Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Examining Cohort Differences And Resilience Among The Aging Lgbt Community: Implications For Education And Practice Among An Expansively Diverse Population, Michael Dentato, John Orwat, Marcia Spira, Benjamin Walker

Marcia Spira

Examining Cohort Differences And Resilience Among The Aging Lgbt Community: Implications For Education And Practice Among An Expansively Diverse Population, Michael Dentato, John Orwat, Marcia Spira, Benjamin Walker

John Orwat

Enhancing Child Care For Children With Special Needs Through Technical Assistance, Cyleste C. Collins, Robert L. Fischer, Nina Lalich

Faculty Scholarship

Children with special needs often require additional supports in child care settings. The provision of technical assistance (TA) and consultation to child care teachers is an established method for addressing this need. This study expands on existing research by bringing the perspective of different adults (parents, technical assistance consultants, teachers, and child care center directors) together to better understand the experiences of all parties involved in TA cases for children between the ages of three and five. The concerns most frequently leading to the consultation were social-emotional-behavioral (50.5%), developmental (32.3%), medical (28.3%), and environmental risk (14%), and one quarter of …

New Measures Of Economic Security And Development: Savings Goals For Short-Term And Long-Term Economic Needs, Yunju Nam, Yungsoo Lee, Shawn Mcmahon, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

The long-term economic security and development of a family depend largely upon saving and asset-accumulation, yet most measures of economic well-being focus on short-term consumption needs. This study takes a broader view, developing precautionary, retirement, homeownership and education savings goals. Together these savings goals constitute a new set of asset-based measures of family financial well-being. Estimated savings needs depend upon family type and other assumptions, and we consider investment gains and differences in dollar values over time in our calculations. This study shows that families should save $155 to $572 every month to address all four savings needs. The number …

“She Posted It On Facebook”: Mexican American Adolescents’ Experiences With Technology And Romantic Relationship Conflict, Heidi Adams Rueda, Megan Lindsay, Lela Rankin Williams

Social Work Faculty Publications

We examined experiences with technology and dating conflict among Mexican American (MA) adolescents (ages 15-17 years) using mixed qualitative methodologies. Focus groups, divided by three levels of acculturation and gender (N = 20), and videotaped observations of couples (N = 34), found that technology (i.e., cell phones, social media) afforded adolescents increased visibility of their partners’ day-to-day peer interactions. Feelings of romantic jealousy resulted in text message harassment and the expectation of immediate technology-facilitated contact. Females were more flirtatious as well as emotionally affected by jealousy resulting from social media sites, and males set rules regarding other-sex texting. …

Repositioning Art Work From Patients Suffering From Anorexia Nervosa In A Gendered, Socio-Cultural Context: A Self-Reflective Study, Dafna Rehavia-Hanauer

Journal of Clinical Art Therapy

This article, conceptualized within a post-structuralist, feminist approach to art therapy, addresses the role of visual images as a controlling constituting discourse significant to the formation of the eating disorder anorexia nervosa. As a core position this article argues for a change in the way art work created within the art therapy process by women who suffer from anorexia nervosa is interpreted and analyzed by art therapists. The article argues for an enhanced appreciation and critical analysis of gendered, social-cultural contextualization of visual images and recognition of how these forces have a role in directing women to enact behaviors of …

The Use Of Creative Art As A Strategy For Case Formulation In Psychotherapy: A Case Study, Semra Karaca Phd, Nurhan Eren

Journal of Clinical Art Therapy

Case formulation refers to the appraisal of the individual data and the treatment plan in terms of certain principles. In psychotherapy, case formulation is relevant for the recognition of conceptual and clinical tools, as well as for the evaluation of the therapeutic endeavor. Art work (painting) provides an effective tool for case formulation because it allows the individual to express his/her thoughts and emotions, which are prone to the influences of subconscious drives, conflicts, fears, and desires in a symbolic fashion. In this study, case formulation of a 31-year-old woman, who could not overcome her verbal and physical aggressive behaviors, …

Editorial Poem, Einat Metzl

Journal of Clinical Art Therapy

No abstract provided.

Journal Cover And Front Matter

Journal of Clinical Art Therapy

No abstract provided.

