Social Work Commons^™

Experiences With Infant Mortality As Reported By Middle Class Black Women In Their Own Words, Lisa Paisley-Cleveland

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Black Middle-Class Women and Pregnancy Loss: A Qualitative Inquiry is the first qualitative research case study of its kind on Black Infant Mortality (BIM) to focus on a target group of black American-born middle-class professional married women who have all lived through the experience of infant loss. This target group allows Lisa Paisley-Cleveland to examine the BIM phenomenon outside the poverty paradigm and issues attached to teenage pregnancy, as well as to explore contributing factors attached to the persistent black and white disparity in infant mortality rates, which according to CDC’s January 2013 report are 12.40 and 5.35 respectively.

This …

An Examination Of Caregiving Dyads: Community Dwelling Chronically Ill Older Adults And Their Caregivers, Jessica E. Haxton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Increases in life expectancy among older adults raise important concerns about the availability of resources for an aging population living with chronic and debilitating illnesses. Living longer is complicated by the fact that many elders prefer to reside in their homes until medical or other conditions require an alternative living arrangement. The strong desire to remain at home expressed by older persons in the United States has in turn created an increased demand on informal caregiving. Consequently, adult children often bear the burden of providing care to their aging parents. In view of this demand it is critical that research …

Self-Reported Family Income And Expenditure Patterns For A Cohort Of Tanf-Reliant African American Women: Outcomes From A Longitudinal Study In Miami-Dade County, Florida, Stacia Michelle West

Masters Theses

This mixed-method study was designed to analyze the impact of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 on a cohort of welfare-reliant African American women in Miami-Dade County. A snowball sampling technique was utilized to identify and conduct in-person interviews with women who were receiving welfare benefits from January 1997 to March 2000. The study intended to determine the participant characteristics, employment and wage histories, annualized income, and annualized expenditures over the time span. The results indicate that the average age of recipients was 34.5 years old with four children. The average educational attainment for the cohort …

Aps: Neglected Agency In Feed Of Transformation, Suncica Sue Vilic

Theses & Honors Papers

Approximately 3 million elders are mistreated annually in the United States. Due to factors such as increase in life expectancy, this number is likely to amplify. Adult Protective Services agencies across the nation have been established by The Social Security Act, with purpose and goal of providing services to stop elder mistreatment and prevent it from occurring further. Although program was created over 40 years ago, APS agencies continue to make little progress and are publicly and legislatively neglected when compared to child welfare programs and domestic violence programs.

This thesis presents overview of APS problems on local, state, and …

Educational Paraprofessionals' Knowledge About And Barriers To Reporting Child Abuse, Randi Sherrill Furman, Audrey Anne Lipskey

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this project was to evaluate mandated reporters' knowledge about the reporting process, attitudes, and beliefs towards the mandated reporting laws, and their resistances and barriers to reporting suspected child abuse.

Factors Associated With Intimate Partner Violence Among College Students, Shareela Marie Allen, Danielle Diane Moore

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study is to explore what individual factors are associated with intimate partner violence (IPV) experiences among college students. Intimate partner violence is a huge problem among college students both male and female of all ethnicities, socio-economic classes, sexual orientation, and social class. This study focused on alcohol consumption and attitudes and beliefs of students to see it those two variables played a role in contributing to the rate of IPV occurring among college students.

Children's Exposure To Domestic Violence And Aggressive Behavior, Mariah Deidra Kafka

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this project is to examine the effects of "The Children's Exposure to Domestic Violence Scale" (CEDV) on an adolescent's own externalizing behaviors. Although internalizing behaviors such as depression are prevalent among children exposed to violence, this study will only focus on externalizing behaviors including their own risks for aggressive behavior.

