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Proximal Outcomes Matter: A Multilevel Examination of the Processes by Which Coordinating Councils Produce Change

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
American Journal of Community Psychology

Abstract

Communities are engaged in efforts to create a coordinated response to intimate partner violence. Though coordinating councils are commonly employed vehicles for such efforts, research provides only equivocal support regarding their effectiveness. These mixed findings may reflect methodological and conceptual challenges. Specifically, there is an over-reliance on conceptualizing council effectiveness in terms of distal outcomes (e.g., behavior change), rather than the intermediary processes by which councils affect change. A direct assessment of councils’ proximal outcomes may highlight change mechanisms. To that end, this study investigates the extent to which councils impact proximal outcomes and examines the processes through which proximal outcomes are interrelated and linked to distal community change. Study findings suggest that perceived proximal outcomes do significantly predict variability in perceived distal community change across councils. Specifically, promotion of social capital and institutionalized change predict achievement of distal community change, and promotion of social capital also predicts achievement of institutionalized change.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Vernie Beorkrem, Heather Dorsey, Sally Foster, and council coordinators and members for helping make this study possible. This project was supported by funding from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Grant Award #: 2005-WG-BX-0005. The content of this article reflects the views of the authors and not necessarily those of the funding agency.

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  1. Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 603 E. Daniel Street, Champaign, IL, 61820, USA

    Shabnam Javdani & Nicole E. Allen

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  1. Shabnam Javdani
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  2. Nicole E. Allen
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Correspondence to Shabnam Javdani.

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Javdani, S., Allen, N.E. Proximal Outcomes Matter: A Multilevel Examination of the Processes by Which Coordinating Councils Produce Change. Am J Community Psychol 47, 12–27 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-010-9375-0

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