September 2022 – Volume 26, Issue 3

Editors: Joyce Yip Green and Erinn C. Cameron

 Table of Contents

Message from the President

After the Conference

Division News

  • The Remarkable Origins of the APA International Division 52
  • APA Council Report from Dr. Merry Bullock
  • Update from the Coalition for Psychology in Schools and Education (CPSE)
  • Division 52 International Environmental Justice Committee News

APA 2022 Convention Highlights

Collaborations

  • Global Perspectives and Collaborations: Handbook of Positive Youth Development: Advancing Research, Policy and Practice in Global Contexts
  • Global Perspectives and Collaborations: Roma Minority Youth Across Cultural Contexts: Taking a Positive Approach to Research, Policy, and Practice

Global Perspectives

  • Sustainable Success in Actualizing Equity and Inclusion: A Status Report

United Nations Activities

  • Ten Years after the UN Proclaimed International Day of Happiness: Do We Have a Happier World Today?
  • Building Hope: Psychological Contributions to a Roadmap for Climate Action
  • Transforming Horizontal Violence

Early Career Professional Corner

  • Early Career Professional News
  • ECP Highlights from APA 2022

Student Corner

  • Div 52 APA 2022 Student First-Authored Poster Contest
  • Div 52 Student Highlights from APA 2022

Webinars

International Perspectives in Psychology 

Member Opinions/Tributes

  • Silent Language: Remembering Ernst Beier (1916-2015)
  • Memorable Experiences Sponsored by Division 52 at APA Convention

Announcements / Opportunities

  • Call for Papers – Special Issue of Applied Psychology: Health and Wellbeing
  • The 1st International Online conference on Happiness and Positivity
  • Invitation: Peace Psychology Education Project

Note from the Editors

Message from the President


Kurt Geisinger

Message from our President
Kurt Geisinger, PhD

After the Conference

I am writing some notes on my first day back from the 2022 APA Convention. While I missed seeing some of you at the annual convention, it was wonderful to meet several people for the first time with whom I worked from Division 52. Of course, it’s always good to see friends I have known for many years and to connect with individuals new to my professional orbit.

We have had a great 25th year anniversary. Our webinar series featured informative presentations by Danny Wedding, Brigitte Khoury, Janel Gauthier, Lori Foster, Rolando Diaz-Loving, and the team of Harold Takooshian and Florence Denmark. And we had an enjoyable celebration at the social after the presidential lecture on Friday late afternoon/evening. To see the excitement so many members felt about the 25th anniversary of our division was indescribably wonderful!

I have lots of people to thank. This past year, every time I did not know something about Division 52, I called or emailed Larry Gerstein, our past president. Martha Zlokovich, our treasurer, kept our finances in order and even set up an investment account that the Board approved this past Tuesday. And then there is the indispensable division secretary, Michele Ribeiro, whose term is ending this year. She has been so valuable for keeping the president and others in the division on track that I have totally repressed her leaving. Our two program co-chairs, Joyce Yip Green and Scarlett Choi were superwomen in every sense of the word. They organized outstanding conference and suite programs. The suite felt like a home away from home to which one could retreat when stressed or worried (say, about making a presidential lecture). I also must thank the leaders whose shoulders are the ones upon which the current holders of positions in the division stand. I include a picture with a number of those past presidents below.

The Shoulders of International Giants: (from left to right) past president Lawrence Gerstein, president-elect Antonio Puente, former president Nancy Sidun, former president Merry Bullock, president Kurt F. Geisinger, former president Brigitte Khoury, and former president Neal Rubin.

I am proud of the clear influence Division 52 is having on the American Psychological Association as a whole. We have “nudged” APA at numerous junctures over the years to see the world as international and not limited to the United States or even the United States and Canada borders. This year, for example, we argued strongly for dramatic wording of statements of support for Ukraine. We see that the current APA leadership is clearly viewing APA more internationally, from the CEO Arthur Evans, Jr., and the Trinidad-born President, my friend, Frank Worrell. And we thank the wonderful leader of APA’s Office of International Affairs, Amanda Clinton, who has been such an important voice at APA and with whom we in the leadership of the Division have often dialogued.

The work of many individuals, including Merry Bullock, Michele Ribeiro, Amanda Clinton, Lawrence Gerstein, Antonio Puente, and others, has been instrumental in starting an International Caucus for the APA Council of Representatives. As a former Council of Representatives and Board of Directors member, I can tell you all that much of the work of the Council is catalyzed by the work of its caucuses, and I believe that this one will have a great international impact over the years. Division 52 also continues to lead psychology’s superb associations with the United Nations. Our leaders of that effort have really raised the profile of the importance and impact of psychology worldwide.

I would like to take this opportunity to once again extend my thanks to the seven webinar presenters of the 25th Anniversary Webinar Series. The presenters I have already listed, but the distinguished moderators of those sessions include, in alphabetical order: Merry Bullock, Lawrence Gerstein, Diane Halpern, Antonio Puente, Neal Rubin, and Nancy Sidun. Please know that these lectures are all available on the Division 52 website at https://div52.net/webinars-2/apa-division-52-25th-anniversary-celebration-webinar-series/

It has been a humbling experience to walk with the members of Division 52 through this 25th anniversary and to see all that the division has accomplished over the past 25 years. It is hard to believe that it took years of fighting at the APA leadership level to even initiate the division. While the division’s short history is robust, its future continues. We are always looking for members to make their own impact. If you would like to serve the division in some way or work with the program committee, please let me or the president-elect know. My email is always open: kgeisinger@buros.org. I look forward to your continued input and to seeing even more of you at next year’s meeting!

Division News

The Remarkable Origins of the APA International Division 52

Harold Takooshian & Florence Denmark

In the spring of 2022, to mark the 25th anniversary of Division 52, President Kurt Geisinger offered a bold series of five webinars featuring diverse speakers on timely topics. On July 25, 2022, we two were privileged to offer the last of these five webinars on “The remarkable origins of the APA International Division 52.” This was a panoramic 80-minute overview of the Division’s origins, growth, and 12 current highlights.

We are pleased to elaborate here on two portions of this overview—the origins and early years of Division 52—by assembling unpublished new information based on two sources: (1) Denmark’s extraordinary personal memory of events since the 1970s. (2) Takooshian’s recent examination of original documents in the Library of Congress and APA Melton Archive.

Origins. APA Division 52 was approved by Council on February 21, 1997. But its origins go back much further. In fact, APA resisted an international division for over 50 years since the 1940s (Takooshian & Bais, 2017). On December 14, 1941, today’s International Council of Psychologists was formed in New York City by 253 women as the “National Council of Women Psychologists” (NCWP), as a way to better engage U.S. women’s talents in the World War Two war effort (O’Roark, 2018). Later in the 1940s, when APA was dramatically restructuring into divisions to save itself, APA voted to accept several independent groups among its first 19 divisions—such as SPSSI (Division 9) and the Association of Consulting Psychologists (Division 13). But ICP was not considered–at first because it excluded males (as NCWP), and later because it was a cross-national organization (ICP).

