Paul W. Speer

Associate Professor of Human and Organizational Development

Ph.D., University of Missouri, 1992

Research Area

Paul Speer's research interests focus on community organizing, social power and community change. He studies the processes and mechanisms of community organizations as these groups work to alter social conditions in their communities. Additionally, he is interested in linking these organizational processes to their associated impacts on the broader community as well as the impacts on individual participants.

Learn More about Paul W. Speer:

Courses Taught | Selected Publications
CV | Media Mentions

Selected Publications

Book Chapters:

Speer, P.W. (2008). Altering patterns of relationship and participation: Youth organizing as a setting-level intervention. In M. Shinn & H. Yoshikawa (Eds.) Toward Positive Youth Development: Transforming schools and community programs. (pp. 213-228). New York: Oxford University Press.

Speer, P.W., & Hughey, J. (2008). Community organizing: An ecological route to empowerment and power. In J.DeFilippis & S. Saegert (Eds.) The Community Development Reader. (pp. 204–213). New York: Routledge. Reprint of 1995 article in Journal of Community Psychology.

Speer, P.W., & Perkins, D.D. (2002). Community-based organizations, agencies and groups. In J. Guthrie (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Education, 2nd edition. New York: Macmillian Reference USA.

Hughey, J. & Speer, P.W. (2002). Community, sense of community and networks. In A. Fisher, C. Sonn, & B. Bishop (Eds.) Psychological sense of community: Research, applications and implications. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.

Speer, P.W., & Chavis, D.M. (1994). Community coalition theory and rural practice. In R.A. Couto, N.K. Simpson & G. Harris (Eds.) Sowing Seeds in the Mountains: Community-Based Coalitions for Cancer Prevention and Control. (pp. 138-155). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: National Cancer Institute Monograph.

Chavis, D.M., Speer, P.W., Resnick, I., & Zippay, A. (1993). Building community capacity to address alcohol and drug abuse: Getting to the heart of the problem. In R.C. Davis, A.J. Lurigio, & D. Rosenbaum (Eds.) Drugs and Community. (pp. 251-284). Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas

Refereed Journal Articles:

Peterson, N.A., Speer, P.W., Hughey, J., Armstead, T.L., Schneider, J.E., & Sheffer, M.A. (In Press). "Community organizations and sense of community: Further development in theory and measurement." Journal of Community Psychology.

Reid, R.J., Peterson, N.A., Hughey, J., & Speer, P.W. (In Press). "Citizen participation in substance abuse prevention activities: Person, situation, and environment-related predictors in an urban area." Research on Social Work Practice.

Speer, P.W. (In Press). "Social power and forms of change: Implications for psychopolitical validity." Journal of Community Psychology.

Peterson, N.A., Speer, P.W., & McMillan, D.W. (2008). "Validation of a brief sense of community scale: Confirmation of the principal theory of sense of community." Journal of Community Psychology, 36 (1), 1-13.

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

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.

Perkins, D.D., Bess, K., Cooper, D.G., Jones, D., Armstead, T., & Speer, P.W. (2006). "Community organizational learning: Case studies illustrating a three-dimensional model of levels and orders of change." Journal of Community Psychology, 35 (3), 303-328.

Peterson, N.A., Lowe, J.B., Hughey, J., Reid, R.J., Zimmerman, M.A., & Speer, P.W. (2006). "Measuring the intrapersonal component of psychological empowerment: Confirmatory factor analysis of the sociopolitical control scale." American Journal of Community Psychology, 38 (3/4), 287-297.

Peterson, N.A., Speer, P.W., & Hughey, J. (2006). "Measuring sense of community: A methodological interpretation of the factor structure debate." Journal of Community Psychology, 34 (4), 453-469.

Christens, B. & Speer, P.W. (2005). "Predicting violent crime using urban and suburban densities." Behavior and Social Issues, 14, 113-127.

Speer, P.W., & Zippay, A. (2005). "Participatory decision-making among community coalitions: an analysis of meeting minutes." Administration in Social Work.

