Reflecting on Participatory, Action‐Oriented Research Methods in Community Psychology: Progress, Problems, and Paths Forward

Abstract

This paper provides a critical reflection on participatory action research (PAR) methods as they pertain to community psychology. Following a brief review of the fundamental aspects of PAR, key developments in the field are examined. These developments include the redefinition of the research enterprise among groups such as Indigenous and consumer/survivor communities, challenges that attend the "project" framing of PAR, academic and practice context challenges, and important domains in which PAR methods need to become more engaged (e.g., social media and disenfranchised youth). Three illustrative case studies of programs of work in the areas of youth homelessness, consumer/survivor engagement, and Indigenous research are provided to illustrate these contemporary challenges and opportunities in the field. The authors make the argument that without an effort to reconsider and redefine PAR, moving away from the stereotypical PAR "project" frame, these methods will continue to be poorly represented and underutilized in community psychology.

Community and well‐being: A qualitative study of how youth experiencing homelessness define community and its relations to their well‐being

“…Study findings also suggest that while youth's descriptions of what community means to them were parallel to the theory of SOC presented by McMillan and Chavis (1986), particular elements of that theory may be more important to them than others, and youth may include other critical components of community that the theory does not articulate. Future research should work closely with youth using participatory action research methods similar to those recommended by Kidd, Davidson, Frederick, and Kral (2018) to more critically examine how youth define SOC, whether it parallels current theories of the construct, and how measures and definitions of SOC might better align with the ways in which youth define their experiences.…”

Closing Information Gaps in Kakuma Refugee Camp: A Youth Participatory Action Research Study

“…This paper draws primarily on interview data collected by youth and reflections drawn from our collaborative process, further described below. Ethnographic and YPAR approaches can work toward partnerships that move beyond projects into sustainable efforts authored and maintained from within communities (Kidd, Davidson, Frederick, & Kral, ; Langhout & Thomas, ; Ozer, Ritterman, & Wanis, ; Schensul, Berg, & Sydlo, ). This study was intentionally designed to be multilayered, facilitating YPAR as an opportunity to mobilize youth participation during multiple stages of the research process, while employing ethnographic methods to document the YPAR process over time.…”

Participatory action research to pilot a model of mental health service user involvement in an Ethiopian rural primary healthcare setting: study protocol

“…Second, CST guides towards recognizing the social, economic, political, and historical contexts that shape human thought and action, and the social structures that have historically served to oppress certain groups in society(e.g., persons with lived experience of mental health conditions) [66][67][68]. CST can give clues about how to transform social relations of power and enable service-users through (a) expose injustice (through critical analysis and questioning of longstanding established rules, beliefs and practices and conceptualizations about service-users); (b) challenging relationships of domination that exist within the lives of service-users, and allowing them to engage on an equal footing by bringing service-users, health professionals and health administrators to collaborate on a common issue [60][61][62], and (c) creating opportunities for service users to gain experiences of emancipatory knowledge and greater awareness about their situation, break attitudes of silence, gain confidence and abilities, open themselves up to new ways of understanding, take effective action to alter unjust conditions and structures [69], to formulate alternative stories that are empowering [65,70], and gain more control over their situation [68,71,72].…”