In August of 1974 in New Orleans, APA Council had just approved a new Division of Psychology of Women (Division 35) in 1973 and was now presented with a proposal for a new Division 36 on “International cooperation in psychology.” Council postponed action so that its P+P and other committees could examine this proposal. At the Council’s next meeting in DC in January of 1975, dynamic ICP past-President Leah Gold Fein of New York joined 7 other distinguished colleagues to re-present this petition with 306 signatures. But something unprecedented occurred. After much debate, by a voice vote, Council approved a new division on “Psychology or Religion.” But debate on the international division became so heated that Council voted to reject this petition. It then went back and, by a hand vote, rescinded its approval of the Religion division. As it turns out, Religion was re-approved as Division 36 at the next Council meeting in August of 1975, but International was not considered again.

After 1975, ICP was one of many organizations outside of APA that were naturally supportive of international psychology, but it took many years to gather the necessary signatures (1% of APA members) to re-petition APA. Meanwhile, within APA in the 1990s, many staff were supportive of this new division—its CEO Raymond D. Fowler, Sarah K. Jordan in Division Services, and Joan Buchanan in International Affairs. At APA Council in February of 1997, Ernst Beier and 4 others finally presented a petition with 773 signatures (more than the required 764), and Council swiftly approved International Psychology as Division 52 to the delight of many.

Early years. A look at the first eight presidents of Division 52 is revealing in at least five ways, considering the struggle to collect 764 signatures. (1) Oddly, the first 7 served in alphabetical order. (p< .001?). (2) At least five of these were leaders within the ICP. (3) At least five of these were officers of Psi Chi honor society. (4) Four of these were past-Presidents of APA. (5) Not least of all, four of these were New Yorkers. In fact, over 25% of the 773 petitioners were from that one city which (in earlier days) had spawned the ICP, ACP, and several other APA divisions.
Over the decades, we see a clear shift from “resistance” to “enthusiasm” for an international division within APA. Sadly, a full account of the Division’s remarkable history is yet to be written (Bais & Takooshian). But even this brief overview gives clear glimpses of what an unusual history this is. Now seems an apt time for the Division to appoint a historian/archivist and register with the U.S. Center for History of Psychology in Akron.

Report from Division 52 APA Council Representative Dr. Merry Bullock

Merry Bullock

Merry Bullock, PhD – Division 52 Representative to the APA Council of Representatives

The APA Council met in person in Minneapolis on the Wednesday before the Convention started and on Friday morning. Prior to the in-person meetings, the new council caucus “Caucus on Promoting Global and Human Rights Perspectives” met on zoom to begin to plan its proactive agenda (more on that below). Here are some council highlights:

International Focus

  • Council passed a motion to designed an annual Psychology Week – APA established the 3rd week in August as Psychology Week, an annual celebration of psychology that includes “Psychology Day,” recognized by the United Nations community and certain other institutions. As D52 representative, I noted that this will provide an important opportunity for APA to educate itself and its members about the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, the importance of a global perspective, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. -Passed

Resolutions and Guidelines Passed

  • Council passed the Guidelines for Equitable and Respectful Treatment of Graduate Students in Psychology Training Programs – These education guidelines provide aspirational targets for graduate psychology programs (both doctoral and masters level). The Promoting Global and Human Rights Perspectives Caucus added “immigration status” to the list of marginalized identities in the document. This will, we hope, raise awareness about the financial, legal and regulatory issues that international graduate students face.
  • Resolution on Psychology’s Role in Addressing the Impact of, and Change Required with Police Use of Excessive Force Against People of Color and Other Marginalized Communities in the United States
  • Resolution on the Imposition of Death as a Penalty for Persons Aged 18 Through 20, Also Known as the Late Adolescent Class – This is a resolution that utilizes psychological science to advocate for increasing the age of eligibility for the death penalty from 18 to 21. Note that APA has had since 2001 a Council-approved policy calling for a moratorium on executions and the use of death as penalty in the United States based on significant psychological science regarding the deficiencies of the death penalty assessment process.
  • Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Women with Serious Mental Illness – These practice guidelines are aspirational tenets in providing clinical services to women with SMI. They provide a culturally responsive, trauma-informed approach to clinical engagement informed by recovery-oriented care models.  The recommendation was to look how our guidelines for practice can inform our ethics and to see how these issues cut across other marginalized populations as referenced in this document.-Passed

APA Updates and APA Business

  • Advancing APA’s Racial Equity Action Plan as Part of the Commitment to Dismantle Systemic Racism – Council received a document is intended to prioritize, operationalize, and ensure accountability for achieving goals identified in three resolutions previously passed. Those resolutions were created to identify inequity and take accountability. This document puts that into action. –Passed
  • Council received the APA 2021 Presidential Task Force on Psychology and Health Equity’s Report – The Task Force previously generated the Resolution on Advancing Health Equity in Psychology adopted by the APA Council of Representatives on October 29, 2021. This current report offers recommendations in the areas of Education and Training, Science and Research, Professional Practice, and Advocacy.
  • Council passed a motion to send to the membership a vote on a bylaws change to add a graduate student to all elected Boards and Committees, and passed a motion to add a seat to all appointed Committees: Graduate Student Member Seats on Selected APA Boards and Committees.
  • Reduction of APA Presidential campaigning period (delays nomination deadline and moves up voting period); removes independent auditing firm involvement with election of Secretary and Treasurer that is no longer needed with electronic voting.-Passed

Caucus on Promoting Global and Global Human Rights Perspectives

The Caucus met prior to the council meeting. As it is just getting started the Caucus did not propose new items as this council meeting. However, that is a goal. There are plans to hold a town hall meeting in the late fall or 2023 early spring to discuss how the caucus wants to operationalize its mission. Division 52 members are invited and welcomed to email me, as D52 representative and caucus co-chair, with ideas you might have for how the caucus can work within council and APA to increase a global perspective.

Update from the Coalition for Psychology in Schools and Education (CPSE)

Patricia H. A. Perez, PhD

Associate Professor, International Psychology, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, Online Campus
Division 52 Representative

The Coalition for Psychology in Schools and Education (CPSE) includes members who represent various APA divisions. I am pleased to be the Division 52 representative since December 2019. CPSE’s mission “is to bring together interested psychologists to promote and make publicly accessible applications of the research that psychology has developed to assist the nation in improving the quality of public and private pre-K to 12 education” (https://www.apa.org/ed/schools/coalition).

As a group, our meetings are semi-annual (June and December). Our last meeting was held on June 3-5 in Washington, DC.
As a whole, we continue working on projects related to educational disparities, top 20 principles: special education edition, homeschooling, ethics in education, and CDC-funded professional development project/mental health primers. Please see the projects I continue to participate in and on behalf of the Division.

Mental Health Primers: This working group was launched in 2018. These primers assist teachers with relevant research and strategies for addressing mental health issues of their students. With funding from CDC, we are polishing these primers to be included for teachers’ professional development focused on racial and ethnic disparities. We are also working on audio recordings with relevant content. Please see completed mental health primers here: https://www.apa.org/ed/schools/primer.

Top 20 Principles: Special Education Edition: Building off of the Top 20 Principles from Psychology for PreK-12th Teaching and Learning (https://www.apa.org/ed/schools/teaching-learning/top-twenty-principles.pdf), this working group is reviewing a final completed draft. This edition is anticipated to be circulated in 2023.

Our next meeting is scheduled virtually on December 3-4 virtually. If you are interested in learning more about CPSE and our work, please feel free to contact me at pperez@thechicagoschool.edu.