Speer, P.W., Ontkush, M., Schmitt, B., Raman, P., Jackson, C., Rengert, K.M., & Peterson, N.A. (2003.). "The intentional exercise of power: Community organizing in Camden, New Jersey." Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 13, 399-408.

Perkins, D.D., Hughey, J. & Speer, P.W. (2002). "Community psychology perspectives on social capital and community development practice." Journal of the Community Development Society, 33(1), 33-52.

Peterson, N.A., Hamme, C.L., & Speer, P.W. (2002). "Cognitive Empowerment of African American and Caucasians: Differences in Understandings of Power, Political Functioning, and Shaping Ideology." Journal of Black Studies, 32 (3), 336-351.

Speer, P.W., Jackson, C., & Peterson, N.A. (2001). The relationship between social cohesion and empowerment: Support and new implications for theory. Health Education & Behavior, 28 (6), 716-732.

Gorman, D.M, Speer, P.W., Gruenewald, P.J., & Labouvie, E.W. (2000). Spatial Dynamics of Alcohol Availability, Neighborhood Structure and Violent Crime. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 62 (5), 628-636.

Peterson, N.A. & Speer, P.W. (2000). Linking organizational characteristics to psychological empowerment: Contextual issues in empowerment theory. Administration in Social Work, 24 (4), 39-58.

Speer, P.W., & Esposito, C. (2000). Family problems and children's competencies over the early elementary school years. Journal of Prevention and Intervention in the Community, 20, 69-83.

Speer, P.W., & Peterson, N.A. (2000). Psychometric properties of an empowerment scale: Testing cognitive, emotional and behavioral domains. Social Work Research, 24, 109-118.

Speer, P.W. (2000). Intrapersonal and interactional empowerment: Implications for theory. Journal of Community Psychology, 28, 51-61.

Huffman, L.R., & Speer, P.W. (2000). Academic performance among at-risk children: The role of developmentally appropriate practices. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 15, 167-184.

Hughey, J., Speer, P.W., & Peterson, N.A. (1999). Sense of community in community organizations: Structure and evidence of validity. Journal of Community Psychology, 27, 97-113.

Gorman, D.M., Labouvie, E.W., Speer, P.W., & Subaiya, A.P. (1998). Alcohol availability and domestic violence. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 24, 661-673.

Speer, P.W., Gorman, D.M., Labouvie, E.W., & Ontkush, M.A. (1998). Violent crime and alcohol availability: Relationships in an urban community. Journal of Public Health Policy, 19, 303-318.

Gorman, D.M., Speer, P.W., Labouvie, E.W., & Subaiya, A.P. (1998). Risk of assaultive violence and alcohol availability in New Jersey. American Journal of Public Health, 88, 97-100.

Gorman, D.M., & Speer, P.W. (1997). The concentration of liquor outlets in an economically disadvantaged city in the northeastern United States. Substance Use and Misuse, 32, 2033-2046.

Speer, P.W., & Hughey, J. (1996). Mechanisms of empowerment: Psychological processes for members of power-based community organizations. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 6, 177-187.

Gorman, D.M., & Speer, P.W. (1996). Preventing alcohol abuse and alcohol-related problems through community interventions: Recent developments and future prospects. Psychology and Health, 11, 95-131.

Speer, P.W., & Hughey, J. (1995). Community organizing: An ecological route to empowerment and power. American Journal of Community Psychology, 23, 729-748.

Speer, P.W., Hughey, J., Gensheimer, L.K., & Adams-Leavitt, W. (1995). Organizing for power: A comparative case study. Journal of Community Psychology, 23, 57-73.

O'Leary, D., Gorman, D.M., & Speer, P.W. (1994). The sale of alcoholic beverages to minors. Public Health Reports, 109, 816-818.

Speer, P., Dey, A., Griggs, P., Gibson, C., Lubin, B., & Hughey, J. (1992). In search of community: An analysis of community psychology research from 1984-1988. >American Journal of Community Psychology, 20, 195-209.

Terre, L., Drabman, R.S., & Speer, P. (1991). Health relevant behaviors in media: 1977-1988. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 21, 1303-1319.

Faculty Directory

Open Faculty Positions