Social Work Commons^™

The Relationship Between Role Models, Socioeconomic Mobility Beliefs, And Academic Outcomes, Christian Koeu, Marisol Espinoza Garcia

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Objective: This study aims to provide insights into the relationships between role models, socioeconomic mobility beliefs and the education outcomes of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. While previous studies highlight the positive influence of role models on academic and career aspirations, the specific relationship between role models and socioeconomic beliefs remains unexplored. Our study addresses this gap by examining whether the presence of role models relates with more optimistic socioeconomic beliefs and how these beliefs, in turn, affect academic outcomes (academic engagement, academic intentions, and grade point average [GPA]). Additionally, we investigate the influence of role model characteristics to …

Cultural And Structural Barriers Of Utilizing Mental Health Services In A School-Based Setting For Latinx Populations, Silvia Lozano, Bridgette Guadalupe Calderon

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This qualitative research study aimed to reduce mental health service disparities in Latinx communities and helps fill in the gap by addressing cultural and structural barriers to utilizing MHS in a school-based setting for Latinx youth. There is limited research regarding Latinx parents’ perspectives and the reservations they have on utilizing school-based mental health services (MHS) for their children. This study identified six important themes: cultural factors, trust and rapport, reservations, access and awareness, parental involvement and challenges, and school-based resources. Implications for school districts are that they can use these findings to increase early intervention mental behavioral health programs …

The Mirror Project: Reflections On The Experiences Of African-American Female Adolescents Experiencing Foster Care, Bahia Anise-Cross Degruy Overton

Dissertations and Theses

As the author Zora Neale Hurston says, "If you're silent about your pain, they'll kill you and say you enjoyed it." The Mirror Project (MP) aims to break this silence by giving voice to Black women who have experienced foster care in Portland, Oregon during their adolescence. In focus groups and interviews, participants shared their stories. Racial identity development theory, phenomenology and Afrocentric feminist epistemology provided lenses for gaining insight into their experiences in a predominantly white city. The MP revealed six themes: lack of youth engagement in foster care decisions, the need for a cultural lens in social work, …

Containerization Of Seafarers In The International Shipping Industry: Contemporary Seamanship, Maritime Social Infrastructures, And Mobility Politics Of Global Logistics, Liang Wu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation discusses the mobility politics of container shipping and argues that technological development, political-economic order, and social infrastructure co-produce one another. Containerization, the use of standardized containers to carry cargo across modes of transportation that is said to have revolutionized and globalized international trade since the late 1950s, has served to expand and extend the power of international coalitions of states and corporations to control the movements of commodities (shipments) and labor (seafarers). The advent and development of containerization was driven by a sociotechnical imaginary and international social contract of seamless shipping and cargo flows. In practice, this liberal, …

Moving At The Speed Of Trust, Sun Ho Lee

Masters Theses

Moving at the Speed of Trust is a workbook of strategies — practices, definitions, and techniques — to nurture community-building in support of inbetweeners who live between power structures and cultures and are often left out. Inbetweeners are those individuals whose lives are in transition through recent immigration or forced translocation from Asia to America.

These strategies revolve around threads of trust: kin, giggles, vulnerability, and shared experience. With these threads, we can question power. We can preserve stories, expand the ways we connect, shift perspectives on what is “standard,” and cultivate a community rooted in understanding. To understand each …

The Effect Of Federal And State-Level Policy On Undocumented Childhood Arrivals, Kim Kaczmarowski

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) provides a 2-year reprieve from deportation and a work permit for eligible undocumented childhood arrivals. It does not provide a pathway to citizenship or confer rights or protections enjoyed by those with permanent legal status leaving recipients in a constant state of legal limbo. State-level policy can mitigate or exacerbate obstacles faced by this population. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore how federal and state-level policy in a conservative location shaped experiences of membership or exclusion. Responses were examined using segmented assimilation theory to identify layered contexts of reception. The …

Caucasian Social Workers’ Cultural Competence Regarding Advance Care Planning Among Southern African Americans, Lisa Mitchell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Caucasian social workers who work in healthcare and implement advance care planning (ACP) may not be competent regarding African Americans’ reluctance to complete advance directives. Research is lacking on how Caucasian social workers in Louisiana are increasing their cultural competence regarding the interplay of historical trauma, past medical mistrust, and spiritual beliefs on African Americans’ use of ACP. This study explored how Caucasian social workers are increasing their cultural competence regarding the interplay of historical trauma, past medical mistrust, and spiritual beliefs on African Americans’ use of ACP. The conceptual framework that guided this study was the cultural competence model. …

The Effect Of Federal And State-Level Policy On Undocumented Childhood Arrivals, Kim Kaczmarowski

