Community psychology recognizes the need for research methods that illuminate context, culture, diversity, and process. One such method, ethnography, has crossed into multiple disciplines from anthropology, and indeed, community psychologists are becoming community ethnographers. Ethnographic work stands at the intersection of bridging universal questions with the particularities of people and groups bounded in time, geographic location, and social location. Ethnography is thus historical and deeply contextual, enabling a rich, in-depth understanding of communities that is aligned with the values and goals of community psychology. The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the potential of ethnography for community psychology and to encourage its use within the field as a method to capture culture and context, to document process, and to reveal how social change and action occur within and through communities. We discuss the method of ethnography, draw connections to community psychology values and goals, and identify tensions from our experiences doing ethnography. Overall, we assert that ethnography is a method that resonates with community psychology and present this paper as a resource for those interested in using this method in their research or community activism.

This qualitative study examines two contexts shaping circumpolar Indigenous young people's contemporary lives. In Arctic North America, the recent, rapid experiences of colonization are linked to disproportionately high rates of youth suicide. It is important to understand how different contexts, central to identity narratives, enhance or challenge resilience: the negotiated capacity to overcome hardship. We examine two settings: school and the land using thematic analysis. School settings occupy significant time in the lives of Indigenous youth from which parents and Indigenous traditions are largely removed. In contrast, the deepening of relationships, spiritual grounding and traditional practices in which Indigenous families engage on the land, signify and amplify cultural and family strengths. Using youth narratives about their lives, we contrast these two settings and the ways they influence young people's wellness through their perceptions of themselves and society. We recommend how schools can better support strengths of Indigenous cultures, including close relationships with family and the land.

Introduction Suicide is a major public health issue, however, little is known about the characteristics/circumstances of suicide events. Data from law enforcement (LE) call reports are an important source of information related to suicide. Hence, this study explores suicide events captured in LE call reports. Method This mixed-methods study used data from call reports collected in a metropolitan county in 2017 in a Midwestern state wherein LE responded to suicide incidents (N=213). Descriptive and bivariate analyses of quantitative data were used to assess differences between incident type (i.e. attempts vs. deaths). Themes of suicide emerged from the qualitative data. Results Findings revealed that suicide decedents tended to be male, older, and had at least one intrapersonal issue as a precipitating factor. The qualitative sections illuminated three themes across suicide attempts: self-harm as an autonomy seeking strategy; challenging claims of suicidality; and promising to not self-harm. Conclusions Suicide incidents that rise to the level of crisis requiring a LE response is understudied in both the suicide and LE literature. Increasing the sophistication of call report documentation procedures would allow for communities to deepen their understanding of how suicide manifests and could create pathways to non-institutionalized care.

This systematic review of reviews was conducted to examine housing precarity and homelessness in relation to climate change and weather extremes internationally. In a thematic analysis of 15 reviews (5 systematic and 10 non-systematic), the following themes emerged: risk factors for homelessness/housing precarity, temperature extremes, health concerns, structural factors, natural disasters, and housing. First, an increased risk of homelessness has been found for people who are vulnerably housed and populations in lower socio-economic positions due to energy insecurity and climate change-induced natural hazards. Second, homeless/vulnerably-housed populations are disproportionately exposed to climatic events (temperature extremes and natural disasters). Third, the physical and mental health of homeless/vulnerably-housed populations is projected to be impacted by weather extremes and climate change. Fourth, while green infrastructure may have positive effects for homeless/vulnerably-housed populations, housing remains a major concern in urban environments. Finally, structural changes must be implemented. Recommendations for addressing the impact of climate change on homelessness and housing precarity were generated, including interventions focusing on homelessness/housing precarity and reducing the effects of weather extremes, improved housing and urban planning, and further research on homelessness/housing precarity and climate change. To further enhance the impact of these initiatives, we suggest employing the Human Rights-Based Approach (HRBA).

We’d like to tell you that participatory action research is easy. But that would be a lie. We’d like to tell you that it always results in positive change. But that’s not true either. And we’d like...

