Showing papers in "Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology in 2022"

Uncertainty, shock and anger: Recent loss experiences of first‐wave COVID‐19 pandemic in Italy

Abstract: Abstract The aim of this study is to explore qualitatively bereavement experiences of family members who have lost a significant other to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) in relation to mourners' needs and resources. Twenty individuals bereaved by the first wave of COVID‐19 from the most heavily impacted Italian region were interviewed via video call between 1 and 3 months after their loss. Through a thematic analysis, four main themes were identified: reconstructions of the loss experience, responses to grief, resources and looking forward. The suddenness of the death and lack of farewell by means of a funeral prevented participants from realizing the loss and undertaking a meaning‐making process. When anger was the main reaction to the loss, mourners focussed all their attention on denouncing medical and government institutions. Acceptance occurred particularly in those who found a way to share their grief and use it as a turning point. Participants relied mainly on informal support offered virtually, but mourners may have sought out in‐person comfort in the long term. The results of this study propose new insights for COVID‐19 bereavement support and trace the path for health promotion within a community shook by a communal grief experience. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement

Social resilience of indigenous community on the border: Belief and confidence in anticipating the spread of COVID‐19 through the Besamsam custom in the Dayak community

Abstract: Abstract The Dayak indigenous community has belief and confidence in taking a stance and taking actions towards a situation and circumstances that affect their social life. This belief is based on their customs and traditions passed down from generation to generation until now. The Dayak traditional custom is a form of social resilience for the community on the border to anticipate the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic, which has become a problem in all aspects of community lives. Despite facing various issues and difficulties in dealing with the pandemic, the indigenous Dayak community in Indonesia has managed to survive and resolve these problems. In dealing with the social impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic, the Salako Dayak indigenous community on the Indonesia‐Malaysia border carried out a traditional ritual called Besamsam. The indigenous Salako Dayak community believes this ritual boosts the social and psychological resilience of the Salako Dayak indigenous community. The research findings showed that the Besamsam ritual had changed people's beliefs about lifestyle, behaviour and perceptions in dealing with the COVID‐19 pandemic. The Besamsam ritual can specifically affect the community's personalities, attitudes and actions towards the spread of COVID‐19. Indigenous peoples have become easier to organize, dynamic, empowered, resilient, motivated to meet their needs, and capable of facing various challenges and social problems during and after the COVID‐19 pandemic. These findings prove that indigenous communities psychologically have strong confidence in their customary beliefs rather than cautionary advice from outside their community. The social impact of the Besamsam custom can serve as a model of awareness and a driving force for indigenous peoples' elements to work cooperatively to break the chain of COVID‐19 spread.

Interagency collaboration among community organizations serving children and families in child welfare

Abstract: Transformational change to address adversity and nurture resilience requires deep and sustained community collaborations. Interagency collaboration is critically important for child welfare especially during crisis situations. It is clear that when agencies focus on strengths and promote protective factors (individual, familial and community-level) in time, negative consequences of maltreatment are reduced and well-being outcomes are enhanced. However, limited research is available to effectively inform community organizations and collective impact initiatives about how they can strengthen interagency collaboration and collaborative practice. Furthermore, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic elevates the urgency to understand how community organizations work together to serve children and families as it threatens access to safety nets. This mixed methods study examined interagency collaboration among community organizations in a collective impact workgroup focussed on children and families involved in the child welfare system. Results revealed key strengths to collaboration (e.g., strong connections, resource sharing, resilience in staff, more vulnerable children accessing resources and more adults engaged in serving this population) as well as barriers to collaboration (e.g., group composition, funding and lack of clarity/focus). Results also revealed specific ways in which this pandemic has impacted efforts to serve children and families in child welfare. Findings highlight an approach that might assist interagency collaboratives. In addition, findings were also translated into concrete action items that might be helpful to interagency collaboratives focussed on child welfare. © 2022 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Social control and solidarity during the COVID‐19 pandemic: The direct and indirect effects of causal attribution of insufficient compliance through perceived anomie

