Social Work Commons^™

Impact Of Industrial Disasters On The Mental Health Of Vietnamese Americans On The Gulf Coast, Vivian L. Duong

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Annual Conference

An explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig caused 200 million gallons of crude oil to spill on the Gulf Coast over a five-month span. About 16,000 miles of coastline, ecosystem and marine life along Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas were contaminated. This disaster and the recovery process caused social, financial, and ecological shocks, resulting in adverse psychosocial and physical health outcomes, health disparities, and socioeconomic inequality. Among the oil spill's most affected and vulnerable populations are the Vietnamese American communities that settled on the Gulf Coast after the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. The plight of …

Giving Birth At A Critical Time: Assessing Perinatal Depression Among Syrian Refugees In Low Resource Settings, Nada Alnaji

Theses & Dissertations

Refugee mothers are at an increased risk of suffering from stress and mental health conditions during the first year after giving birth to a child. The objective of this study is to enhance the early identification of treatable mental health conditions among perinatal women living within humanitarian settings. The central hypothesis is that a culturally specific approach can be helpful for the long-term success of mental health efforts. In this study, we use qualitative interview methods to understand the cultural paradigms and predisposing factors for perinatal depression related to being a Syrian refugee in Lebanon during the COVID-19 pandemic. In …

Treatment Access For Dual Diagnosis Substance Use And Mental Health Disorders, Pedro Banuelos

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

In 2018, of 1.3 million Latinx adults in the United States facing concurrent issues with substance use disorders (SUD) and mental health disorders (MHD) 93% remained untreated for either diagnosis. This is concerning since Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) data reveals that this population is at greater risk for suicidal thoughts, plans, and attempts. They also face structural barriers such as employment, housing, legal involvement, and insurability that further impede access to treatment.

This study’s purpose was to examine barriers to accessing treatment for Latinx populations confronting co-occurring SUDs and MHDs. This study used a qualitative design …

Modeling Cumulative Risk During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Psychosocial And Socioeconomic Factors For Older Minority Adults, James F. Osborne Iv

LSU Master's Theses

Continued response to the sum consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic has disparately affected the physical and mental health of older minority adults in the United States. SARS-CoV-2 created an acute epidemiological crisis of public health coinciding with a chronic pandemic of accentuated psychosocial stress. Biological and socio-economic risk of morbidity and mortality follow a demographic gradient of subjectively constructed social status that disproportionally threatens older adults and minority racial/ethnic communities. Pathways to increased socio-economic and psychosocial vulnerability are multifactorial and complex. Factors of race, socio-economic status, gender, and age, each contribute to individualized profiles of vulnerability to risk exposure.

The …

Referral Patterns And Service Provision In Child Protective Services: Child, Caregiver, And Case Predictors, Hannah Mead Holbrook

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Child maltreatment, and recurrent maltreatment in particular, occurs at an alarmingly high rate. Frequency of reports to Child Protective Services (CPS) is associated with negative psychological outcomes, and children whose reports are unsubstantiated experience similar risk of behavioral, emotional, and substance use disorders as those whose reports are substantiated. Prior research has demonstrated that children with no CPS reports and children with one CPS report showed no significant differences in rates of maltreatment perpetration or substance use in adulthood, suggesting that prevention efforts after one report may have strong merit in reducing negative outcomes in adulthood. However, patterns and risk …

Perinatal Depression: Investing In Our Mothers Before It's Too Late, Katelin Dietel, Anna Garbers, Kailee Hrubetz

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

Currently, there is no consistent, universal screening process within the United States healthcare system that considers the mental health of a new mother. Mandatory screening for perinatal depressive symptoms would improve the lives of new mothers, children, and their families nationwide. Home-visiting programs, such as the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program supported by Healthy Families America, should be universal and available in every locale in the U.S. Individual state policies within these programs should be tailored to meet the needs of each unique mother, child, and family. Early, nurturing relationships are critical to a child's development. …

A Study Of Innovation In Model Project Design: Addressing Mental Health Symptoms Among Co-Occurring Substance Use And Mentally Ill Clients Who Are Homeless In A Local Community Clinic Setting, Isis Dian Martel