Exploring Acculturation Stress On Mexican Americans, Daniel Anthony Lopez

Theses Digitization Project

The focus of this study was how common acculturation stress is among Mexican Americans, what the demographics of this demonstrate, and how this is related to mental health services. Acculturation is the process of adapting to the social norms, customs, and values of another culture. When a Mexican American reaches his limit of what he is able to cope with, then that person is in danger of being afflicted with acculturtion stress. Even when faced with this prospect, few Mexican Americans seek out mental health services.

Addressing The Disproportionate Representation Of African American Children In The Child Welfare System, Cecilia Elizabeth Roman

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study is to examine social workers' perceptions on the disproportionate representation of African American children in the child welfare system and social workers views on their training and education on cultural competence. Eight face-to-face interviews were carried out with masters' level social workers at San Bernardino County's Gifford office of Children and Family Services. Qualitative method was used to analyze the findings.

Levels Of Attachments And Childhood Abuse Among Mexican-Americans, Christina Shinn

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study to investigate the relationship between mother-child attachment and childhood abuse trama. It will examine levels of attachment and their relationship to different types of abuse including physical, emotional, sexual and negligence. Instruments utilized were the Parental Attachment Questionaire, Childhood Trauma Questionaire, and Parental Bonding Instrument.

Awareness Of Parental Infidelity In Childhood: Attitudes Toward Infidelity As Adults, Nicole Marie Paredes

Theses Digitization Project

This study explores the attitudes of adults who became aware of their parents infidelity as children in comparison to the attitudes of adults who are unaware of the presence of infidelity within their parents' relationship.

The African American Male: Examining Resiliency, Success, And Family, Takenya Chimene Mcmihelk

Theses Digitization Project

This study is an examination of resiliency, success and family among African American Males. It is purposed to empower the individual that it affects and soften the hearts of the individuals who continue to consciously and unconsciously oppress these men. The purpose was not to restate what was already known but to create a system to eliminate the re-occurrence of the problem.

Does Child Sexual Abuse Affect Long-Term Intimacy Development And Functioning, Michelle Debra Kelley

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to examine practitioners' views of the long-term effects of child sexual abuse on intimacy development and to determine if child sexual abuse leads to an underdeveloped sense of intimacy in the adult. Problems with intimacy development are defined as trouble forming close interpersonal relationships, not being able to trust others, being sexually promiscuous, and avoiding emotion.

Domestic Violence: Treatment Barriers In The Gay And Lesbian Community, Susan Crane

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study is to investigate barriers to seeking services pertaining to domestic violence among the gay and lesbian population. The treatment barriers to seeking support and services for Same Sex Domestic Violence (SSDV) is related to fear, not feeling safe, judgmental attitudes, lack of education, and law enforcement discrimination.

Acculturation Of Russian Refugee Adolescents: The Life Domain Of Peer Relationships, Andrew A. Morozov

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to uncover the meaning of acculturation as experienced by the Russian refugee adolescents in the domain of peer relationships. This qualitative study implemented a purposeful sampling strategy. In-depth interviews were conducted with 12 refugee adolescents from Russia (3 ethnic Russians and 9 Meskhetian Turks), male and female, aged 15-18, who resided in Denver, Colorado. Applying Moustakas's (1994) phenomenology method of analysis, 8 main themes emerged. The essence of the phenomenon can be described in terms of the refugee adolescents' need for self-worth and belongingness. Belongingness is understood as identification with and acceptance by …

Barriers To Accessing Mental Health Services Among Latinos, Patricia Guadalupe Pasillas

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study is to examine the barriers in accessing mental health services among the Latino population in Ventura County, California. The Latino population in the United States seeks mental health services at a lower rate. This is due to barriers in accessing the services they encountered. This study was done qualitatively by conducting nine focus groups with staff personnel of mental health providers.