In 2017, Norman Denzin, EditorinChief of this journal, raised a call for inquiry "that addresses inequities in the economy, education, employment, the environment, health, housing, food and water, inquiry that embraces the global cry for peace and justice” (p. 8). It is at Denzin’s invitation that we have organized this Special Issue on Participatory Action Research, which we see as an opportunity to bring the knowledge and experience of participatory action researchers from around the world into closer dialogue and collaboration with qualitative researchers interested in finding ways to take up his challenge.

Abstract This chapter examines the challenges faced by Inuit youth today. It reviews approaches that are beneficial to Inuit and indigenous youth. A number of Inuit adults are interviewed about their views of the future of Inuit youth. In addition, the chapter discusses themes that emerged from speaking with Inuit and non-Inuit. Parenting has changed remarkably, and many said that youth and adults should spend more time together and speak more with each other. Today, Inuit youth and adults are basically ignoring each other. Schools and education should be improved, made more relevant to Inuit youth. Inuit culture is also very important for Inuit youth, and they benefit greatly by learning about and practicing their culture.

This chapter begins with the suicide of a 16-year-old Inuit youth. There is a focus on Inuit youth suicide and culture change. The role of alcohol and marijuana is discussed, as is how families have been changing. Research throughout the world has found that suicidal youth often come from problematic families, including low levels of family cohesion, parent–child conflict and poor communication, low emotional intimacy, and youth perceptions of family problems. Family has been replaced by new patterns of community, and among Inuit, the most profound changes in the past few decades have been reported in gender roles, the marital relationship, and parent–child relations. Inuit youth began to manifest problems after the establishment of the settlements. Many of these problems are in romantic relationships. Suicides are described that have taken place in Silatuniq, the community that is the focus of this book.

There is a long history of research with Indigenous peoples by outsiders, and many Indigenous communities have felt exploited. Terms such as drive-by research have been used, as well as expressions such as “we have been researched to death.” Anthropology itself has been accused of spying, and Vine Deloria asked anthropologists to “become productive members” in an Indigenous community “instead of ideological vultures” treating people as objects. A great many Indigenous communities and organizations are now requesting outside researchers to join their communities in a collaborative research partnership, and some have produced ethical principles for research highlighting this participatory relationship. In this article, I discuss some of this history and current direction, giving examples of Indigenous research partnerships and Indigenous research from the inside. Participatory research is extended beyond Indigenous communities to the social sciences, as positive outcomes are being seen across disciplines.

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.

Substance use disorders and posttraumatic stress disorder have been associated with suicide. Through secondary analysis of the screening data from the Women and Trauma Study conducted by the National Institute on Drug Abuse Clinical Trials Network, the present study examined rates and correlates of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among women who sought treatment for substance use and trauma at seven outpatient substance use programs. The sample included women between the ages of 18 and 65 years (M = 39.2; SD = 9.3) and was 44 percent white, 33 percent African American, 8 percent Latina, and 15 percent other races or ethnicities. Logistic regression was used to examine factors associated with a lifetime history of recurrent suicidal ideation and a serious suicide attempt. Findings highlight the need for social workers to address elevated risk levels for suicidal thoughts and behaviors when working with women with histories of substance use and trauma.

Although traditional suicide prevention programs have had moderate effects in reducing suicide, there is a need for community-based approaches that embrace positive psychological principles, such as community empowerment, and which considers community needs and values. A new paradigm, critical suicidology, is discussed, which is more contextualized, subjective, historical, ecological, social justice-oriented, poetic, and socio-political than traditional suicidology, allowing suicide prevention efforts to capitalize on the strengths of a group or community. Prioritizing local knowledge and social change, community-based participatory approaches are particularly effective for use with vulnerable and marginalized groups, and often emphasize personal and community agency. Using a case example from an Inuit community, we illustrate how the success of a community intervention effort must involve an array of efforts to frame suicide prevention within the context of community history and needs and must involve community members and support at all stages of implementation. We argue that, by respecting and considering sociocultural determinants of health and what they mean to community members, and by promoting community growth through suicide prevention, efforts to prevent suicide will be increasingly value-driven, motivated and sustained. As such, this critical framework can support a positive psychological approach, by providing a base for understanding the needs, strengths, and goals for growth of a community suicide prevention effort.

