American Journal of Community Psychology, Vol. 23, No.

5, 1995

Organizational Characteristics of Empowering

Community Settings: A Multiple
Case Study Approach
K e n n e t h I. M a t o n 1
University of Maryland Baltimore County

D e b o r a h A. S a l e m
Michigan State University

Although empowerment is often cited as a major guiding construct for

community psychology, relatively little is known about the characteristics of
empowering community settings. The current paper uses a multiple case study
methodology to generate a number of key organizational characteristics of
empowering community settings to guide future work in the area. In-depth,
multilevel, longitudinal research was conducted on three empowering
community settings: a religious fellowship, a mutual help organization for
persons with severe mental illness, and an educational program for African
American students. The organizational features found to characterize all three
settings were (a) a belief system that inspires growth, is strengths-based, and
is focused beyond the self," (b) an opportunity role structure that is pervasive,
highly accessible, and multifunctional; (c) a support system that is
encompassing, peer-based, and provides a sense of community; and (d)
leadership that is inspiring, talented, shared, and committed to both setting
and members. Limitations of the research are discussed, and directions for
future research suggested.
KEY WORDS: empowerment; empowering settings; organizational characteristics; community
settings.

1All correspondence should be sent to Kenneth Maton, Department of Psychology, University

of Maryland Baltimore County, Catonsville, MD 21228.

631
0091-0627/95/1000-0631507.50/0 9 1995 Plenum Publishing Corporalion
632 Maton and Salem

Empowerment has been defined in many different ways, depending in part

on the specific population or life domain under consideration and in part
on the theoretical orientation and level of analysis employed by the researcher
(Chesler & Chesney, 1988; Riger, 1993; Zimmerman, in press). The current
paper focuses on psychological empowerment, defined as the active,
participatory process of gaining resources or competencies needed to increase
control over one's life and accomplish important life goals. This definition
of psychological empowerment is similar to a number of other definitions
employed in the literature, including, for instance, Mechanic's (1991)
definition of empowerment as a process in which people develop a closer
correspondence between their goals, efforts, and life outcomes.
As many writers have noted, community organizations (e.g., voluntary
associations, mutual help groups, neighborhood organizations, churches)
represent potentially important local communities in which individuals,
through active participation with others, can gain power and resources and
achieve primary personal goals (Rappaport, 1981; Zimmerman, in press).
Surprisingly, to date there have been few studies that examine the organ-
izational characteristics of community settings that make them empowering
for their members (Zimmerman, in press).
In one recent study, Speer, Hughey, Gensheimer, and Adams-Leavitt
(1995) examined two similar organizing efforts in a midwestern city. One
organization was based in neighborhood block clubs and the second in con-
gregations representing different religious denominations. The authors
found that the church-based organization developed greater levels of psy-
chological empowerment among its members. Speer et al. attributed these
outcomes to the church-based organization's greater emphasis on relation-
ship development among participants and the availability of multiple and
rotating roles for members.
In another recent study, Spreitzer (1995) found that managers in a
Fortune 500 company whose departments were characterized by an
e m p l o y e e - c e n t e r e d culture, wide superior span of control (many
supervisees), access to sociopolitical support, and access to strategic
i n f o r m a t i o n e x p e r i e n c e d m o r e e m p o w e r m e n t t h a n m a n a g e r s in
departments lacking these characteristics. Taken together, these features
are seen as encouraging autonomy, innovation, commitment, and a sense
of environmental control.
Additional studies suggest other organizational features as important
for empowerment. Foster-Fishman (1994) identified the importance of a
participatory style of leadership and of empowerment advocates in a human
services agency. In social action organizations such as neighborhood asso-
ciations, leaders' incentive management efforts (Prestby, Wandersman,
Florin, Rich, & Chavis, 1990) and organizational mentor support (Kieffer,
Empowering Community Settings 633

1984) have been identified as characteristic of empowering organizations.

Watts (1993) found that a focus on "giving back," spirituality, and black
consciousness were important in manhood development programs for
African American youth.
The differences across studies in characteristics identified as impor-
tant for empowerment may reflect differences in the types o f organizations
and populations studied, in the definitions of empowerment used, and in
the type of methodology employed. No study was found which examined
organizational characteristics across diverse types of empowering commu-
nity settings.
The current paper contributes to the emergent area of empowerment
research by using a multiple case study approach to identify characteristics
that appear to be common across diverse, empowering community settings.
The empowering characteristics proposed were generated from in-depth
case studies of three different community settings that appear to help
members enhance psychological sense of control and achieve personal
goals.

THE CURRENT STUDY AND RESEARCH SITES

The three research settings are diverse in many regards, including

their goals, structures, and the specific means by which primary personal
goals are achieved. They have in common the fact that in each setting mem-
bers come together to achieve personal goals in interaction with others.
Published and unpublished data from research programs in each setting
are drawn upon in the current research synthesis. The three settings are
described briefly below, including some discussion of each setting's distinc-
tive empowering process and outcome. Although the intrapsychological
component of empowerment (e.g., sense of control) was not measured di-
rectly in any of the studies, we believe these are empowering settings
because they help members to accomplish important life goals through an
active, participatory process that emphasizes the importance of increasing
a sense of control over one's life.

