölkerung in Entwicklungsländern ist jünger als 16 Jahre. Jugendförderung als Maßnahme zur gesellschaftlichen Zukunftssicherung bekommt somit einen zunehmend politischen Charakter, da gerade langfristig angelegte Projekte zur Gewaltprävention eine wichtige Rolle spielen. Allerdings beruht die Konzeptionierung solcher Projekte zumeist auf psychologischen Erkenntnissen, die in westlichen Industriegesellschaften gewonnen wurden. Das Verständnis von „Kindheit“ oder „Jugend“ deckt sich jedoch häufig nicht mit dem in Entwicklungsländern. Die Einsicht, dass psychologische Muster kontext- und kulturabhängig sind, stellt Mitarbeiter vor große Herausforderungen. Es gilt nun, das eigene Wissen zwar als Bezugsrahmen zu begreifen, dabei aber offen und lernfähig zu bleiben, um lokale Bedürfnisse und Probleme erfahren zu können. Erst das Verständnis dieser Problematik und das Entwickeln einer Begegnungskompetenz ermöglicht es dem einzelnen Mitarbeiter, als Fremder und als Professioneller von den Jugendlichen anerkannt zu werden. Beispiele für diese Art der gemeinsamen Projektentwicklung und Schwierigkeiten der Kooperation zeigen die beiden Autoren anhand von Interviews mit Mitarbeitern der Gesellschaft für technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ)

Westliche Psychologie gegen Jugendgewalt weltweit : Plädoyer für eine kultursensitive Anwendung

In den letzten Jahren haben Kinder- und Jugendprojekte in der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit stark an Bedeutung gewonnen. Zum einen liegt dies daran, dass die Arbeit mit jungen Menschen besonders gut mit dem Nachhaltigkeitsgedanken vereinbar ist. Zum anderen spielt der Bevölkerungsaspekt eine große Rolle, denn über 50% der Bevölkerung in Entwicklungsländern ist jünger als 16 Jahre. Jugendförderung als Maßnahme zur gesellschaftlichen Zukunftssicherung bekommt somit einen zunehmend politischen Charakter, da gerade langfristig angelegte Projekte zur Gewaltprävention eine wichtige Rolle spielen. Allerdings beruht die Konzeptionierung solcher Projekte zumeist auf psychologischen Erkenntnissen, die in westlichen Industriegesellschaften gewonnen wurden. Das Verständnis von „Kindheit“ oder „Jugend“ deckt sich jedoch häufig nicht mit dem in Entwicklungsländern. Die Einsicht, dass psychologische Muster kontext- und kulturabhängig sind, stellt Mitarbeiter vor große Herausforderungen. Es gilt nun, das eigene Wissen zwar als Bezugsrahmen zu begreifen, dabei aber offen und lernfähig zu bleiben, um lokale Bedürfnisse und Probleme erfahren zu können. Erst das Verständnis dieser Problematik und das Entwickeln einer Begegnungskompetenz ermöglicht es dem einzelnen Mitarbeiter, als Fremder und als Professioneller von den Jugendlichen anerkannt zu werden. Beispiele für diese Art der gemeinsamen Projektentwicklung und Schwierigkeiten der Kooperation zeigen die beiden Autoren anhand von Interviews mit Mitarbeitern der Gesellschaft für technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ)

Westliche Psychologie gegen Jugendgewalt weltweit: Plädoyer für eine kultursensitive Anwendung

'In den letzten Jahren haben Kinder- und Jugendprojekte in der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit stark an Bedeutung gewonnen. Zum einen liegt dies daran, dass die Arbeit mit jungen Menschen besonders gut mit dem Nachhaltigkeitsgedanken vereinbar ist. Zum anderen spielt der Bevölkerungsaspekt eine große Rolle, denn über 50% der Bevölkerung in Entwicklungsländern ist jünger als 16 Jahre. Jugendförderung als Maßnahme zur gesellschaftlichen Zukunftssicherung bekommt somit einen zunehmend politischen Charakter, da gerade langfristig angelegte Projekte zur Gewaltprävention eine wichtige Rolle spielen. Allerdings beruht die Konzeptionierung solcher Projekte zumeist auf psychologischen Erkenntnissen, die in westlichen Industriegesellschaften gewonnen wurden. Das Verständnis von 'Kindheit' oder 'Jugend' deckt sich jedoch häufig nicht mit dem in Entwicklungsländern. Die Einsicht, dass psychologische Muster kontext- und kulturabhängig sind, stellt Mitarbeiter vor große Herausforderungen. Es gilt nun, das eigene Wissen zwar als Bezugsrahmen zu begreifen, dabei aber offen und lernfähig zu bleiben, um lokale Bedürfnisse und Probleme erfahren zu können. Erst das Verständnis dieser Problematik und das Entwickeln einer Begegnungskompetenz ermöglicht es dem einzelnen Mitarbeiter, als Fremder und als Professioneller von den Jugendlichen anerkannt zu werden. Beispiele für diese Art der gemeinsamen Projektentwicklung und Schwierigkeiten der Kooperation zeigen die beiden Autoren anhand von Interviews mit Mitarbeitern der Gesellschaft für technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ).' (Autorenreferat

