Social Work Commons^™

An Exploration Of The Experience Of In-Home Counseling Services, Greg Czyszczon

Dissertations, 2014-2019

This qualitative study explores the lived experience of in-home counseling services by using a phenomenological method. In-home counseling services are used in situations where families experience extreme emotional distress, in part owing to the problematic behavior of a child. A semi-structured interview was used to elicit parents’ experience of in-home services in a geographical area that included a large portion of Virginia. The study found that the whole of parents’ experience of in-home services was dynamically influenced by constituent parts including the parent’s experience of the child, their experience of parenting, their experience of systems of care, and their experience …

Shock Incarceration Programs Creative Problem Solving, Djuana L. Munn

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

Abstract of Project

Shock Incarceration Programs Creative Problem Solving

Many women who are incarcerated inside correctional boot camp prisons might have substantial low self-esteem that could worsen due to the stress of the prison environment, confinement, and being far away from their children and family members. Shock Incarceration or “boot camp” male correctional programs are degrading for female inmates: They do not meet the special needs and problems of women. Programs are based on control theory, which implies that an individual’s behavior assimilates to that which is expected by society. Female inmates are taught discipline and responsibility by “breaking down …

The Relationship Between Mindfulness And Burnout Among Master Of Social Work Students, Jolanta Maria Piatkowska

Dissertations and Theses

Social work students frequently endure elevated levels of prolonged stress and psychological affliction that might result in serious consequences, such as development of burnout. Some experts suggest that burnout originates in the exposure to chronic interpersonal stressors in the work environment. Yet, there is emerging evidence suggesting that mindfulness practice might be beneficial in alleviating stress. Thus, the purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the relationship between mindfulness and burnout among Master of Social Work students. Burnout, mindfulness, religiosity, spirituality and their potential relationship were discussed and related to previous scholarly literature. Specifically, this study focused on testing …

Testosterone, Dominance, And Depression In Recently Married Couples, Gabriela I. Quiñones-Torres

Masters Theses

Dominance refers to the wide set of behaviors individuals engage in with the intention of achieving or maintaining social status. Considering the relevance of these behaviors in the dynamics of close relationships, this study examined relations among testosterone, dominance, and the emotional health of a total of 225 opposite sex newlywed couples. An original measure of dominance was developed that accounted for both positive and negative manifestations, as well as situational and dispositional qualities of these status-promoting behaviors. Structural equation analyses revealed that dominance behaviors predict depression for both wives and husbands, and that positive and negative aspects of dominance …

Development And Testing Of The Home Safety And Beautification Checklist With Mothers Referred For Child Neglect And Substance Abuse, Michelle Pitts

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Unintentional injury is the leading cause of death among children in the United States accounting for nearly 40 percent of deaths in this age group. Approximately 50 percent of nonfatal injuries, and 40 percent of fatalities, occur in and around the home. Elevated rates of child injury in the home environment are associated with parental substance abuse and neglectful behaviors. Childhood injuries are preventable, yet practical and cost-effective measures to identify child home safety risks are limited. This study involved a retrospective preliminary examination of the Home Safety and Beautification Checklist (HSBC) in a sample of drug-abusing mothers referred by …

An Equine-Facilitated Prison-Based Program: Human-Horse Relations And Effects On Inmate Emotions And Behaviors, Keren Bachi

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Policy makers and correctional authorities are seeking ways to enhance effectiveness of incarceration and reduce recidivism. Equine-facilitated prison-based vocational programs aim to rehabilitate inmates. Informed by the theories of attachment and desistance, this study evaluates the emotional and behavioral effects of such an intervention utilizing a quasi-experimental methodological triangulation design.

Recidivism and disciplinary misconduct are examined by clinical data-mining of institutional records. Propensity Score Matching, binary and multinomial logistic regressions are applied in a discrete-time event history analysis. Semi-structured interviews revealing the subjective experiences of participants are analyzed via the Listening Guide methodology. Quantitative questionnaires, exploring attachment and closeness to …

Incarceration And Reintegration: How It Impacts Mental Health, April M. Marier, Alex Alfredo Reyes

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Background: Previous criminal justice policies have been non-effective leading to overpopulated prisons and unsuccessful reintegration. There is a lack of effective supportive and/or rehabilitative services resulting in high rates of recidivism and mental health implications. Objective: This study investigated the perceived impact that incarceration and reintegration with little to no supportive and/or rehabilitative services has on the mental health status of an individual. The emphasis was on participant perception and not on professional reports because of underreporting and lack of attention to mental health in the criminal justice system. Methods: Focus groups in the Inland Empire and Coachella Valley …

From Their Perspective: How Adolescents And Young Adults Experience And Conceptualize Life And Occupation Surrounding Parental Divorce Or Separation, Laura R. Hartman

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Parental divorce affects adolescents’ emotions, routines, habits, occupations and relationships. The current body of research indicates that parental divorce leads to many unfavourable social, behavioural, and mental health outcomes for adolescents. This dissertation explores the daily lives and occupations of adolescents and young adults surrounding the transition of a parental divorce or marital separation.