Division 52 International Environmental Justice Committee News

The DIV52 International Environmental Justice Committee welcomes two new members who recently joined the team. Dr. Camila Pérez, Ph.D., is an indigenous psychologist who is a member of the Mapuche people from Chile, and Niklas A. Chimirri is an Associate Professor in Social Psychology of Everyday Life at the Department of People and Technology at Roskilde University, Denmark. The IEJC is committed to produce and collect information, organize events, promote advocacy, and concrete proposals to put forward regarding environmental challenges and inequalities on international psychology’s agenda, including theoretical, professional, therapeutic, educational and ethical aspects of the human conduct in the ecosystem. Further information about IEJC can be found at https://div52.net/activities/apa-division-52-international-environmental-justice-committee/

On October 12, 2022, 12:30 PM EST, the IEJC resumes its webinar series with Dr. Wade Pickren, Ph.D., who will discuss “Psychologies Otherwise/Earthwise.” The event is open to both members and non-members. Everyone is warmly welcome to register and join.

Psychologies Otherwise/Earthwise asks, “How can humans and other than human beings have lives and futures based on living in deep recognition of our mutual interdependence and the co-constitution of all on the Earth?” In this talk, I lay out the rationale for a new/old cosmology as a foundation for addressing these crises. One that is pluriversal, where many worlds are possible. In this cosmology, the register is marked by an ontology of radical relationality and a regenerative epistemology. On this foundation, Psychologies Otherwise/Earthwise works to help create a new commons characterized by reciprocity and cooperation. In this presentation, we use Psychologies Otherwise/Earthwise to examine the crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, and offer alternative paths forward as a way to regain our balance with (the) Earth. https://div52.net/activities/apa-division-52-international-environmental-justice-committee/iejc_webinar_series/

APA President Elect 2022 and Board-of-Directors Candidates

Without any explicit encouragement for any particular candidate, we do urge members to vote! It is one way to endorse the importance of international perspectives on psychology and APA.

Presidential Candidates 2022 – Responses to D52 Questions

Board of Director Member-at-Large Candidates 2022 – Responses to D52 Questions

APA 2022 Convention Highlights

Recognition of Outstanding Contributions by Division Members Across APA 2022

Megan Hall (first from right) and Division 52 board member Martha Z. (far left), executive director Psi Chi.

Megan Hall, B.A. was awarded the APA Society Convention Research Award (undergraduate) through Psi Chi for her poster “Effects of a Brief Exposure to Nature or Social Media.”

Dr. Yu-Wei Wang (Clinical Associate Professor and Research Director/Assistant Director of the University of Maryland Counseling Center, College Park, MD) received the 2022 American Psychological Association Division 17 International Section Excellent Contribution Award for her contribution to international counseling psychology research, cross-cultural collaboration, and service/training with an international focus.

Erinn C. Cameron, Division 52 student chair, was awarded the Division 55 Society for Prescribing Psychology Student Research Award for her poster Cannabis Delivery Method Usage Patterns and Preferences for Women with Chronic Pain.

Aldo Barrita, Division 52 student chair-elect, was awarded the 2022 Barbara Smith & Jewell E. Horvat Graduate Student Award APA Division 45 Society for the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity, and Race for his collection of work regarding LGTBQ and BIPOC collaborations and research.

Memorable Experiences Sponsored by Division 52 at APA Convention in Minneapolis, 2022

Frances Boulon, University of Puerto Rico
Deborah Stiles, Webster University, Missouri

The Convention held by APA in 2022 was memorable in many ways, including the opportunity to greet colleagues in person after two years of pandemic distancing. We are pleased to share two other experiences sponsored by Division 52 that contribute to international psychology research and interventions.

The panel: Interventions to Support Refugees and Migrants Facing Traumatic Events was presented by collaborators of the Refugee Mental Health Resource Network (RMHRN) and included presentations about work with refugees that were featured in the 2021-2022 webinar series organized by the Network.

  • Psychological support and advocacy for a Honduran family in Missouri: a Case Study by Deborah Stiles of Webster University, Missouri.
  • Addressing Mental Health in Venezuelan Migrant Children and Adolescents in Colombia by Julian Moreno and Carolina Parada, Graduate students from Universidad de los Andes, Bogota, Colombia.
  • Culturally Responsive Interventions for Newly Arrived Afghans by Afghan American psychologist Rosalind Rogers. Elizabeth Carll, Chair of RMHRN coordinated the panel and Frances Boulon served as Panel chair and discussant.

The panel was held on Thursday, August 4th and was well attended by an audience committed to issues of refugee mental health. Contacts were shared with colleagues doing research on related topics and who showed interest in collaborating with the RMHRN. When the RMHRN was established, there were few if any training programs addressing the mental health of refugees and migrants. An extensive free webinar series was established to fill this void and the training of the RMHRN database of mental health volunteers and other interested individuals. Currently, the RMHRN database includes more than 600 volunteers.

Collaborations

Global Perspectives and Collaborations: Handbook of Positive Youth Development: Advancing Research, Policy and Practice in Global Contexts

Winner of the 2022 Ursula Gielen Global Psychology Book Award, American Psychological Association, APA
Winner of the 2022 Social Policy Book Publication Award, the Society for Research on Adolescence, SRA


Samson Mhizha
Department of Applied Psychology
University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe

This is a product of global project on Positive Youth Development (PYD) strengths-based approach with adolescents and emerging adults from an international perspective. The book focuses on PYD across vast geographical regions and pathways to successful social and individual well-being among young people across various cultural contexts as to advance research, policy, and practice that foster continued thriving and reduce the chances of deprived youth development in an integrated, multinational and multidisciplinary perspective. Part of the Springer Series on Child and Family Studies, the Handbook of Positive Youth Development: Advancing Research, Policy and Practice in Global Contexts is a potentially ground-breaking work, comprising 37 chapters from 38 countries and major geographic regions (e.g., Europe, Asia, Africa, Middle East, Australia, New Zealand, and the Americas). The volume provides a truly international perspective on PYD, featuring new scholarship from under-represented and under-studied geographic locations. The Handbook addresses three major aims of the advancement of theoretical and empirical knowledge globally with culturally-relevant applications of PYD; the refinement of methodological issues and measurement in under-researched contexts; and the integration of PYD scholarship with research, policy, and practice. As such, the volume pays full recognition to the ongoing need for contextualizing youth development within a broader system of human development. Scholarship from a wide range of disciplines is represented including positive, developmental, cross-cultural, social and community psychology, well-being, child and family studies, education, prevention, intercultural relations, anthropology, sociology, methodology, counselling, emerging adulthood, intervention and implementation science, cross-cultural psychology, child and adolescent psychiatry, social work, educational policy and politics, anthropology, sociology, social psychology and all interrelated disciplines.

The Handbook is segmented into two main parts. Part I—PYD in Global Contexts presents 17 chapters with new PYD conceptualizations and research examples from India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Malaysia, China, Ghana, Colombia, Peru, Mexico, Belize, Brazil, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, Italy, Spain, Iceland, Norway, Australia, New Zealand, Bulgaria and Romania. Part II—PYD Applications and Interventions includes 18 chapters on applied PYD studies in diverse contexts including those from China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, Jamaica, South Africa, Slovenia, Lithuania, Finland, Norway, Canada and the United States. With this breadth of coverage, the Handbook advances and promotes global perspectives, voices and narratives, while championing a new generation of PYD scholars in largely underrepresented environments. It is very impressive that Dr. Dimitrova and her colleagues present such a diverse, broad-base sampling of PYD research from so many corners of the world. A major contribution of the Handbook, therefore, lays in the considerable evidence that PYD has begun to gain a foothold around the world in shaping youth development, research, policy and practice. In this regard, the Handbook will undoubtedly serve as an important resource for a broad audience of youth researchers, practitioners and policy makers for many years to come.