Abstract: Abstract The COVID‐19 pandemic is a crisis which called for two crucial modes of social regulation: social control and social solidarity. In the present pre‐registered study, we examine how the perceived non‐compliance with health measures relates to attitudes towards these modes of social regulation, as well as to the role played by the perception of disintegrated and disregulated society (anomie). Using data from an online cross‐sectional survey conducted in Belgium in April 2020 (N = 717), results show that the causal attribution of the crisis to insufficient compliance was differentially associated with support for social control and social solidarity behaviours. Specifically, greater attribution to insufficient compliance was associated with a perceived breakdown in the social fabric (disintegration), which explained stronger support for social control and fewer solidarity‐based actions. Perceived disregulation, conversely, was associated with less support for social control and more support for social solidarity. Therefore, the perception of the pandemic and associated perceived anomie tend to polarize citizens' attitudes towards these two modes of social regulation. In this way, prosocial behaviours might be inhibited by communications that attribute the pandemic's causes to incivility. Other implications of our findings for the social psychological literature on communities' reactions to the pandemic are discussed. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.

Stop looking at me! associations between men's partner‐objectification and women's self‐objectification, body shame and life satisfaction in romantic relationships

Abstract: A growing amount of empirical evidence shows that sexual objectification can be elicited within the context of romantic relationships, leading to adverse consequences for women's well-being. However, most of this research assessed women's self-reported perceptions of being objectified by their romantic partner, while scant and not converging research has considered men's objectifying perceptions toward their romantic partners. Furthermore, little is known about the underlying mechanisms through which partner-objectification is associated with negative consequences for women. To fill these gaps, we involved a sample of heterosexual couples (N = 196) and investigated whether men's partner-objectification would be related to women's self-objectification (in terms of self-surveillance) and, in turn, their body shame. Further, we examined whether self-objectification and body shame mediated the relation between men's partner-objectification and women's undermined life satisfaction. Confirming our hypotheses, serial mediation analyses showed that partner-objectification was associated with life satisfaction in women via the indirect effect of self-objectification and body shame. Implications of these findings for literature on sexual objectification and relationship satisfaction are discussed. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.

Glass children: The lived experiences of siblings of people with a disability or chronic illness

Abstract: Siblings of disabled or chronically ill children are often hidden family members and their needs for support might not be met. Current research however is limited in its understanding of siblings' lived experiences. This study uses semi-structured interviews to explore the lived experiences of 16 individuals (referred to as siblings) who grew up with a disabled or chronically ill brother or sister. Participants reflected on their childhood and adolescent experiences as siblings, focusing on their social interactions and relationships, social support, and wellbeing. Using thematic analysis, we identified four distinct but theoretically related themes; participants experienced (a) feelings of invisibility during social interactions, (b) psychological difficulties due to the internalisation of family roles or life conditions, and (c) feelings of guilt and self-blame. Finally, (d) social support was central as siblings were sometimes unable to understand their own needs, and support from family and peer groups helped them have their negative experiences validated. Our findings suggest greater support for siblings is required with a focus on addressing negative feelings and the availability of social support from people with similar experiences. we constructed four independent but theoretically related themes that capture participants' experiences of growing up with a brother or sister with a disability or chronic illness. The themes reported below comprise participants' (a) feelings of invisibility during social interactions, (b) psychological difficulties due to the internalisation of family roles or life conditions, (c) experiencing guilt and self-blame for not being able to offer constant support to their brothers or sisters or due to leading independent lives, and (d) issues related to social support such as siblings' inability to understand their own needs and the importance of support from family and peer groups in helping them to have their experiences validated.

Belief, attitude and critical understanding. A systematic review of social justice in Service‐Learning experiences

Abstract: This systematic review examined the role of Service-Learning experiences promoted by higher education institutions to strengthen the achievement of social justice outcomes among youth. We screened and coded studies following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Of the 555 articles found in the database search, 47 peer-reviewed studies were included in the final sample. Social justice construct, together with research location, participants, target community and outcomes, were coded. Results show effects of Service-Learning experiences on (a) fostering significant improvement of students' social justice beliefs, (b) stimulating significant changes in students' attitudes with respect to the development of altruistic behaviours and their commitment to social justice, and (c) increasing students' critical understanding by sparking questioning processes related to personal assumptions of inequalities. This systematic review provides insights into the strengths and challenges of implementing social justice-oriented Service-Learning experiences.

