Social Work Commons^™

Serving And Protecting People With Mental Illness And/Or Developmental Disabilities: An Evaluation Of The Los Angeles Sheriff Department’S Field Operations Crisis Intervention Skills Program, Veronica Plascencia, Melissa Mcdonald

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

ABSTRACT The Los Angeles Sheriff Department’s Field Operations Crisis Intervention Skills (FOCIS) program is a collaborative effort aimed at preparing law enforcement officers for crises that involve individuals with severe mental illness and/or developmental disabilities. That is, the ultimate goal of the program is to train officers to serve, protect, and build connections with the community’s most vulnerable citizens. Embracing a pre-experimental design, this study assessed the effectiveness and applicability of the FOCIS program among 53 law enforcement officers in Los Angeles County. Findings from non-parametric analyses revealed that the FOCIS training increased officers’ knowledge on mental illness and developmental …

Perceptions Of Mental Health Among Asian Pacific Islander College Students, Jenny Phan

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

As part of the demands of higher education, college students undergo stressful events that have a negative impact on their mental health. Furthermore, Asian American Pacific Islander (API) Asian Pacific Islanders (API) face cultural and structural barriers that further influences individuals to ignore their mental well-being. Through interviews and surveys, this study aims to explore the current perceptions of mental health among API college students and the possible factors that prevent these students from addressing the mental health concerns through interviews obtaining student’s personal narratives. The findings are to enhance social work practice through becoming more culturally aware of the …

Mental Health Therapists' Views On The Challenges Latinos Face To Continue Services, Jessica Gutierrez, Elizabeth Casas-Valdovinos

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors leading Latinos to withdraw from mental health services through the perspective of mental health therapists. This study employed a qualitative design and data were collected from face-to-face and phone interviews with 10 therapists from Riverside and San Bernardino County. The results of this study identified that Latino client’s low levels of mental health literacy contributed to a higher level of mental health stigma that led to premature withdrawal from services. The study also found that language barrier and job-related issues were major challenges Latino families faced in their continuation of …

Evaluating The Perceptions Of Preschool Teachers And Administrators On Mental Health Services In The School Setting, Celia Tavarez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Mental health can impact a child’s success in many aspects, including in the school setting. School settings are very often the only place that provide an opportunity for families to be able to receive mental health services for their children. It is imperative that schools meet the mental health needs of the children who attend their schools. This research project examines data and information gathered from educators and school administrators to help us understand their experiences, successes, and/or displeasure about the services that are offered or not offered within the agency they work for. The literature review discusses the definition …

Emotional Labor: How Gendered Racism Affects African American Women Working In Mental Health Crisis Response, Dana N. Sandoval

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The research uses the framework of emotional labor to analyze the effect of gendered racism on mental health, physical well-being, and burn out of African American women who provide mental health crisis response. The focus on the emotional toll an African American woman experiences while dealing with clients who may respond with racist and/or sexist actions or words. Also explored are coping strategies and protective factors while managing the stressors of sexism and racism while working in a mental health crisis response. The study uses in- depth interviews to explore the lived experiences of African American/Black women. Axial coding links …

The Role And Impact Of Long-Term, Faith-Based Reentry Programs After Incarceration, Louie John Martinez, Rebecca Graf

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The focus of this exploratory study is on individuals who have completed long term, faith-based reentry programs after incarceration. Through one-on-one interviews with participants, this study will examine the impact that long-term, faith-based treatment programs have had in helping persons with a criminal past re-acclimate back into society. As more reentry programs focus on skills-based treatment only, this study seeks to explore the integration of faith and spirituality in long-term faith-based treatment programs in conjunction with other treatment modalities. This study will contribute to a deeper understanding of the critical elements necessary to help individuals overcome their past and collateral …

Analyzing Service Barriers And Risk Factors For Reentry Among Formerly Incarcerated Adults, Agustina Alejandra Sepulveda

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Recidivism is a growing problem affecting formerly incarcerated adults struggling with reentry into society. After release, most individuals are dealing with barriers in their environment that affect their access to substance abuse and mental health treatment, which can be important to reducing recidivism. Thus, this study sought to understand the various service barriers and risk factors to reentry among formerly incarcerated individuals to help increase awareness of some of the challenges the reentry population is facing.