Global Perspectives and Collaborations: Roma Minority Youth Across Cultural Contexts: Taking a Positive Approach to Research, Policy, and Practice


Samson Mhizha
Department of Applied Psychology
University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe

Radosveta Dimitrova, David Sam, Laura Ferrer-Wreder, editors.
Roma Minority Youth Across Cultural Contexts: Taking a Positive Approach to Research, Policy, and Practice. 2021. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
2022 PROSE Book Award Winner for Psychology, Association of American Publishers

This is the product of global collaboration among Roma youth in Europe and the US. Roma youth are one of the most vulnerable ethnic minority groups, historically experiencing severe marginalization, exclusion and discrimination. Roma youth are globally recognized to be in need of support and their successful adaptation and optimal outcomes are of major interest to practitioners and policy makers. The international, multidisciplinary, and multi-sectorial expert contributors to this book addresses the complexities of Roma life as to indicate how key processes and person-context interactions can contribute to well-being and thriving through positive youth development (PYD) framework.

The book begins describing the case of Roma youth nowadays with abundant historical information, policies and interventions on Roma based on a non-deficit approach. This means that researchers did not portray their samples as “abnormal” or “deficient” when compared to “normative” youth. Indeed, it is quite clear that, even with efforts, the views and beliefs of researchers on a given topic can bias the results. Part of this is inherent to intrinsic racism, in-group influences, and an effect of the “traditional” literature from developmental textbooks. Consequently, chapters within section one report on investigations designed to promote not only better outcomes to the Roma minority itself but also to broaden the lenses of PYD among youth in social and economic vulnerability.

The second section gives the reader an in-depth view of theoretical models regarding minorities adaptation and well-being. Notably, this section contributes to efforts in defining and putting into practice the constructs related to PYD. For instance, several chapters examine how internal and external assets (i.e., positive values, social competence, social support, and community empowerment) might assist PYD-based studies. Moreover, the section highlights how Roma diverge from the majority youth, which seems to be particularly timely for policy makers in sustaining positive development of Roma and other marginalized minority groups across the globe. In addition, the book contains a section of mixed-methods studies in Bulgaria, Kosovo, Albania, and Serbia. Taken together, readers will notice that the samples of these studies provide a rare chance to critically reflect on the myriad of PYD implications, notwithstanding the seminal, North American roots of the PYD. The contributors offer comprehensive analyses of cultural-specifics of their findings for those studying and working with minority groups, with examples of policy implications for well-being for future generations of Roma minority.

Clearly, there are several interesting lessons that the book offers. By applying the PYD approach with Roma, the work presented has implications on the knowledge about a growing, yet stigmatized and vulnerable population. The authors’ experience with cross-cultural research provides both individual vs. comparative insights of issues regarding this minority in a variety of contexts, thus enabling inferences on experiences shared and non-shared across nations. Finally, the volume has a great potential to underpin future efforts in studying developmental processes in the face of the PYD perspective.

 

The Beneficial Effects of the 7Cs Model of Positive Youth Development on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Principal Investigator: Ph.D. Cand. Ass. Arian Musliu, Faculty of Education, University of Prishtina “Hasan Prishtina”.
Research Team: Prof. Ass. Dr. Fitim Uka, Department of Psychology, University of Prishtina “Hasan Prishtina and Arlinda Gashi, Clinic “Empatia”
Steering Committee: Prof. Dr. Radosveta Dimitrova, Department of Psychology, Stockholm University and Prof. Dr. Breeda McGrath, Chicago School of Professional Psychology.

Winner of the small grants program 2022 by Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict and Violence: Peace Psychology Division: http://peacepsychology.org/small-grants-2022.

This research project is about the minimization of post-traumatic stress symptoms among youth by using a strong evidence-based approach which includes 7Cs (competence, confidence, character, connection, caring, contribution, and creativity) among youth in Kosovo. After the war in 1999, Kosovo experienced hard times, rebuilding the destroyed financial and education system, and Kosovo still remains one of the poorest countries in Europe (World Population Review, 2020). Together with low participation in public life, lack of health care, educational services, and security issues, unemployment represents the major challenges that youth had faced after the war (Pasha et al., 2012). In summary, the overall youth wellbeing in Kosovo significantly lags behind major averages of the OECD countries (OECD, 2018).
Traumatic events and memories are largely encoded in the brain and act as potential contributors to chronic stress responses that can affect different dimensions of an individual’s functioning. Evidence has shown that the prevalence of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms among the general population of Kosovo ranges from 17% to 25% out of less than 2 million population (Cardozo et al., 2000; 2003; Fanaj et al., 2014). As such young generations in Kosovo experience high manifestations of PTSD as in other war-affected regions posing them at risk for developmental problems. However, empirical evidence showed that frameworks such as Positive Youth Development are well suited and timely to alleviate the potentially detrimental PTSD effects among young people in post-was contexts such Kosovo (Dimitrova & Wiium, 2021). In addition, emotion-regulation strategies (i.e. expressive suppression and cognitive reappraisal) are critical especially when coping with aversive events (Eippert et al., 2007). Thus, this project aims to test a model on the beneficial effects of newly developed PYD model of 7Cs on PTSD symptoms through emotion regulation strategies among youth in Kosovo. The main premise is that 7Cs would facilitate the use of emotion regulation strategies, therefore, alleviating PTSD symptoms among youth. As the target are youth from Kosovo, a post-war country, the project is highly relevant and timely to both international and peace psychology as to indicate pathways to thriving in post-war development among youthful populations. Developing and applying new conceptual models on PYD and youth thriving is a great opportunity to promote relevant policies and interventions on PYD, emotion regulation, and coping mechanisms in contexts of adversity globally.

For more information, updates, and a list of cited references, please contact Arian Musliu, University of Prishtina, arian.musliu@uni-pr.edu.

Global Perspectives

Sustainable Success in Actualizing Equity and Inclusion: A Status Report

Tara Pir, PhD

Chief Psychologist, Diplomate in Behavioral Medicine and Professional Psychotherapy
CEO/Director, Institute for Multicultural Counseling & Education Services. Inc. (IMCES)

Tara Pir

One of the positive outcomes of the negative consequences of the recent pandemics of many forms was the recognition of the influence and impact of social structures in every domain of our lives. Chaotic outcomes of the pandemic and radical changes highlighted the color of social injustice and its influence, and made it inevitable to see. We became more aware of social justice and its influence in every domain of our life, in our health, mental health, education, profession, discipline, economy, and many more. The positive outcome of the negative impacts and consequences of this troubled time, although out of desperation, led to creative resolution and planning toward successful sustainability for the future.

One of the highlights of the positive outcomes is the recognition of social determinants as a part of the concept of health. Medical schools are recognizing the need for inclusion of social determinants influence as a part of the curriculum at the beginning phase of training. The discipline of psychology as a health care profession is rooted in human rights and social justice.

