Social Justice & Critical Thinking

Community Psychology Final Project: An essay connecting my professional goals with community psychology. Key concepts of community psychology are examined through the lens of a therapy student, community member, and as applicable to stakeholders. The mental healthcare system, as well as discrepancies in such, is applied and critiqued as well. 

PSY322 Adolescent & Emerging Adult Development: Child Neglect Informational Handbook: This final project essay details child neglect and its effects on adulthood. When we understand why youth and young adults develop maladaptive behaviors, we can provide better preventative care and support in judicial processing. This encourages other victims of child maltreatment and protects future cases from occurring.

 (Psychology and Social Change) Dyscalculia Project Milestone Two 

A short paper dissecting my personal social change identity and how psychological motives contribute to it. This connects to social justice directly by inspiring my drive for change. I analyze what motivates me to contribute to social change, including my beliefs and lived experiences. This refines my goals, skills, and areas of passion. Understanding these concepts in myself allows me to approach social justice with grit, efficiency, and care. The assignment also prepares me to empathize with the motives of other individuals and movements.  

Relevent Discussions

Health Psychology Final Discussion

Health psychology research can be incredibly helpful during US healthcare reform. Our current system is overwhelmed with non-professionals who show little care toward the public's health or psychology; this is clear through the cost problems. If our healthcare system valued research, it would never be as complicated as it is to get a simple check-up. Far too many people go years with undiagnosed conditions or, worse, know the issue yet ignore the pain until it becomes unbearable. By that point, the worsened condition is so bad that the cost to fix it almost outweighs the desire to. No one should have to take out loans or skip meals to seek treatment- especially not children. By analyzing research and involving health psychologists in the reform conversation, a significant change could occur- one that benefits both practitioners and patients. 

The information I have learned in this course will prove incredibly useful throughout my life. Thanks to Health Psychology, I now understand why we have the healthcare issues that we do and the role I can play in my own health and even others'. I've learned about holistic health, chronic illness, and patient-physician relationships. A diverse student would apply this information to the real world, and that's exactly what I intend to do. 

Psychological Studies in Media

In the peer-reviewed article, the writers used their own data and conclusions to form their summary. They kept it clear and concise, using a short paragraph that made sense to the reader. They also emphasized that although their research is suggestive, no generalizations should be made (Crockett et al, 2008). However, the journalist in the popular media article emphasized the suggestions. They expanded the scientists "serotonin could be..." to "serotonin absolutely will in an immense way..." (Laurance 2008).

This example shows why it's so important to refer to the empirical studies that media is based on. Journalists and reporters add their own assumptions and interpretations that they know will grab the population's attention. Scientists will publish the unbiased facts, which can then be understood by each person individually. 

This relates to social justice. So often, studies and theories are used to weaponize minorities or make smaller issues seem catastrophic. Climate change is a great example, as many outlets use research as a fear tactic rather than publish what we can do to help protect our environments. Plastic, pollution, and zoos are also great examples. Throughout history, this has been a corrupt phenomenon- take the AIDS crisis as another example. Links between homosexuals and AIDS turned into the illness being deemed a "gay disease". This happens especially in psychology. Women are more likely to have anxiety so of course every single health problem is due to their anxiety or hormones. Black people are more likely to be incarcerated so of course it's their fault rather than a questionable policing and educational system. The concept goes on and on, unfortunately. 

Crockett, M. J., Clark, L., Tabibnia, G., Lieberman, M. D., & Robbins, T. W. (2008, June 27). Serotonin modulates behavioral reactions to unfairness. Science (New York, N.Y.). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2504725/  

Laurance, J. (2008, June 5). The cheesy secret behind successful decision making. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/the-cheesy-secret-behind-successful-decision-making-841419.html 