Self-administered surveys focusing on housing, employment, public assistance, and mental health barriers were collected among formerly incarcerated individuals from Southern California (n=103). Bivariate chi-square …

Perceptions Of Compassion Fatigue Amongst Master Of Social Work Students And Self-Care Strategies To Build Resilience, Daniel Wright

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Due to the unpredictable nature of the social work profession, MSW interns may find themselves unprepared when dealing with clients that have suffered through traumatic events. For those that are not adequately prepared, there can be risks of experiencing compassion fatigue. Compassion fatigue is a process by which a professional’s inner experience is negatively transformed through empathic engagement with clients’ trauma material (Killian, 2008). This research project examined possible contributing factors to compassion fatigue among MSW students and recent MSW graduates from a large public university in Southern California. The study also focused on whether self-care methods were being used, …

Educators' Barriers To Reporting Child Maltreatment, Miriam Figueroa, Mariaisela Maldonado

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify educators’ perceptions of barriers to reporting child maltreatment. This study used a survey design with self-administered questionnaires. Sixty five teachers from a large southern California school district participated in the study. Quantitative and demographic data was collected using Linkedin and Facebook to recruit study participants. The questionnaires gathered information about their knowledge, training, experience, and professional responsibility regarding reporting suspected maltreatment.

This study found that most educators received training in reporting requirements and were able to spot signs of maltreatment. However, the study also revealed that some participants had a low comfort …

Barriers That Influence Hispanics Decisions To Access Mental Health Care Services, Carolina Peters

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Despite the existing research on barriers to mental health services among minority ethnic groups, little is known about the barriers to the access of mental health services among different Latino groups. This research attempted to understand potential barriers such as gender, income, and education, among Mexican’s and other Latino subgroups (Salvadorian, Puerto Rican, Honduran, and other). Through the gathering of quantitative data in the form of surveys, research defined that there are no significant findings in barriers to access mental health services among Hispanics. A limitation encountered was limited participation of Latino subgroups. Future studies can improve on this limitation …

The Challenges Of Acculturating In The Los Angeles County: Immigrants Of Latin American Countries, Melissa Saldana-Alvarez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study intends to identify the barriers that may impede new immigrants from successfully acculturating in the United States. The researcher collected qualitative data through audio-recorded face-to-face-interviews with the participants. Participants were recruited through a local agency that provides a number of services to immigrant in the community. Data collected was transcribed and analyzed for the development of categories of individual, family, group, organizational, and community involvement in the lives of new immigrants who attempt to acculturate in this country. The research findings reveal the need for mental health, medical, and educational services, and workshops about rights and laws in …

Social Worker Perceptions Of Animal Assisted Therapy For Children With Trauma Histories, Tessa Hodge

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Untreated trauma can have significant lifelong negative impacts on children including poor emotional and mental health, social difficulties, poor physical health, juvenile delinquency, adult criminality, and substance abuse. Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) utilizes animals, typically dogs or horses, in goal-oriented treatment plans, and AAT has been found to be an effective treatment for trauma exposure and post-traumatic stress disorder, especially in children. Social workers working with children who have child welfare involvement are often responsible for services referrals, treatment plans, case plans, and direct provision of services. Current research does not address if the social workers responsible for referring children …

Mental Health Challenges Among Ethnic Minorities College Students, Fiorella G. Valles, Ruben Gonzalez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This research study explored the challenges of mental health-seeking services of college students of color in the San Bernardino area. College students of different ethnicities have unique needs and challenges that contrast with the general student population. Previous research stated that students of color deal with a greater number of unmet mental health needs and indicates a connection between mental health and attaining a college degree (Arria et al., 2013). To increase the utilization of mental health amongst students of color, this study aimed to identify the influencing factors that prevented students from help-seeking. The research design of this research …

Childhood Trauma Within The Child Welfare System, Valarie Schulz, Angelica Bautista

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Childhood trauma among children in foster care is a major concern in the child welfare system and its impacts often go unaddressed. The purpose of this study was to gain knowledge from a social worker’s view on early trauma intervention for children in foster care and their successful transition into adulthood. This study used an exploratory qualitative method to collect data through face-to-face interviews with 7 social workers who have experience working with foster children. This approach gained participant’s unique insights pertaining to their experiences working with children impacted by childhood trauma.

