Social Work Commons^™

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 …

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 …

How Does He Do It?: A Phenomenological Study Of Men’S Experience As Teaching-Family Model Providers, Dallin Douglas Parkinson

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

About half a million children live in out-of-home care, generally due to state intervention (Children’s Bureau, 2016). The outcomes of youth in treatment are improved when they have stable relationships with caregiving adults. Group homes based on the Teaching-Family Model utilize a married couple who live in the home and are the primary care treatment providers. The present study employed a phenomenological approach to explore the lived experience of eight men who have worked in this role for at least a year. Intrapersonal and interpersonal processes and motivations were identified as common themes among respondents for how and why they …

The Effects Of Parental Divorce And Remarriage On Emerging Adult’S Romantic Attachment Styles, Bailey Mortis

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

This study shined light on the gap in literature about the impact of communication and involvement of stepparents has on emerging adult’s romantic attachment styles. A sample of 289 college students between the ages of 18 and 22 at the University of Kentucky was recruited to complete an online survey about their perceived experience with their stepparent and parental figures and the effects on their romantic attachment styles. Parental involvement in children’s lives and having good communication, sets the foundation for individuals to have secure attachment styles. Emerging adults who experience parental figures and stepparents as being uninterested or passive …

Beyond Telling: A Phenomenology Of Adoptive Parents' Adoption Communication Openness With Early Adolescents, Jane D. Samuel

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

Despite calls for increased Adoption Communication Openness (ACO) within the adoptive family, research indicates that families still struggle to accomplish the recommended elements and levels of openness. What could be holding families back from this key process? Three focus groups comprised of 17 adoptive parents of early adolescents (aged 10-14) who were age 0-2 at the time of placement were thematically coded. This inductive analysis revealed the complexity rooted in being —sometimes successfully and sometimes not—communicatively open. Four key themes emerged painting a vivid and rich picture of: a) the breadth and depth of this experience; b) the work entailed; …

The Drugs/Violence Nexus: Theory Testing And Behavioral Health Factors Among Justice-Involved Appalachian Women, Grant Victor

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

This study examined the relationship between drug use and violence among justiceinvolved women in Appalachian Kentucky. Goldstein’s (1985) conceptual framework was used as a theoretical guide in formulating the drugs and violence relationships. Therefore, three types of drug use and violence relationships were explored, including: 1) psychopharmacological violence; economic-compulsive violence; and 3) systemic violence. Although these drug-related violence typologies have been investigated, little research has been devoted to rural justice-involved women. Moreover, to date no studies have examined how these drug/violence relationships might be associated with behavioral health factors. Ergo, there were three aims of the current study. First, to …

Veterans' Treatment Courts In Kentucky: Examining How Personal Characteristics And During-Program Occurrences Influence Program Completion And Criminal Recidivism, Monica Lynn Himes

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

Military veterans are disproportionately represented in United States (U.S.) jails and prisons, with nearly 10% of current inmates being veterans. Veterans’ criminal justice involvement is often precipitated by underlying mental health and substance abuse that are connected to their military service. Veterans’ treatment courts are the judicial response to a need for more coordinated provision of mental health and substance abuse services to veterans involved in the criminal justice system. Modeled after drug courts and mental health courts, veterans treatment courts are a judicial innovation that aim to honor the service of veterans by providing them an alternative to incarceration. …

Retirement Planning Versus Family Support: What Drives Peoples` Decisions?, Radion Svynarenko

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

A slight majority of American households headed by 55–64-year-olds do not have any savings for retirement, and those who have retirement savings have a median of around $109,000 saved, which is equivalent to an inflation-protected annuity of $405 per month (i.e., well below the official poverty level). Among the main reasons cited for the lack of retirement savings among parents is a desire to provide financial support to their young adult children. Indeed, on the whole, parents spend twice as much on financial support of their adult children as they save for retirement (Merryl Lynch, 2018). Understanding the precursors and …

Social Workers’ And Teachers’ Feelings Of Self-Efficacy In Dealing With School Bullying, Sharon Lynn Simmons

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

Bullying continues to be a serious problem in schools. School social workers and teachers face challenges daily to deal with bullying. This author examined school social workers’ and teachers’ perceptions about their feelings of efficacy to deal with bullying and what may account for those feelings in a population of 71 teachers and 26 social workers employed in Kentucky schools. Research was gathered using a self-report, electronic survey consisting of subscales of the Teachers’ Attitudes about Bullying Questionnaire (Beran, 2005), the School Bullying Questionnaire (Nicolaides, Toda & Smith, 2002), the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (Spreng, McKinnon, Mar & Levine, 2009) and …

