Empowerment as a multi-level construct: perceived control at the individual, organizational and community levels

There has been increasing interest in the development of a conceptual framework and operationalization of empowerment that explores the relationships among different levels of analysis: individual, organizational and community. In this article we discuss a multi-level conceptualization of empowerment, examine empirical suppcjrt for linking the different levels of analysis, and describe a measurement instrument developed to assess perceived control at the individual, organizational and community levels. We then present results of a series of multiple regression analyses which examine correlates of perceived control, a partial measure of empowerment, at these three levels. Participation in organizations which attempt to influence public policy, taking an active or leadership role in a voluntary organization, and belief that taking action is an effective means to influence community decisions are important predictors of perceived control at the organizational and community levels. Limitations of the study and implications for practice are discussed. Introduction An empowerment perspective is grounded in the belief that increasing power and control over individual and community events is an important means to improve the life situations of powerless individuals and groups. The concept of empowerment has been explored in a variety of disciplines, including adult education (Freire, 1970), social work (Gutierrez, 1988% 1988b, 1989), AfricanAmerican studies (Solomon, 1970; Hani£f, 1989), feminist studies (Collins, 1990; Bookman and Morgen, 1988), psychology (Bandura, 1982; Maier and Seligman, 1976; Zimmerman and Rappaport, 1988; Zimmerman, 1990a, 1990b; Kieffer, 1984), and health education (Israel, Checkoway, Schulz and Zimmerman, 1992; Wallerstein, 1992). Different conceptualizations of empowerment have ranged from empowerment at the individual level as an increased sense of control or power over personal life events, to political empowerment with its emphasis on increased control over the distribution of social and economic resources. Increasingly, there has been interest in the development of a conceptual framework which explores the relationships among different levels of empowerment: how participation in voluntary organizations or community concerns can enhance individual empowerment and vice versa (see for example, Gutierrez, 1988a, 1988b). In addition, there has been interest in the development of accurate measures of the changes which can occur at these multiple levels as individuals work within organizations and communities to create social change (Wallerstein, 1992). The work described in the following pages contributes to this discussion. A conceptual model of empowerment which incorporates individual, organizational and community levels of analysis is outlined. Next we discuss the development of a series of scales which focus on perceptions of individual, organizational and community control. Finally, we explore the relationship of these scales to behavioral and perceptual measures related to empowerment. The two primary research questions that we address are: 1) what is the relationship of organizational membership to perceived control at the individual and community levels of analysis? ; and 2) what are the predictors or correlates of perceived control at the different levels of analysis among individuals who are members of at least one voluntary organization? Conceptual Framework and Empirical Evidence: Empowerment as a Multilevel Construct . empowement is. a social action process that promotes participation of people, organizations and communities towarc& the go& of increased individual and community control, olitical efficacy, hproved quality of C community life, and social justice ( allerstein, 1992, p. 198). The conceptual framework which forms the basis for this study focuses on empowerment and empowering processes at the individual, organizational and community levels (Schulz and Israel, 1990). The framework examines empowerment at the three levels of analysis, as well as the linkages and interactions between individual and collective or political power (for a more in-depth examination of this conceptual framework, see Israel, Checkoway, Schulz and Zimrnerman, in press). Individual empowerment and psychological empowerment Perceived control at the individual level has been explored in research on self-efficacy and learned helplessness (Bandura, 1982; Maier and Seligman, 1976). Bandura's conception of self-efficacy involves beliefs about one's ability to "produce and regulate events in life" (Bandura, 1982, p. 122). An explicit co~ec t ion is not made between individual perceptions of power and objective social or economic conditions which may facilitate or circumscribe individual control over life events. Learned helplessness focuses on the consequences of a lack of control over life events, linking apathy and passive behavior to repeated failed attempts to exert