Data obtained from this study identified early trauma …

Working With The Homeless Population: An Exploratory Study Of Graduate Social Work Student’S Confidence And Willingness, Ana Rosa Ortiz, Mariam Kiara Lowe

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Homelessness is a multilayered problem that affects hundreds of thousands of people across the United States. The social work profession cannot rest on its laurels when large numbers of individuals and families suffer due to a lack of shelter, a necessity. Historically, social work was at the vanguard of interventions against homelessness. However, over the past 30 years or so, the profession arguably has shifted its focus toward micro practice. As a result, macro issues such as poverty and homelessness have received comparatively less interest in the field. Using an exploratory design, this study examined factors associated with level of …

The Use Of Self-Disclosure In Clinical Practice: Exploring Graduate Social Work Students’ Perceptions, Kevin Alsina

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The use of self-disclosure in clinical practice has been a controversial issue among professionals across many helping professions, including social work. The guidance on self-disclosure from the National Association of Social Workers, via its code of ethics, has been arguably vague. As a result, the topic remains ambiguous within the social work profession. Using a Grounded Theory approach, this study aimed to obtain the perceptions of 137 graduate social work students on the use of self-disclosure in practice. Through three major themes and six sub-themes, the results confirmed the lack of clarity pertaining to the use of self-disclosure in social …

Social Workers Fostering Higher Education Within Foster Youth, Magally Villarreal, Danahly Contreras Reyes

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The following research study examines foster youth and higher education, specifically focusing on the roles social workers do or might play in helping foster youth pursue higher education. The literature suggests that child welfare agencies have implemented programs for foster youth to be able pursue a higher education and for social workers to assist with the process, to improve foster youths’ educational outcomes. However, there continues to be a gap between foster youths’ aspirations and achievements.

This study uses a qualitative design, using in-depth interviews with social workers in Southern California. A snowball sampling method was used to recruit participants, …

Entering The United States From Central America And Mexico: Social Work Practice With Unaccompanied Minors, Crystal Duarte

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Unaccompanied minors from Central America and Mexico have endeavored treacherous journeys to enter the United States for many decades. In recent years, there has been an influx of unaccompanied minors fleeing their native country and arriving at the United States border as a result of poverty, violence, limited prospects and to reunify with their parents. Unaccompanied minors have witnessed and faced adversities, sometimes causing various mental health problems. Providing services to a vulnerable population like unaccompanied minors from Latin America can be challenging. This study explores Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) social workers’ perceived confidence in working with …

Eating Disorder Treatment: What Former Patients Attribute To Their Personal Recovery, Wendy Ingram

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the personal experience of people who have an eating disorder with a specific focus on what they attributed to their recovery. Eating disorders are a mental illness that affect one in 20 people. Thus, this prevalence coupled with a lack of significant research about eating disorders in the field of social work uncovered the need for this study.

Qualitative interviews were completed with five female students from a university in California. Each transcript was coded using conventional content analysis to uncover themes and subthemes, which included barriers to recovery, the need to …

Mindfulness And Burnout Among Social Workers, Erick Hernandez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Burnout is a negative psychological response to workplace stress, and it manifest as emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and a decrease in personal accomplishment. Experiencing burnout leads to physical health problems such as headaches, gastrointestinal issues, and respiratory problems. Social workers have been identified at high risk for developing burnout due to a high number of caseloads, limited supervisory support, and because they often work with clients with complex social situations. Burnout among social workers leads to high turnover rates, negatively impacts the quality of services, and adversely affects therapeutic relationships. Previous studies have examined the efficacy of mindfulness interventions on burnout …

The Effects Of Eating Disorders And Body Dissatisfaction On School Achievement, Briana Ribota

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Eating disorders are no longer an invisible phenomenon. Eating disorders are caused by a multitude of factors which include a combination of biological, environmental abnormalities, and/or psychological, such as: nutritional deficiencies, sexual abuse, poor self-esteem, trauma, and/or social pressure (Strother et al., 2012). These food related issues can cause embarrassment and pain, along with severely jeopardizing one’s health if not recognized and treated (Strother et al., 2012). As a result of the complexities of eating disorders, young adults are annihilated with managing life impediments rather than focusing on academic achievement. A qualitative post positivist study will be conducted by interviewing …

Hospice Social Workers Beliefs, Ethics, And Values: How Do They Affect Terminal Clients Requesting Physician Assisted Suicide?, Jazmine Camacho, Jessica Huver

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Since the enactment of California’s End of Life Option Act in 2016, physician assisted suicide (PAS) has become increasingly relevant within the field of medical social work. As a result, social workers will find themselves educating and assisting clients on EOLO. Research suggests that the amount of education and training received regarding PAS all had an impact on social workers’ perceived preparedness to discuss PAS as and EOLO. Additionally, research indicates that social workers collectively support and have a positive attitude towards PAS; however, there is little research that explores the extent to which a social worker’s personal values and …

Family Support In Relations To The Well-Being Of Dialysis Patients, Fabiola Rodriguez, Yesenia Ornelas