Suicide Attitudes And Terror Management Theory, Athena Kheibari

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

Virtually every mental health problem carries stigma, but suicide appears to run so counter to our accumulative, achievement-oriented society, that it poses even greater threat of stigma. While suicide is inherently troubling in that it opposes the fundamental human instinct for self-preservation, the tendency to stigmatize and reject individuals affected by suicide appears to be counterproductive and excessive. Hence, the purpose of this three-manuscript dissertation is to gain a more nuanced understanding of suicide attitudes from an exploratory and terror management theory perspective. More specifically, this dissertation attempts to answer three general questions: (1) how do suicide attitudes differ from …

Does Childhood Psychological Abuse Strengthen Or Weaken Msw Social Workers And Allied Professionals’ Compassion Fatigue And Compassion Satisfaction?, Andy S. C. Reynolds

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors of social worker and allied professional’s professional quality of life, particularly the impact of the professional’s childhood psychological abuse on compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction scores. Variables such as perceived resilience, social support, childhood psychological abuse, evidence-based practice training, years of experience, percentage of clients with trauma narratives, and case-load number are explored both conceptually and as risk or protective factors to social worker and allied professional’s compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction. A conceptual model is provided to visually show the direction of the proposed research.

The sample to be …

“Dad, Do You Want To Play With Me?” The Impact Of Fathers Who Make Time For Play, Michael S. Sitton

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

With an increase in the pace of life in the United States, there comes a recognition of the importance of prioritizing time, especially for fathers. Of the two-thirds of children who live with their father, only a percentage of them have fathers who report regular play time with their children. However, literature in the field does not explain specifically whether or not this play between father and child influences the child’s later risk taking behaviors in high school. Using data from the 2003 Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS), waves 3, 4, and 6, this quantitative study sought to …

Livable For All Ages: Evaluating Perceptions Of Community In An Intergenerational Context, David L. Ferrell

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

Aging-friendliness work uses a model of eight core domains to assess and achieve communities in which people are more equipped to age well, and remain in their community as they age. These domains are broken into the built environment (i.e., Housing, Transportation) and the social environment (i.e., Communication, Social Inclusion, Employment). This dissertation is centered on the efforts to make communities more aging-friendly, and focuses specifically on the Livable Lexington initiative. This dissertation utilized an exploratory study of a pre- and posttest evaluative design to pilot intergenerational discussion groups as a potential intervention. Intergenerational discussion groups were developed with the …

A Mixed Methods Analysis Of Gender Differences In Symptom Progression And Trauma Narratives During Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Sarah A. Ascienzo

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

An alarming portion of youth experience traumatic events during childhood, and there is a robust body of literature documenting the adverse consequences of trauma exposure on the developing child. Fortunately, numerous empirically-supported phase-based interventions have been developed for youth that target the deleterious effects of trauma. While several of these interventions have demonstrated symptom reduction from the baseline to completion of treatment, much less is known regarding the trajectory of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) during the course of treatment. Information in this regard may have important implications for service delivery and help to illuminate the mechanisms of change responsible for …

Conceptualizing The Prevention Of Human Trafficking: Survivors Perspectives, Jessica James Donohue-Dioh

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

The following study seeks to conceptualize the prevention of human trafficking from the perspective of survivors. The study design was informed through a Public Health Framework and the application of Postmodernism, Social Constructionist Theory, Ecological Perspective and Empowerment Perspective. An integrative mixed-method, participatory research design was applied, namely Concept Mapping. Data was collected over approximately two-months, and included 35 survivors of human trafficking from 4 different states. Data collected from survivors resulted in a statement set (N = 108) and a 10-Cluster Final solution depicting the ways in which survivors conceptualized prevention. Additional outputs provide insight as to survivors’ perspectives …

The Effects Of Idea Part C Early Intervention Services On The Well-Being Of Children And Families In Child Welfare, Ching-Shu J. Fang

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

There is ample evidence indicating that maltreatment has deleterious effects on the development of infants and toddlers. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 2003 requires referrals from child welfare (CW) to IDEA Part C Early Intervention services to provide developmental assessments and services for children younger than three with substantiated cases of child abuse or neglect. Thus, this study aims to examine the effects of Part C services on the well-being of young children and their families in CW.