Research Methods Final Discussion: Data Literacy

The study I chose was Casual Deviance and the Attribution of Moral Responsibility. It was made up of four experiments aiming to settle the hypothesis of whether people will assign less moral responsibility to someone accidentally committing an act that they originally intended to do anyways. For example, one of the twelve scenarios given to participants was an agent shooting a person who died right before they could due to a heart attack. There were heroic scenarios as well, but, interestingly, no significant difference was found between the negative and positive scenarios in relation to participant answers. In the last experiment, the researchers focused on the participants' intuitive versus rational thinking. That is, whether they answer logically or how they "feel". The study found that, except for when they are instructed specifically to answer rationally, people will waiver blame if there is an interruption. This could be very significant for both psychology and crime. If a person "accidentally" killed their victim and this information was presented to a jury, it very well could persuade a lesser sentence. This relates to social justice as it could very well change how people are punished or rewarded. At the very least, because the physical action was still committed, the way that person is viewed by the public would be swayed. Consider politicians, children, homeless people, and anyone whose intentions and actions tell different stories. 

Data literacy is crucial to properly sharing information, especially with the general public. Findings have to be simplified in order for people to understand without taking away from the importance of minor details. In this study, for example, the researchers switched from a negative and positive scenario to two negatives. Then, they analyzed the results in a different method as well. People need to understand the significance of each method and reason in order to fully appreciate the findings. If this study was summed up with "people discount moral blame when intent and action are disconnected from one another", that simply wouldn't be accurate. Word choice, transparency, and bias are crucial to how the public understands research.

David A. Pizarro, Eric Uhlmann, Paul Bloom. Causal deviance and the attribution of moral responsibility. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Volume 39, Issue 6, 2003, Pages 653-660, ISSN 0022-1031.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022103103000416

Statistical Literacy: How Important is Understanding Statistics to Effective Citizenship?

In order to rank the importance of understanding statistics, first we have to know what exactly an effective citizen is. According to the National Assessment for Educational Progress Civics Framework, these citizens contribute to the American political system through five dispositions: 

1. Becoming an independent member of society;

2. Assuming the personal, political, and economic responsibilities of a citizen;

3. respecting individual worth and human dignity;

4. participating in civic affairs in an informed, thoughtful, and effective manner; and

5. Promoting the healthy functioning of American constitutional democracy.

Statistics apply especially to number four. An effective citizen must be informed about politics and social issues in order to participate appropriately, which requires a basic understanding of statistics. Data literacy, as well as recognizing unbiased facts from opinion, is highly necessary.

Statistics in relation to effective citizenship apply to social justice. Media- and especially individual people- manipulate data to be understood in a specific way. Frequently, agendas are pushed in order to encourage an "us-versus-them" mentality in the public. Knowing where information comes from and the "filters" it has been put through before it gets to the individual can make a large difference in social conflicts. The effects of hormone replacement therapy, for example, have been completely misunderstood by the public due to transphobic influence. One common misconception is that "a lot of people", a majority even, regret HRT. In reality, 1% of people do- and the majority of this number is due to harassment and/or abuse. Interestingly, more people regret knee replacement surgery and college debt than HRT. This, and many other misconceptions about HRT data, continue to encourage doctors to deny HRT and other gender-affirming care to trans people. 

Misunderstanding data and statistics is not only confusing- it's dangerous. Thus, understanding statistics absolutely is necessary to effective citizenship.Always read the original sources when speaking on social issues, healthcare, or mental health.  

References:

Admins. (2023). Building your skills as a citizen. Center for Civic Education. https://civiced.org/build-skills

Maria Anna Theodora Catharina van der Loos, MD; Sabine Elisabeth Hannema, PhD; Daniel Tatting Klink, PhD; Prof Martin den Heijer, PhD; Cchantal Maria Wiepjies, PhD. (October 20 20222). Continuation of gender-affirming hormones in transgender people starting puberty suppression in adolescence: a cohort study in the Netherlands. The Lancet. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanchi/article/PIIS2352-4642(22)00254-1/fulltext

Marriott, N. (2014). The future of statistical thinking. Significance, 11(5), 78-80. Royal Statistical Society. doi:10.1111/j.1740-9713.2014.00787.x