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) provides a 2-year reprieve from deportation and a work permit for eligible undocumented childhood arrivals. It does not provide a pathway to citizenship or confer rights or protections enjoyed by those with permanent legal status leaving recipients in a constant state of legal limbo. State-level policy can mitigate or exacerbate obstacles faced by this population. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore how federal and state-level policy in a conservative location shaped experiences of membership or exclusion. Responses were examined using segmented assimilation theory to identify layered contexts of reception. The …

Caucasian Social Workers’ Cultural Competence Regarding Advance Care Planning Among Southern African Americans, Lisa Mitchell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Caucasian social workers who work in healthcare and implement advance care planning (ACP) may not be competent regarding African Americans’ reluctance to complete advance directives. Research is lacking on how Caucasian social workers in Louisiana are increasing their cultural competence regarding the interplay of historical trauma, past medical mistrust, and spiritual beliefs on African Americans’ use of ACP. This study explored how Caucasian social workers are increasing their cultural competence regarding the interplay of historical trauma, past medical mistrust, and spiritual beliefs on African Americans’ use of ACP. The conceptual framework that guided this study was the cultural competence model. …

Central Americans At A Crossroads: Asylum Seekers’ Testimonios Of Mental Health After Detention And Family Separation, Corie E. Schwabenland Garcia

Master's Theses

Though Central American asylum seekers are presently hypervisible in the U.S. consciousness, this population continues to be inadequately understood or cared for. Discussion of this population often presents them as a helpless and damaged population, in need of saving, fixing, or shelter -- beyond their trauma, they cease to exist. This qualitative study utilizes first-person testimonio methodology to understand the psychological experiences of Central American migrants seeking asylum in the United States, the stressors they face, and the mental health support that can and should be provided to them. Their stories speak to a space of sociopolitical precarity in the …

Latinx On The Rise Mentoring Program’S Impact On Graduating Student’S Professional Integration Past Undergraduate Studies, Lucero Martinez-Salas

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mentoring programs are implemented to create a space for skill and information transmission between a mentor and mentee. Mentoring programs are typically implemented in an academic setting with professors or peers acting as a mentor and students as mentees. Based on the under-representation of Latinx students in higher education and further career paths, mentoring with this population could be positively impactful to their student experience. This thesis focuses on the Latinx on the Rise mentoring program and the experience of the mentees with a focus on the Latinx student experience. Implications for implementation of such programs and their impact will …

Barriers To The Use Of Palliative And Hospice Care Among The Latino Population, Diana Ramirez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Patients suffering from irreversible and terminal illnesses may benefit from the services provided by Palliative and Hospice Care to control any symptom burden and assist in navigating complex medical decisions. Many patients may express hesitation in accepting and enrolling to this service due to misconceptions. Language barriers may add an additional layer of complexity. This study explored the challenges Palliative Care providers encounter when introducing concept of hospice to Spanish-speaking patients their families for the first time. This study implemented qualitative research methods by using semi-structured one-on-one interviews. Ten members of an In-patient Palliative Care Team at a University Hospital …

Understanding And Supporting Asian American Youth’S Mental Health Within Cultural And Family Contexts, In Young Park

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mental health problems are a major health issue among East Asian American (EAA) youth. Although previous research has explored the risk and protective factors associated with mental health problems of EAA youth, many studies have employed Eurocentric perspectives, thereby excluding their unique cultural backgrounds, beliefs, and values. To better understand mental health needs and support these youth, further research that identifies different factors associated with mental health problems in their cultural context and assesses evidence-supported and culturally responsive interventions is needed.

This three-manuscript dissertation is presented in three papers. The first manuscript presents an integrative conceptual framework that uses two …

Social Workers’ Perceptions On Partnering With Police To Address Violent Police Encounters Towards African Americans, Adrian Springfield

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research documents the pervasiveness of violent police encounters towards African Americans in the United States and importance of a multidisciplinary approach between social workers and police to prevent police violence. However, little is known about social workers perceptions and experiences on partnering with police to address violent police encounters towards African Americans. Informed by Tuckman’s group formation theory and Bell’s critical race theory, the purpose of this generic qualitative inquiry study was to explore social workers in the United States perceptions and experiences on partnering with police to address violent police encounters toward African Americans. Using semistructured interviews, data was …

Social Support Needs Of African American Single Parent Women Residing In Atlanta, Tyneisha Douglas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Social workers may serve marginalized groups of people such as single parents who may face challenges and barriers to raising a healthy family. African American mothers are more likely to have adverse experiences with parenting without a partner or additional supportive primary caregiver than women in other racial groups. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the mental health challenges that impact African American women who are single parents. Social cognitive theory provided the theoretical framework for the study. Data were collected from individual interviews with ten parents from daycare centers in the metropolitan Atlanta area that …

Stigmas Of Alzheimer's Disease And Help Seeking For Alzheimer's Disease Among African Americans, Donna De Levante Raphael