Parents' Gender Ideology And Gendered Behavior As Predictors Of Children's Gender-Role Attitudes: A Longitudinal Exploration, Hillary Paul Halpern

Masters Theses

This longitudinal study examined the association between parents’ early and concurrent gender ideology and gendered behaviors and their children’s gender-role attitudes at age six. Specifically, parents' global beliefs about women's and men's "rightful" roles in society, as well as their work preferences for mothers, were considered in relation to the gender-role attitudes held by their first-graders. In addition, parents’ gendered behaviors, including their division of household and childcare tasks, division of paid work hours, and job traditionality were examined as predictors of children’s gender-role attitudes. Based on previous research, it was hypothesized parents’ early and concurrent behavior and ideology would …

Implementing Outside The Box: Community-Based Social Service Provider Experiences With Using An Alcohol Screening And Intervention, David A. Patterson Silver Wolf (Adelv Unegv Waya) Phd, Alex T. Ramsey, Carissa Van Den Berk-Clark

Brown School Faculty Publications

Objective: The aim of this study is better understand perceptions of front-line social service workers who are not addiction specialists, but have to address addiction-related issues during their standard services. Method: Six social service organizations implemented a validated alcohol assessment and brief education intervention. After a 3-month trial implementation period, a convenience sample of 64 front-line providers participated in six focus groups to examine barriers and facilitators to the implementation of an alcohol screening and brief intervention. Results: Three themes emerged: (1) usefulness of the intervention, (2) intervention being an appropriate fit with the agency and client population, and (3) …

Inequality And Its Discontents, Jill Littrell, Fred Brooks, Jan Ivery, Mary Ohmer

jill l littrell Dr.

In the last two decades, the income and security of the individual middle class worker has declined and the gap between the rich and the poor has widened. We will examine those policies that strengthened the middle class after World War II, which included strengthening the bargaining power of labor. We will proffer suggestions for reviving the middle class now with particular focus on empowering labor. We will offer suggestions for the role of the practitioner in this endeavor.

The Swedish Studies Of The Adopted Children Of Alcoholics, Jill Littrell

jill l littrell Dr.

The authors of the widely cited studies analyzing the Swedish adoption records of the children of alcoholics have advanced the notion that there are three distinct paths for the inheritance of alcoholism. One path results in moderate alcoholism in men and a form of somatization but no alcoholism in women. A second path results in severe and mild alcoholism in men and alcoholism in women. The third path results in a particular variety of alcohol abuse in men and a particular variety of somatization in women. This article analyzes the authors' claims. It is argued that the data were improperly …

The Status Of Freud’S Legacy On Emotional Processing: Contemporary Revisions, Jill Littrell

jill l littrell Dr.

This paper evaluates, in light of current empirical data, several of the assumptions contributed to our field by Freud about how emotions operate. The idea that expression of emotions dissipates these emotions is evaluated. The idea that bottling up emotion results is ill health is reviewed. The idea that pain of trauma and loss needs to be confronted will be examined. Additionally, the assumption that traumatic events invariably result in distress will be discussed. It is argued that empirical findings reject the Freudian model of emotion as energy that must be discharged. Empirical findings also support the view that revisiting …

Incorporating Information From Neuroscience And Endocrinology Regarding Sexual Orientation Into Social Work Education, Jill Littrell

jill l littrell Dr.

The brains of heterosexual males and heterosexual females are different. Moreover, the brains of gay men are similar to heterosexual females whereas the brains of lesbians are similar to heterosexual males. Neuroscience research supporting these postulates is reviewed. The gestational processes that might explain the differences in brain structure and function corresponding with gender are reviewed. Following a discussion of the physiological bases for sexual orientation, a discussion of the physiological bases for the expression of gender related traits and a discussion of factors contributing to sexual identity are provided. Throughout the article, alternative ways to think about gender are …

Is There Evidence For The Bipolar Spectrum And The Safety Of Pharmaceutical Interventions?, Jill Littrell

jill l littrell Dr.

Social workers constitute a high proportion of mental health professionals and a high percentage of social workers provide mental health care. Thus, psychiatric diagnoses and pharmaceutical interventions are relevant for many social workers. This paper reviews the rise in the diagnoses of Bipolar spectrum disorders for both children and adults. It considers the safety of antipsychotic medications, a mainstay of treatment for children and adults, which, in addition to other well-documented negative side effects, have recently been shown to decrease brain volume by a significant percent. These issues are particularly relevant for children in the foster care system.

