Social Work Commons^™

Fostering Strengths: Using Testimonios To Identify Community Cultural Wealth In Foster Youth, Katherine Mullin

Master's Projects and Capstones

Foster youth voices have been silenced in schools, work environments, and many other settings.There is very little research around what works well for foster youth and what their assets are. Foster youth have many skills and resources that they use to navigate systems that continually marginalize them. But these are often ignored or overlooked. This project uses youth voices through Testimonios and Community Cultural Wealth to create a training for group home staff.

Functional Isolation: Understanding Isolation In Trafficking Survivors, Liz Mahan

Student Theses

This study examined how traffickers used different elements of isolation and how such tactics may have contributed to the traffickers’ success in maintaining control over the victim. I examined in-depth narratives from 14 women between the ages of 20-53, primarily immigrants, who were recruited from an agency serving victims of sex trafficking in a large metropolitan city. The tactics used by traffickers varied and included not only the commonly defined structural isolation in which victims are restricted physically and socially, but also included a shrinking of safe social space and an elimination of privacy and social support. The latter is …

"I Need Help" Recommendations For A Trauma Informed Care Training For Resource Parents, Jaspreet Kaur Bola

Master's Projects and Capstones

This report discusses the need for extensive trauma informed care training for resource parents (formerly known as foster care parents). A review of the literature and collection and analysis of data during group interviews with case managers and one-on-one interviews with resource parents was conducted. The review and data analysis found that resource parents are experiencing several challenging behaviors as a result of trauma from the foster child(ren) in their care and resource parents want more specific and detailed trauma informed care training that will help foster parents better address behavioral issues of the foster children in their care. Resource …

Factors That Shape Arab American College Student Identity, Abdul Rahman F. Jaradat

Doctoral Dissertations

Arab American identity has not yet received the research attention and scholarship that it deserves. In this dissertation, I have qualitatively studied the narratives of young Arab American college students and recent graduates. The research questions that I explored include what makes them Arab Americans, and what are the factors that help them identify as such. By focusing on Arab Americans and their identity factors, I have presented the narratives of those women and men who self-identify as Arab American and quoted their accounts of how they navigate this undervalued, misunderstood, and stereotyped identity. I have used ethnic and racial …

Residence Directors As Residential Crisis Workers: Exploring The Role Of Campus-Based Critical Incident Stress Management In The Mitigation Of Compassion Fatigue, Noga Flory

Doctoral Dissertations

Residence Directors, as a result of repeated exposure to their students' trauma, are prone to developing compassion fatigue. Research on the use of college-based Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) has been shown to foster collaboration, consultation, and increased stress debriefing among staff who respond to critical incidents on campus. CISM can teach Residence Directors means of recognizing work-related triggers, contribute to the normalization of stress reactions, and improve healthy coping and self-care strategies. CISM can also potentially help reduce or diminish the incidence of compassion fatigue and burnout, thereby improving Residence Directors' overall professional and personal quality of life and …

Letter To The President: Longitudinal Critical Discourse Analysis Of Academic And Hip Hop Genres In A Rap Narrative Program, Debangshu Roygardner

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The objective of this study was to examine an in-school rap narrative workshop through critical discourse theory (Bamberg, 2012; Daiute, 2014). Twelve youth from a public school serving youth in urban Houston, TX were recruited from an in-school and after-school Hip hop/Rap narrative program to participate in a two-year cohort research study. The primary research question guiding the study was “How do young people participating in a school-based Hip hop/Rap program use a wide range of narrative genres for literacy and psycho-social development over two years in the program?”

The data-intensive study involved assessments of literacy and psycho-social development via …

Social Work Students Ability To Identify Signs Of Autism In Children, Heather Nicole Hopkins

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the ability of students in the Master of Social Work (MSW) program to correctly identify signs of autism in children by completing a survey. This research project was conducted in collaboration with California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB) and the MSW program by using MSW students as participants. The study used a survey designed with items that measured the knowledge of participants. The results of this study may be beneficial to the Director of Social Work, future MSW students, and professors to examine how well the current MSW program is preparing students …

Practitioners' Views On Service Needs For Justice Involved Youth, Juan C. Llamas, Robin L. Chandler

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to assess practitioners’ views of service needs for juveniles involved with the justice system. In the United States, every year there are thousands of youth committed to detention institutions for delinquent acts. As a result, children as young as nine years of age up until adulthood have a difficult time integrating back into the community. In many instances, youth who have been involved with the justice system have a greater likelihood of recidivism due to their inability to adapt to their environment. Further, when youth enter the system, many times they are not receiving …

Social Stigmas Of Mental Health Counseling For The Youth Population, Norma Edith Morales, Kiah Kristionne Marks