The American Psychological Association (APA) council this year made extraordinary effort in promoting EDI (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) as a guiding principle of every strategic plan. Diversity as a reality of existence is inevitable, but inclusion has always been optional. Therefore, incorporating the practice of equity, with the aim of providing accessibility to resources, must be incorporated by design in advance in every domain of our social structure as a fundamental requirement of human service delivery. The very fact that “we are not equal but equally different” is a call to recognize that each individual is unique with specific “potential” possibilities and societal limitations.

Both the “gift” and “limitations” must be addressed in parallel with the specific plan for the “gift” to be nourished with resources and opportunities for individuals to not only succeed but thrive; and for “limitations” to be lifted through accessibility to resources in order to reach their deserving right of equity. Both of those are major investments and contributions to economic and human service development and ultimately to social justice in our society. This interactive mutual contribution of society and unique individuals would be a fertile ground for sustainable development.

We have done exactly that at our community clinic, which is a nonprofit NGO with ECOSOC status at the United Nations. I founded and directed The Institute for Multicultural Counseling and Education Services, IMCES, with the mission of promoting human rights and social justice. Since the inception, our mission has been demonstrated in action as it has been interwoven in every aspect of our operation. The two major contributions of our organization include direct health and mental health services to the varied complex needs of culturally diverse commuities, as well as workforce development APA accredited clinical training programs for doctoral interns and residents for the discipline of psychology and other mental health professionals.

Working at IMCES is like being in a “learning lab.” Our strategy for lasting sustainable success is rooted in facilitating the opportunity for work to be a “learning lab.”
This would be with the aim of facilitating individuals’ potential to be actualized with the outcome of becoming a better learner and a better person.
We empower to connect value-based behavior and practices. Radical changes in our world recently created a great deal of ambiguity in every aspect of our life and produced high anxiety. A sustainable strategy in mitigating the inevitable anxiety is a way of thinking, doing, and approaching, which is a definition of culture. Culture (Colture) is a French word; the term is derived from the Latin term “colere,” meaning to tend to the earth, grow, cultivate, and mature. This is interwoven in our functioning, clinical training, and service delivery as a strategy for sustainable success.

As an NGO with ECOSOC status, IMCES engages in various activities on an ongoing basis that align with and contributes to the work of the United Nations. IMCES’s mission of human rights and social justice is interwoven in every aspect of the organization, and all of our activities aim to contribute to Sustainable Development Goal 10: reduced inequalities. IMCES’s mission and practices align specifically with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the two major domains:

SDG #3: Good Health and Well-Being

IMCES provides mental health services with a spectrum of prevention and early intervention (PEI), moderate mental illness (MMI) and severe mental illness (SMI). Our services are linguistically diverse and culturally sensitive to provide care for the diverse underserved target population in our community. IMCES promotes and practices equity, diversity, and inclusion by providing no charge health, mental health, and social services to low to no-income culturally diverse target populations in our community who may not have access to resources and services.

SDG #4: Quality Education

IMCES workforce development/ APA accredited clinical training programs in health psychology focus on promoting leadership development. Our clinical training programs for pre-doctoral interns and postdoctoral residents in psychology provide structured training, including didactic seminars, and multidisciplinary supervision, where interns and residents gain core competencies necessary for the field and discipline of psychology. This clinical training is part of an academic environment where students receive many layers of benefits above the standard of similar pre-doctoral training, including many forms of certificated evidence-based practice training, which interns would benefit from by making their professional documents marketable in the challenging world.

In fact, IMCES receives so much appreciation from alumni who have successfully achieved the goal of prestigious and high-paying positions in professional domains.
Our high standard of clinical training is with the aim to internationalize and standardize training to the degree that promotes inclusivity for many underserved members of the community that cannot have access to APA accredited clinical training programs. This is a practice of equity and inclusion. We purposefully recruit staff and emerging professionals from the different marginalized ethnic groups to empower their commitment to serve the target population of the different communities they represent, and the public with their high standard training and skillset.

Our interns were intentionally and carefully selected from diverse ethnic communities in Los Angeles county, a microcosm of the world. Our intern represenation includes Latinx, Middle Eastern, Armenian, North African, Eastern and Western European, and diverse regions of Asia. We allocated a specific cultural/ linguistic incentive as a part of stipend and/or salary for staff to further motivate individuals with economic support. IMCES’s recent graduation ceremony of doctoral interns is one example of the successful outcomes of our integrated high standard clinical training model.

This year, our doctoral interns participated in a collaborative international comparative study between 3 countries (Australia, Canada, and the United States) about refugee and migrant youth settlement titled “Rebuilding Life After Migration”. This study is designed to identify the quality of services in many domains and promote accessibility and equity. The results of the study will be communicated with relevant governments in relation to policy and procedures toward the necessary adjustment of facilitating growth opportunities for migrant and refugee youth and their subsequent successful adjustment and membership in their host countries. The University of South Australia, our research partner, recognized IMCES doctoral interns’ effective participation in this international project and awarded them certificates for their significant contributions. Our graduates are prepared and equipped to respond to the ever-changing health needs of our community, as well as advocate for the necessary restructuring/ advancement of our profession and discipline.

United Nations Activities

Ten Years after the UN Proclaimed International Day of Happiness
Do We Have a Happier World Today?

Hamid Al-Bayati, Ph.D.
Frances Biroc, Ph.D.

Hamid Al-Bayati

Frances Biroc

The International Day of Happiness represents a movement that promotes happiness as a universal goal, an aspiration in the lives of human beings around the world along with the right of everyone to strive for it. On April 2, 2012, former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon met Ambassador Al-Bayati and a team of happiness advocates. The group presented a proposal to proclaim an International Day of Happiness and requested the support of the Secretary-General (Al-Bayati & Biroc, 2022).

On April 5, 2012, the President of the UN General Assembly Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser embraced the Ambassador’s proposal and offered to submit the proposal as a President’s resolution to gain support among member states. Resolution 66/281 was adopted on June 28, 2012, and the United Nations General Assembly, proclaimed 20 March as the International Day of Happiness. The resolution recognizes the importance of public policy objectives that focus on the need for a more comprehensive, reasonable, unbiased, and balanced approach to economic growth, one that promotes sustainable development, poverty eradication, and the well-being of all peoples.

On March 20, 2013, the world celebrated this event for the first time. Since then, every year more and more states and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) joined the celebration. After ten years, it is the time to assess the progress made by states, nations, international organizations, and NGOs, in their efforts to spread happiness throughout the world, especially for the vulnerable.

We attempt to answer an imperative question that asks: After 10 Years, “Do we have a happier world today?” On Monday, March 20, 2023, what will be the answer at the UN Tenth International Day of Happiness? According to World Happiness Report 2022, “Over the last ten years, there has been a transformation of public interest in happiness. Policymakers worldwide increasingly see it as an important and overarching objective of public policy” (Helliwell et al., 2022, p. 7). While interest in happiness has mushroomed over the ten years of World Happiness Reports, the global average of national life evaluations has been relatively stable. There has, on average, been a long-term moderate upward trend in stress, worry, and sadness in most countries and a slight long-term decline in the enjoyment of life. There are many reasons for this. The International Committee of the Red Cross reports that the COVI-19 pandemic is causing people to feel anxious, distressed or worried. Fear of contracting the virus along with stress and anxiety related to isolation and other quarantine measures, distress over separation, and fear of longer-term impacts of the global disruption are contributing factors. On a global level, the Russian invasion of Ukraine led to a humanitarian crisis that caused thousands of casualties, refugees exiting the country, and internally displaced people. The prolonged war led to an economic crisis in Europe and in the U.S. Fear that tensions with China could escalate to war heightens anxiety. In war zones and in communities affected by violence, people experience huge psychological stress. Global climate change threatens international peace and security, and COVID-19 has caused a spike in stress.