Can stateways change folkways? Longitudinal tests of the interactive effects of intergroup contact and categorization on prejudice

This research examined how a predictable change in the social structure over time (from segregated to integrated) can affect the way intergroup contact and subjective categorization of ingroup and outgroup members (intergroup, superordinate, dual identity) impact on intergroup bias. A three-stage longitudinal study was conducted with six-month intervals (Ns = 708, 435, 418) involving high school students in Germany. Time 1 (T1) was characterized by structural segregation and Times 2 and 3 (T2, T3) by structural integration. Longitudinal analysis between T1 and T2 showed that intergroup categorization (but not superordinate categorization or dual identity) improved intergroup relations. Between T2 and T3, dual identity reduced intergroup bias and marginally increased interpersonal closeness whereas superordinate categorization increased bias and reduced interpersonal closeness. There were no effects of intergroup categorization between T2 and T3. Overall, positive effects of contact increased over time, reaching significance from T2 to T3, supporting a consolidation hypothesis and intergroup contact theory more widely. These findings are also consistent with a congruence hypothesis that the impact of intergroup contact is partly determined by the match between how people categorize ingroup and outgroup members and the social structure that frames intergroup relations

Collective self-understanding: A linguistic style analysis of naturally occurring text data

Understanding what groups stand for is integral to a diverse array of social processes, ranging from understanding political conflicts to organisational behaviour to promoting public health behaviours. Traditionally, researchers rely on self-report methods such as interviews and surveys to assess groups’ collective self-understandings. Here, we demonstrate the value of using naturally occurring online textual data to map the similarities and differences between real-world groups’ collective self-understandings. We use machine learning algorithms to assess similarities between 15 diverse online groups’ linguistic style, and then use multidimensional scaling to map the groups in two-dimensonal space (N=1,779,098 Reddit comments). We then use agglomerative and k-means clustering techniques to assess how the 15 groups cluster, finding there are four behaviourally distinct group types – vocational, collective action (comprising political and ethnic/religious identities), relational and stigmatised groups, with stigmatised groups having a less distinctive behavioural profile than the other group types. Study 2 is a secondary data analysis where we find strong relationships between the coordinates of each group in multidimensional space and the groups’ values. In Study 3, we demonstrate how this approach can be used to track the development of groups’ collective self-understandings over time. Using transgender Reddit data (N= 1,095,620 comments) as a proof-of-concept, we track the gradual politicisation of the transgender group over the past decade. The automaticity of this methodology renders it advantageous for monitoring multiple online groups simultaneously. This approach has implications for both governmental agencies and social researchers more generally. Future research avenues and applications are discussed.</p

Collective self-understanding: A linguistic style analysis of naturally occurring text data

Understanding what groups stand for is integral to a diverse array of social processes, ranging from understanding political conflicts to organisational behaviour to promoting public health behaviours. Traditionally, researchers rely on self-report methods such as interviews and surveys to assess groups' collective self-understandings. Here, we demonstrate the value of using naturally occurring online textual data to map the similarities and differences between real-world groups' collective self-understandings. We use machine learning algorithms to assess similarities between 15 diverse online groups' linguistic style, and then use multidimensional scaling to map the groups in two-dimensonal space (N=1,779,098 Reddit comments). We then use agglomerative and k-means clustering techniques to assess how the 15 groups cluster, finding there are four behaviourally distinct group types - vocational, collective action (comprising political and ethnic/religious identities), relational and stigmatised groups, with stigmatised groups having a less distinctive behavioural profile than the other group types. Study 2 is a secondary data analysis where we find strong relationships between the coordinates of each group in multidimensional space and the groups' values. In Study 3, we demonstrate how this approach can be used to track the development of groups' collective self-understandings over time. Using transgender Reddit data (N= 1,095,620 comments) as a proof-of-concept, we track the gradual politicisation of the transgender group over the past decade. The automaticity of this methodology renders it advantageous for monitoring multiple online groups simultaneously. This approach has implications for both governmental agencies and social researchers more generally. Future research avenues and applications are discussed

United we stand:Attitudes and prosocial behavior between workgroups from a social identity and intergroup contact perspective.