Controversies In Psychiatry And Dsm-5: The Relevance For Social Work (Occasional Essay), Jill Littrell, Jeffrey R. Lacasse

jill l littrell Dr.

This essay addresses recent controversies surrounding the forthcoming fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5—the first major revision of the DSM since 1994), as well as questions regarding the safety and efficacy of psychotropic medications discussed in the public domain. Mental health professionals across a wide range of professions have signed a petition to the DSM-5 Task Force protesting changes in the new edition, and critiques of psychiatric medications are increasingly disseminated in the media. These issues have particular relevance for children in foster care, who receive diagnoses and medication at high rates. The general …

Taking The Perspective That A Depressive State Reflects Inflammation: Implications For The Use Of Antidepressants, Jill Littrell

jill l littrell Dr.

This paper reviews both the evidence that supports the characterization of depression as an inflammatory disorder and the different biochemical mechanisms that have been postulated for the connection between inflammation and depression. This association offers credible explanation for the short term efficacy of antidepressants, which have short term anti-inflammatory effects. Evidence for those anti-inflammatory effects is discussed. Evidence of the contrary long-term effects of antidepressants, which increase rather than decrease inflammation, is also reviewed. It is argued that this increase in inflammation would predict an increase in chronicity among depressed patients that have been treated with antidepressants drugs, which has …

Expression Of Emotion: When It Causes Trauma And When It Helps, Jill Littrell

jill l littrell Dr.

The idea that clients should be encouraged to express strong emotion regarding the traumas they have suffered is widely assumed. This paper asks whether the empirical literature supports the underlying assumption that emotional expression leads to positive outcomes (better health and dissipation of distress). Studies in which individuals who have been given an opportunity to express emotions about past traumas are compared with subjects placed in appropriate control conditions are reviewed. The empirical literature suggests that eliciting emotion is harmful when it is not associated with reappraisal of past trauma, but helpful when the reappraisal occurs. The following guideline emerges: …

In Defense Of The Community Reinvestment Act, Jill Littrell, Fred Brooks

jill l littrell Dr.

In the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis, the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) of 1977 has probably received more media attention in the past two years than it garnered cumulatively over the previous 30 years. Numerous conservative pundits and commentators have blamed the CRA for the subprime crisis and the subsequent world-wide financial meltdown. Most social workers are probably unaware that the CRA is probably responsible for more investment, loans, and wealth creation in low and moderate income neighborhoods than any other single piece of federal legislation over the past 40 years. This paper highlights the following features about …

The Controversy Over Antidepressant Drugs In An Era Of Evidence-Based Practice, Jill Littrell, Jeffrey Lacasse

jill l littrell Dr.

Questions regarding the efficacy of antidepressant drugs have been a recent focus of attention in the national news both in print and in the television media. Many clients will have questions regarding what they can believe and how they can address mood problems. Social workers constitute a greater percentage of the mental health work force than any other profession. Thus, social workers will probably be asked by clients about these issues. This article presents information on the efficacy of antidepressants for both the short and long term. It covers adverse effects and withdrawal symptoms. Clients' self-determination should be honored. However, …

Perspectives Emerging From Neuroscience On Why People Become Addicted And What To Do About It, Jill Littrell

jill l littrell Dr.

This paper reviews the new ideas emerging from neuroscience regarding the question of why some people are compelled to use drugs. During the process of drug exposure, the brain’s motivational system is changed in ways that co-opts the individual’s motivational system. Changes in the brain’s motivational structures along with changes in the brain’s self-regulatory structures compel an individual to drug use. Ways to reverse those changes in an addicted brain have been identified, as have ways to enhance self-regulatory control. The information from neuroscience offers a new perspective on “loss of control” as well as offering implications for treatment.

Why You Should Care About The Threatened Middle Class, Jill Littrell, Fred Brooks, Jan Ivery, Mary Ohmer

jill l littrell Dr.