New Covenant Fellowship

New Covenant Fellowship is a nondenominational Christian religious

fellowship located in a midwestern community. The Fellowship evolved
from a small Bible study group in the early 1970s into a congregation of
150-200 members at the time the research reported here was carried out
634 Maton and Salem

(1978-1982). The congregation is led by lay ministers who, along with most
members, had been strongly disillusioned with what they saw as rigidity or
a lack of spirituality in main-line denominations. Primary life goals of many
members are to love and serve God, and to develop into the kind of person
they perceive Jesus to have been.
Based on 5 years of linked ethnographic-empirical research (Maton,
1993), it seems clear that the setting can be described as empowering in
nature. Members make progress towards achieving personal goals through
a group-based participatory process which stresses enhanced personal
meaning and direction for one's life. Quantitative analyses indicate that
members, peers in the setting, and peers not in the setting all perceive
members to have changed significantly in interpersonal behaviors in the
direction of the group ideal of becoming more like Jesus (i.e., giving, car-
ing) (Maton, 1993; Maton & Rappaport, 1984). In-depth participant
observation indicates that interpersonal behavior change is part of a pro-
found empowering process involving a decreased sense of powerlessness,
and an enhanced sense of psychological and spiritual resources, life direc-
tion, and control over life circumstances (cf. Maton, 1993). This process of
empowerment includes altered cognitions, taking on new responsibilities
and roles in the setting, and enhanced confidence in one's value, one's lov-
ability, and one's future.

GROW

G R O W Inc. is a mutual help organization for persons with mental

illness. G R O W has three program components: weekly group meetings,
an extensive organizational literature, and a "sharing and caring com-
munity." The meetings focus on group problem solving and mutual
support and the organizational literature provides cognitive guidance.
The caring and sharing community forms a community for living that
extends beyond the weekly meeting, offering members ongoing friend-
ship and support. G R O W has a small paid staff, but most positions are
filled by volunteers. Both paid staff and volunteers are members who
have moved up through the organization. There is great diversity in the
type and severity of mental health concerns confronted by G R O W mem-
b e r s . P a r t i c i p a n t s r a n g e f r o m i n d i v i d u a l s w h o live and w o r k
independently, have no history of hospitalization, and are dealing with
a life transition or issue of spiritual or emotional growth to those with
histories of severe mental illness who live and work in highly sheltered
settings (Salem, 1988).
Empowering Community Settings 635

Based on over a decade of in-depth research, there is evidence

that G R O W is an empowering organization. Members make progress
towards personal goals through a participatory process that stresses tak-
ing control of one's own recovery. Luke (1990) examined G R O W
member's patterns of change in interpersonal, psychological, and com-
munity adjustment domains. Regular attenders were more likely than
those who attended less than once per month to be classified as positive
changers in at least one domain (78 vs. 50%), with dropouts from
G R O W more likely to have changed in a negative direction. In addition,
although hospitalized as often as matched controls, G R O W members
remained in the hospital for significantly shorter periods of time (Ken-
nedy, 1989). Based on observations of GROW meetings and consistent
with the G R O W literature we conclude that these findings reflect
GROW members' progress in accepting responsibility for their own re-
covery, developing personal resources and taking control of their own
lives. Members work towards their goals by "working" the G R O W pro-
gram. They make regular use of the Blue Book ( G R O W , 1982),
GROW's manual for daily living. Quotations from the Blue Book are
memorized, recited in meetings, and used by members in day-to-day
problem solving. Examples of Blue Book sayings are: "We took care
and control of our bodies"; "We trained our wills to govern our feel-
ings." Rappaport, Reischl, and Zimmerman (1992) provide descriptive
case studies of member empowerment in GROW.

Meyerhoff Scholars Program

The Meyerhoff Scholars Program is a multicomponent educational

support program for talented African American college students interested
in careers in the sciences. The program is at a predominantly white uni-
versity in which African American students in the sciences have generally
not fared well. Now in its sixth year, the program has a total current en-
rollment of 148 students (63 women and 85 men).
Primary program components include group studying, peer com-
munity, financial scholarships, a summer bridge program prior to
freshman year, program-specific educational advisors, strong campus ad-
ministrative involvement and support, and parent involvement. The
program has become a national model of a race-specific program ena-
bling students to succeed in the sciences at a predominantly white
campus, and to go on to graduate school in the sciences (cf. Gibbons,
1992).
636 Maton and Salem

Primary life goals of Meyerhoff students are to succeed in science

disciplines. Based on 4 years of linked ethnographic-empirical research, it
seems clear that the setting can be described as empowering in nature.
Members make progress towards personal goals through a group-based,
participatory process which stresses gaining skills, utilizing resources, and
working together. Analyses indicate that Meyerhoff students achieve higher
grades, and are much more likely to retain science majors and go on to
doctoral programs in science (50% of graduates to date) than equally tal-
ented African American students not in the program (Hrabowski & Maton,
1995; Maton & Hrabowski, 1995). Observation and interviews reveal that
integral to achieving these positive academic outcomes is the development
of higher levels of self-confidence in one's capability to cope with and suc-
ceed in the (predominantly white) setting of the university in general, and
with mastering difficult math/science content in particular. Students now
in graduate school indicate that integral to the empowering process was
learning to work well in groups, be assertive, utilize available resources,
relate to diverse individuals, and maintain a consistent academic focus.

Summary

Three community settings were initially selected for study due to their
potentially empowering nature. Research programs in each setting have
supported the view that the settings indeed have a positive, empowering
impact on members. The current synthesis of research findings focuses on
the identification of empowering organizational characteristics common to
the three diverse settings.

