Social Work Commons^™

Fix Society, Please: Three Papers On The Mental Health Treatment, Social Support Resources, And Suicidology Of Transgender And Gender Diverse Adults, Annie Snow

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

Despite their frequent utilization of mental health resources, transgender and gender diverse (TGD) adults are more likely than their cisgender counterparts to attempt suicide. While this phenomenon may inspire a myriad of explanations, the present dissertation is interested in two exploratory ideas: namely, that 1) mental health professionals may be failing their TGD clients, and 2) traditional mental health paradigms may be myopically inadequate. Paper 1 addresses the first issue by considering TGD experiences of active discrimination by mental health professionals. In addition to investigating the prevalence of abuse, this paper analyzes how intersectionality of oppression plays a role in …

Kinship Care Providers: Exploring The Relationship Of Child Temperment, Combined Factors Of Provider’S Relationship To Primary Parent And Reason For Placement, And Intensity Of Parenting Tasks To Parenting Stress, Shelagh Larkin

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

In the United States some 2.3 million children, or 3.1 % of all children, live with relatives or non-relatives in foster care or informal care situations outside the foster care system (Radel et al., 2016). These types of placements are called kinship and result from a variety of issues. Focusing on kinship care providers is important given that placement with strangers is stressful and even traumatic for a child (Vandivere et al., 2012). Vandivere et al. (2012) determined that children in kinship care, such as with grandparents, have better outcomes than children in non-kinship foster care. However, providers experience a …

National Guard Members With Suicide Ideation: The Impact Of Stigma, Mental Health, And Trauma History On Treatment-Seeking Outcomes, Amy Brown

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

Background. Veterans are overrepresented among suicide deaths in the United States, representing 20% of annual suicide deaths but only about 1% of the U.S. population (Department of Veteran Affairs, 2010). Of all military suicide deaths in 2016, one-third (33.4%) were in the National Guard or Reserves (Department of Defense, 2018). Previous suicidal ideation or behavior (SIB) has been shown to increase risk of subsequent ideation or behavior in both active duty and veteran samples (Bryan, Rudd, & Wertenberger, 2016; Hazlett et al., 2016) but studies of SIB specific to National Guard service members were not found.

Access and Barriers to …

Olmstead Mandated Statewide Implementation Of Assertive Community Treatment: Precipitating Factors And Participant Experiences, Elizabeth Nelson-Cooke

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

Evidence-based practices for individuals with serious mental illness have not been widely implemented in United States public mental health systems. Mental health advocates have used the Supreme Court’s Olmstead decision to force states with underfunded community mental health services to develop more robust treatment systems. Using a case study, this article-based dissertation examines the process of mandated widespread implementation of Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) in Kentucky through the experiences of individuals involved in ACT creation and documents related to implementation and the state mental health system. Study 1 identifies precipitating factors to the Kentucky Olmstead settlement agreement that contributed to …

Investigating Whether Ecological Models Of Community-Oriented Variables Improve Prediction Of Childhood Resilience Over A Set Of Personal Characteristic Variables Such As Impulse Control, Emotional Regulation, Relational Motivation, And Self-Reliance, Vinod Kumar Srivastava

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

Children experiencing trauma and entering child protective services have been continuously increasing. Problems associated with childhood trauma, such as neurodevelopmental disorder, trauma and stress-related disorders, personality disorders, substance use disorder, externalizing and internalizing disorders, academic problems, relational difficulties, and delinquent behaviors, have been found increasing despite advances in trauma and translational research. Children’s trauma is mostly interpersonal in nature and nested in their immediate environment. There is a need for a change in focus from helping children to overcome challenges and adversities to strengthening the resilience-building process by utilizing functional strengths in the environment to achieve sustainable outcomes. This study’s …