In the last two decades, the income and security of the individual middle class worker has declined and the gap between the middle class and the wealthy has widened. We explain how this is bad for democracy, the economy, and the aggregate health of the nation. We examine the governmental policies and interventions that increased the middle class following the depression and maintained its vigor through the post-World War II period. The impetus for these changes in governmental policies in the 1930s was to end the Great Depression. We pose the question of whether a nation can recover from a …

Can A Diagnosis Be Epidemic, With Therapeutic Efforts The Catastrophe?, Jill Littrell

jill l littrell Dr.

The diagnosis of Bipolar Spectrum Disorders (BSD) given for office visits has risen 40 fold for children and has risen dramatically for adults as well. Some of the growth may have been fueled by re-categorization of individuals who would previously have received diagnoses of major depression along with the widening of diagnostic criteria for BSD. Concomitant with the rise in BSD diagnoses, the number of adults and children receiving atypical antipsychotics has increased dramatically. Recent evidence finds that atypical antipsychotics cause considerable reduction in brain volume. It is thus imperative to ensure that those with diagnoses comprising BSD—Bipolar I, Bipolar …

Will The Treatment Protocols For Schizophrenia Be Changing Soon?, Jill Littrell

jill l littrell Dr.

In recent decades the understanding of the core physiology giving rise to schizophrenia has advanced markedly. Current pharmacological interventions fail to target the core problems in schizophrenia. Several important outcome studies call into question whether current medications actually make long term outcomes worse. These new studies follow the recognized negative side effect of anti-psychotic drugs. The implication of these findings for social workers who work with the seriously mentally ill are discussed. Alternatives to current pharmacological treatments which are more targeted toward the core physiology of schizophrenia are reviewed.

How Addiction Happens, How Change Happens, And What Social Workers Need To Know To Be Effective Facilitators Of Change, Jill Littrell

jill l littrell Dr.

During the last two decades, neuroscience research has proliferated examining brain mechanisms that explain why some people are compelled to pursue drugs and alcohol. The findings suggest that addiction is independent of pleasure, and that drug seeking can be triggered outside of conscious awareness (Berridge, Robinson, & Aldridge, 2009; Goldstein et al., 2009; Kalivas, Volkow, & Seamans, 2005). The observations and conclusions from this research can be used to advantage in treating addiction. The use of social psychological principles, in the context of motivational interviewing, offers a platform for taking advantage of these new insights. After a brief sketch of …

Children In Foster Care And Excessive Medications, Jill Littrell

jill l littrell Dr.

Children in foster care system are more likely to receive diagnoses of major mental illness and to be medicated with powerful medications such as antipsychotic drugs. Reasons for the increased risk of the actual mental illnesses and for the diagnoses of illness among children in foster care are reviewed. The reliabilities of various diagnoses are considered. The legitimacy of the rationale for early medications to prevent later disability is discussed. The very real hazards of medicating with antipsychotics, anticonvulsants, stimulants, mood stabilizers and antidepressants are reviewed. A discussion of advocacy efforts occurring around the United States on behalf of medicated …

Book Review: “Mental Illness In The Family: Issues And Trends”, Jill Littrell

jill l littrell Dr.

No abstract provided.

The Mind-Body Connection: Not Just A Theory Anymore, Jill Littrell

jill l littrell Dr.

The field of psychoneuroimmunology has witnessed an explosion of empirical findings during the last two decades. Research has documented the mechanisms through which stressful emotions alter white blood cell function. Stress diminishes white blood cell response to viral infected cells and to cancer cells. Moreover, vaccination is less effective in those who are stressed and wounds heal less readily in those who are stressed. While stress decreases the activity of some white blood cells, stress does not compromise the function of all types of white blood cells. Indeed, some types of autoimmune disease, which involve particular subsets of white blood …

New Developments In Understanding Cardiovascular Disease And The Implications For Social Work, Jill Littrell

jill l littrell Dr.

Cardiovascular disease is now viewed as an inflammatory disease. An index of chronic inflammation (viz., C-Reactive Protein) is as good a predictor of heart attacks as are fats in blood. The data suggest that stressful events are so closely associated with chronic inflammatory states, that the body’s stress response can be viewed as an inflammatory state. This paper summarizes and explains the link between stress and cardiovascular disease. Negative health outcomes, particularly for cardiovascular diseases, are higher among those of lower socio-economic status. Differential stress among socio-economic tiers is considered as an explanation for the disparities. The literature linking cardiovascular …