The Misinformation Effect and Me

Due to dissociative amnesia, the misinformation effect has happened to me many times throughout my childhood. Unfortunately, most of these experiences have been negative or traumatic- which sounds relatively accurate for a subject as delicate as memory. Many arguments or moments of tension, I can recall, changed as I learned more about the entire situation. For example, I remember many fights between my brothers and me that were more or less chaotic than they actually were. I thought for so long that, when I was a toddler, I drew a knife on my brother. It took my mother finally explaining to me as an adult for me to realize that wasn't what happened. Instead, our other brother pulled it on me. It's so fascinating (and sometimes horrifying) how the brain warps an experience in order to better fit your conscience (mine being guilty).

Social media and technology have both helped raise awareness and also created more conflict. With the information available, especially when we are told a story of how something happened through a post or graphic, it's so easy to genuinely believe that your experiences were inaccurate. Sometimes, our brains even want us to believe that something worse happened in order to provide some form of self-validation. I have come to the point of being unable to trust my own memory concerning traumatic events in my past because of this. 

Suggestibility, especially in therapy, is dangerous. To call it unethical is to diminish a problem that often leads to mental anguish. It's a sensitive subject because many of us, including myself, want to recall specific events in order to heal from the effects of such. At the very least, we crave closure. However, allowing someone or even something to add in details or suggest that certain things happened when they may not have could lead to a person believing that they experienced something "worse" than they actually did. The confusion, shame, and other feelings that come with this are devastating. 

David G. Myers,  Jean M. Twenge. (2022). Social Psychology (Fourteenth edition, pages 51-54). McGraw-Hill. https://prod.reader-ui.prod.mheducation.com/epub/sn_9a5c1/data-uuid-9a468453fcc24b6083c4b7379ff3b7e8

Conformity & Obediance

As emphasized in the text, conformity is not necessarily consequential, beneficial, or "bad". Many cases of conformity and public obedience have shown dangerous effects on minorities, though. COVID and the year 2020 brought up popularized cases of rebellion versus conformity. An older historical example, however, is the AIDS crisis. Throughout the beginning of the epidemic in the 80s and 90s, millions of homosexual men needed support yet were disowned by their loved ones. The public saw the condition as a sign of homosexuality and thus inferiority, and even an excuse to deny treatment. People have notoriously ignored health crises due to peer pressure since the dawn of medicine. 

The idea of obedience is taught in CPR class a lot as well. Oftentimes, CPR-trained individuals freeze up in a crowd because they see everyone else standing helpless when someone goes into cardiac arrest, even if they understand the critical circumstances. This goes hand in hand with conformity and "following the crowd". The smaller the group of people, generally, the easier it is for the person to step forward and perform CPR. It also gets less intimidating the more the person performs CPR, and I suspect this is the case with other forms of conformity. The more an individual grows used to standing out from the crowd, the more comfortable they feel doing so. It appears that the only way to overcome the negative effects of conformity is to do the exact thing one is embarrassed by or afraid of.

Myers, D. G. & Twenge, J. M. (2022). Social Psychology (14th ed.). McGraw Hill.

The Barnum Effect and Stereotyping

The Barnum effect is a psychological phenomenon in which broad, non-specific persona traits are accepted as true and applicable to specific individuals. It mostly relies on a sense of gullibility (although we've all fallen for them, and probably always will in part). This is seen in horoscopes, tarot readings, church sermons, personality tests, and just about any TikTok you can find about mental health and personality. In one of my last classes we had a very similar discussion topic and I talked about the Barnum effect in online mental health spaces. Too often, we accept characteristics- even disorders ones- as our own because we have no context or "this is what normal-ish looks like" to refer to. 

The Barnum effect applies to groups, too. Often, we judge a group based on accepted, vague beliefs. Some of the text's examples reference my own experiences with "stereotypes" (LGBT+, Native American). It challenges many of these broad statements with the question, "Who isn't like that?" (Shiraev & Levy, page 54). 

