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Transcript of Principles of Social Change: Partnerships for Social Justice Leonard A. Jason, Ph.D. DePaul...
Principles of Social Change:Partnerships for Social Justice
Leonard A. Jason, Ph.D.
DePaul University
Keynote address presented at the 2013 SCRA Biennial Conference, Miami, Fl.
The Starting Point?
Change begins by helping people identify issues for which they have strong feelings
– Paulo Freire (1970)
Social change more likely – we have a passionate interest
Intuition: Our Guide
Is the beginning of social change– recognition that something is wrong and unfair
The feeling is clear– something needs to change
Intuition can steer us in the right direction– toward second-order change
Principles of Social Change
Structural, second-order change Confronting power abuses Mobilizing coalitions Having a long-term time perspective Using feedback to fine tune work
Concrete Examples Illustrate How Efforts Directed Toward
Agenda setting Policy formulation Policy implementation Policy evaluation/revision
The First Principle of Social Change
Determining the nature of the change desired− cosmetic/short-term fix− address the root of the problem
First-Order Change
Attempts to eliminate deficits and problems – promises to solve the most deeply rooted
problems with simple solutions– provides, at best, short-term solutions– can render people powerless to overcome their
oppression
Second-Order Change Influences the individual and his or her social network Alters shared goals, roles, and power relationships
Environmental
Social
Individual
Bronfenbrenner (1977)Kelly (1968)Moos (1979)
Example Second-Order Change
Each year thousands of children are either injured or killed in car accidents – due to not being placed in appropriate infant
and car seats In the 1980s, leading cause of death for
children under one year of age– car accidents because infants were not in
appropriate infant seats
1980s, National Coalition Attempted Influence Legislation
Illinois Child Passenger Safety Association – a community-based organization
trying to get child restraint legislation
Focus on a Proposed Illinois Child Passenger Restraint Law
Children under the age of four required to be placed in an approved child or infant car seat
Children aged four to six required to be placed in either an approved restraint system or a secure seat belt
Could We Influence Illinois Legislators to Vote for this Bill?
Our research team collected behavioral data by looking inside cars to see whether or not infants and children were placed in car restraints– also collected telephone surveys regarding
attitudes toward child-restraint bill
In Collaboration with Illinois Organization
Sent critical information to random half of the state legislators– assess whether our targeted letter had made a
difference in voting for the bill Letter was received one week before vote
– the information was clear and concise» increased our chances that the letter would be both
read and remembered
Content in Letter to Legislators
140 children in Illinois were killed and 25,828 injured in automobile accidents – over the last 6 years
93 percent of Illinois children were not in adequate restraints while riding in cars
78 percent of adults supported the child passenger restraint bill
140 children
93 percent
78 percent
Significantly Increased Voting for the Bill
79% of Senators who received the information voted for passage of the bill– only 53% of Senators who did not receive the
letter voted for the bill Governor requested a copy of our findings
before signing the legislation
Immediate Behavioral Outcomes For children between the ages 1-4
− car restraint use increased from 13 to 42%
For infants less than one year of age− appropriate restraints increased from 49 to 74%
Longer-Term Outcomes
Comparing deaths two years before to the period two years after the law– Child deaths caused
by traffic accidents decreased by 53%
Comments Illinois Child Passenger Safety Association
“The data were helpful and important and of high priority to have as part of the armamentarium”
“The data were very, very interesting. It was a building block in the passage of the bill.”
“Those who had the data and understood them, it made them more forceful and vocal in support of the bill.”
Second-Order Change
We worked collaboratively with community-based organizations in Illinois – our data influenced legislative officials to
support laws that contributed to second-order change
» In this case protecting the safety of infants and children when driven in automobiles
Principle One: Focus on Second-Order Change
Only through more structural interventions will we make a significant difference in solving our social problems– Such as example involving legislative change
Second-order interventions direct precious resources in more productive ways– go beyond a reactive response by enacting
measures to avoid potential problems
The Second Principle of Social Change Identifying the power holders
− Creating second-order change can seem overwhelming − powerful people or organizations control whether
change will be enacted
− Social inequality are caused by an underlying abuse of power− redistributing power is often a crucial component to
second-order social movements
Causes of abuse and underlying power structure difficult to see clearly– gut instincts is powerful tool to uncover the
veiled power abuses We must use the same passion and intuition
that helps one see the path towards effective second order change– to identify and analyze the distribution of
power
The MOST preventable cause of premature disease and death
Tobacco kills over 400,000 people yearly
Case Example: Tobacco Industry
Tobacco industry is responsible for enticing many young people to begin smoking
Every day 3000 American adolescents become established smokers– of these children, 1,000 will eventually die of
tobacco-related illnesses
Tobacco Industry
Multiple efforts to widely distribute cigarettes to youth– how to fight this Industry that has vast resources?