Fighting inequalities in times of pandemic: The role of politicized identities and interdependent self‐construal in coping with economic threat

Abstract: Abstract During the COVID‐19 pandemic, institutions encouraged social isolation and non‐interaction with other people to prevent contagion. Still, the response to an impending economic crisis must be through the collective organization. In this set of pre‐registered studies, we analyse two possible mechanisms of coping with collective economic threats: shared social identity and interdependent self‐construction. We conducted three correlational studies during the pandemic in May–October 2020 (Study 1, N = 363; Study 2, N = 250; Study 3, N = 416). Results show that shared identity at two levels of politicization (i.e., working‐class and 99% identities) and interdependent self‐construal mediated the relationship between collective economic threat, intolerance towards economic inequality and collective actions to reduce it. The results highlight that the collective economic threat can reinforce the sense of community—either through the activation of a politicized collective identity, such as the working class or the 99% or through the activation of an interdependent self—which in turn can trigger greater involvement in the fight against economic inequality. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.

The link between family identification, loneliness, and symptom severity in people with eating disorders

Abstract: Families play an important role in eating disorder (ED) recovery, and it has been suggested that they can ameliorate the loneliness associated with EDs. However, the psychological mechanisms through which this occurs have yet to be systematically explored. Utilising the Social Identity Approach to Health, we explore whether identification with one's family group positively predicts health in people with self-reported EDs due to its potential to reduce feelings of loneliness. We investigate this in two online questionnaire studies (N = 82;N = 234), one conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic and the second conducted in its early stages. In both studies, mediation analyses demonstrated that family identification was associated with fewer and less severe self-reported ED symptoms, and in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, reduced self-reported ED-related impact and anxiety. In both studies, these benefits were suggestive of a protective role of family identification against loneliness. Our findings provide a framework for understanding in general why families can be considered an important social recovery resource and should be included in the treatment of adult EDs. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement. © 2022 The Authors. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Cleanliness and prejudice in times of pandemic

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to restrictions in our contact with others and the introduction of social distancing barriers. These rules can enhance the psychological mechanisms resulting from fear of contamination and may lead to exacerbating prejudiced attitudes towards certain social groups seen as possible carriers of infection. Fear of infection and ideas about cleanliness and dirtiness have indeed historically and culturally influenced the way we interact with other people, both on an inter-personal and inter-group level. The aim of the present research is to analyse whether the concern about COVID-19 is linked to prejudices towards other social groups and whether this relationship is mediated by individual representations of cleanliness. Results on 251 Italian citizens showed that concerns about COVID-19 are positively related to prejudicial attitudes towards immigrants and that such a relation is indeed mediated by so-called cultural representations of cleanliness. Specifically, the so-called cultural representations of hygiene-by which people and groups are categorized as being more or less civilized on the basis of their cleaning practices-was a significant mediator. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.

Determinants of support for social integration in South Africa: The roles of race relations, social distrust, and racial identification

Abstract: South Africa is divided along race lines and this has made social integration difficult to achieve in the nation. The aspiration for the rainbow nation since the end of apartheid has been a country united in its diversity. Research evidence shows that interracial trust and interaction are still very low in the nation. This study set out to examine the determinants of support for social integration in South Africa. The variables of perceived improvement in race relations, social distrust, and racial identification were examined. Data were sourced from the South African Social Attitudes Survey 2017. Participants were 2,946 men (38.9%) and women (61.1%) with the age range of 16 to 99 years. Data analysis showed that perceived improvement in race relations, social distrust, and racial identification were all associated with increased support for social integration. However, a low level of social distrust provides the best outcome for support for social integration. Equally, identifying with one's racial group is likely to be beneficial for increasing social contact between groups. Findings were discussed based on the peculiarity of South African society and existing literature. The implication of the findings for policies and programmes to facilitate social contact and social cohesion was emphasised. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.