METHOD

The designs of each study are described elsewhere and are not re-
ported in detail here (Maton & Rappaport, 1984; Hrabowski & Maton,
1995; Rappaport et al., 1985; Salem, Seidman, & Rappaport, 1988). As
Table I indicates, the studies share several common characteristics that
made them good opportunities for developing ideas about the charac-
teristics of empowering community settings. In all of the studies in-depth
observational research over an extended period was carried out by reliable,
trained coders (behavioral observation) and/or by a team of participant-
o b s e r v e r s who were very familiar with the setting ( e t h n o g r a p h i c
observation). Participant observations were discussed by the researchers on
an ongoing basis in order to formulate a contextual understanding of each
Empowering Community Settings 637

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setting. In each study in-depth, semistructured interviews on a large sample

of members were conducted by trained interviewers. Additionally, ques-
tionnaire data, and in two of the studies information from educational or
mental health agency records, were collected to assess various individual
level variables. In summary, each study was a longitudinal, in-depth case
study of a single community organization which looked at multiple levels
of the organization and included many types of both qualitative and quan-
titative data collection. In addition, all of the studies took a collaborative
research approach where the investigators were closely involved in the or-
ganization for an extended period and became very familiar with the
organization and its members.

Identification of Organizational Characteristics

Empowering organizational characteristics were identified using a

multiple case study approach. Identification of characteristics involved an
inductive, subjective process grounded in the authors' in-depth knowledge
of the settings gained through hundreds of hours of participant observation
and review of published and unpublished data collected in each of the lon-
gitudinal studies. The process of identifying characteristics that fit each
setting was an iterative one moving back and forth between the authors'
emergent conceptualizations and the data. Characteristics were included
only if they were supported by objective data or consensual, research team
based conceptualizations for a given study. Characteristics were generated
for each setting, and evidence reviewed to determine if it was a valid fea-
ture of the other settings as well. Only characteristics that described all
three settings were retained.
Taken together, the studies suggest the importance of a set of char-
acteristics that were found to be present across settings (Table II).
Specifically, key facets of the group-based belief systems, opportunity role
structures, support systems, and leadership were similar across settings. Be-
low, each empowering organizational characteristic is separately described,
evidence concerning its presence in each setting studied presented, and sup-
portive theoretical or empirical work from research on other empowering
settings briefly noted.

Belief System

A belief system refers broadly to a setting's ideology, values, or cul-

ture. These beliefs specify patterns of behavior that are intended to produce
desired outcomes. A setting's belief system includes a view of its members,
640 Maton and Salem

including their needs, problems, potential, and how they can work within
the setting to achieve personal goals. Belief systems shape setting structures
and practices that provide opportunities for member growth and change,
as well as providing goals and norms that are capable of motivating, guid-
ing, and sustaining member change efforts.
In each of the three settings, a group-based belief system is in place
that is (a) inspiring of growth, (b) strengths-based, and (c) based beyond
the self. Inspiring of growth refers to a personally challenging and moti-
vating aspect of the belief system that clearly defines salient goals and
means of reaching those goals. The belief systems are strengths-based, hold-
ing that each setting member has the capacity (strengths, resources) to
achieve setting goals and represents a valuable setting resource. All three
setting ideologies also encourage members to look beyond themselves and
to view themselves as part of a larger humanity-based and/or spiritually
based group mission. These belief system characteristics are described be-
low for each setting.

New Covenant Fellowship

Key facets of the congregation's belief system have been described by

its senior elder (Abbott & Simkins, 1983). Six spiritual themes related to em-
powerment and healing were delineated: "We are all broken and all capable
of being healed"; "God wastes nothing in moving toward the goal of building
character"; "God is real, active, responsible, and accessible"; "You are lovable
and you are valuable"; "You are a gift"; and "You belong to a historical
community" (Rappaport & Simkins, 1991). These themes stress the idea that
each person has value, can change, and is not alone.
The setting belief system is inspiring of growth. Members are encouraged
to become transformed as a result of their personal relationship with a loving
and caring God/Jesus. The desired outcomes are dear: development of new
behaviors and life-styles consistent with the biblical Jesus (i.e., loving, giving,
oriented to serving God). The means to accomplish these goals are also clear:
active involvement with God through prayer, Bible study, and community. The
belief system inspires adoption of these goals and processes by emphasizing
the reality of an active God who desires involvement in each member's life
(Abbott & Simkins, 1983; Rappaport & Simldns, 1991).
The belief system is strengths-based in nature. All individuals are
viewed as having the capability to develop a personal relationship with Jesus,
and to grow as a result. Furthermore, all members are viewed as a resource,
as having an invaluable contribution to make towards bringing God's spirit
into the world and to serving God, the congregation, and others.
Empowering Community Settings 641

Finally, the belief system is focused beyond the self. Spiritual and
personal development are necessary to serve God, to inspire other mem-
bers, and to help God's love become manifest.