Immigrants are also subject to the Barnum effect. We (as in those like me who were born here) always heard in school that immigrants come here for a "better life". As I've grown up, of course, I've seen what that better life looks like. To some, it's a miracle. To others, it's a disaster. In many cases, the life is better, but at what cost? What did these people lose? What did they go through to get here? What are they still/now facing here? There was never room for the question, "What is a better life?", or, "Why?" There was never even room for, "Are you an immigrant? What was your experience like?" 

We live in a constant state of "otherness" and the Barnum effect fuels it. It does not, however, have to keep us separated or confined. Just like with personality tests, most religious or spiritual "proof", and ADHD TikToks (that's my rabbit hole), we have to use our critical thinking filter. In this aspect, it is no longer ourselves we are defining- it is entire people groups. It is how we deal with the world. We cannot do such hastily. 

Shiraev, E. B., & Levy, D. A. (2020). Cross-Cultural Psychology (7th ed.). Taylor & Francis. https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/9780429534478

Social Context in Community

As described in the article Changing Contexts and the Field of Community Psychology, social conditions impact community psychology and vice versa. In the sixties, there was optimism and anticipation for the growing field concerning civil rights, feminism, and war. The 90s were met with health crises and crime rise, and thus psychologists emphasized a better method of handling these problems. We draw from these experiences to see the greater emergence of the field we learn of today. 

Our generations are no strangers to public health crises, rights and protests, war and foreign aid policies, and crime. We have all been concerned with these problems in as little as the last four years. Community psychology matters in these contexts. Had we not prepared for and directly addressed COVID-19, policing issues, gun laws and school shootings, foreign policies, and other problems, we may be even more unstable than we are now. Many of our communities- large and small- did not appropriately address such events and are facing severe consequences. 

To me, all of these issues matter. Public schools should be a safe educational space for children both physically and mentally, healthcare should be accessible to all, no one should starve, and so on. It is not always so simple, though, to demand everyone get what they deserve and every conflict resolved. Internal disagreement on method, though one of the beauties of our country, holds us to a standstill. I believe that the smallest communities- individually and as a combined whole- are the key to working towards safety, equity, and possibly even peace. 

Kelly, J. G. (1990). Changing Contexts and the Field of Community Psychology. American Journal of Community Psychology, 18(6), 769. https://ezproxy.snhu.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fscholarly-journals%2Fchanging-contexts-field-community-psychology%2Fdocview%2F1295895232%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D3783

The Bystander Effect

I have witnessed the bystander effect and been part of it numerous times, especially as a child. In school, they often teach about bullying and encourage the bystander to overcome their fear of responsibility. In CPR classes, this is taught because the bystander effect often occurs for those with CPR training when someone within a larger group goes into cardiac arrest. Still, Kitty Genovese's story horrified me. To even imagine watching someone be brutally assaulted and/or killed and do nothing at all is incredibly saddening. However, it makes me consider all of the times I've kept walking past people in public who I thought were experiencing an emergency. Just as discussed in the textbook, I see that no one else is concerned and therefore release stress over the situation. Many times, it is a safety concern; "What if they attack me? What if it's a trick?" 

Ever since a bullying experience in elementary school, I've tried to overcome the bystander effect in verbal conflicts. As a queer person, I also have a general understanding to stick up for others. Violence, however, I imagine I would have a much harder time reacting to. I don't believe a 911 phone call or something less involved would be difficult, but stepping in a hostile scene certainly would. I hope that if I am ever presented with the unfortunate opportunity, I help in every way I can. 

Myers, D. G. & Twenge, J. M. (2022). Social Psychology (14th ed.). McGraw Hill.

The Bystander Effect (?) Part Two

Kitty Genovese's story, as told by psychology textbooks, is far less disappointing in terms of how witnesses reacted than I previously believed. Rather than be completely ignored, Kitty was helped in small ways by dozens of people. Some called the police, some shouted in intervention, and the last woman to see Kitty held her in her arms until medics arrived. This is, of course, according to these witnesses in trial. It is entirely possible that they changed their stories to hide any shame. Still, a question of ethics must be raised when spreading disputed information as fact in textbooks and schools. Kitty Genovese deserves her truth to be told, whatever that may be. Read about her life here.