Tolerance of Muslim minority identity enactment: The roles of social context, type of action and cultural continuity concern

Abstract: Abstract There have been strong debates in many European countries about religious identity enactment of Muslims, with the wearing of the headscarf in public places being a central symbolic topic. This study investigated the importance of the context (private versus three public contexts) for tolerance of Muslim identity enactment (e.g., the wearing of headscarves) among a national sample of Dutch majority group members. Using an experimental design, it was found that tolerance was highest in the private context, followed by the street context and then the contexts of work. Furthermore and in all contexts, tolerance of Muslims persuading others to start enacting their religious identity in a similar way was lower than tolerance of identity enactment itself. Moreover, both types of tolerance were found to differ by context only for majority members who were highly concerned about the continuity of their ingroup's cultural identity (i.e., cultural continuity). It is concluded that context‐related and action‐related variance, as well as cultural continuity, are important for majority members' tolerance of Muslim minority identity enactment.

Social prescribing: A narrative review of how community engagement can improve wellbeing in later life

Abstract: Social prescribing is being proposed by policy makers as a solution to primarily address lowered wellbeing and increased loneliness in older adults. Previous reviews have found a lack of supporting evidence for social prescribing. However, these reviews were using a narrow definition which may have left out some important evaluations. Therefore, this review aims to evaluate the evidence for social prescribing programs using a broader definition to encompasses a variety of referral pathways and activities. The review was conducted by searching PsycINFO, PubMed, Scopus, and ProQuest Social Sciences databases, and a final 77 articles were included. We found that there were five main themes in the outcomes reported: social connection; improvement in the management of health and health status; improvement in mental health and wellbeing; life enrichment; and link worker support. Social prescribing programs appeared to have generally positive impacts however there was a large variety in both programs reported and quality of the research, which made drawing definitive conclusions difficult. Researchers evaluating programs in future should attempt to recruit larger sample sizes and use a mixed methods approach to further examine the evidence base for social prescribing.

Organizational identification as a trigger for personal well‐being: Associations with happiness and stress through job outcomes

Abstract: Recent literature highlights that well-being, happiness, as well as personal stress, has become important for guiding public policy in areas that might involve suboptimal behaviour. Positive life outcomes can extend from one field of life (family, work, sport, children, hobbies, etc.) to another, multiplying success, performance, and health. In the present study, we aimed to verify whether the positive relation between organizational identification and employees' experiences then extends also into a positive association with more general well-being that is unrelated to the work context. For this purpose, we considered two proxies of organizational well-being: job satisfaction (on the positive side) and turnover intention (on the negative side) as well as the distal associations with happiness. The study involved 305 workers who completed a questionnaire made up of five scales: organization identification, job satisfaction, turnover intention, happiness, and personal stress. We found that organizational identification is positively related to employees' job satisfaction and negatively related to their intention to leave. Afterwards, job satisfaction and turnover intention were related to personal stress and happiness, suggesting a positive effect of organizational identification above and beyond the work context.

Once upon a time…: Using fairy tales as a form of vicarious contact to prevent stigma‐based bullying among schoolchildren

Abstract: We conducted a vicarious contact intervention with the aim of promoting bystanders' intentions to react to stigma-based bullying among schoolchildren. Participants were Italian primary schoolchildren (N = 117 first to third graders); the outgroup was represented by foreign children. Vicarious contact was operationalized with story reading, creating fairy tales on stigma-based bullying where minority characters were bullied by majority characters. Once a week for 3 weeks, participants were read fairy tales in small groups by an experimenter and engaged in reinforcing activities. Results revealed that the intervention increased intergroup empathy (but not intergroup perspective-taking) and anti-bullying peer norms and fostered contact intentions. The intervention also had indirect effects via intergroup empathy on helping and contact intentions and on bystanders' reactions to stigma based-bullying. We discuss theoretical and practical implications, also in terms of the relevance of the present results for school policy. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.

Critical Action Among Asian and Hispanic/Latinx Youth: Identifying a Multidimensional Measure and Exploring Within-Group Differences.