This study used a secondary dataset, the National Survey of Children and Adolescent Well-Being II, to examine the research …

An Exploratory Study Of Incapacitated Persons With Criminal Behaviors Served By Kentucky’S Public Guardianship Program, Karen Martin

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

State run public guardianship programs are legally mandated to provide custodial care for persons deemed incapacitated by the courts. Historically, the majority of state wards were elderly women residing in skilled nursing facilities. Today, those demographics are rapidly changing. This new incapacitated cohort has become less institutionalized, with a rising number of persons who have entered the program with criminal records and who continue to commit crimes. This exploratory study focuses on incapacitated persons (IP) with criminal behaviors in order to seek what intervention(s) might reduce their criminal activity. Relying on routine activity theory, differing levels of supervision were compared …

Active Bystander Behaviors Among High School Students: The Role Of Co-Occurrence Of Violence Victimization And Perpetration In Personal Violence Prevention, Reiko Ozaki

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

Bystander programs aim to prevent personal violence, such as dating violence, sexual violence, sexual harassment, and stalking. They equip community members with skills to stop the violence before it happens by engaging in active bystander behaviors such as speaking up in potentially risky situations or supporting victims. Given that victimization and perpetration of personal violence, including co-occurrence, are common among youth, high schools have begun implementing bystander programs in recent years. This study examined the relationship between high school students’ experience of personal violence and their active bystander behaviors.

Using the social identity approach as a theoretical foundation, this study …

Service Before Self: The Health Consequences Of Working In Public Child Welfare, Austin Garrett Griffiths

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

Child welfare workers respond to human tragedy and the job stresses associated with their positions that may result in their own trauma, secondary traumatic stress, compassion fatigue, emotional exhaustion, and burnout. Workers continue to leave their positions at alarming rates, influencing service quality and the ability to meet the needs of vulnerable populations. Decades of research have attempted to solve this national crisis by identifying salient factors found to influence the child welfare worker's experience and intention to leave their position. However, the problem prevails.

Addressing a major gap in the literature, this mixed methods study took a unique approach …

Workplace Bullying In Kuwait, Hamad A. Alaslawi

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

Workplace bullying (WPB) is a pervasive problem in contemporary society, inflicting detrimental repercussions upon employees, employers, and organizations alike. It affects the physical, psychological, and financial wellbeing not only of its victims, but also their families, their communities, and society as a whole.

Research into this phenomenon has evolved significantly over the past two decades. While related to the physically violent phenomenon of schoolyard bullying, WPB is primarily a psychological phenomenon, manifesting as abusive power in workplace relationships, rather than as interpersonal conflict. Bullying at work comes in many forms, has many faces, and occurs in many places. It ranges …

The Impact Of Attitudes And Beliefs About Fat On Social Work Education In Appalachia: An Exploratory Study, Genesia Kilgore-Bowling

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

Anti-fat bias and the resulting discriminatory behavior is widely documented and impacts almost every aspect of an obese person’s life, including healthcare/insurance, education, employment, interpersonal relationships, and protection under the law. This has serious psychological, social, physical health, and economic consequences for the obese person. The non-social work related literature provides an abundance of evidence that when obese people seek assistance from a helping professional, they are met with the same anti-fat bias and discrimination present in other areas of their lives.

Recognizing that anti-fat bias can lead to negative practice behaviors with obese patients and clients, many professional education …

How Therapists Use And Choose Mindfulness To Treat Trauma, Jessica M. King

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

This qualitative study used the phenomenological method to examine how therapists use mindfulness therapies and interventions to address trauma-salient issues with their clients. Specifically, it explored therapists’ use of and choices about mindfulness-based treatments when addressing post-traumatic stress symptoms, and trauma-relevant emotion dysregulation and attachment injury. Informants were associate and fully-licensed local therapists, recruited using convenience sampling and snowball sampling by word-of-mouth referrals. Data was collected by semi-structured interviewing. Interview data was analyzed with Moustakas’ (1994) recommended procedures for analysis of phenomenological data. Results, Discussion, Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research are described at the end.

