Social Work Commons^™

The Impact Of A Civic Service Program On Biopsychosocial Outcomes Of Post 9/11 U.S. Military Veterans, Monica M. Matthieu, Karen A. Lawrence, Emma Robertson-Blackmore

Social Work Faculty Publications

Volunteering as a health promotion intervention, improves physical health, mental health, and social outcomes particularly in older adults, yet limited research exists for veterans. We conducted a preliminary study to explore whether volunteering impacts a variety of biopsychosocial outcomes, including symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, among returning military veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. A survey enrolling a prospective cohort of United States (U.S.) veterans who served in the military after 11 September 2001 and who participated in a national civic service program was conducted. A total of 346 veterans completed standardized health, mental health, and psychosocial self-report …

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 …

An Exploratory Study Of Syringe Exchange Program Awareness And Perceptions In Kentucky, Martha Tillson

Oswald Research and Creativity Competition

Research has documented the myriad benefits to public and individual health provided by syringe exchange programs (SEPs), which allow persons who inject drugs access to sterile injection equipment. In 2015, Kentucky passed legislation that permitted public health departments to operate SEPs, but much remains unknown about knowledge and perceptions of the newly-implemented programs, particularly among individuals with histories of substance use. The present study therefore aimed to: 1) describe awareness of SEPs in Kentucky among participants of corrections-based substance abuse treatment programs, surveyed one year after their release into the community; 2) to determine if awareness of SEPs varies based …

Exploring Faculty Perceptions Of Student Incivility In Social Work: Results From A National Survey, Elizabeth A. Wahler, Karen Badger

Social Work Faculty Publications

The literature suggests that incivility is a growing problem in college classrooms, but few studies have examined incivility within social work programs. Using a national sample of social work instructors (n=327), this study examined faculty experiences with social work student incivility in both undergraduate and graduate education. Results showed that some behaviors often deemed disrespectful or inattentive do occur in social work classrooms, and they occur more frequently in undergraduate classes than graduate classes. Although rare, hostile behaviors were also reported by faculty. Discussion of these findings includes recommendations for addressing incivility in the context of preparing social work students …

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 …

Coming To America: An Examination Of The U.S. Immigration Debate In Its Historical Context, Julie R. Davidson

Kaleidoscope

The United States is considered a country of immigrants, but a historical tension has existed between new arrivals and the “native” population. Policies regarding immigration have frequently mirrored the nativist fervor that is created in opposition to large influxes of immigrants. The debate about revamping immigration policy, that has been a key issue in Congress in 2006, is not surprising in an historical context. The concern about large numbers, the fear of draining social services, dilution of American culture, loss of American jobs, and the compromising of national security are all concerns that have been voiced recently, and are almost …

"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 …

Improving Depression Care For Older Home Health Patients, Sarah R. Schirmer

DNP Projects

Rates of depression in older home healthcare (HH) patients are highly prevalent. Although depression in this population is associated with increased rates of re-hospitalization, falls, and suicides, it is frequently under diagnosed and under treated. This Capstone Report examined this problem through three interrelated manuscripts. The first manuscript explored the problem through a review of the literature. This review determined that while there are many barriers to adequate depression care, programs that train clinicians to screen for depression and connect patients to depression care encourage adequate evaluation and treatment and can result in clinically significant changes in depression scores. This …

Aging In Rural Appalachia: Perspectives From Geriatric Social Service Professionals, Natalie D. Pope, Diane N. Loeffler, D. Lee Ferrell

Social Work Faculty Publications

This paper uses qualitative methodology to explore the experience of growing old in rural Appalachia. Given the growing population of older adults seeking and utilizing services, it is important to understand the challenges and specific needs related to aging. Within the context of rural Appalachia, these challenges and needs may be different than those in urban areas or areas outside of the region itself. From interviews with 14 geriatric service providers in rural southeast Ohio, the authors were able to identity three prevalent themes associated with aging in rural North Central Appalachia: scarcity of resources, valuing neighbors and family, and …

Grandparents As Parents: Investigating The Health And Well-Being Of Trauma-Exposed Families, Ginny Sprang, Moon Choi, Jessica Eslinger, Adrienne Whitt-Woosley, Rachel Looff

Center on Trauma and Children Reports

An excerpt from the introduction:

Over the past two decades, the number of grandparents serving as primary caregivers for their grandchildren has steadily increased. Nationally, 42% of all grandparents living with grandchildren function as the primary caregivers (U.S. Census, 2006).