In the US, inflation is the highest it has been for 40 years. Costs for housing, food, fuel, and all other materials have skyrocketed. To combat inflation, the Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate by 0.75% on July 27, 2022, once again increasing how much consumers will pay on debt like credit cards, mortgages and other loans. The federal funds rate, which indirectly determines the cost of loans, has increased from near-zero to a range of 2.25% to 2.5%. This is the fourth-rate hike in five months. Rate hikes can help slow inflation, but they also result in added costs for consumers already dealing with elevated prices for goods and services.
Interest in happiness and subjective well-being has risen sharply, whether measured by the frequency of those words in books written in multiple global languages, the scale of published research, or the number of government measurement initiatives.

U.N. Resolution 66/281 invites all Member States, organizations of the United Nations system, and other international and regional organizations, as well as civil society, including non-governmental organizations and individuals, to observe the event in an appropriate manner, which they suggest should include education and raising public awareness. The US remains the leading economic power in the world, but many residents do not enjoy a happy life despite the wealth and lavish lifestyles that exist. Air pollution, environmental degradation, destruction of natural wildlife, and damage to human health may offset the happiness gained from economic success. The US ranked 19 in World Happiness Report 2022 after many European and Asian countries, New Zealand, Australia, and Costa Rica (Helliwell et al., 2022).

In the US, there is a high level of inequality, and a lack of trust in our institutions and in our elected officials. These sentiments have divided the country and made the government less effective. The psychological costs of COVID-19 include an increase in the risk of suicide, domestic violence, and drug and alcohol abuse from those suffering new and acute financial stresses. Anxiety levels among Americans picked up in July 2021. 33% of respondents in the survey said they were more anxious. 51% of respondents reported being worried about their own physical well-being, and 57% reported being concerned about the health of their family and those in their immediate circles.

It has long been accepted that economic progress generates happiness but recently that way of thinking has been upended and many analysts believe that happiness generates economic progress because it is thought to have a positive impact on productivity. The links between happiness and economic behavior suggest that happy workers show higher performance than their unhappy counterparts. Some studies suggest that if happiness boosts productivity the economy would benefit from stronger links between applied psychology and applied economics.

“Well-being” varies by country, state, and local communities; however, some factors particularly influence happiness levels. Residents of more equal communities especially those where economic gains are distributed more evenly across the population tend to have less poverty, a higher education level and they report higher levels of happiness. Through higher incomes, improved job security and education, higher levels of personal satisfaction are attainable. The biggest influence on happiness continues to be money. Wealthier countries and wealthier states can provide more programs to reduce both income inequality and poverty. Countries with larger social safety nets tend to report greater happiness due to improved equality of opportunity. Public policies such as universal healthcare and universal education are redistributive measures that can help to reduce inequality, reduce poverty, and maximize well-being.

Other efforts to reduce economic inequality and increase happiness levels across the United States include supporting worker training programs, raising the minimum wage, and ending residential segregation. Policies that promote increasing middle-class wages create states with self-sufficient and financially secure populations. Though economic growth remains the most effective way to improve well-being, some redistribution of wealth through government programs and taxes can enhance opportunities, reduce inequality, and boost overall happiness.

References

Al-Bayati, H., & Biroc, F. (2022). International Day of Happiness at the UN and the COVID-19 crisis. Pages 63-78 in E. Congress, D. Meister, S.C. Osborn, & H. Takooshian (Eds.), Behavioral Science in the global arena: Global mental, spiritual, and social health. Information Age Publishers.

Helliwell, J.F., Layard, R., Sachs, J., DeNeve, J-E., Aknin, L.B., & Wang, S. (2022). World Happiness Report 2022. Center for Sustainable Development. www.worldhappiness.report

Building Hope: Psychological Contributions to a Roadmap for Climate Action

Vica Tomberge, Kalyani Gopal, Efrat Neter, Vera Araujo-Soares
Psychology Coalition of the United Nations

The 15th Annual Psychology Day at the United Nations was dedicated to climate change and focused on how psychology can contribute and support countries in implementing their climate pledges.

Virtually carried out via zoom it took place on Thursday, April 21, 2022 and was sponsored by the Psychology Coalition of NGOs at the United Nations having Consultative Status with ECOSOC and the Permanent Missions of the Dominican Republic and Mexico to the United Nations. 2677 people registered and 640 from 107 countries attended to discuss this year´s theme “Building Hope: Psychological Contributions to a Roadmap for Climate Action”.

During his opening speech, David Marcotte, Ph.D., President of the Psychology Coalition of NGOs at the United Nations, emphasized the importance of the PCUN network of NGOs to contribute to the fight against climate change and all contemporary challenges with transdisciplinary, international effort.

Further opening remarks were shared by Kalyani Gopal, Ph.D., President of Division 12 of the American Psychological Association (APA). Dr. Gopal stated that psychologists need to provide their knowledge on reducing environmental stress and fighting eco-harmful strategies to collectively reduce our carbon print.

Following Dr. Gopal’s opening note, Dr. Vera Araújo-Soares (Regional Vice President at the Psychology Coalition of NGOs at the United Nations, University of Twente, Netherlands) and Dr. Efrat Neter, (Ruppin Academic Center, Emeq Hefer, Israel, and Secretary at the Psychology Coalition at the United Nations) moderated the ensuing speakers.

Mr. Abdulla Shahid, President of the United Nations General Assembly, addressed the audience and emphasized the importance of hope, the central theme of his presidency, in addressing climate change, as hope is a common denominator for human collective action. He stated that psychological solutions are needed today more than ever and warmly welcomed PCUN’s commitment to sharing how can psychological science contribute to tackle climate change.

Afterwards Ambassador J. R. de la Fuente, Permanent Representative of Mexico to the United Nations and founder of the Clinical Research Unit of the Mexican Institute of Psychiatry reaffirmed the view that combating climate change requires an international and coordinated response, including addressing the mental health consequences that may arise.

Following these remarks, a panel of six psychologists from five different continents and varied psychological disciplines, emphasized the potential contributions of psychological perspectives to actionable solutions to the climate change.

The 2022 UN Psychology Day was organized by a 25-person committee and led by Kalyani Gopal, Efrat Neter, Vera Araujo-Soares, Olivia Friedman, Taylor Mulligan, and Josephine Juanamarga.