An Exploratory Factor Analysis Of The Survivor Of Suicide Support Group Facilitator Scale: Identifying Meaningful Factors For Group Facilitation And Outcomes, Rebecca L. Sanford

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

Support groups for suicide loss survivors are a relatively common resource used by those who are left to cope in the aftermath of a suicide death. Though descriptive studies have been used to provide an overview of support groups in the past, there have been no efforts to understand nuances of these groups and the impact of these groups and differing facilitation styles on the bereavement experience for attendees. This study explores primary data collected between March 2015 and December 2015 with a sample of 138 survivor of suicide loss support group facilitators in the United States and several other …

Maternal Allostatic Load During Pregnancy: Predicting Length Of Gestation, Molly E. M. Sayre

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

Allostatic load, or the “wear and tear” on the body due to stress, is thought to have a negative impact on length of pregnancy and contribute to health disparities in preterm birth. However, the magnitude of the effect on birth outcomes is unknown, in part due to questions of timing of measurement of allostatic load during pregnancy. This study used linear regression analysis of data from 156 pregnant women to test whether allostatic load is a predictor of length of gestation in the study sample, finding that third trimester allostatic load predicted length of gestation among women with full-term births. …

Identifying The Trauma Recovery Needs Of Maltreated Children: An Examination Of Child Welfare Workers' Effectiveness In Screening For Traumatic Stress, Adrienne Whitt-Woosley

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

Children in the child welfare system comprise a group characterized by their exposure to trauma via experiences of maltreatment, under circumstances presenting multiple risk factors for traumatic stress. High rates of posttraumatic stress have been observed in this population. However, there is currently no standard for the universal screening of children in child welfare for trauma exposure and traumatic stress. The purpose of this study was to analyze the trauma experiences of a sample of maltreated children and examine whether child welfare workers are effective screeners of traumatic stress symptoms with children from their caseloads. Method: A sample of children …

Vocational Rehabilitation Outcomes For Hispanic Consumers In Traditional Settlement Areas And New Immigrant Destinations: A 17-Year Trend Analysis, Karen E. Waddle Cinnamond

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

At the end of the 20^th century, economic and political forces converged to create an unprecedented migration of Hispanics across and within U.S. borders. Many migrated for work in new destinations like the Southeast instead of traditional regions in the Southwest. In the Southeast many communities struggled to meet the economic and social needs of its newest members of a population that grew seemingly overnight.

The state-federal vocational rehabilitation system is an important service to meet the economic and social needs of people with disabilities that impair their ability to work. Current scholarship suggests Hispanics and other minorities experience …

Evaluation Of A Diabetes Self-Management Program For Hispanics In Lexington Kentucky: A Pilot Study, Miguel A. Gamboa Oropeza

Theses and Dissertations--Nutrition and Food Systems

Hispanics are more affected by diabetes than non-Hispanic whites and they tend to experience more severe complications. Research shows that although self-management is poor among ethnic minorities, it is even more so among Hispanics. The “Taking Ownership of Your Diabetes” (TOYD) program has been shown to be successful in helping individuals manage their diabetes. However, no work has been conducted with Hispanic audiences in Kentucky. TOYD program allows individuals to modify lifestyle risks and solve problems related to diabetes management. The program was translated from English to Spanish. Hispanics males and females between ages 19 to 75 years …

College-Educated, African American Women's Marital Choices, Katherine M. Oliver

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

This study explores the desire to marry, marriageable mate criteria, and marital choices/options as they pertain to college-educated, African American women within today’s society. A purposive, nationally based sample (N = 95) of never married, college-educated, African American women (i.e., 18 to 40 years of age) was gathered via an online survey accessed by an emailed link. A mixed methods approach was utilized within the survey design, followed by data analyses (i.e., frequencies, two-way analyses) interpreted through a theoretical framework of social exchange. Areas discussed include life goals of marriage, cohabitation, and career; romantic barriers; the perceived availability of …

Educational Experiences Of Foster Children And Communication Patterns Of Key Stakeholders: The Foster Parent Perspective, Teresa Hardin

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

This research explored the perspective of foster parents on the educational experiences of foster children and experiences of communication patterns with other key stakeholders (social workers, and teachers). Factors focused on were educational experience of foster children, communication patterns, the impact of communication patterns on the educational experience, and barriers to effective communication. Five individuals who were, at the time of the study, foster parents to at least one child were interviewed. Participants openly shared a variety of positive and negative experiences. This study adopted the theoretical framework of Bronfenbrenner’s cultural-ecological theory. Participant interviews were transcribed verbatim and inductive coding …

"I See Their Purpose": Looking At The Role Of Family Advocates In Partnering With Families And Advocating For Children In Guatemala City, Sierra K. Leonard

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

The purpose of this study was to get an in-depth, complete picture of a social worker and child/family advocate in Guatemala City, Guatemala. The intent was to study the participant’s work and responsibilities in order to examine how she processed and completed her dual role as social worker/advocate and mother to a group of children in a children’s home. A focus on responsibility, the effect of her dual role, and the influence of her personal and religious convictions emerged throughout the study. The participant’s unique position in a dual role offered insight into the various aspects of advocacy and intervention …