GROW

GROW has a belief system that inspires members to strive for maturity
and mental health. An extensive GROW literature provides a clear picture of
what this means----for example, "maturity is the balanced development
o f . . . t h o u g h t , feeling and action" (GROW, 1982). As illustrated by quota-
tions from the Blue Book, GROW provides a clear means for reaching this
goal. Members are encouraged to view difficulties as opportunities for growth
("Mostly, when things go wrong they are meant to go wrong, so we can out-
grow what we have to outgrow"), to avoid overemphasizing negative feelings
("Feelings are not facts"), and not to expect perfection from themselves or
from life ("Settle for disorder in lesser things for the sake of order in greater
things, and therefore be content to be discontent in many things").
GROW's belief system is strengths-based, emphasizing that everyone has
value ("No matter how bad my physical, mental or spiritual condition, I am
still a human person loved by God and a connecting link between persons")
and the capacity for change ("I can compel my muscles and limbs to act rightly
in spite of my feelings"). All members are viewed as supportive resources for
others in the organization ("If you need help, help others").
Finally, G R O W encourages members to focus beyond themselves,
promoting the importance of mutual help ("You alone can do it but you
can't do it alone"). Members are encouraged to see themselves as a link
to others ("My life has a purpose and I have my unique place and my
unique part in humanity") and, for believers, as being connected to a loving
God ("I am not acting alone, but co-operating with the invincible power
of a loving God").

Meyerhoff Scholars Program

The Meyerhoff Scholars Program has an inspiring setting belief sys-

tem that encourages members to strive for the highest levels of academic
achievement and psychosocial growth. The goals are clear: Develop the
skills necessary to achieve outstanding success academically and profession-
ally in a primarily white work world. The means to achieve these goals are
also clear: Utilize all available resources, including study groups, smart
peers (regardless of ethnicity), tutoring services, summer internships, pro-
gram staff, and research opportunities (Meyerhoff Program, 1995).
642 Maton and Salem

The belief system is strengths-based, in that all students are viewed

as having the capability to succeed in science, given the resources provided
by the program and university. Students are also viewed as a valuable re-
source. Specifically, they are seen as having an important contribution to
make to helping others succeed in the program, establishing and maintain-
ing the reputation of the program and the university, and enhancing the
image of African American males and females in society.
The belief system emphasizes the importance of focusing beyond one-
self. Outstanding academic success is viewed as a way of "giving back" to
the black community by increasing the very small number of African Ameri-
can PhDs. Furthermore, academic success is viewed equally as a group and
an individual goal.
Questionnaire data support the observational data concerning the
program's belief system. Over 90% of the students indicate (from a mod-
erate to a large extent) that they "accepted and actualized" the following
Meyerhoff program values: striving for outstanding academic achievement;
use all resources; academically and emotionally support one's peers. Also,
95% of the students indicate (from a moderate to a large extent) that their
college success is due to these program values (Maton & Hrabowski, 1995).

Summary and Related Research

A belief system that is growth-inspiring, strengths-based, and focused

beyond the self has the potential to effectively, consistently, and powerfully
motivate and direct members along a pathway of activities which facilitate
the achievement of primary life goals. The importance of these facets of
a setting's belief system is supported by the work of other researchers. Spre-
itzer (1995) found that departments of a Fortune 500 company whose
cultures focused on human resource development contained more empow-
ered middle managers (growth-inspiring belief system). Suler (1984),
writing about self-help groups, noted that the "therapeutic potential of the
self-help ideology is its ability to encourage people to overcome powerless-
ness, to feel and use their own strength to resolve problems" (p. 30)
(strength-based belief system). Watts (1993) suggested that "giving back"
and spirituality may be important components of empowerment in com-
munity-based programs for minority youth (belief system based beyond
self). Rappaport (1993) argued that mutual help groups provide opportu-
nities for identity formation and change, with groups' community narratives
(belief systems) acting as mechanisms for member change.
Empowering Community Settings 643

Opportunity Role Structure

Opportunity role structure refers to the availability and configuration

of roles within a setting which provide meaningful opportunities for indi-
viduals to develop, grow, and participate. Meaningful role opportunities
contribute to empowerment by helping members achieve primary personal
goals in an active, participatory, skill-building fashion. In recipient roles
members develop needed instrumental and psychological competencies,
and in provider roles self efficacy is enhanced through skill utilization, help-
ing others, and contributing to important setting goals (cf. Rappaport,
1981).
In each setting studied, an opportunity role structure is present that
is (a) pervasive, (b) highly accessible, and (c) multifunctional. Pervasive role
structure refers to the presence of a large number of roles for members,
at multiple levels of the organization. The roles are highly accessible be-
cause they require varying levels of skill, responsibility, and self-confidence
and because members are encouraged to take on new roles and responsi-
bilities as their skills and interest increase. By multifunctional we mean
that the role structure contains many opportunities for skill development
and learning, for skill utilization, and for the exercise of responsibility.

New Covenant Fellowship

New Covenant Fellowship has a pervasive opportunity role structure.

The congregation is divided into five house churches (25-35 members each)
which in turn are divided into small prayer/Bible study groups (5-10 mem-
bers). Beyond attendance at Sunday worship, over 77% of members report
having attended two or more house church or small group (weeknight)
meetings the previous month (Maton, 1994). A large number of roles are
necessary for the operation of the congregation, the house churches, and
the small groups. These roles range from setting up or cleaning up after
Sunday services to Sunday School teacher to leadership of a prayer/Bible
study group, house church, or- congregation-wide ministry.
The role opportunities are highly accessible to members, with numer-
ous opportunities and occasions for members to become involved in
congregation-wide, house church, and small group contexts. Members are
continually being solicited and encouraged to take on various roles and
responsibilities. Fully 79% of members report taking on one or more spe-
cific role responsibility, with 34% reporting a designated leadership position
(e.g., small group leader) (Maton, 1994).
644 Maton and Salem

The pervasive, accessible nature of the role opportunity structure is

reflected in members' sense of setting influence and involvement. Notably,
53% of members report moderate to full agreement with the statement, "If
I want to, I can influence important decisions that are made at New
Covenant." Seventy-four percent of members report moderate to full
agreement with the statement, "I am very involved in New Covenant."
Fellowship members report greater mean levels of influence and involvement
than members of two comparison congregations (Maton, 1994).
The role opportunity structure is also multifunctional, as the roles en-
compass multiple types of functions. Specifically, they involve opportunities
both for learning new skills, and for exercising responsibility, teaching others,
and utilizing current skills. Roles of Bible study member and counselee rep-
resent primary recipient or learning roles. Roles of Bible group leader, mission
group leader, and task group member represent responsible, skill utilization
roles. Finally, roles of prayer group participant and prayer partner represent
roles in which provider and recipient roles are simultaneously present.