Details on the Day appear at https://www.unpsychologyday.com/ and the whole record of the event can be found online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQwXPQ8mz4U

Read the full PCUN report here:  Psy_Day2022_shortened Div 52 Bulletin

Transforming Horizontal Violence

Ani Kalayjian
Meaninfulworld

Horizontal Violence is the outcome of oppression, discrimination, and colonization.
Horizontal Violence is internalizing the aggression of the perpetrator/colonizer, and therefore, putting one another down. Preferring the oppressor’s kind (e.g., their race, religion, color, gender, etc.) will cause us to make negative assumptions about ourselves and our own kind. We, therefore, will start behaving as our aggressor, feeling entitled and putting down those from our own group. We may see behaviors such as envy, jealousy, distrust, one-upmanship, negativity, and putting our family, cousins, and our own kind down by denigrating them and displacing our anger and frustrations on them.

“Don’t be a crab in the bucket; Be a true human and lift one another up!”

We have volunteered in 48 countries around the world and have observed that in many countries the phenomenon of Horizontal Violence is rampant. In Haiti they did not know what Horizontal Violence was at first. But when we described it, they unanimously shouted, “Oh that is Haitian sickness!” In Sierra Leone they were sure it was the “Sierra Leonian disease,” while in Armenia they asserted frequently that “it is the Armenian condition to put one another down.” Meanwhile women, who are oppressed and abused in most countries in the world, often are said to be “jealous of one another.”

Within each country we served – while on humanitarian relief missions – we observed many acts of aggression derived from Horizontal Violence: internalizing the hatred and violence of the aggressor, putting one another down, stepping on one another emotionally, and humiliating each other with distrust. Oppressed peoples’ frustration will become too intense to hide, and frustration cannot be expressed towards the perpetrator, as the perpetrator will cause more suffering. Governments, colonizers, or a body of aggressors continue to press down onto the minority people, and frustration increases within this minority group of people. As the frustration increases to an unmanageable level, it explodes horizontally, impacting the very people they love, who are living in proximity. We learned from the African-Americans in the Southern USA, who call this Horizontal Violence condition “the crab in the bucket” syndrome.

Have you observed a bunch of crabs in a bucket? I would recommend that you do. You will observe that one crab attempts to climb up out of the bucket, while a second crab pulls the first carb down. A third crab attempts to crawl up and out of the bucket, while a fourth crab tries to pull that crab down. So, this continues, and not one
crab can get out of the bucket.

We have spearheaded this campaign of transforming Horizontal Violence in over a dozen countries around the world. We prepare banners in their native languages with this message:

Be a true human and pull one another up.
Don’t be a crab in the bucket, pulling one another down.

As John Andrew Holmes said:

There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up.

We at Meaningfulworld believe:
When one helps another, BOTH become stronger.

Early Career Professionals Corner

Early Career Professionals News

Greetings from the ECP corner! We were excited to attend, in person and virtually, the APA 2022 Convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Lora and Antonio were able to join in person, and Tatyana was also to access the convention virtually. We, like many others, deeply appreciated the flexible offering of formatting for attendees. Division 52 hosted a robust array of events for all members including a social hour for ECPs, as well as a networking event (which is ongoing—please reach out directly to Lora to get involved with furthering your international research and/or special projects: LErickson@thechicagoschool.edu).

In addition, we are working on planning a webinar for later this fall to best serve the survey needs and interests of our ECP and student members. Please stay tuned to our Instagram page for information on this topic: apa_division_52_ecps

We are always looking for more ECPs who would like to get involved within our division in a variety of ways. Please reach out directly to Lora to learn about opportunities for involvement: LErickson@thechicagoschool.edu

We look forward to continuing to serve you as your ECP trio this year!

Lora (ECP chair), Antonio (ECP past chair), & Tatyana (ECP chair-elect)

ECP Highlights from APA 2022

ECPs Dr. Joyce Green, Dr. Lora Erickson, & Dr. Karen Brown, as well as some other cherished Division 52 leaders and supporters, Dr. Breeda McGrath, Dr. Viviane Pecanha, and Dr. Drake Spaeth
ECPs Joyce and Lora in the Convention Hall

Student Corner

Division 52 Student Highlights from APA 2022

Division 52 Student First-Authored Poster Awards

Each year, Division 52 hosts a poster contest at the APA convention. Over the years, this contest has taken different forms. However, the primary purpose of the contest is about engagement in and celebration of international psychology. Twenty-seven student first-authored posters were submitted this year. Posters were peer-reviewed by division volunteers, and certificates were distributed at the convention. Division volunteers included Lynette Bikos (poster competition organizer), Merry Bullock, Nok I Chan; Rachel Inabata, Kristin Leprich, Erinn C. Cameron, Breeda McGrath, Clara O’Brien, Kenneth T. Wang, and Martha Zlokovich. A list of all poster winners and poster titles can be found here (insert link). Division 52 also sponsors student poster awards at other conferences. If you are interested in coordinating a Division 52 poster contest at your regional or specialty conference, please contact Lynette Bikos at D52@spu.edu

Photo Highlights from the Division 52 APA 2022 Poster Contest 

First Place- Uibin Lee, Hyung-Ju Ju, & Sungman Shin
First Place- Alyssa Martinez
Third Place- Indra A. Gonzalez & Neil Rubin
First Place – Lenia Chae and Eric Chen
First Place – Anyesha Mishra
First Place – Hayoung Kim
Second Place- Chongzheng Wei
Caption Needed
First Place – Jinhee Yu and Sung-Man Shin

APA 2022 Division 52 Student Social Hour

We had a fabulous turnout for the division student social hour at this year’s APA convention, which was organized by student chair Erinn Cameron and student chair-elect Aldo Barrita. Several board members stopped by to introduce themselves to our international student members and answer questions about how students can get involved with division activities. We also enjoyed a special visit from APA 2022 president-elect Dr. Thema S. Davis! The student committee would like to thank the division for providing a wonderful meal for this event and for our lovely board secretary, Michelle Ribiero, for teaching us all how to eat Ethiopian food properly!

Division 52 Webinars

Division 52 Webinars are hour long informational and skill building sessions.
They are open to the public. There is an opportunity for discussion with the presenter.

International Perspectives in Psychology Brief

International Perspectives in Psychology: Research, Practice, Consultation

Ines Meyer, School of Management Studies, University of Cape Town, South Africa
Stuart C. Carr, School of Psychology, Massey University, Aotearoa/New Zealand

Vol 11  Issue 3  2022

Special Issue: Psychology and the COVID-19 Pandemic – A Global Perspective

Guest Editors: Lawrence H. Gerstein & Falu Rami

(https://econtent.hogrefe.com/toc/ipp/current).

We would like to publish equivalent special issues which cover other regions of the world in future. If you are interested in serving as guest editor for one of these please get in touch with us (ines.meyer@uct.ac.zas.c.carr@massey.ac.za). Of course and as always, we also welcome general article and policy brief submissions.

Member Opinions/Tribute

Silent Language: Remembering Ernst Beier (1916-2015)

Robert F. Morgan, Albuquerque. N. M.
(From RF Morgan’s 2021 book Time Statues with permission)

Ernst Beier

An international psychology division for the American Psychological Association (APA), now Division 52, was originally the idea of a small group led by Ernst Beier, eventually its first President. I recall Fran Culbertson and Florence Denmark, particularly among the several distinguished advocates for international involvement leading our initial charge. We were longtime veterans of the process. I’ve been in APA since 1966, but I was far from the oldest in the group. I got to be the first awards coordinator, choosing to divide the award categories between USA and non-USA recipients. In all of this, Ernst was the catalyst for progress as a leader that never seemed to tire. His two-decade age advantage over me and most of the rest of us was clearly an example of the vitality and accomplishment some psychologists keep to the end of a very long life. Always charming and universally appreciated, Ernst epitomized what I call the Golden Rule of Proportionality: he solved far more problems than he created. Maybe moreso than any others I have known, he was always at his best.