Did You KnowDid You Know……
Early 1980s We launched school-based
smoking prevention programs– students told us merchants
were openly selling them cigarettes
– contradiction with our tobacco prevention messages
How To Stop the Tobacco Industry?
Person oriented approaches compromised by social and environmental factors such as merchants selling tobacco to youth
The Tobacco industry had power to influence any laws that could affect sales of tobacco to youth
Exploratory Study Our intuition pushed us to explore the
students’ critical input– assessed illegal merchant sales of tobacco– we sent youth into stores to purchase cigarettes
» over 80% of merchants sold cigarettes to minors
Media picks up our Study
E:\TobaccoJacobsonBrief.mov F:\TobaccoJacobsonBrief.mov
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJ48iuW-d70
Officer Talbot Calls Me After Seeing This TV Broadcast Mentioned Woodridge Illinois had solved
this problem– sending letters to all the merchants
Collaboration began with collecting data– found over 70% of merchants sold tobacco to
youth
An Intervention is Designed to Deal with this Problem
Merchants in Woodridge were required to purchase a license to sell cigarettes
Fined up to $500 and/or one day license suspension for selling to minors
Minors caught smoking, $25 parking-style ticket (parents are notified)
Outcomes
Two years after implementing the two-pronged program– rates of merchant cigarette sales to minors decreased
from an average of 70% to less than 5%
– adolescent smoking decreased over fifty percent in a Woodridge junior high school
Officer Buzz Talbot of Woodridge: National Figure
Using Woodridge as his model, Officer Talbot was instrumental in the passage of a federal amendment– States are now bound by federal law to reduce illegal
sales of tobacco to minors
Officer Talbot worked with grass roots organizations throughout the U.S. in disseminating his successes in Woodridge
Invited testify congress during Tobacco Settlement– encourage progress in the
anti-tobacco movement» reducing youth access to
tobacco
» increasing costs of cigarettes
DiFranza (2009)
Laws prohibiting sales of cigarettes to minors and stepped up enforcement of those laws in the United States from 1997-2003– led to 20.8 percent drop in the odds of 10th
graders becoming daily smokers
Research Made Difference
Now a consensus that sales to minors should be prevented illustrated by– Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
unanimously adopted by the World Health Assembly
– attracted more than 172 member states representing 90 percent of the world’s population
Paradigm Shift Focusing on both the youth and their
environments and ultimately changing policy– initially over 80% of merchants sold minors
tobacco illegally– today the vast majority of merchants do not
Culminated in the passage of a federal amendment that led to states curtailing illegal sales of tobacco to youth
Second-Order Change Addressed Power Structures
Tobacco industry’s formidable resources– to manipulate American youth and provide
them easy access to tobacco Power holders like the Tobacco Industry
had to be challenged by coalitions – community psychologists can play an important
role in this advocacy effort
The Third Principle of Social Change
Focused and collective efforts can lead to broad second-order change through the use of our third principle− identifying and mobilizing individuals and
community groups to influence the cultural and political landscape affecting social change
The Key to the Third Principle
Citizen participation in democratic processes– ensure that community members have
meaningful involvement The third principle of social change
– community coalitions can change power structures that perpetuate first-order institutional ways of treating people
Oxford House Example Citizen Participation
F:\Ohoverview.movE:\OHoverview.mov
http://youtu.be/YLodwGNChzw
60 Min Tape
F:\60minBrief.movE:\60minBrief.mov
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iVURP4Pvkc
NIH Reviewers: Randomization I thought it was not possible -- as each OH
votes on whether to allow new people in – 7 years working on proposal with Paul Molloy – Paul said he would make it happen
Later learned another research group had approached Paul Molloy years before I had– They asked to do a randomized study– Paul said “no” to them as he had not built up a
supportive relationship of trust with them
Problem of NIMBY Lawyer asked for our help over a town
trying to close down the local Oxford House– claiming that there could be no more than five
unrelated individuals living in one home Examined our national Oxford House data
− we found that a larger house sizes or eight to ten residents less criminal behavior
Findings successfully used in several court cases stop closing Oxford Houses that had six or more non-related residents.
