Brian Christens

Brian Christens

Assistant Professor, Department of Interdisciplinary Studies

475 N. Charter St.

2406 Sterling Hall

Madison, WI 53706

Phone: (608) 265-9169

Fax: (608) 265-1171

bchristens@wisc.edu

Curriculum Vita

 

Biography

Brian D. Christens (Ph.D., Vanderbilt University, 2008) is Assistant Professor of Human Ecology in the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research is focused on participation and empowerment in different community and organizational settings, with applications to community development, youth development, and health promotion.

Dr. Christens is an affiliate faculty member of the Department of Community & Environmental Sociology, and is also an affiliate of the Center for Nonprofits. He is an editorial board member of the Journal of Youth and Adolescence.

 

Selected Publications

 

Christens, B. D., Peterson, N. A., & Speer, P. W. (2011). Community participation and psychological empowerment: Testing reciprocal causality using a cross-lagged panel design and latent constructs. Health Education & Behavior, 38(4), 339-347. doi:10.1177/1090198110372880

Christens, B. D., & Dolan, T. (2011). Interweaving youth development, community development, and social change through youth organizing.  Youth & Society, 43(2), 528-548. doi:10.1177/0044118X10383647

Peterson, N. A., Hamme Peterson, C., Agre, L. A., Christens, B. D., & Morton, C. M. (2011). Measuring youth empowerment: Validation of a sociopolitical control scale for youth in an urban community context. Journal of Community Psychology, 39(5), 592-605. doi:10.1002/jcop.20456

Christens, B. D., Speer, P. W., & Peterson, N. A. (2011). Social class as moderator of the relationship between (dis)empowering processes and psychological empowerment. Journal of Community Psychology, 39(2), 170-182. doi:10.1002/jcop.2042

Christens, B. D., & Speer, P. W. (2011). Contextual influences on participation in community organizing: A multilevel longitudinal study. American Journal of Community Psychology, 47(3-4), 253-263. doi:10.1007/s10464-010-9393-y

 

Christens, B. D. (2011). Psychological empowerment. In K. Dowding (Ed.), Encyclopedia of power (539-40). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. [link]


Christens, B. D. (2010). Public relationship building in grassroots community organizing: Relational intervention for individual and systems change. Journal of Community Psychology, 38(7), 886-900. doi:10.1002/jcop.20403

 

Christens, B. D. (2009). Suburban decentralization and the new urbanism: A pragmatic inquiry into value-based claims. Journal of Architectural and Planning Research, 26(1), 30-43. [pdf]

 

Christens, B. D., & Perkins, D. D. (2008). Transdisciplinary, multilevel, participatory action research to enhance ecological and psychopolitical validity. Journal of Community Psychology, 36(2), 214-231. doi:10.1002/jcop.20232

 

Christens, B. D., Jones, D. L., & Speer, P. W. (2008).  Power, conflict, and spirituality: A qualitative study of faith-based community organizing. Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 9(1), Art. 21. [link]

 

Christens, B. D., Hanlin, C. E., & Speer, P. W. (2007). Getting the social organism thinking: Strategy for systems change. American Journal of Community Psychology, 39(3-4), 229-238. doi:10.1007/s10464-007-9119-y

 



Teaching

Inter-HE 300, Nonprofit Sector: Overview and Foundation

Inter-HE 460, Leadership and Management of Nonprofit Organizations


 

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