An international psychologist pioneer, Ernst Bier, was a celebrated expert on body language. His popular book “People Reading” was a best seller. His “The Silent Language of Psychotherapy” was a key volume for therapists. His day job was as a psychology professor in Salt Lake City, Utah.
In the summers, he would travel to exotic locales like New Guinea, following the cultural variations of body language there. He also enjoyed sailing, skiing, trekking, traveling, visiting and interviewing shamans, and piloting his own plane. Not bad for a man in his eighties.
When I met Ernst, he looked a lot like the mustached man about town in the Esquire magazine.

On the other hand, he spoke with a strong German accent. Add to that his military history in World War Two, and my first erroneous impression was that he had fought on the Nazi side. As we got to be friends, I asked him how he reconciled that experience. He seemed startled. No, he was on the American side. The German accent? What accent? In fact, Ernst had been a Jewish refugee, immigrating as a young man to America and fighting as soon as he could against the Nazis. He had joined the US Army, Tenth Mountain division, and was sent overseas with the 28th Infantry division. He was captured at the Battle of the Bulge by the Germans and survived a POW camp. After liberation he received the silver battle star.

Now a Jewish professor in a predominantly LDS university? “Exactly!” he confirmed with a broad smile. A few years later, he was my own invited keynote speaker at a professional psychology school graduation in California. Ernst and a restless audience waited for his turn through about an hour of preliminaries. When I finally could introduce him, I reviewed his outstanding body language contributions briefly. Much of that was beginning to appear in television series and in books on poker tells. I told the already restless audience that if they had read his books, they would have been able to follow his speech already. Since while he was waiting, he had given it silently sitting there on the stage twice now. (Laughter.) Now awake, they were focused. Actually, once vocalizing with real words, he gave a fine talk. Lots of insights graduates could use. Still with a great German accent, though.

Until suddenly, he was no longer there. Or anywhere. Nobody that I asked knew. There was a rumor that Ernst, now in his late 90s, had Alzheimer’s. Or, my initial favorite, that he had run back to New Guinea to be with a tribal woman. One day I finally succeeded in tracking his phone number down and called. Frances, his wife of 65 years, answered. Once she knew who I was, she apologized: “I’m sorry. Ernst is bedridden now. At 99 years old, his mind is fine, but he no longer can speak. You can talk to him on the telephone, but he can’t answer you. There’s not much time. We are told he won’t live out the week.”

If only I could see him. Then I knew he would answer me just fine without speech. But I took what I could in the time we had, being thousands of miles apart.
I talked one-way for a while, reminding him of past good times, funny twists in our life and wishing I could be there to enjoy his stories, even if by body language.
When I was done, his wife took the phone again. She said: “He’s smiling now. “

In August of 1998, D52 Founding President Ernst Beier surrounded with Board members.

Announcements / Opportunities

Call for Papers

Special issue on: “War in Europe, again? Adversity, coping, and resilience.”

Background
The attack of Russian armed forces on Ukraine with its dire consequences (casualties, displaced persons fleeing, anti-war demonstrations across the globe including Russian cities, sanctions) pose a threat to human life and global well-being. The physical, psychological and social impacts are already being felt in many parts of the world.

Social and behavioral science can deepen our understanding of the ongoing experiences of adversity, stress and trauma, as well as the processes of coping and resilience in the context of conflict, war, dislocation, and questioned identity. Antagonistic values seem to be at the core of the current military conflict and are associate with people’s political stance. Both adversity and coping and the ripples they create are being played out on many levels: the individual, family, institutions, community, nation, and multinational organizations. Research on the health and well-being of people in these contexts is urgently needed.

We invite you to contribute with an original empirical report, or review, highlighting (i) adversity (ii) coping and resilience (iii) interventions to increase resilience, health, and well-being, as well as (iv) issues of identity and values. The use of both qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods is invited. Manuscripts will follow standard journal peer-review practices, and those accepted for publication will appear in the special issue on “War in Europe, again? Adversity, coping and resilience.“

Special Issue Aims
The goal of this special issue is to bring together a set of state-of-the-art articles that review research on conflict and coping in times of war, offer empirical research on the issue of war, individual and community resilience, health, and well-being, not only in reference to the war in Ukraine but worldwide. This can include research in psychology, and related disciplines (e.g., social work, education, political science, public health, etc.) examining phenomena related to the topics sketched out in the main body of the Call.

Guest Editors
Efrat Neter, Ruppin Academic Center, Israel, neter@ruppin.ac.il
Klaus Boehnke, Jacobs University Bremen, Germany, k.boehnke@jacobs-university.de

Manuscript Submission
Manuscripts must be prepared according to Author Guidelines located at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/page/journal/17580854/homepage/forauthors.html.
Interested authors should send an expression of interest to the issue guest editors via e-mail till October 30, 2022. This expression of interest should give the title of the planned paper, its authors and affiliations, as well as an abstract (max. 500 words) of the content of the manuscript.

The guest editors will inform the authors of these expressions of interest by July 31, 2023, as to whether they are invited to submit a manuscript to the Special Issue. Authors should be aware that an invitation to submit a manuscript does not guarantee its eventual acceptance.

Invited authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal manuscript submission portal via https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/aphw till February 28th, 2024, though earlier submission is encouraged. All submitted manuscripts will be sent out for masked peer review. The editors look forward to receiving manuscripts.


The 1st International Online conference on Happiness and Positivity: PERMANAND: PHILOSOPHY, PSYCHOLOGY & PHYSIOLOGY OF HAPPINESS
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Invitation: Peace Psychology Education Project

Dear Division 52 Colleagues,

We would like to invite you to participate in a Peace Psychology education initiative that may be of interest.

We are a small group of peace psychologists who are creating an open-access peace psychology course.
We are soliciting online resources for this course and welcome participants from across the world.

Please visit this link to learn more about this project and submit your materials (podcasts, case studies, theories, methods): https://tinyurl.com/5ERPVD7W
Feel free to share on any of your listservs and groups where there might be interest.

If you have any questions, you can reach out to our group at: openaccesspeacepsychology@gmail.com

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Letter from the Editors

Joyce Yip Green
Erinn C. Cameron

It was wonderful to see so many friends and colleagues at APA 2022 Convention, in person and virtually.  This issue provides just a few of the many highlights of the convention submitted by our members.  We know that what is being published in this issue does not adequately reflect the many amazing conference posters, presentations, special lectures, spotlights, connections and memories that were experienced in Minneapolis this past August.

In addition, we have revived the “United Nations Activities” section with special pieces on the work of individuals and NGOs embarking on their mission and practices which align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.  Thank you for the enthusiastic and inspiring submissions and we welcome ongoing submissions highlighting your good work.

As we plan for the final issue of the 2022 year, we invite you to share your announcements, accolades, opinions, opportunities, creative musings, and news of relevant global and international work.  Let’s continue to strive for greater impact in our work as international psychologists.

Joyce and Erinn

Please email us with questions, comments or ideas at ipbdiv52@gmail.com. The deadline for submissions for the upcoming issue will be Dec 5th.

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