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Toward Relational Empowerment

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
American Journal of Community Psychology

Abstract

Psychological empowerment has been theorized as a construct with emotional, behavioral and cognitive components. Yet, many studies have stressed that empowerment processes are contingent on interpersonal relationships. Moreover, theory suggests that power is developed and exercised through relationships. This article makes the case that expanding our conceptions of psychological empowerment through the addition of a relational component can enhance our understanding of psychological empowerment and the effectiveness of empowerment-oriented community practice. Previous research on empowerment is reviewed for relational content, and additional insights into the relational context of empowerment processes are marshaled from other concepts in community research including social capital, sense of community, social networks, social support, and citizen participation. A new iteration of the nomological network for psychological empowerment is presented, including the elements of a relational component.

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Notes

  1. Whether community participation can be better understood as a component of psychological empowerment, or a theoretically related but distinct variable, is a question that remains for future theoretical and empirical work. For instance, there are likely empowering behavioral processes and empowered outcomes that are expressed through more specific actions than aggregate community participation.

  2. The distinction between oppressors and oppressed is not absolute as it relates to individual persons. Participants in unjust systems often play at least some element of both roles.

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Acknowledgments

This article benefitted from insightful comments on earlier drafts that were provided by Andrew Peterson, Amanda Harrington, Abra Bankendorf, Constance Flanagan, and the anonymous reviewers for this journal. Thanks also to Victor Macaruso, whose perspective on empowerment in educational settings helped spur the ideas presented here.

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  1. School of Human Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1300 Linden Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, USA

    Brian D. Christens

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  1. Brian D. Christens
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Christens, B.D. Toward Relational Empowerment. Am J Community Psychol 50, 114–128 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-011-9483-5

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