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study was a quantitative survey that examined the parental perspectives concerning mental health counseling after their children received mental health services. The focus of this study was to analyze changes in parental perspectives in regard to mental health services for their children. The study considered social stigmas and diagnostic labels associated with mental health and counseling for mental health. The study found that parents whose children received mental health services reported they and their children had a positive experience. In addition, parents were open to receiving mental health counseling services in the future. The study was conducted within a …

Strategies And Substance Treatment: Perceptions Of Older Adults 60 And Over, Kim Malveo Jones

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to gather the perceive strategies and substance treatment needs of adults 60 and over. To examine what recovery treatment models and strategies could be most effective for the age-related complex needs of the 60 and over population who are at risk for substance misuse, use or abuse. In the coming years, there will be a substantial increase in the numbers of older adults with substance misuse and abuse problems. Even though one in five individuals who experience substance abuse are older adults many clinicians remain ill equipped to serve older clientele, and particularly those …

The Power Of Prayer, Victoria Dawn Thompson

Capstone Collection

If words are arbitrary, how does prayer have power?” is the question of inquiry in this paper. An unobtrusive Content Analysis inquiry methodology was used to answer this question. The answer lies in the finding that words and thoughts are not the same thing, and our thoughts expand beyond the audible and visible. The implication for professional practice these findings present is that a deeper awareness of “Self” is needed to understand people’s miraculous way of resolving conflict via prayer.

Social Relationships In Young Offenders: Relevance To Peers, Poverty, And Psychological Adjustment, Victoria Sabo

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The increasing influence of peers in adolescence is related to a developing array of skills, aspirations, attitudes, and behaviours. The nature and magnitude of this influence and the potential association of certain youth with deviant peers is among the most prominent risk factors in predicting youth crime. This becomes of greater concern for economically disadvantaged youth, whose neighbourhoods harbour greater susceptibility to negative peer influence. With social affiliations at the forefront of youth development and criminality, research efforts need to further characterize the nature, constitution, and influence of peers on adolescent offending. Two hundred and eighty-one Canadian youth were sampled …

An Exploration Of The Relationships Between Self Compassion And Burnout : Secondary Traumatic Stress And Compassion Satisfaction Among Providers Who Work With Children And Families Who Have Experienced Trauma, Binlin Xia

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

The field of social work education has witnessed a soaring need to help providers cope with the negative emotional impact of working with clients who have experienced trauma. This study explored the association between self compassion and the experience of burn out (BO), secondary traumatic stress (STS) and compassion satisfaction (CS) among mental health providers who specifically work with children and youth who have experienced trauma. This quantitative study employed a survey in addition to two open-ended questions in a sample of 60 participants using a convenience sampling process.

The findings suggest that self compassion serves as a strongly correlated …

Faith And Homelessness: Examining The Influence Of The Faith-Based Component Of A Transitional Housing Program On The Attitudes And Behaviors Of Homeless Men, Douglas Edward Luffborough Iii

Dissertations

Homelessness is a social and public policy concern. In the United States, homelessness is a problem with multiple and complex causes that include mental illness and the effects of physical, economic, and social conditions such as extreme poverty, exposure to the elements, mental and substance abuse disorders, malnutrition, and victimization. Transitional housing is a temporary option offered as a response to homelessness, recognizing that if individuals are provided with shelter, they may be supported in their attempt to achieve self-sufficiency.

There is some evidence that supports the benefits of federally funded transitional housing programs, but to date, few studies have …

Psychedelic Psychotherapy : Existential And Neuroscience Perspectives On The Therapeutic Journey, Arthur W. Seelig

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

Psychotherapy with the use of high-dose psychedelic drugs shows immense promise in treating a myriad of debilitating psychiatric conditions. After a three-decade long suspension, regulators have allowed for new studies and re-awakened interest in the potential of psychedelics. However, while research on the topic has quickly progressed, little has been done to reinvigorate our clinical understanding of the psychedelic healing process. This thesis interprets the psychedelic state through the twin perspectives of existentialism and neuroscience with the goal of starting to develop a theoretical language.

The subjective experience of high-dose psychedelics under therapeutic conditions often results in a loss-of-self referred …

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 …

Reflexivity And Organizational Culture: A Comparative Case Study, Chloe Frisina

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This research explores how reflexive practices are shaped by organizational culture. For the purposes of this study reflexivity is defined as a self-critical approach that involves examining how knowledge is created, how one may be complicit in relations of knowledge and power, and the potential consequences for inequality and privilege (D’Cruz, Hemmingham, & Melendez, 2007, p. 86). Organizational culture is defined as the shared norms, beliefs, and expectations that often drive behavior and create the social milieu that shape the objectives of the work accomplished and communicate what is important within the organization (Hemmelgarn, Glisson, & James, 2006, p. 75). …