This thesis contains four manuscripts in addition to the introductory and final reflection chapters. The first manuscript explores the current North American literature relating to adolescent life surrounding a parental divorce or marital separation, ranging form 1998 to 2014. The second manuscript provides an overview of …

Prison 2 Society, Heidi S. Collins

MSW Capstones

Abstract

Returning to the community from jail is a complex transition for most offenders, as well as for their families and communities. Upon reentering society, former offenders are likely to struggle with substance abuse, lack of adequate education and job skills, limited housing options, and mental health issues. This project illuminates the difficulties that adults face as they transition out of jails back to the community and presents a model of a one-stop-shop that is designed to include all the transition resources an adult may need to successfully re-integrate back to the community after incarceration, all housed at one, easily …

Bridging The Justice Gap: Exploring Approaches For Improving Indigent Access To Civil Counsel, Kelsey Atkinson

Pomona Senior Theses

The United States is among one of the only democratic industrialized nations in the world that does not provide guaranteed access to civil representation in cases involving basic human need. This leaves indigent litigants who are at risk of losing their homes or their children left to seek counsel through insufficient pro-bono programs or limited scope legal self-help centers. This thesis provides a history of the struggle for the right to civil counsel, known as Civil Gideon, and explores a variety of proposed solutions to bridge the justice gap for indigent litigants. Despite considerable support for Civil Gideon among scholars …

A Systematic Review Of Neurofeedback Training To Treat Adhd In Children And Adolescents: A Child Welfare Perspective, Chad Ellis

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

A systematic literature review was completed on the impact that childhood ADHD has on children and families,from a child welfare perspective. The potential risks and benefits of two different treatment approaches (pharmacological and neurofeedback) were compared along with a cost analysis. The significance of this project is that it will aid in the advocacy efforts for the continued allocation of funding towards the neurofeedback program within Olmsted County’s Youth Behavioral Health Unit.

Obtaining Genuine Family Involvement: Unpacking The System Of Care Values And Principles, Deborah A. Cohen

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

Despite the federal government’s $1.5 billion investment between 1993 and 2010 to fund 164 separate community-based systems of care, there has been an extremely limited attempt to measure the impact of system of care. The impetus for this research is the struggle for how the value based concept of system of care is communicated within a community. While child mental health services researchers have published a number of randomized control trials to explore individual level supports for youth served in a system of care community, researchers have struggled to devise a way to measure system of care philosophy diffusion.

While …

An In-Depth Look At Filial Play Therapy, Sam Tumberg

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This project explores the various aspects that make up the filial play therapy model. Filial play therapy is an evidenced-based intervention that has been proven to work with a variety of different populations and can be applied in a variety of different settings. The purpose of this project is to give the Vision therapists at Headway a practical toolkit that can be applied in their therapeutic practice. The therapeutic toolkit contains practical therapeutic skills and techniques that can easily be applied within the Vision program.

Children's Cognitive Processing Of Abuse As Described In Investigative Interviews., Kayleen A. Willemsen, Kim P. Roberts

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

A great deal of research has examined ways in which investigative interviewers can elicit accurate information from children. More recently, research has studied children’s own thoughts or comprehension of abuse, and how these types of statements relate to disclosure, others’ perceptions of child witnesses, and psychological trauma. However, little research has investigated multiple types of children’s thoughts about abuse as they occur in an actual investigative interview. The current study examined seven types of statements children made about their abuse in a sample of 86 transcripts of investigative interviews conducted by Child Protective Services and a police department in a …

A Heart-Based Sufi Mindfulness Spiritual Practice Employing Self-Journeying, Faruk Arslan

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Spiritual Psychology is the study and practice of the art and science of the human evolution of consciousness. The heart occupies an important place in Sufism and is considered to contain the divine spark that leads to spiritual realization. Fethullah Gülen’s action-oriented Sufi methods described in his book series “The Emerald Hills of the Heart” provides the basis for a heart-based therapeutic intervention through self-journeying, which is the objective of this thesis. These self-purification and mindfulness-related transpersonal methods generate a form of treatment that is culturally sensitive. Through my reflections in this research, I transformed my personal experiences into …