Paul Molloy’s note to me
“ …The dispute has been ongoing for six years! The town will pay attorney’s fees, which are about $105,000 and a fine to the Department of Justice. The key to their decision appears to be your research showing that larger houses had better outcomes than the smaller ones. Thanks. Once again reason and logic prevailed.”
Community coalitions Such as the example of Oxford House and
DePaul University– revolutionize how we treat our most vulnerable citizens
» millions need affordable housing
» millions of homes are available
» Oxford House represents one creative approach– deal both of these issues synergistically
Third Principle of Social Change
Community coalitions can be mobilized to transform many of the most serious problems that affect our society– can change power structures that perpetuate
institutional ways of treating people» bottom-up social change movements can create
community-based programs that allow people to be reintegrated into society
The Fourth Principle of Social Change
Second-order change takes time− progress can be gradual and uneven
− will be setbacks along the way Patience and a long-term commitment
– the fourth principle of social change– critical aspects of social change movements
Patience and Persistence
Essential − in opposing powerful vested interests intent on
maintaining the status quo
− and in amassing coalitions to confront institutionalized abuses of power
How Can Activists Stay Committed to a Cause?
Small wins can help sustain and mobilize citizen groups– to continue to pursue even larger objectives
In the pursuit of social justice– the importance of small wins cannot be
overemphasized
Case Example of Persistence
Over 60 million people have chronic health conditions– over age 40, 60% have one or more chronic
conditions One more controversial chronic illnesses is
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)− many health care professionals continue to
doubt the scientific validity
Consequences of Stigma
95% of individuals seeking medical treatment for CFS reported feelings of estrangement
66% of patients with CFS say their illness was made worse by doctor’s care
Multiple problem confronting patients with CFS
Called derogatory “Yuppie-Flu” Illness– contributed to the negative attitudes that health care
providers have towards those with this syndrome
The name given by CDC to the illness – trivial and stigmatized term
CDC’s case definition of CFS– did not specify cardinal symptoms
Tests used to diagnose CFS– were biased finding psychiatric problems
Example Inappropriate Research CFS only had a perception that they had
limitations in energy and activity
CFS
Control
Day 1 Day 2
Focus Prevalence Estimates CDC in the late 1980s and early 1990s suggested that
only about 20,000 people had this illness− characterized as having yuppie flu
If medical personnel believe that CFS is a relatively rare yuppie flu disorder− than physicians might minimize or misinterpret the
physical complaints of patients with CFS
– this could lead to the mistrust and lack of communication as reported by patients
Flaws CDC prevalence Case ascertainment methods
− physicians identified patients who presented with unexplained fatigue-related symptoms; referred those patients for a medical examination
Excluded low income individuals did not have access to medical settings − because many physicians doubted the existence of
CFS
− they might not have made referrals to CFS prevalence research studies
Use of Intuition to challenge these inappropriate methods
Gut feeling to reach out to patients, professionals, and organizations who might become potential allies
Over time, a network of collaborators assembled– several patients, graduate students– the CEO of the CFS patient organization– an epidemiologist, a physician, a psychiatrist, a
biostatistician, and a survey researcher
10 year effort Financial support from the largest CFS patient self-help
organization
− we conducted a small community based prevalence study
− our prevalence rates were considerably higher than reported by the CDC
Approached NIH program officials
− not that interested in a CFS prevalence Our intuition again led us to
– kept resubmitting grants until we were successful in securing NIH funding
DePaul Community Based Study
Phoned a random community-based sample of about 28,000 individuals
Those with who self-reported having symptoms – completed medical work ups
Findings Prior CDC estimates less than 20,000
– our estimates 800,000 to 1,000,000 Of those diagnosed with CFS
– 90% never been diagnosed prior our study– Jason et al. (1999)
Ethnic minorities had higher CFS rates than European-Americans– CFS rates were not greater among those with higher
incomes– so much for CFS being a rare, “yuppie flu”
Due to Wide Dissemination of this Study
Appointed the Chairperson of the Research Subcommittee of the CFS Advisory Committee– which makes recommendations regarding CFS to the US
Secretary of Health and Human Resources Next ten years, able to work on other policy related
issues– such as the inappropriate name given this illness (now
called Myalgic Encephalomyelitis), an expanded case definition, CDC leadership problems
Small Wins It is easy to become overwhelmed when
confronting complex problems or power holders– by focusing on one small piece at a time, tangible