Abstract: Critical action-behaviors aimed at dismantling systems of oppression-must be examined within youths' racialized experiences and should incorporate cultural and sociohistorical factors. We considered an expansive list of items capturing youth behaviors to create a novel four-factor (service, community change, expression, and care) measure of critical action for Asian and Hispanic/Latinx youth. Multiple distinct profiles of critical action were identified within both racial-ethnic groups, and associations between the profiles and sociodemographic and contextual support variables were explored. Gender differences in the type of critical action were found in both racial-ethnic groups, pointing to the potential influence of gender roles on critical action among these populations. Differences in critical action patterns were also found between those born in the U.S. versus those born outside the U.S.; access to critical action may differ within racial-ethnic groups depending on birthplace and associated nuances in familial and cultural contexts. This paper demonstrated a need for attending to variation between and within groups in the study of critical action in order to effectively support racialized youth's coping within and resistance against systems of oppression.

Black students' experiences of “acceptable” racism at a UK university

Abstract: Our research, conducted with 30 Black students at a predominantly White institution, used mixed qualitative methods to investigate Black students' sense-making of experiences that signalled their non-belonging. All participants experienced both overt and covert racism including the n-word, racist humour, and negative stereotyping; and this occurred in public and intimate spaces. Our reflexive thematic analysis centred on interactional dynamics that can explain how racism on campus is rendered acceptable; and how and why this is consequential for how Black students can act. We found that White students' practices of “acceptable” racism entailed the denial of responsibility and the privileging of White experiences to deflect responsibility. Importantly, these devices signal that the use of racist discourses does not always arise from unconscious bias or naivety. The perceived power dynamics whereby White students decide who belongs and what is acceptable contributed to Black students' inability to act on their own terms.

Reclaiming “Mydentity”: Counterstorytelling to challenge injustice for racially and economically marginalized emerging adults

Abstract: Emerging adulthood is an important period for identity development, the development of sociopolitical beliefs, and establishment of social roles and responsibilities. As a part of this development, counterstorytelling—narrative processes that contrast and challenge dominant oppressive narratives—may be used within counterspaces to facilitate positive identity development and to challenge injustice. In this qualitative study, we analyse interviews with and poetry from 12 emerging adults who were facilitators within a youth critical literacy program to understand how counterstorytelling functions to both facilitate identity development and challenge injustice. We found evidence of two superordinate themes: reclaiming identity, taking ownership of identity through counterstorytelling; and co-creating a narrative community, collectively building community through counterstorytelling. Findings support counterstorytelling promotes emergent identity development and works as a strategy for challenging injustice and oppression for marginalized emerging adults. Implications for practitioners and future research are discussed.

Negotiating social belonging: A case study of second‐generation Kurds in London

Abstract: This qualitative study aims to contribute to our understanding of how second-generation immigrants negotiate their multiple identities, and construct their feelings of belonging. We focus on second-generation ethnic Kurds, a stateless ethnic group with a complex political and social history, who have seldom been investigated in a UK context. Drawing on data from interviews with 14 Kurds living in the UK, this paper outlines the tensions in Kurds' lived experiences of Kurdish and British identity; in particular, experiences of feeling “othered” and how this manifests in relation to their identities. We found that Kurds most commonly dealt with some of the tensions they experienced from not belonging or feeling like an “other” by constructing new identities with more permeable boundaries of belonging; in this study, this was achieved through a “place-based” identity. In sum, this paper offers a novel contribution to discourses of belonging, by demonstrating how the nuances of belonging and its lived complexities manifest in the experiences of UK-based second-generation Kurds, and the resultant strategies that they adopt to navigate tensions.

Prosocial rule breaking, ingroups and social norms: Parental decision‐making about COVID‐19 rule breaking in the UK

Abstract: Abstract The British public generally adhered to COVID‐19‐related restrictions, but as the pandemic drew on, it became challenging for some populations. Parents with young children were identified as a vulnerable group. We collected rich, mixed‐methods survey data from 99 UK‐based parents (91 mothers) of children under 12, who described their lockdown transgressions. Household mixing was the most prevalent broken rule. Template analysis found that rule breaking was driven by ‘ingroup‐level’ prosocial motivations to protect the mental and social health of family and loved ones, and that parents were ‘engaged’ decision‐makers who underwent careful deliberation when deciding to break rules, making trade‐offs, bending rules, mitigating risks, reaching consensus, and reacting to perceived rule injustices. Cumulative link models found that the perceived reasonableness of rule violations was predicted by social norms. Rules were broken by parents not for antisocial reasons, but for ‘ingroup‐level’ prosocial reasons, linked to supporting loved ones.