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to examine how the perceptions of stigma of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) affected the help-seeking behaviors of African American caregivers. Data used in this study were collected using semistructured interviews with 11 African American caregivers caring for loved ones diagnosed with AD. The conceptual framework of this study was guided by the stigma theory and the sociocultural health belief model. The four types of social stigmas used to assess the effects of the stigma of AD were public, self, courtesy, and structural stigma. Data were analyzed using the Thematic Content Analysis (TCA). Results provided support …

Social Workers’ Role In School Discipline Of Black Male Students, Teresa L. Cooper

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

School administrators enforce various forms of school discipline, including office referrals, suspensions, and expulsions, as strategies to maintain safe learning environments for students and staff. Over four decades of research indicate Black male students experience more consequences and receive tougher school discipline than their peers of other races. School discipline potentially causes adverse outcomes for students. Schools employ social workers to support behavior and academic needs of students. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore lived experiences of school social workers in their role in school discipline of Black male students. The theoretical framework used for this study …

Improving Veteran Access; Status Of Operations Of The United States Department Of Veteran Affairs Work-Study Program, Kirk Allen

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The usage status of The U.S. Department Veterans Affairs Work-Study Program is examined. Beneficiary numbers from the Global, Unites States, State, and Local/County perspective are reviewed. While of essential value, the program suffers from a lack of scholarly research and government oversight, and is further hindered by restrictive administrative rules lived first-hand. Research suggests that the program is operating outside of accountability to the taxpayer, presents as unnecessarily/overly-restrictive in accessibility, and is underutilized. The program appears to not be serving all veterans to full potential.

The Work-Study Program is codified in Veterans Benefits', Title 38 United States Code, Part III, …

Racism-Based Trauma And Policing Among Black Emerging Adults, Robert Motley

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Community violence exposure (CVE) among Black emerging adults ages 18-29 in the United States is a major public health concern. However, an unknown is the nature of the relationship between Black emerging adults CVE and substance use when the perpetrator(s) of the violence are the police and the violence is experienced as a race-based traumatic event. The Classes of Racism Frequency of Racial Experiences (CRFRE) measure assesses individuals’ exposure to perceived racism-based events. However, the CRFRE hostile-racism scale does not capture the range of police violent events that are most salient for a population. To fill the noted gaps in …

The Effects Of Sociodemographic Characteristics, Caregiving Practice Patterns, Coping Mechanisms, And Social Support On The Health Of Asian American Ethnic Groups And Asian American Caregivers, Suryadewi Edi Nugraheni

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Background: Asian American family caregivers came from various ethnic groups with different sociodemographic characteristics and culturally specific values. However, cultural practices were often overlooked because researchers often combined all Asian Americans under one umbrella. Objective: The purpose of the study was two-fold. First, the study investigated the study sample of Asian Americans participating in the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) 2009 comprised of multiple Asian American ethnic groups. By utilizing the study sample, the research aimed to investigate 1) the associations between caregiving and self-rated health (SRH) and hypertension and 2) the associations between heterogeneity of Asian American ethnic groups …

Treatment Access For Dual Diagnosis Substance Use And Mental Health Disorders, Pedro Banuelos

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

In 2018, of 1.3 million Latinx adults in the United States facing concurrent issues with substance use disorders (SUD) and mental health disorders (MHD) 93% remained untreated for either diagnosis. This is concerning since Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) data reveals that this population is at greater risk for suicidal thoughts, plans, and attempts. They also face structural barriers such as employment, housing, legal involvement, and insurability that further impede access to treatment.

This study’s purpose was to examine barriers to accessing treatment for Latinx populations confronting co-occurring SUDs and MHDs. This study used a qualitative design …

Corazonar Y Escuchar Para Construir Memoria Desde La Interculturalidad Y El Territorio: Voces De Maestras En Escuelas Rurales., Valentina Dalmau Corredor, Laura Valentina Arévalo Lozano

Trabajo Social

La presente investigación da cuenta de la relación que se teje entre memoria colectiva y territorial desde la perspectiva de la interculturalidad decolonial en las Escuelas Normales Superiores (ENS) de Sibundoy-Putumayo y Pupiales-Nariño. Este documento fue escrito involucrando las voces de las maestras rurales, quienes, desde su trayectoria de vida, resignifican la labor docente en un país marcado por la desigualdad social, política y cultural como lo es Colombia. En estos territorios del sur del país, las maestras rurales hacen escuela desde sus resistencias y luchas cotidianas contra la estandarización y uniformidad que propone el sistema educativo. Por ello, busca …

Five Love Languages: Assessment Of Marital Satisfaction In African American Couples, Freddricka C. Lee