change and success can be achieved
Many Obstacles to Commitment
10 years worked on a prevalence study that successfully challenged the myth that CFS (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) was a “Yuppie Flue” Disease– small wins during this time led to opportunities to
work at federal level – each small win functions as a life-affirming oasis
for activists
The Fifth Principle of Social Change
Measuring your success: − evaluations can help redefine the essence of each
principle of social change
− program evaluations can also − reveal weaknesses
− identify where the weaknesses stem from
− help focus efforts on critical stages of systemic change
The Last Principle of Social Change
The effects of social action are often not immediate or easily identifiable− while the dynamic nature of social activism
campaigns may make evaluation challenging Measuring progress is vital and lies at the
heart of each community strategy– can use self-report data, archival, policy, or
actual behaviors
Case Example: "Dog Pooper" study
After inviting an Alderman to my community psychology class− I said to myself I would tackle whatever he
mentioned as his most pressing community issue
When he responded to me that it was uncollected dog feces– my mouth fell open in disbelief
With Trepidation I counted all fresh dog
feces within an 8 by 5 block area – the fact that 1147
droppings were within this area
– dog litter was a serious and prevalent problem within our community
Getting Our Hands Dirty Recorded the following variables
for 5 hours daily in a block at DePaul University– the number of dogs– the number of dogs who defecated– the number of dog defecations
picked up by their owners– defecations were picked up and
weighed each morning
Changing Behaviors During the baseline phase
− few dog owners were observed to pick up after their dogs
− over 19 pounds of dog defecations were deposited in the target block
When anti-litter signs were posted − no changes on the criterion measures
When all dog owners were shown how to use a plastic bag to pick-up feces– 82% of the dog owners picked up after their dogs
Testified at a City Council Hearing
Reporter for the Chicago Daily News:– “In what surely must be the most bizarre
academic studies in the nation…” – they subsequently calculated from our work
that 382,000 pounds of dog excrement was deposited on city streets daily
The reporter told me that “the story generated great readership interest”
Editorial in the Sun Times “We’re not sure what contribution this study makes to the discipline
of psychology, but if it persuades the city council to pass a stronger ordinance to discipline dog owners, it will have been more than worth the effort…the city could always fund the professor’s research project. The pursuit of knowledge aside, it did manage to clean up one neighborhood.”
A cartoon in the Chicago Daily News of had a dog with a diaper on him with the title:
Solution to a problem
Community Groups Seek Help a 9-month collaborative relationship with
another Alderman and a community group– expressed interest in reducing dog litter
Outcomes at a 13-month follow-up
100
90
80
70
0Entire Area Target Block
Percent Reduction in Dog Litter
Per
cent
age
Red
uctio
n
Policy Outcomes
Testified at City Hall to support a proposed ordinance– require dog owners to have in their possession a
pooper scooper when walking dogs This ordinance was passed by the City
Council– Chicago one of the first cities in the country to
pass a pooper scooper ordinance
For the first time, the legislators were willing to seriously consider enacting legislation to help alleviate the dog litter problem
Chicago’s ordinance became a model for other similar ordinances in towns around the country
Final Principle of Social Change
Consider the tangible short- and long-term results of our activities
Using evaluation techniques – we can determine whether or not a particular
intervention or social change strategy has achieved its goals
– few initiatives are successful without some type of documentation to support our efforts
Five Principles of Social Change Determining the nature of the change desired: is it a
cosmetic, short-term fix, or does it address the root of the problem.
Identify the power holders Creating coalitions: identifying and working with others
who share your goals. Learning patience and persistence: small wins are
crucial to attaining long-term goals. Constantly evaluate and refine strategies and tactics to
find the most effective means of bringing about change
Examples Using these Principles
Reduce children’s death through encouraging use of appropriate seat restraints
Reduce youth access to tobacco as well as decreasing youth tobacco use
Promote the expansion of safe housing for people with addictions
Challenge inappropriate myths and stigma regarding chronic fatigue syndrome
Promote laws to reduce uncollected dog litter
Lessons Learned Each principle of social change represents
part of the social change journey− but they are subtly interrelated
When used tactfully in concert– they can create an unstoppable force in any
movement
Thanks to all my collaborators and the staff and volunteers at my
center E:\IntroCCR.mov
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SHSKAFfqCw