PSYCHOLOGICAL EMPOWERMENT - ISSUES AND ILLUSTRATIONS

Discussed several issues related to psychological empowerment. The the sis of this paper is that the development of a universal and global me asure of psychological empowerment may not be a feasible or appropriat e goal. I begin by distinguishing between empowerment processes and ou tcomes. Underlying assumptions are discussed including the notion that empowerment differs across people, contexts, and times. A nomological network that includes intrapersonal, interactional, and behavioral co mponents is also presented. Two examples of psychological empowerment for voluntary service organization members and members of a mutual hel p organization are described to help illustrate differences in the spe cific variables that may be used to measure psychological empowerment in different populations and settings.