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

When recently diagnosed with a chronic illness, individuals face various challenging events that require social support. Nephrology social workers are expected to increase the psychosocial functioning and adjustment of individuals diagnosed with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). Limited studies are available regarding patients with ESRD, social support, and quality of life. This research was intended to explain the effect of familial support on the quality of life of patients diagnosed with ESRD. The research was measured by utilizing a mixed method design with convenience sampling of nephrology social workers employed at inpatient dialysis centers. Participants engaged in the study by …

Cultural Humility: Racial Disparity And Disproportionality How It Relates To Child Welfare And Mandated Reporter Training And Preparedness, Jennifer A. Perry, Ashley L. Castro

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The research problem was mandated reporters’ in a public assistance setting and child welfare social workers’ perception of cultural humility and cultural training. The research proposed that the lack of cultural humility training for both mandated reporters in public social service sectors and child welfare social workers has an impact of on the disparity and disproportionality in child welfare cases. A critical theory approach was adopted, and qualitative data was collected via face-to-face interviews. A snowball sampling strategy was used to select study participants. Study findings suggested that there is a cultural humility training provided to child welfare social workers, …

Domestic Violence In Rural Areas, Priscilla Ayala, Patricia Sanchez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Domestic violence (DV) negatively impacts individuals and families, including children, across the U.S. Yet, there is little research on the barriers and facilitators to services these families encounter, especially in rural areas. The goal of this study was to examine service availability in rural areas for families who have experienced domestic violence.

This study was conducted using a qualitative research design. Researchers conducted face-to-face and phone interviews with nine human services professionals in one rural California community. The study used in-depth interviews with open-ended questions to encourage participants to share their views and experiences.

The findings were categorized into six …

Five Influential Factors That Can Impact A Client- Social Worker Relationship During Reunification, Desiree Alfaro

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This research project examined the client-worker relationship to examine whether five factors related to engagement positively or negatively affected family reunification. Qualitative data were gathered during face-to-face interviews with seven Parent Partners who currently work in the field of child welfare and witness daily interactions between social workers and their clientele; this third-party- perspective is based on their interactions during which they assist clients with information, guidance, and support during the reunification process. These interviews were transcribed and then coded using directed content analysis to confirm whether these five dimensions of engagement were present in their child welfare cases.

Based …

Exploration Of Pet Ownership Related To Stress In Social Work Students, Aly Vancil

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The problem statement is: Does pet ownership contribute to social work student’s mental health as indicated by stress levels? The significance of this study is that further studies must be conducted in order to determine if there are long term benefits between human and animal interactions. In the research, there are many limitations that we explore because each study was done on a specific campus, or on a selective study body, or on an animal owner or non-animal owner. The research design used for the study was a quantitative survey design on Qualtrics that was sent to all the students …

General Internship Satisfaction As A Function Of Perceived Supervision Quality And Emotional Intelligence, Eva Huerta

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The current study utilized a quantitative design to investigate the extent to which MSW students’ general internship satisfaction (GIS) is related to their perceptions of supervision quality (SQ), and their emotional intelligence (EI). Participants were 53 individuals recruited from students enrolled in a Master of Social Work (MSW) program at an ethnically diverse Southern California university. Participants were required to be participating in their first or second year of field placement. An online survey solicited demographic information and participant responses to measurement scales for the three variables under investigation. Variable data were recorded on a 1-to-7 Likert scale, with comparatively …

Compassion Fatigue And Burnout Within A Mental Health Clinic A Constructivist Approach, Leonard Pinto

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Compassion Fatigue and Burnout are two very familiar problems in the field of mental health that can harm both the provider and the client if untreated and left unresolved. Past research efforts have found prevention methods and ways to recover from both problems, from an individualized approach. These issues appear to possibly occur on an organizational or agency level, but very little research has been centered around this. Furthermore, this research has explored the differences to be found in experience across different scopes of practice within a mental health clinic.

From the constructivist approach, this research has gathered quantitative …

Professionals’ Perspectives On Barriers And Facilitators Of Success With Teen Parents In The Child Welfare System, Zuleima Carrillo, Victoria Valenzuela

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the barriers and facilitators of success with teen parents who are in the child welfare system. The study examines these issues through the perspectives of professionals and paraprofessionals. The literature review suggested that having children at a young age negatively affects the mother as well as the child and that adolescents who have received or are receiving services from child welfare agencies become teen mothers at higher rates.

The study used a qualitative, exploratory design. The data was obtained from in-depth interviews with 15 professionals and paraprofessionals who …