GROW

G R O W can be aptly described as an organization with a pervasive and

accessible opportunity role structure. One can hardly walk in the door to a
G R O W meeting without taking on an organizational role. At their first meet-
ing those considering joining the group are "potential Growers." After at-
tending three meetings, they become "committed Growers." Beyond these
nominal roles, opportunities for members to fill functional roles are varied
and numerous. There are multiple leadership and formal task roles at all
levels of the organization, including group coordinators, members of organ-
izational committees, and leaders of weekly meetings. Unlimited informal op-
portunities also exist to fill helping roles by offering support at meetings and
by reaching out to others through phone calls and visits.
Rappaport et al. (1992) described G R O W as an intentionally under-
populated (or undermanned) setting (Barker, 1960). Through a combination
of role creation and an organizational expansion strategy characterized by
the establishment of new groups which lack a sufficient number of members
and leaders (Zimmerman et al., 1991), G R O W has created an organization
where there are always opportunities for members to take on a variety of
setting roles. Members are encouraged to take on new responsibilities by an
organizational philosophy that defines leadership as a responsibility, not a
position, that one takes more or less of depending on one's interests and
abilities. This philosophy, coupled with the press for involvement created by
an underpopulated setting, creates a highly accessible role structure.
Empowering Community Settings 645

GROW's role structure is also multifunctional. Roles are flexibly de-

fined and can be tailored to fit members' individual needs and abilities. The
variety of roles provides opportunities for members to both use existing skills
and develop new ones. There is a role to fit almost any member's current
level of competence and self-confidence, and opportunities for members to
take on new responsibilities as their desire and skills increase.
GROW's role structure results in a high level of participation in lead-
ership functions by members. Heil (1989) found that in a sample of 237
GROW members who had attended at least three meetings, 43% of them
had taken on some level of formal leadership responsibility. This included both
ongoing leadership commitments (27%) and leading weekly meetings (14%).

Meyerhoff Scholars Program

The Meyerhoff Scholars Program has a pervasive and highly accessible

role opportunity structure. All students have access to and are encouraged by
program staff to join study groups composed of their Meyerhoff peers. Stu-
dents on average report spending 11 hours per week in a study group (from
25.7 hours of total study); only 6.9% of students report spending less than 1
hour per week in a study group. As recorded in field notes by a graduate
student research observer assigned to live on a Meyerhoff residence floor: "The . . .
study groups . . . are numerous (nightly).The groups...provide tremendous mo-
tivation to students that might otherwise deviate from their studies and succumb to
social activities or to procrastination" (Maton & Hrabowski, 1995).
Additional roles emphasized by the program are internship and service
roles. Students are strongly encouraged to take part in summer internships
which the program helps to arrange at leading academic and industry re-
search sites. They are also encouraged to participate in community service
outreach to at-risk African American children, to reach out to younger stu-
dents in the program, and to take part in various opportunities to present
the program to the public. As described by a student in an exit interview:
"Dr. Hrabowski [program founder] s a i d . . . ' To him who much is given much
is expected.' . . .it is my obligation to give something b a c k . . . m o t i v a t e the
younger g e n e r a t i o n . . . l e t them see a positive role model."
The role opportunity structure is multifunctional, as it contains op-
portunities both for learning and for utilizing skills. Roles of student,
counselee, advisee, and younger student represent key learning roles. Roles
of veteran student and community outreach member represent responsible
instrumental roles. Finally, summer intern and study group member rep-
resent roles in which learning/recipient roles and instrumental/provider
roles are both present. More than 90% of students report moderate to high
levels of involvement in the program.
646 Maton and Salem

Summary and Related Research

A pervasive, accessible, and multifunctional opportunity role structure

has the potential to facilitate constant, graduated exposure to the learning
and mastery experiences necessary for development of those skills and re-
sources linked to primary goal achievement. The importance of these char-
acteristics is consistent with Levine and Perkins's (1987) emphasis on the
importance of meaningful roles in community settings for enhancing the well-
being of individuals with degraded social identities. It is also consistent with
Maton's (1988) finding that in mutual help groups higher levels of role dif-
ferentiation were related to greater member well-being, and with Speer et al.'s
(1995) finding that the presence of multiple, rotating roles in a social action
organization was associated with empowerment.

Support System

Support system refers broadly to social support resources within a

setting that contribute to individuals' quality of life and to their ability to
cope with stressful life situations. A viable setting support system can con-
tribute to empowerment in two ways. First, people lacking power in society
need support to deal with current disempowering conditions in their lives.
Second, the process of enhancing control over one's life and of achieving
life goals may entail substantial challenge and stress for which support are
needed.
In each of the three settings, a support system for members exists that
is (a) encompassing, (b) peer-based, and (c) provides a psychological sense
of community. Encompassing refers to the wide variety of types and sources
of support available. And although all of the settings offer multiple sources
of support, their support systems are largely peer-based. Members give and
receive support to peers with whom they share a common world view, prob-
lem, goal, or identity, and their growth is supported by peer models. Finally,
all of the settings go beyond the simple provision of support to create a
sense of community, both within the setting and beyond the setting (i.e., as
communities for living). These characteristics are described below.