Does witnessing gender discrimination predict women's collective action intentions for gender justice? Examining the moderating role of perceived female support

Abstract: Previous research has indicated that witnessing gender discrimination may instigate women's participation in collective action for gender justice. However, relatively little is known about the role of perceived female support in motivating collective action among women who witness gender discrimination in public life. This study aims to analyse whether and when perceived support from feminist-minded women moderates the association between women's witnessing gender discrimination and their willingness to engage in collective action for gender justice. We argue that the association between witnessing gender discrimination and willingness to engage in collective action depends on the support women perceive from their female friends and family members. In studies of women in the U.S. (Study 1; N = 271) and Ukraine (Study 2; N = 256), witnessing gender discrimination predicted greater willingness to participate in collective action for gender justice, and this association was stronger when female support was perceived to be lower. Study 3 ( N = 1,304) replicated the findings of Studies 1 and 2 with self-identified feminist women in Turkey. Our research offers novel insights regarding why perceived lack of female support may encourage women to engage in collective action for gender justice.

Exploring moderators of the relationship between adolescents' social responsibility and civic actions

Abstract: Scholars have regarded social responsibility as a motivator of civic actions. Social responsibility, however, does not consistently lead to civic actions. Informed by sociopolitical development theory and social cognitive theory, the present study examined critical reflection about societal inequalities and intentional self-regulation as potential moderators of the relationships between adolescents' social responsibility and political activities, social activism and community service. Survey data were collected from 737 adolescents in the Northeastern United States (Mage = 14.52, 58.2% girls, 57.5% White/European American). Path analysis indicated that social responsibility was associated with all three types of civic actions, and critical reflection moderated the relationship between social responsibility and political activities. We discussed limitations, implications and directions for future research. See Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.

Communities as conduits of harm: A social identity analysis of appraisal, coping and justice‐seeking in response to historic collective victimization

Abstract: Social identity approach (SIA) research shows that community members often work together to support survivors of collective victimization and rectify social injustices. However, complexities arise when community members have been involved in perpetrating these injustices. While many communities are unaware of their role in fostering victimization, others actively deny their role and responsibility to restore justice. We explore these processes by investigating experiences of community violence and collective justice-seeking among Albanian survivors of dictatorial crimes. Survivors (N = 27) were interviewed, and data were analysed using theoretical thematic analysis guided by the SIA. The analysis reveals the diverse ways communities can become harmful ‘Social Curses’. First, communities in their various forms became effective perpetrators of fear and control (e.g., exclusion and/or withholding ingroup privileges) during the dictatorship because of the close relationship between communities and their members. Second, communities caused harm by refusing to accept responsibility for the crimes, and by undermining attempts at collective action to address injustices. This lack of collective accountability also fosters survivors' feelings of exclusion and undermines their hope for systematic change. Implications for SIA processes relating to health/wellbeing (both Social Cure and Curse) are discussed. We also discuss implications for understanding collective action and victimhood.

Understanding the supporters and opponents of Myanmar's civil disobedience movement against the military coup in 2021

Abstract: In February 2021, the Myanmar military carried out a coup d'etat, which was then followed by a wave of civil protests. The present study aims to understand the support among people from Southeast Asia (specifically Indonesia) for the people of Myanmar who are fighting against a military coup. The data were collected from Muslim participants (N = 209) and non-Muslim participants (N = 192) in Indonesia. The findings indicate that the perceived country's internal problems, support for human rights in Myanmar, and the perceived country's important position in Southeast Asia are among the strongest predictors of the intention to support collective movements in other countries. Considerably, lack of empathy and how the victim/disadvantaged groups are perceived, like whether they have a negative rapport in treating other groups, also play a key role in the endorsement of solidarity. It is suggested that the dynamic relationships between these factors need to be considered to find ways to foster humanitarian solidarity. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.