The Impact of Gender Roles from Childhood to Adulthood

My upbringing was, like most individuals, very dependent on gender. As the textbook video mentions, girls played with dolls and boys played with toy cars. My and my brothers' childhoods were no different, and I now find it comical how much meaning we as adults give toys that, in reality, have no gender. Little girls may learn to mother from taking care of plastic babies, but they still view it as play. Toys have nothing to do with it all; the children just want to do whatever their parents are doing and appear independent. 

Still, I was taught "feminine" roles such as cleaning, wanting children, and getting married as if those were the only possible aspirations. My brothers were always told to clean, but they didn't have to like I did. They were also asked to be more quiet, but they didn't have to like I did. Violence has not been a thought in my head since childhood, but my brother is in the army. Even in a less traditional household, the implication was everything. Don't sit with your legs like that, that isn't very ladylike, your clothes make your brothers uncomfortable...The best part of it all is that I still am agender and laugh at it all now. 

My family was in an in-between stage that wanted women to have rights and work, but they still had to be treated differently. School, sports, and even some forms of leadership were encouraged, but a girl's role was to become a (working) mom someday. I didn't want any rules or roles at all. I was taught to bite my tongue and let someone else handle the work. Because of that, I grew up believing I was less qualified, less capable, less ambitious, less. The moment I began to question myself, all of that changed. I still have anxiety in leadership roles because of how poorly I was prepared. However, I look back knowing it was all a lie.  

Technology and social media greatly impacted my acceptance of my own gender and the genders around me. I actually wonder what I would be like had I not introduced myself to social media at such a young age. Perhaps I'd be less anxious of my appearance, but I learned a lot from those I didn't see enough in my daily life. Trans people were rare for me to meet as a child, and social media and the internet allowed me to discover the world for myself. I got to connect with people I would've been told to stay away from. Still, I didn't even consider my own gender until adulthood. Actually, one day at work I was heading to the bathroom and jerked to a stop mid-doorway under the woman's sign. It was like walking into an invisible wall of agender. 

As a nanny and new pibling, I cannot imagine putting a child in a box that is gender, or at least gender roles. Kids were built to take over the world; how could they do that in highly socially constructed ways based on parts of their bodies they shouldn't even be concerned with?

[Agender: someone who does not experience, have, and/or believe in gender. They may not conform to gender roles or align with their assigned gender at birth. They may or may not be transsexual, and sexuality is treated separately.] 

David G. Meyers & Jean M. Twenge. 2022. Social Psychology. Chapter 5: Gender Roles and How Individuals Adapt Over Time. McGraw Hill. 

Social Context in Community

As described in the article Changing Contexts and the Field of Community Psychology, social conditions impact community psychology and vice versa. In the sixties, there was optimism and anticipation for the growing field concerning civil rights, feminism, and war. The 90s were met with health crises and crime rise, and thus psychologists emphasized a better method of handling these problems. We draw from these experiences to see the greater emergence of the field we learn of today. 

Our generations are no strangers to public health crises, rights and protests, war and foreign aid policies, and crime. We have all been concerned with these problems in as little as the last four years. Community psychology matters in these contexts. Had we not prepared for and directly addressed COVID-19, policing issues, gun laws and school shootings, foreign policies, and other problems, we may be even more unstable than we are now. Many of our communities- large and small- did not appropriately address such events and are facing severe consequences. 

To me, all of these issues matter. Public schools should be a safe educational space for children both physically and mentally, healthcare should be accessible to all, no one should starve, and so on. It is not always so simple, though, to demand everyone get what they deserve and every conflict resolved. Internal disagreement on method, though one of the beauties of our country, holds us to a standstill. I believe that the smallest communities- individually and as a combined whole- are the key to working towards safety, equity, and possibly even peace. 