The present thesis investigates attitudes and prosocial behavior between workgroups from a social identity and intergroup contact perspective. Based on the Common In-group Identity Model (CIIM; Gaertner &amp; Dvoidio, 2000), it is hypothesized that “optimal” conditions for contact (Allport, 1954) create a common identity at the organizational level which motivates workgroups to cooperate and show organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) rather than intergroup bias. Predictions based on the CIIM are extended with hypotheses derived from the In-group Projection Model (IPM; Mummendey &amp; Wenzel, 1999) and the Self-Categorization Model of Group Norms (Terry &amp; Hogg, 1996). Hypotheses are tested with data from N1 = 281 employees of N2 = 49 different workgroups and their workgroup managers of a German mail-order company (Study 1). Results indicate that group- and individual-level contact conditions are predictive of lower levels of intergroup bias and higher levels of cooperation and helping behavior. A common in-group representation mediates the effect on out-group attitudes and intergroup cooperation. In addition, the effect of a common in-group representation on intergroup bias is moderated by relative prototypicality, as predicted by the IPM, and the effect of prosocial group norms on helping behavior is moderated by workgroup identification, as predicted by the Self-Categorization Model of Group Norms.A longitudinal study with Ntotal = 57 members of different student project groups replicates the finding that contact under “optimal” conditions reduces intergroup bias and increases prosocial behavior between organizational groups. However, a common in-group representation is not found to mediate this effect in Study 2.Initial findings also indicate that individual-level variables, such as helping behavior toward members of another workgroup, may be better accounted for by variables at the same level of categorization (cf. Haslam, 2004). Thus, contact in a context that makes personal identities of workgroup members salient (i.e., decategorization) may be more predictive of interpersonal prosocial behavior, while contact in a context that makes workgroup identities salient (i.e., categorization) may be more predictive of intergroup prosocial behavior (cf. Tajfel, 1978). Further data from Study 1 support such a context-specific effect of contact between workgroups on interpersonal and intergroup prosocial behavior, respectively.In the last step, a temporal integration of the contact contexts that either lead to decategorization, categorization, or recategorization are examined based on the Longitudinal Contact Model (Pettigrew, 1998). A first indication that a temporal sequence from decategorization via categorization to recategorization may be particularly effective in fostering intergroup cooperation is obtained with data from Study 2.In order to provide a heuristic model for research on prosocial behavior between workgroups, findings are integrated into a Context-Specific Contact Model. The model proposes specific effects of contact in different contexts on prosocial behavior at different levels of categorization. Possible mediator and moderator processes are suggested. A number of implications for theory, future research and the management of relations between workgroups are discussed

Effects of substance use, recovery, and non-drug-related online community participation on the risk of a use episode during remission from opioid use disorder: longitudinal observational study.

BACKGROUND: Opioid addiction is currently one of the most pressing public health issues. Despite several treatment options for opioid addiction, the recurrence of use episodes during remission remains high. Research indicates that meaningful membership in various social groups underpins the successful transition from addiction to long-term remission. However, much of the current literature focuses on online peer-support groups for individuals in remission from substance use, sometimes also called recovery groups, a term we will use in line with the terminology used by the online community we studied. In contrast, online group memberships that promote substance use and groups that are unrelated to substance use and remission (non-drug-related groups) are rarely studied. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to understand whether engagement with a variety of Reddit subforums (subreddits) provides those in remission from opioid use disorder (OUD) with social capital, thereby reducing their risk of a use episode over several years. More specifically, it aims to examine the different effects of engagement with substance use, recovery, and non-drug-related subreddits. METHODS: A data set of 457 individuals in remission from OUD who posted their remission start date on Reddit was collected, of whom 219 (47.9%) indicated at least one use episode during the remission period. Using a Cox proportional hazards model, the effects of the number of non-drug-related, recovery, and substance use subreddits an individual had engaged with on the risk of a use episode were tested. Group engagement was assessed both in terms of the absolute number of subreddits and as a proportion of the total number of subreddits in which an individual had posted. RESULTS: Engagement with a larger number of non-drug-related online communities reduced the likelihood of a use episode irrespective of the number of posts and comments made in these forums. This was true for both the absolute number of non-drug-related communities (P<.001) and the proportion of communities with which a person engaged (P<.001). The findings were less conclusive for recovery support and substance use groups; although participating in more recovery support subreddits reduced the risk of a use episode (P<.001), being part of a higher proportion of recovery support groups relative to other subreddits increased the risk (P=.01). A higher proportion of substance use subreddits marginally increased the risk of a use episode (P=.06); however, the absolute number of substance use subreddits significantly reduced the risk of a use episode (P=.002). CONCLUSIONS: Our work indicates that even minimal regular engagement with several non-drug-related online forums may provide those in remission from OUD with an opportunity to grow their social capital and reduce the risk of a use episode over several years

Studying Social Identities in Linguistic Style

This project will look at using linguistic style to understand details about the social identities of individuals operating in online spaces. It will utilise naturally occurring online data and offline social psychological research methodologies in order to understand what social psychological inferences can be made using online linguistic style behaviours