In the southern region of the country, this phenomenon is particularly salient, and expected to continue, with estimates that range from 7% to 15% higher than in 2000 (U.S. Census, 2004). Kentucky is no exception, with 67,394 children living with their grandparents, 58.8% of those grandchildren fall under the responsibility of their grandparents (American Community Survey, 2005). In fact, Region …

State Child Welfare Policy: Causes And Consequences, Dana D. Connelly

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

On any given day almost 400,000 children in the United States are living in an out-of-home care placement due to government intervention. Federal law allows for substantial variance in state child welfare policy on a number of topics. These policy decisions, however, are understudied both in terms of the forces driving them and also the impacts the policies have on actual outcomes for children in care.

Utilizing a unique panel data set comprised of thirteen child welfare policies that vary both between states and over time we examine how well redistributive theory (constituent, institutional, paternalistic and resource pressures) explains state …

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 …

Identity Making Process Of Individuals With Mild Intellectual Disabilities, Carolee Kamlager

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

The shadow of stigma theory typically surrounds the research investigation of the lives of individuals with mild intellectual disabilities. McAdams’ life story theory and methodology provide a human development framework as an alternative to the prevailing framework in the field of disability. This study moves out of the shadow of otherness and examines the personal identity making process of twelve individuals with mild intellectual disabilities in the light of human development theory. Findings dispel the assumption that individuals with mild intellectual disabilities construct their lives solely through their disability. Rather, the identity making process includes the influences of socio-cultural events, …

Assessing Self-Efficacy Of Cultural Competence With Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Clients: A Comparison Of Training Methods With Graduate Social Work Students, Steven D. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

Graduate social work students are mandated to be cultural competent to work with lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) clients. This exploratory study examined how best to teach graduate social work students to be culturally competent in working with LGB clients by assessing their perceived competence of attitudes, knowledge and skills as well as their demonstrated competence through case vignettes.

The study compared a current pedagogical method of infusing LGB material across the curricula with two types of brief trainings (didactic lecture and experiential) . This mixed methods study utilized a pretest/posttest design to examine the effects of the trainings as …

Rampage School Shootings: A Content Analysis Of Media And Scholarly Accounts Of Perpetration Factors Associated With The Phenomenon, Philip Mongan

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

When school shootings occur in primary or secondary schools they draw a massive amount of media attention. Frequently, after the shooting stops, the media begins to prognosticate about the factors that led to the occurrence of the tragedy. However, there is a dearth of research examining those factors that are perpetuated by the media, as well as the factors that are most discussed in scholarly publications. Therefore, the aim of this research project was to explore the perpetration factors that have been perpetuated by the media, and compare those to the perpetration factors that are most frequently discussed by researchers. …

Factors Affecting End Of Treatment Symptom Severity For Children Receiving Trauma-Informed Evidence-Based Treatment, Jessica G. Eslinger

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

The purpose of this project is to examine how the factors of gender, placement status, type of treatment, the number of different types of trauma experienced, and a child’s age at the start of treatment may influence end of treatment symptom severity scores for children ages 2-12 years who received trauma-informed evidence-based treatment for trauma. Method: Caregivers and children receiving outpatient services (N=134) completed the Child Behavioral Checklist, Trauma Symptom Checklist for Young Children, and the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children-Alternate Version at baseline and end of treatment. Hypotheses were tested with a series of ANCOVA analyses, Independent t-Tests, …

Acculturative Stress And Depressive Symptoms Among Korean Immigrant Elders Residing In Non-Korean Ethnic Enclaves, Stephanie Lyu Rhee

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

Few studies have examined the relationships among personal factors, acculturative stress, coping resources, and depression of Korean immigrant elders residing in areas without any Korean ethnic enclave. Based on the stress and coping model and the sociocultural model of stress, coping, and adaptation, this cross-sectional study examined the relationships among acculturative stress, coping, and depression in 111 non-institutionalized Korean immigrant elders aged 60 and older residing in areas without any Korean ethnic enclaves in three neighboring states of Southwestern Ohio, North Central Region of Kentucky, and Southern Indiana. A majority of convenience and snowball sample participated in self-administered mailed surveys, …

Human Capital, Mental Health, Substance Use And Social Support Among Low-Income Women, Sarabeth Leukefeld

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

Low-income women, including women who receive welfare, are some of the most misunderstood citizens in the U.S. Low-income women often live in extreme situations that are complicated by poverty and multiple issues related to human capital, social support, mental health, and substance use. These factors make low-income women unique in that they contribute not only to the women’s current situations, but to their potential for future self-sufficiency. The majority of previous studies have described these factors as barriers to self-sufficiency. This study explored these factors differently by examining the extent to which human capital is associated with mental health problems …