Kelly, J. G. (1990). Changing Contexts and the Field of Community Psychology. American Journal of Community Psychology, 18(6), 769. https://ezproxy.snhu.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fscholarly-journals%2Fchanging-contexts-field-community-psychology%2Fdocview%2F1295895232%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D3783

Community Response to Criminal Justice (Community Psychology, Social Events, Current Events)

Since the height of 2020, the country has had a huge influx of awareness in criminal cases and criminal justice. George Floyd and Breona Taylor- we are all familiar with these names by now, and they sadly continue to add up. 

As court and criminal case knowledge spread across social media, news outlets, journalists, community leaders, and victims' families, the public began to take action. Endless educational posts were shared, and more than ever, citizens of these countries came together to demand justice for victims of police brutality. The protests continued as bills were introduced, including H.R.1280- the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021. This would create a range of programs and training in order to "hold officers more accountable" (U.S. Congress 2022). Floyd's murderers were sentenced to prison recently; the involved officers given over three years in prison, and Derek Chauvin, the one who held his knee over Floyd, was sentenced to twenty-one years (Parks and Levenson, 2023).

The public has not stopped there, though. We have all become hyper-aware (and some desensitized) of how frequently these cases occur. Since 2020, more Americans have kept up-to-date with cases of police brutality, as well as race-based policing. The ideas of defunding, dismantling, training, re-building, and reforming American police have stayed highly relevant even as media coverage has decreased. 

There are always individuals who stay aware of and involved in social causes, but communities come together when a problem is unignorable. And once that happens, it is (thankfully!) very difficult to stop them. 

United States Congress. (2022). H.R.1280 George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2022. Congress.Gov. https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1280

Brad Parks and Eric Levenson. (7 August 2023). Officer who held back crowd during George Floyd's murder sentenced to over 4 years in prison. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/07/us/tou-thao-george-floyd-sentence/index.html

Maslow's Theory Across Cultures

Humanistic psychology was first recognized as a respected, useful field in the mid-1900s as psychologists grew more interested in human values and intentions. Self-actualization is a large part of this research. Abraham Maslow further developed these concepts with his theory that humans have various sets of needs that must be obtained in chronological order. This Hierarchy of Needs has five levels, beginning with physiological needs. These are the physical needs of food and water, and safety follows as the second level. Level three, belonging and love, includes social needs. Level four moves into self-esteem and confidence, and the final level is self-actualization (Shiraev, page 274).

This theory recognizes the first-world perspective on human needs. To most of us, this makes perfect chronological sense. However, many cultures are not awarded food, water, shelter, and safety in childhood so easily. Many indigenous tribes and independent nations work on each need simultaneously as they grow up, as well as during adulthood. Many areas of the world face terrorism, dictatorship, and poverty, but the people undergoing these circumstances are highly holistic and/or self-aware. 

Palestinians are a family-oriented, land-tied culture rooted in Sunni-Islamic beliefs. Like many cultures we have previously discussed, they are mostly collectivist and have external locus controls. From October 7th, 2023 to January 1st, 2024, nearly 22,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli Gaza strikes (Gaza Health Ministry 2024). We are all aware of the ongoing tragedy, but many of us remain naive to the culture and the people. Survivors have been diminished to starvation, disease, cruel treatment, and home raids- this does not even touch on the hospital crisis. Despite all of these human rights violations- removing layers 1, 2, and almost entirely 3 of Maslow's hierarchy- Palestinians remain helpful to one another, hopeful for change, and have large senses of community and self-actualization. The erasure of material and physical circumstances does not take away their bravery or identities, and I believe this applies to any culture. 

Maslow's Theory helps understand why someone may be suffering emotionally/mentally/psychologically. For example, not sleeping and eating will of course lead to a disrupted sense of self. However, the hierarchy of needs is not fixed in reality. It does not attribute to culture, religion, spirituality, society, or even the self. To better fit humans, these categories must be expanded upon and intertwined. 

