title: Psychological empowerment: issues and illustrations.
abstract: Discussed several issues related to psychological empowerment. The thesis of this paper is that the development of a universal and global measure of psychological empowerment may not be a feasible or appropriate goal. I begin by distinguishing between empowerment processes and outcomes. Underlying assumptions are discussed including the notion that empowerment differs across people, contexts, and times. A nomological network that includes intrapersonal, interactional, and behavioral components is also presented. Two examples of psychological empowerment for voluntary service organization members and members of a mutual help organization are described to help illustrate differences in the specific variables that may be used to measure psychological empowerment in different populations and settings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 48109-2029, USA.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Zimmerman
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D011209:Power, Psychological; D011593:Psychology, Social; D012657:Self-Help Groups; D012919:Social Behavior; D012931:Social Environment; D012944:Social Support