LSU Master's Theses

This mixed-methods study examined marital satisfaction among five (n = 10) heterosexual, African American married couples. In particular, this study examined how acknowledging a partner’s love language (Chapman, 1995) can affect these couples’ level of marital satisfaction. The participants were native to the South and ranged from 26-55 years of age. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of the data revealed couples were satisfied with their marriages. Although only marginally significant, the findings also revealed acknowledging a spouse’s love language was positively related to higher levels of marital satisfaction. Seven themes emerged throughout the interviews, namely communication; financial stability; understand a spouse’s …

Let's Get Free: Family Policing, Prison Industrial Complex Abolition, And Transcendent Love, Emma Li

Scripps Senior Theses

My objective is to illuminate the painful, discriminatory, and avoidable effects of family separation underneath the American child welfare system and tradition of family policing. In this bureaucratically sprawling and interconnected system comprising of prisons, courts, social workers, and doctors, individual blame is assigned to parents, families, and communities facing long-running systemic problems. Family policing and the child welfare system have long been excluded from conventional discussions surrounding the harms of police and prisons. The everyday violence Black, Latinx, and low-income families face at the threat of/implementation of family separation - an immensely traumatic and agonizing process - must be …

Positive Perceptions Of Mentoring Influences On African American Male Public High School Students, Jazzmea Houghton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many African American males face challenges due to historical and current negative viewpoints of this population. However, urban communities also play a vital role in the obstacles encountered, which impacts this population’s well-being. The purpose of this project was to gain knowledge from mentors on how a mentoring program positively affected the cognitions, behaviors, and academic progress of African American, male, public high school students residing in urban communities and effective ways mentorships foster resilience. This qualitative research study used a cognitive behavioral theoretical framework and a resilience theory conceptual framework, and narrative semistructured interviews were conducted. The mentors’ positive …

Risks For African American Male Youth Involved In The Juvenile Justice System, Cassandra Showers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this action research study was to gain an understanding of the factors and risks that contribute to juvenile delinquency of African American male youth involved in the juvenile justice system. Ecological systems theory was used to examine strategies used by social workers with this population and the effectiveness of those interventions. Individual interviews with 5 social workers recruited using nonprobability sampling were conducted. The interviews were audio-recorded, then manually transcribed. Responses were uploaded into the NVivo software system for coding. The software system was used to identify themes and patterns to substantiate the research question. The study …

Exploring Formerly Incarcerated African American Males' Relationship With Their Children, Najjiyya Christine Arnold

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore formerly incarcerated African American fathers’ perceptions on reestablishing relationships with their children. Prior to this study, little or no research had been conducted to examine how formerly incarcerated parents build relationships with their children. Data were collected through one-to-one, semi-structured interviews with 11 African American fathers 18 years and older who were formerly incarcerated and had one or more children under the age of 18 years while incarcerated. The theoretical frameworks for this study included Attachment Theory and African American Male Theory. These data were analyzed using the thematic analysis …

Intersectionality And Community-Based Counseling: Experience Of African American Female Sexual Minority Youth, Lauren Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The social problem examined in this qualitative analysis is the limited available knowledge on the experience of ethnic minorities who are also sexual minority youth. Sexual minority youth are at increased risk of experiencing mental health disparities compared to their heterosexual peers. Due to the increased risk for psychosocial stressors such as substance use, suicidal ideation, suicidal attempts, homelessness, and trauma, clinicians should be aware of the intersectionality of identifying as a sexual minority youth who is also an ethnic minority. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the experiences of African American sexual minority female youth ages …

The Resilience Of Female Survivors Of Intimate Partner Violence In Southwest Nigeria: An Interdisciplinary Analysis, Tobi F. Oloyede

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Female survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) in Nigeria endure harsh and traumatic experiences that affect their rights as women and their well-being. As the phenomenon of IPV persists in Nigeria, it is not only a family problem but a critical social and psychological problem. This study examined Nigerian female survivors’ hidden strength, agency, and resilience, rather than their powerlessness and vulnerability. Analysis of survey questionnaires, interviews, and secondary scholarship reveals that some Nigerian female survivors of IPV are able to cope whilst navigating stressful and traumatic experiences. The results also show that survivors’ ability to thrive and cope under …

Exploring The Relationship Between Gender, Race, And Space, And Toronto Community Housing Policy, Anita Rachel Ewan

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation presents the racial-gendered lived experiences of Black women living in Toronto Community Housing (TCH; subsidized housing). This research found that Black women and their families are disproportionately faced with challenges due to barriers caused by housing policy and procedures that also affect the overall development and wellbeing of their children. It also highlights the ways in which Black women continue to thrive and survive in the face of detrimental and derelict living conditions; accomplished through community development and support initiatives, and fostering strong communities.

This is a qualitative research project that includes an art-based method. Utilizing a feminist …