Levine, M., Perkins, D.D., & Perkins, D.V. (2005). Principles of community psychology: Perspectives and Applications (3rd Edition). New York: Oxford University Press.

3rd edition webpage at Oxford University Press: OUP USA: Principles of Community Psychology: Levine, Perkins & Perkins

Email:  Murray Levine          Douglas D. Perkins         David V. Perkins

 

CONTENTS:

 

Preface by Seymour Sarason

 

Introduction: An Overview of Community Psychology

What Is Community Psychology?

What Isn’t Community Psychology?

Principles of Community Psychology

Organization of Chapters

Chapter 1: Life Is a Soap Opera

The Incidence and Prevalence of Problems in Living

            Institutionalized population

            Outpatient mental health care

            Alcohol and Substance abuse

            Crime

            Problems of children and adolescents

            Medical problems and chronic illnesses

Box: Psychosocial Adaptation To Health Problems: The Case of Genital Herpes

            Disasters

            Marriage and parenting

            Divorce

            Economics and employment

            Leisure-time and value changes

            Aloneness in American society

The Availability of Professional Care

Problems of the Medical Model

Summary

 

Chapter 2:  The Origins of Community Psychology

Origins of Mental Health Care in the Welfare System

Community Mental Health

Community Psychology Grows from Community Mental Health

The Influence of Applied Social Psychology and the War on Poverty

Current Issues in Community Mental Health

    Deinstitutionalization

            Box 2.1: Homelessness

    Community Alternatives to Hospitalization

            Box 2.2:  Assertive Community Supports

    Minorities and Other Underserved Groups

    Children and Adolescents

The Community Perspective

Summary

 

Chapter 3: A Conceptual Road Map of Community Psychology

The Dohrenwend Model

Stressful life events

Person and Environment

Outcomes

            Box 3.1 Poverty, unemployment, and social problems

Opportunities for Intervention Based on Dohrenwend’s Model

Crisis intervention

Intervention to Enhance Psychological Mediators

Intervention to Enhance Situational Mediators

Psychological characteristics of the person that increase the likelihood of a stressful life event

Situations that Increase the Risk of Stressful Events

Preventing stressful life events

Summary

 

Chapter 4: The Ecological Analogy

Ecology as a paradigm

    A paradigm shift

         Box 4.1:  Community Research from an Ecological Perspective

    Implications for the research enterprise

 Principles of Ecology

    Interdependence

    Cycling of resources

    Adaptation; niche

            Box 4.2: Behavior‑Environment Congruence in Geel, Belgium

    Succession

          Box 4.3:  The Boom in Hong Kong's Elderly Home Industry

Mental health and the law

    Law as a factor in the ecological analogy

    Adapting to legal change

         Box 4.4:  Unforeseen Consequences of a Change in Child Protection Laws

Ecology and values

Ecology and practice

Summary

 

Chapter 5: Five Psychological Conceptions of the Environment

Social Environmental Influences on Behavior and Well-being

    Perceived social climates

    Social roles

    Social capital: community cognitions, behaviors, and networks

Physical Environmental Influences on Behavior and Well-being

The Socio-Physical Environment: Behavior Settings

    Box 5.1:  The Fairweather lodge

Postscript:  What role remains for individual differences?

Summary 

 

Chapter 6: Labeling Theory: An Alternative to the Illness Model

The Social Context for the Development of Labeling Theory

Principles of Labeling Theory

            Primary and Secondary Deviance

            Cultural Stereotypes and Labeling

            When is Residual Rule Breaking Labeled? 

            Diagnosis and Labelling Theory

            Behavior is Assimilated to the Label

Stigma

            The Use of Law to Reduce Stigma

            Some Cautions

Summary

 

Chapter 7: Adaptation, Crisis, Coping, and Support

Adaptation

Crisis and Neurosis

     Box 7.1:  Research on Stressful Life Events  

     Vulnerability:  An Integrative Perspective

Coping

     General Characteristics of Coping

            Box 7.2: Pollyanna and the Glad Game

     Stages in Crisis Resolution

     Individual and Situational Differences in Coping

Social Support

          Theory and Research Concerning Social Support

                 Box 7.3:  Coping and Support in the Context of Culture  

          New Directions in Research on Social Support

                 Box 7.4:  Support Interventions for People with Disabilities

Summary

 

Chapter 8: Prevention

Basic Concepts in Prevention

Indicated (Secondary) Prevention

            The Primary Mental Health Project

Box 8.1: Preventing child maltreatment: The problem of false positives

Limitations of Indicated Prevention in Mental Health

Universal and Selective (Primary) Prevention

Competence building

Box 8.2: A Successful School Change Effort

Prevention through stepwise risk reduction 

Box 8.3: Head Start and Early Head Start:  An Experiment in Selective Prevention

Prevention of HIV/AIDS

Schools as a locus of prevention

Community-based health promotion

Summary

 

Chapter 9: Self-Help Groups

Growth of Self-Help Groups

            Contemporary reasons for growth

            Types of self-help groups

The Nature of Self-Help Groups

            Dynamics of self-help groups

            How self-help groups work

Are Self-Help Groups Effective?

            AA and recovery from alcoholism

Advocacy Groups

Summary

   Chapter 10: The Problem of Change

The Creation of New Settings

Box 10.1: The Residential Youth Center (RYC)

Change in Existing Settings

Systems theory

 First- and second-order change

Organizational Change, Development, and Learning

Production and satisfaction goals

The social context of change

Cases Studies of Change in Existing Settings

Changing a State Mental Hospital

Court-Ordered Change in Caring for Persons with Mental Retardation

Planned Change on a Statewide Level: The Texas Miracle

Summary

Chapter 11: School Desegregation:  A Societal Level Intervention

Slavery, Segregation, and the Constitution

The NAACP and its Litigative Strategy

Social Science Theory and Integration

Successful Desegregation of the Schools – A Case Study

After Desegregation

Future Problems

Summary

 

Chapter 12: Community Development and Social Action in Community Psychology

The Politics of Problem Definition

            Blaming the Victim

            Paradox and Empowerment

Competent Communities

            Community Development

            Social Action

An Example of Social Action: The Love Canal Homeowners' Association

            Box 12-1: Center for Health, Environment, and Justice and the Environmental Justice Movement

Summary

 

Chapter 13: Science, Ethics, and the Future of Community Psychology

Ecology and Science

The Ethics of Community Intervention

Interdisciplinary Community Psychology

Box 13-1: Applying the Ecological-Psychopolitical Model to One Domain: The Physical Environment

Community Psychology Around the Globe

 

References

Name Index

Subject Index