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Homeless persons with co-occurring substance use combined with mental illness constitute a particularly vulnerable subgroup with complex service needs. Unfortunately, the capacity to deliver critical treatment services has been extremely limited causing many from this population to remain untreated. Untreated co-occurring disorders can lead to a host of difficulties for both the individual and the community (Bouchery, Harwood, Sacks, Simon, & Brewer, 2011). Developing community based intervention services in Arkansas is a key activity necessary in strategically addressing this problem (Barbee, Gonzales, & Shelor, 2016). In partnership with the Arkansas Division of Behavioral Health Services, a local community treatment provider …

{Ace}Ing Early Childhood In Minnesota, Bailey Alston, Casie Devos, Alisha Field, Renee Gasner

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

Too many young children are facing ACEs that are detrimentally impacting their development and contributing to negative outcomes that persist into adulthood. There are no current policies using the ACE questions to drive mental health interventions. The Governor’s Task Force on Mental Health made nine recommendations that, if implemented, will greatly improve the mental health and well-being of children and their parents. Improving early childhood prevention and intervention programs helps ALL Minnesota’s families build healthy and rich experiences for their children.

1. Expand the Early Childhood Mental Health Grant program statewide to increase early childhood mental health specialists.
2. Create a Governor’s …

U.S. Cultural Involvement And Its Association With Co-Occurring Substance Abuse And Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Youth In The Dominican Republic, Elián P. Cabrera-Nguyen, Juan B. Peña

Elián P. Cabrera-Nguyen

We examined the relationship of US cultural involvement with substance abuse and sexual risk behavior profiles from our nationally representative sample of public high school students in the Dominican Republic. Using a novel methodological approach to control for selection bias, we examined explanations for the so-called Latino or Hispanic immigrant paradox. A latent class regression analysis with manifest and latent covariates found that US cultural involvement indicators were independent and robust predictors of increased risk of co-ocurring substance abuse and sexual risk behaviors. Implications for prevention efforts targeting risk behaviors among Latino/a adolescents in the US and abroad are considered.

Estudio Sobre El Comportamiento Y Salud En Los Jóvenes Escolares De La República Dominicana: Resultados De 2009, Juan B. Peña, Elián P. Cabrera-Nguyen, Diana Chaves, Rosa Fernández

Elián P. Cabrera-Nguyen

This scientific report on risk behaviors among adolescents in the Dominican Republic (DR) was prepared for the DR Ministry of Education. The study used a stratified cluster design of public high schools in the DR with sample weights. The questionnaire included items from the 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Results of this nationally representative survey were presented to a delegation from the DR Ministry of Education at Washington University's Brown School. This report was also presented at the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo. Dr. Juan Peña, assistant professor at Washington University's Brown School, was the PI and is listed as …

Future Orientation Of Adolescents In Foster Care: Relationship To Trauma, Mental Health, And Hiv Risk Behaviors, Peter Cabrera, Wendy Auslander, Michael Polgar

Elián P. Cabrera-Nguyen

Future orientation has been found to protect against risk behaviors in adolescents from diverse backgrounds. However, no studies have specifically examined future orientation as a potential protective factor against HIV risk behaviors in foster care adolescents. In this study, 343 foster care adolescents were interviewed about their future orientation, mental health, trauma histories, and cognitions related to HIV risk behaviors. Results indicated variability in future orientation, but there were no significant differences by race, gender, and age. Future orientation was significantly associated with mental health, trauma, HIV-related knowledge, attitudes, behavioral intentions, and number of sexual intercourse partners. Furthermore, externalizing behaviors …

Social Support Protects Against The Negative Effects Of Partner Violence On Mental Health, Ann L. Coker, Paige H. Smith, Martie P. Thompson, Robert E. Mckeown, Lesa Bethea, Keith E. Davis

CRVAW Faculty Journal Articles

Objectives: Social support for abused women may reduce the impact of abuse on mental health, yet few studies have addressed this issue. We wish to determine associations between intimate partner violence (IPV) and mental health outcomes and to assess the protective role of abuse disclosure and support on mental health among abused women.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted of 1152 women, ages 18–65, recruited from family practice clinics from 1997 through 1999. They were screened for IPV during a brief in-clinic interview, and physical and mental health status was assessed in a follow-up interview.

Results: IPV, defined as sexual, …