New Covenant Fellowship

The support system at New Covenant Fellowship is encompassing in

nature. Multiple domains of support are available to members, including
emotional, spiritual and financial support. The support is available from both
formal (i.e., elders, counselors) and informal (prayer partner, friend) sources.
Empowering Community Settings 647

The support system is both proactive and reactive in nature, regularly moni-
toring member needs so as to provide needed support when any signs of
problems emerge. Analyses of daily log data reveal that members' tangible
support transactions are more frequent and of higher economic value than
those of members of comparison congregations (Maton, 1994).
The peer-based component of support, in dyadic and small group con-
texts, appears especially critical to the success of the setting's support
system. Shared religious beliefs, spiritual challenges and life struggles pre-
sent ongoing opportunities for support provision and receipt among those
viewed as peers. Peer models are especially important, simultaneously dem-
onstrating the potential for growth and serving as a viable source of
support.
In addition, a potent sense of community exists for members. Within
the setting, members often report a strong sense of family-like belonging.
Family encompasses both the spiritual sense of being brothers and sisters
in Christ, and the social sense of committed kin who are accepting and
will be there whatever happens. Questionnaire data provide support for
the observational data----for instance, Fellowship members report lower
mean levels of feeling like "an outsider" and greater mean levels of being
"part of the mainstream" in their congregation than members of compari-
son congregations. Beyond the setting per se, many members are part of
each other's friendship, work, and/or neighborhood social networks. Daily
log data reveal that the majority of members interact on a daily basis with
congregation members with whom they live (roommates, intentional com-
munity family households), live near, work with, socialize with, and pray
with. Thus, for many members the sense of community afforded penetrates
many aspects of life (Maton, 1994).

GROW

GROW provides its members with an encompassing support system.

At weekly meetings members receive emotional support in the form of af-
firmation, reinterpretation of problems, and a simple hug that is the
customary greeting at GROW meetings (Roberts, Luke, Rappaport, Toro,
& Reischl, 1991). They also receive information, cognitive guidance, and
practical suggestions on how to solve problems. GROW also provides in-
strumental support to members. Group leaders often provide rides to
meetings and members may help each other with daily tasks, such as pro-
viding a ride to the doctor. In rare cases, the organization may even provide
a member with temporary housing at a GROW center.
648 Maton and Salem

Support in GROW comes from multiple sources. Group leaders and

fellow members provide support at meetings and keep in touch during the
week. Organizational leaders reach out to members who need extra support.
G R O W also has drop-in centers in some cities where members can call or
stop by.
Support in G R O W is peer-based. Long-term members provide newcom-
ers with positive role models and a sense of hope that they too can overcome
their problems. Through formal structures (e.g., personal testimonies of recov-
ery through GROW) and informal exchange, members receive support from posi-
tive peer role models. All members are encouraged to take part in both helper
and helpee roles. In a study of the helping behaviors during meetings Roberts
et al. (1991) found that a large proportion of the comments members made
at meetings reflect direct efforts to help one another. Help, in the form of
support, interpretation of another's comments or behavior, and direct guidance,
accounted for an average of 22% of the comments made at meetings. In ad-
dition, they found that positive, supportive comments were seven times more
frequent than negative comments. Roberts and Rappaport (1989) found that
helping others was beneficial to members. Those who helped others reported
more improvement in social adjustment than those who did not.
G R O W consciously seeks to create a sense of community among
members through the creation of a "sharing and caring community." Mem-
bers are encouraged to exchange phone numbers and stay in contact
between meetings. Through formal social events and a procedure called
"twelfth step work," in which members are assigned to contact each other,
support is available between meetings. In understanding the support and
sense of community that G R O W provides, it is important to note that
G R O W seeks to facilitate the development of friendships and whole rela-
tionships among members (GROW, 1982). Members are encouraged to
share the positive as well as the difficult aspects of life. In many cases the
support members provide each other becomes the support of one friend
for another and not a formal function of an organization.

Meyerhoff Scholars Program

The Meyerhoff Program support system is encompassing in nature.

Multiple domains of support are available, including emotional, academic,
and financial. The support is available through multiple sources and chan-
nels, both formal (i.e., staff) and informal (roommates, friends). The
support system is proactive as well as reactive, monitoring student progress
and needs so support is provided as problems emerge (e.g., a poor grade
on a quiz; personal problems).
Empowering Community Settings 649

The peer-based component of support, in small group (e.g., study

group) and dyadic (e.g., friendship) contexts appears especially critical to
the success of the support system. Shared academic aspirations, common
academic challenges, and a shared ethnicity present ongoing opportunities
for support from fellow Meyerhoff students. Positive peer support appears
critical to counteract the influence of nonprogram peers who may view
striving for academic success as "acting white." Positive peer models em-
body the possibility of success in difficult science majors, and represent
viable sources of academic and personal support.
Questionnaire data confirm observational data concerning the perva-
siveness of support. Over 75% of students report moderate to high levels
of emotional and academic support from peers and from the program's
student advisor, and 93% indicate (moderate to full agreement) that the
program "helps you to feel special and good about yourself as an African-
American student." Meyerhoff students report lower levels of academic and
racial stress and higher levels of financial and academic support than com-
parison students (Maton & Hrabowski, 1995).
Beyond support per se, students report a strong sense of family-like
belonging. Shared goals, a common ethnicity and program emphasis on
group solidarity contribute to this sense of community. Students take many
classes together, live together on campus, and their social networks are
largely populated with other Meyerhoff students. The Meyerhoff staff are
viewed as "parental figures," providing support, challenge, and guidance.
Ninety-two percent of students report that "the Meyerhoff program
community (the family network of Meyerhoff peers and staff)" contributes
(moderately to largely) to their academic success.