Evason, N. (2020). Palestinian Culture: Religion. Cultural Atlas. https://culturalatlas.sbs.com.au/palestinian-culture/palestinian-culture-religion

Michigan School of Psychology. (2019). Humanistic Psychology. Michigan School of Psychology. https://msp.edu/about/explore-msp/humanistic-psychology/

Gaza Health Ministry. (1 January 2024). 21,978 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza since October 7. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/21978-palestinians-killed-israeli-strikes-gaza-since-oct-7-gaza-health-ministry-2024-01-01/#:~:text=21%2C978%20Palestinians%20killed%20in%20Israeli,7%20%2D%20Gaza%20health%20ministry%20%7C%20Reuters

Shiraev, E. B., & Levy, D. A. (2020). Cross-Cultural Psychology (7th ed.). Taylor & Francis. https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/9780429534478

Dimensions of Wellness in Me & My Community

The eight dimensions described in the Colorado Nurse’s Eight Dimensions of Wellness inspire the reader to closely analyze the internal and external factors contributing to their state of being. Emotional, environmental, financial, intellectual, occupational, physical, social, and spiritual lifestyle components all constantly impact our mood, health, and other makeup. This concept reminds us to be aware of these experiences to better care for ourselves.

The dimension that sticks out to me personally is the environmental construct. In today’s mental health and wellness spaces, there is a large emphasis on internal factors of wellness and what we can do to change them. However, it is often neglected the pivotal impact of the environment. The article defines this as promoting "good health by occupying pleasant, stimulating environments" (Garcia 2015). This is a broad statement that can be narrowed by further examining what makes an environment: demographics, job competition and diversity, resource availability, economic and social pressures (because these always intertwine), access to external and global resources, ethics, and, of course, politics. This leads to my main point that wellness is not exclusive to internal systems, but rather heavily relies on the vast relationships between each of the eight dimensions. There is little conversation of social health without addressing social justice, or financial wellness without addressing the economy, or intellectual without addressing education resources, and so on. 

My thoughts on this topic stem from my lived and observed experiences in my own environments. I have witnessed domestic violence, criminal injustice, the destruction of public school education and safety, and countless bans, and these do not simply frustrate an individual or group. These factors can completely destroy a demographic's wellness, from external trust and confidence to internal. 

Garcia, C. (2015). What are the Eight Dimensions of Wellness in Your Life? Colorado Nurse, 115(1), 6.

Wellness in Culturally-Expressive Media

A piece of culturally expressive media that I believe relates to wellness is the film Jennifer’s Body. The horror genre has always challenged social norms and criticized socially accepted concepts. We can see this in The Shining, Get Out, Carrie, and other popular works.

Jennifer’s Body has an overwhelming theme of sexual violence, violence towards women, the normalization of such, and embodies the “monstrous female seeking revenge” cliché. One teenage character, Jennifer, represents the hypersexualized girl. Her best friend is the unattractive nerd cliche. On a night out with a group of boys, Jennifer is “attacked” in the woods in a ritual. She becomes possessed by a demon and takes violent revenge on the male student population, and it is ultimately her best friend who stops her by unfortunately killing her.  

This movie has had a significant social impression. For years after its release, it was viewed by the wrong audience and thus its message completely overseen. Jennifer’s character was used as a sex symbol by fans of the movie and of the actress. In recent years, however, women, girls, and victims of violence and sexual violence have recognized the film’s heavy messages.  

Sexual violence affects every area of a person’s life (if the victim is not k*lled by their attacker after, as is the frequent case). The individual is left in an overwhelming state of trauma carried through both their body and their brain. Physical, sexual, and reproductive health are harmed. Mental/emotional/psychological health is immensely impacted, furthering affecting relationships, occupations, and finances.

Sexual violence has been a wellness issue as far back as we can track it. By continuing to talk about these tragedies (no matter how old it gets), we can continue to build a safer, educated, and accountable society.