We are pleased to introduce this special issue of Death Studies, which showcases original research, theoretical contributions, and critical reflexivity under the banner of critical suicidology. The study of suicide—or suicidology—has developed and coalesced as a field of research and practice since the late 1940s even though a much longer history can be traced. Focused on both the prevention of suicide, and the phenomenon of suicide itself, contemporary suicidology has made significant contributions to our shared understanding of suicide prevention, suicide intervention, and responses in the aftermath of a death by suicide. Over the past decade, an international body of scholars, researchers, and practitioners has begun to carve out a space for a more critically oriented suicidology, with the intent of broadening the horizon and subsequent possibilities for action. Critical suicidology continues to develop as a transdisciplinary project, deepening the knowledge base and expanding perspectives. This special issue is one example of the growing momentum in critical suicidology. The articles in this special issue were presented in March 2016 at the first critical suicidology conference, called Suicidology’s Cultural Turn and Beyond, at the Vila Lanna, Prague, Czech Republic and sponsored by the Institute of Ethnology, Czech Academy of Sciences. It was co-organized by Ludek Broz of Charles University and Michael J. Kral of Wayne State University. An increasing number of scholars, researchers, and practitioners have started to note the effects of limitations and constraints inherent to contemporary suicidology. Contemporary suicidology is founded primarily on the disciplines of psychiatry and psychology, indexes suicide with an internal pathology and mental illness, is bound to an individual frame of reference, is predominantly reinforced by positivist and quantitative research, and is identified as a science (Marsh, 2010). Michael J. Kral has written about suicidology’s “great origin myth” being the belief that the idea of suicide originates within the individual, perhaps even in something neurobiological (Kral, 1998). We have learned a lot from contemporary suicidology as it stands currently, with important implications for prevention, risk assessment, and treatment. Positivist and quantitative research have helped us to implement evidence-based best practices. These forms of inquiry have helped deepen our understanding of suicide, including the epidemiological knowledge that many people living with mental health and addiction problems experience suicidal thinking. We believe all the authors of this special issue would agree with these premises. However, the authors in this special issue have asserted through their writing that there are limitations to contemporary suicidology, and that the ways of knowing, doing, and being inherent to the field ignore critical and legitimate ways of making sense of this complex phenomenon. Critical suicidology positions the traditional research and practice frames as being too narrow and interrogates contemporary suicidology through contextualist, historical, subjective, ecological, political, cultural, and social justice perspectives. Uniquely, the field of critical suicidology examines first-person accounts of having been suicidal, the effects of colonial histories of Indigenous people, prejudice and suicide, meaning made through poetry, community-driven suicide prevention, and other creative alternatives to the status quo (White, Marsh, Kral, & Morris, 2016). A series of articles exemplifying the creative contributions of critical suicidologists was recently published in the Social Epistemology Review and Reply Collective (https://social-epistemology.com/? s=suicidology). One contributor wrote that an important goal in the development of a critical suicidology would be to “subvert the claims of precedence that suicidology makes concerning its ‘scientific’ hold on suicide” (Widger, 2015, p. 3). Several of the articles in this issue are focused on theorizing suicide and the practice of suicide prevention more deeply and critically. For example, in the first article, White asks, “What can critical suicidology do?” Among other things, she suggests “it means confronting the limits of psycho-centric conceptualizations of distress and suffering and exposing the ways in which our current therapeutic culture casts structural violence, social inequities, and colonial relations of dominance as individual private troubles.” She argues for viewing selves as relational entanglements, which in turn invites a reading of suicide as co-constituted and interactive. none defined