Monitor on Psychology - October 2011 - (Page 31)

In her presidential address, Melba J.T. Vasquez outlined areas where psychological research has secured justice and called for continued work to safeguard health-care reform. BY CHRIS TOPHER M UNS EY • Monitor staff P sychologists’ research has led to remarkable strides forward in social justice, helping us investigate and understand societal challenges, such as human and civil rights violations, effects of national disasters, terrorism and the importance of a sustainable environment, said APA President Melba J.T. Vasquez, PhD. Among its many accomplishments, psychologists’ research has led to the development of amicus briefs contributing to a decision prohibiting life without parole sentences for juveniles in non-capital criminal cases. It persuaded Florida to strike down a state law that prohibited gay and lesbian people from adopting children. It has convinced state and federal courts that overcrowding in state prisons was undermining inmates’ mental health. “These activities directly affect people’s lives,” Vasquez said. Psychologists are continuing their work to promote social justice for all Americans by promoting health-care reform and working to ensure that the greater access to mental health services gained in recent years is preserved and more, she said. “We know that not all members of our society have access to our services … and that leads us to work in the future to make sure that those aspects of health care do not get undone,” she said in her presidential address during APA’s 2011 Annual Convention. “We hope you will help us with those efforts.” Now, as the nation struggles in tough economic times, APA must continue its longstanding commitment to social justice and responsibility, she said. Working for social justice is, after all, part of APA’s mission and vision, as articulated in APA’s strategic plan (www.apa.org/about/governance/goodgovernance/index.aspx). Throughout APA’s history, Vasquez said, its leaders have stepped forward to address social justice concerns. Among the most memorable examples of such leadership was the work by APA President Kenneth B. Clark, PhD, and Mamie Phipps Clark, PhD, which contributed to the 1954 Supreme Court ruling that racial segregation in public education was unconstitutional. Today’s need for advocacy on social justice issues runs just as deep, said Vasquez, pointing out: • One in five American children lives in poverty and half a million are homeless, according to a 2008 report from the Foundation of Child Development. • The income gap among whites, blacks and Hispanics significantly widened between 2005 and 2009, according to a Pew Research Center report. The median wealth of white households is 20 times that of black households, and 18 times that of Hispanic households, the report found. • The United States lacks a national strategy to address how social and environmental factors result in shorter lifespans and chronic illness, according to the Institute of Medicine and National Academies of Science. “We’re living in a very challenging time,” she said, calling on psychologists to be “proactive in addressing critical social problems, especially those to which our research speaks.” While describing how psychology research can further social justice, Vasquez conceded that APA’s members don’t always agree on whether, or how, the association should speak out on controversial issues. For example, some members have contested several APA reports, such as the findings on abortion and mental health, sexual orientation change efforts and same-sex marriage and parenting, she said. Heated debates also have broken out over APA’s stance on the role of psychologists in the interrogation of terrorism detainees, proposed changes to the APA Model Licensing Act and the proposed seating of the four ethnic-minority psychological associations as voting members on the Council of Representatives, Vasquez said. And while open, public debate is healthy for APA, Vasquez appealed for civility, too. “We can all work to turn down the temperature on outrage, and we can disagree passionately, but with respect and care,” she said. n 31 OCTOBER 2011 • MONITOR ON PSYCHOLOGY http://www.apa.org/about/governance/good-governance/index.aspx http://www.apa.org/about/governance/good-governance/index.aspx

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Monitor on Psychology - October 2011

Monitor on Psychology - October 2011
President’s Column
Subtle and stunning slights
Contents
From the CEO
Live science on the showroom floor
Zimbardo re-examines his landmark study
Ready, set, mentor
Attention students and ECPs: Self-care is an ‘ethical imperative’
Suicide risk is high among war veterans in college, study finds
Psychotherapy is effective and here’s why
From toilet to tap: getting people to drink recycled water
What’s ahead for psychology practice?
A push for more accountability is changing the accreditation process
Peer, parental support prove key to fighting childhood obesity
Popular media’s message to girls
Bullying may contribute to lower test scores
A consequence of cuckoldry: More (and better) sex?
Manatees’ exquisite sense of touch may lead them into dangerous waters
Building a better tomato
How will China’s only children care for their aging parents?
‘Spice’ and ‘K2’: New drugs of abuse now on the market
Many suspects don’t understand their right to remain silent
In Brief
Boosting minority achievement
Where’s the progress?
And social justice for all
Helping new Americans find their way
Segregation’s ongoing legacy
A new way to combat prejudice
Retraining the biased brain
Suppressing the ‘white bears’
How to eat better — mindlessly
Protect your aging brain
Must babies always breed marital discontent?
Outing addiction
Flourish 2051
The danger of stimulants
Keys to making integrated care work
Is technology ruining our kids?
Facebook: Friend or foe?
The promise of Web 3.0
NIMH invests in IT enhanced interventions
Science Directions
Science Directions
PsycAdvocates work to safeguard key programs
The psychology of spending cuts
APA’s strategic plan goes live
Visionary leaders
Bravo!
Vote on bylaws amendments

Monitor on Psychology - October 2011

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