Summary and Related Research

An encompassing, peer-based support system that creates a viable

sense of community h a s the potential to contribute to openness to
change and persistence in the pursuit of primary personal goals---in the
face of inevitable difficulties intrinsic to the empowering change process.
The importance of these support system facets is consistent with the
body of research establishing a link between setting support or cohesion
and member well-being (cf. Moos, 1976). For instance, Pargament, Sil-
verman, Johnson, E c h e m e n d i a , and Snyder (1983) found that in
churches with a greater sense of community members reported greater
well-being.
650 Maton and Salem

Leadership

Leadership refers to the qualities of the key individuals with formal

and/or informal responsibility for a setting, and can contribute to em-
p o w e r m e n t t h r o u g h two d i f f e r e n t pathways. O n e is the d i r e c t ,
empowering influence that key leaders may have on members. The sec-
ond is the indirect effect through leaders' capacity to motivate and
influence those (e.g., staff, small group leaders) who interact regularly
with most setting members.
In each of the three settings, the leadership is (a) inspirational, (b)
talented, (c) shared, and (d) committed. Inspirational refers to the lead-
ers' ability to strongly motivate and inspire members. The leaders of all
three of the settings have a clear vision of what they are trying to ac-
complish. They can all be described as passionate individuals who possess
a natural ability to motivate others. They also all represent role models
who share significant life experiences with members and have successfully
achieved salient goals of the setting. The leaders are talented interper-
sonally and organizationally. They are able to work well with others,
mobilize resources, maintain the stability of the setting, support setting
change and evolution, and respond effectively to external threats. Lead-
ership is shared, rather than resting solely with one person, and open to
expansion as new leaders emerge. Finally, the leaders are committed to
the setting and to members' growth. As such they encourage full mem-
bership participation, and see member involvement in decision making
as an asset and not as a threat. These characteristics are described below
for each setting.

New Covenant Fellowship

The leaders of New Covenant can be described as inspirational. In

part, this is based on their dynamic vision of an active, powerful God in-
volved in congregational development and member transformation. This
vision is communicated with sincerity and enthusiasm in multiple and varied
contexts, including formal sermons, small Bible study groups, task-based
projects, and informal interactions with members. Additionally, the leaders
are inspirational role models, having come from secular, spiritually "empty"
backgrounds with which many members can relate, and now embodying a
faith-based and personally richer life to which members aspire. Finally, the
leaders are generally seen by the congregation as having tremendous per-
sonal integrity.
Empowering Community Settings 651

Interpersonally, the senior elder in particular is unusually sensitive,

affirming, and capable of relating effectively to a wide range of people.
Organizationally, he is aware of the potential problems (e.g., stagnation;
rigidity) church settings can develop, and is committed to a decision-making
process based on input and involvement from a wide range and number
of members.
Leadership functions are shared among multiple leaders, and new
leadership positions, including new elders, are added as new needs arise.
Finally, the leaders are dedicated, earning little money from the congrega-
tion, yet working hard to create a special congregational setting. The
commitment of the leaders to each member's growth, setting development,
and to serving God in an authentic way, is repeatedly manifest across Oc-
casions and time.

GROW

Con Keough, the founder and president of GROW is an Australian

priest who experienced a mental breakdown. After his release from a mental
hospital, he and a group of former patients founded GROW as a source of
community support. He is a charismatic and inspirational leader who is both
a "fellow sufferer" and a role model for recovery. He has a vision of GROW's
growth to which he has dedicated his life work. Since he started the first
group in 1957, GROW has expanded to become an international organization
with hundreds of groups in Australia and several other countries, including
the United States. Keough, a talented and committed leader, and an eloquent
and persuasive speaker, has been effective in securing resources, members,
and legitimacy for GROW and in helping the organization to adapt and
evolve as it expands. He is committed to the organization and to the mem-
bers, as demonstrated by the long working days he spends mobilizing re-
sources for GROW and providing support to members.
Although Keough is GROW's founder and president, he is assisted
by many other organizational leaders. Leadership responsibility is shared
at the international, national, and local levels. Leadership responsibilities
are delegated and new leadership positions are created as new needs arise.

Meyerhoff Scholars Program

The founding director of the Meyerhoff Scholars Program, an African

American mathematician who is currently president of the university, is an
inspirational individual. He has a compelling vision of talented African
Americans as achieving outstanding success at his university and in the
652 Maton and Salem

larger society, and of helping to alter the negative view of blacks in our
society. This vision is communicated repeatedly to staff and students, in
one-on-one meetings, group sessions, and public talks. As a successful uni-
versity president at age 43, he is a dynamic role model to students.
Program leadership is shared among multiple individuals, and the
number of leaders has expanded over time. Each leader is interpersonally
talented---engaging, personally affirming of students, and able to relate ef-
fectively to diverse individuals. The program founder is organizationally tal-
ented, repeatedly demonstrating the capability to marshall needed resources,
and to deal with changing environments and circumstances.
The program leaders are committed to the students and to the pro-
gram. As student needs are identified, resources are quickly mobilized to
meet the needs and maximize the odds for student success. The leadership's
commitment to and incessant hard work for the program and the students
are well known both on and off the campus, helping to generate positive
faculty, staff, student, and community response to the program.