Opposition to immigration: How people who identify with far‐right discourses legitimize the social exclusion of immigrants

Abstract: This study sought to develop our understanding of how people legitimize opposition to immigration. Thirty-eight interviews were conducted with people who self-identified with far-right anti-immigration discourses, in Italy (N = 23) and Portugal (N = 15). Using reflexive thematic analysis, we developed four related themes. In the first theme, ‘They're guests’: Legitimizing exclusion by differentiating (non-) immigrants, we discuss how despite differentiating between types of immigrants, participants support their social exclusion and always perceive them as guests. In the second theme, ‘White people exist’: Multiple and intersected identity threats, we identify how anti-immigration is legitimized by recurring multiple group threats including ownership, economic, security, cultural, and existential threats. In the third theme, ‘It's like your home’: Justifying exclusionary solidarity based on ownership rights, we illustrate how collective ownership is used to justify practices of exclusionary solidarity. In the fourth theme ‘This is me’: Being born and becoming anti-immigration, we discuss how opposition to immigration was constructed and influenced by contextual conditions as well as international sources of information. The implications of these findings are discussed while considering how participants' experiences and social contexts shape how they perceive immigration and legitimize the social exclusion of immigrants.

Sociopolitical development of female migrant domestic workers in Southern Spain: A qualitative study of a pathway against injustice

Abstract: Domestic work is a sector characterized by various forms of injustice, prompting some women to embark on a pathway towards activism. Based on the Sociopolitical Development (SPD) framework, this study aims to explore female Latin American migrants' experiences of injustice in the domestic work sector in Spain and how they challenge them, particularly when they become involved in organized collective action. To this end, in-depth interviews were conducted with 11 women of Latin American origin who actively participate in the Association of Domestic Workers of Seville. The qualitative analysis found that being a domestic worker, having experiences of exploitation, discovering rights, receiving rights training, sharing stories of oppression, and engaging in sociopolitical actions are key experiences in guiding migrant women from the acritical and adaptive stages of SPD towards the pre-critical, critical, and liberation ones. Knowledge about these significant life-changing events may be useful for designing interventions aimed at fostering different ways in which oppressed groups can challenge injustice.

‘Mental Wealth’ and ‘Mental Fitness’: The discursive construction of mental health in the Australian news media during the COVID ‐19 pandemic

Abstract: In this study, we analysed how the concept of 'mental health' was discursively constructed in the news media in Australia during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. An approach informed by critical discursive psychology was employed to analyse a sample of 436 print and online articles published in daily newspapers between January 1 and December 31, 2020. Three main interpretative repertoires were identified in the data. Together, these repertoires functioned to construct mental health as an internal, individual reservoir of positive emotion, which individuals are responsible for building and maintaining. An ideological dilemma was also observed between mental health as an individual responsibility and mental health as a societal responsibility. This study demonstrates that a discourse of individual responsibility for mental health was prevalent in the news media in Australia, even amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and highlights the need for communications about mental health to be designed in ways that increase understanding of the social determinants of mental health. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.

Students' defending and passive bystanding behaviours when witnessing school bullying in North Western Ethiopia: Roles of personal and situational factors

Abstract: Guided by Thornberg et al.'s (2012) framework on motivation to intervene, the present study examines whether personal and situational factors are associated with defending and passive bystanding behaviours in school bullying. Self-reported survey data were collected from 612 students (aged 12–16 years) attending grades 7, 8, 9, and 10 in East Gojjam Administrative Zone, North Western Ethiopia. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that the strongest, significant predictors of defending were self-efficacy for defending (β = .215, p = .000), affective empathy (β = .173, p = .000), students' experience as victim (β = .119, p = .002), personal sense of power (β = .119, p = .006), followed by moral disengagement (β = .118, p = .002), and age level (β = −.082, p = .036). All variables jointly explained 18.6% of the total variance in defending, F (12, 599) = 11.397, p < .00; with medium effect size (f2 = 0.23). In contrast, the strongest predictors of passive bystanding were moral disengagement (β = .233, p = .000), perceived costs and benefits of defending (β = −.163, p = .000), self-efficacy (β = −.139, p = .003), students' experience as victim (β = .097, p = .014), followed by gender (β = −.080, p = .042). The model explained 16.7% of the total variance in passive bystanding, F (12, 599) = 10.043, p < .001; with medium effect size (f2 = 0.20). The findings enrich our understanding of factors associated with defending and passive bystanding behaviours. The implications for intervention are discussed. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.