Summary and Related Literature

Inspirational, talented, shared, and committed leadership has the po-

tential to contribute to members' adoption of and commitment to the setting
belief system, their level of learning and mastery, and their sense of support
and community. It also helps to generate needed organizational resources,
maintain stability within the organization, and respond to changing environ-
mental conditions---thus allowing the community setting to remain an ef-
fective and viable organizational entity over time. The importance of a
visionary, talented, and committed leadership as a setting context for em-
powerment is supported, for instance, by Evans and Boyte's (1986) historical
research into civil rights, feminist, and other democratic social movements.
The historical evidence suggests that members of such organizations bene-
fited from their leaders' compelling vision and active role modeling.

DISCUSSION

The current research synthesis suggests a set of organizational char-

acteristics as foundational to empowerment. These characteristics appear
to contribute to members' achievement of primary personal goals through
a process that is active, participatory, and resource-providing. The current
research is unique in delineating characteristics potentially present across
a wide diversity of types of community settings.
Empowering Community Settings 653

As summarized previously, the characteristics identified are consistent

with various theoretical writings and empirical work, in empowerment and
related areas. One can also find in the literature, however, discussion of
various organizational characteristics not delineated in the current research.
Concerning belief system, these include raising individual's critical con-
sciousness of e n v i r o n m e n t a l causes of p r o b l e m s ( h u m a n service
organizations: Gottlieb, 1992; Gutierrez, 1992), and the conceptualization
of belief systems as cognitive antidotes to current problems (self-help
groups: Antze, 1976). In terms of opportunity role structure and support
system, respectively, these include the absence of preexisting differences in
power (alternative high school: Gruber & Trickett, 1987) and wide-span
control and access to strategic information (business organizations: Spre-
itzer, 1995). Leadership characteristics not emphasized in the current
research include incentive management efforts (Prestby et aL, 1990) and
in-depth knowledge of the life realities for members (urban youth pro-
grams: McLaughlin & Heath, 1993).
At this beginning state in research on the organizational characteristics
of empowering settings, it is difficult to draw any firm conclusions about
the discrepancies between the characteristics identified in the current re-
search and others that have been suggested as important in particular types
of settings. Possibly these latter characteristics are relevant only to a specific
type of community setting and not generally relevant across diverse types
of settings. Alternatively, when reconceptualized, they may turn out to con-
tribute directly to the characteristics proposed in the current research (or
vice versa). For instance, McLaughlin and Heath's (1993) view that leaders
need to be knowledgeable about the realities of life for those served may
be reconceptualized as a precondition of effective role modeling and of gen-
erating a viable vision. The current research ideally will provide a basis for
synthesizing the converging and divergent findings in the existing literature.

Limitations

The strength of the current research----its inductive, multiple case

study methodology---also represents the source of its weaknesses. First, only
three settings were included, selected based on available research oppor-
tunities. The generalizability of findings to other types of settings and to
other settings of the same type is not known. Second, the absence of com-
parison, nonempowering settings precludes any definitive demonstration
that the characteristics delineated are unique to empowering settings or
central to empowerment. Third, the intrapsychological component of em-
powerment was not directly assessed. Fourth, the qualitative nature of some
654 Maton and Salem

of the research evidence, along with the inductive, iterative, and ultimately
subjective process used to identify empowering organizational charac-
teristics does not allow for an easy determination of the reliability and
validity of findings.
As participant-observers immersed for years in these settings we believe
that we have identified and described, consistent with available qualitative
and quantitative evidence, salient features of empowering settings. Nonethe-
less, we acknowledge that our personal and theoretical biases may influence
what we chose to focus on and what we chose not to emphasize. As always,
only future research by independent research teams in related and different
settings can ultimately determine the validity of the current research.

Future Research

One important line of future research is determining the extent to

which the proposed characteristics are present in other types of empower-
ing community settings. Additional case study research on a variety of
settings would be useful in this regard.
A second direction for future research is to test the proposed rela-
tionships between organizational characteristics and empowering outcomes
through quantitative study of representative samples of community organi-
zations. Such research would examine whether diverse empowering settings
shared common characteristics that differentiated them from nonempow-
ering settings.
A third focus for research is identification of characteristics that are
unique to particular types of settings. Ultimately, a simultaneous focus on
ecological specificity and ecological commonality across types of empower-
ing settings will likely generate a base of knowledge useful for future social
policy, community action, and theory development.
Finally, the empowering potential of the settings we observed appears
to result from the combined influence of the four sets of characteristics pro-
posed. That is, if only some of the features described are present in a setting,
an empowering impact may not occur. For example, a setting that motivates
members with a growth-inspiring belief system but lacks a pervasive oppor-
tunity role structure capable of enhancing skill development might not em-
power members. Similarly, members of a setting with a viable opportunity
role structure but with leaders not committed to member growth may feel
constrained in efforts to take on more responsibility. Future research is nec-
essary to establish the extent to which the characteristics proposed are nec-
essary or sufficient for empowerment, across diverse settings.
Empowering Community Settings 655

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