Benefits And Attitudes Of The Latino Population Toward Support Groups, Monica Patricia Noutfia

Theses Digitization Project

The goal of this research was to provide information to social work professionals about the benefits of self-help mutual aid and psycho-educational support groups in the community, and to examine the Latino attitudes toward support groups. The research examines some Latino cultural values such as familism, social network, and spirituality. The various Spanish and Spanish/English speaking support groups that participated in this study were from San Bernardino, Los Angeles, and Riverside counties. The sample size in this research was 30 Latino individuals from four Spanish, or Spanish/English self-help mutual aid, and psycho-educational support groupsavailable in the Inland Empire.

The Continuation Of Social Work Outreach With The Purhé́Pecha People, Carlos Luis Lamadrid

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this project was to continue with the action research done by Bernice Aguirre in 2008 with the Purépecha indigenous population, living in the Eastern Coachella Valley Community, as a direct call to action to better serve the needs of a people who have been severely challenged by language, cultural barriers, poverty, and underrepresented service delivery systems.

The Impact Of Body Dissatisfaction On Depression And Sexual Attitudes Among College Age Women, Alesha Ianthe Marshall, Liliana Enriquetta. Llamas

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of the study was to assess the correlations between a young female's body image, the corresponding levels of depression, and the impact on her feelings about the experiences of intimate relationships. This research study examined the link between body image dissatisfaction, depression, and sexual attitudes among college women. This study hypothesized that various factors such as age, religion, and ethnicity may affect body image dissatisfaction. College women are a vulnerable population. This study utilized quantitative research methods through surveys that were administered to 120 college women between 18 and 30, with 83 women actually responding.

The Effects Of Language On The Reunification Of Mexican Families, Luisana Sanchez-Ramirez

Theses Digitization Project

The study examined the effects of language commonalities between Riverside County Children Services Division (CSD) social workers and parents in their reunification process. The study focused on gathering data to depict whether or not having a social worker that speaks the same language as the parents speak influences reunification success. This study strived to gather data from Mexican parents, as this seems to be a fast growing population that CSD serves. Data were extracted from 93 cases tht opened in the year 2008 to determine the impact of having a common language between the parents and the family reunification worker …

Social Workers And Human Sexuality Knowledge And Comfort, Larann Rene Henderson

Theses Digitization Project

Human sexuality is a major aspect of everyone's existence. Social workers need to have access to information enabling them to be knowledgeable, unbiased, and effective in their professional dealings with individual clients, families, groups, communities, and society at large. The premise of this research is that social workers would be more effective in practice when provided with sufficient human sexuality training and education.

Exploring Social Workers Beliefs And Practices When Working With Gay And Lesbian Youth, Ethan Brian Michaels

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to examine child welfare workers' beliefs and practices while working with gay and lesbian youth. This study surveyed forty-one children's social workers and their supervisors in Los Angeles County's Department of Children and Family Services.

Multicultural Issues In Autism Spectrum Disorder, Martha Eufracio

Theses Digitization Project

This study focused on the experiences and perceptions of parents/caregivers of children diagnosed with autism. Specifically, this project explored various themes surrounding autism and multiculturalism.

Social Workers' Attitudes And Perceptions On Cultural Competence In Child Welfare, Monica Elaine Hicks

Theses Digitization Project

This study examined social workers' view on cultural competence and the disproportionate rates of African American children in foster care. This study seeks to explain how cultural biases affecting social workers' decisions contribute to the removal of children from their families based on social worker's inability to understand or recognize cultural differences in child rearing practices.

A Meta-Analysis Of The Efficacy Of Sex Offender Residential Restrictions To Recidivism, Cheryl Kack

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this meta-analysis was to review the empirical research studies pertaining to the enactment of sex offender residency restrictions and its impact on recidivism. The intended purpose for residency restrictions is to limit the distance an offender can reside in proximity to schools, parks, playgrounds and daycare facilities. These residency restrictions were implemented as a safe guard to prevent sex offenders from residing in close proximity to where children typically gather (Chajewski & Mercado, 2009; During, 2006; Melroy, Miller & Curtis, 2008; Mercado, Alvarez & Levenson, 2008; Zgoba, Levenson & McKee, 2009). There has been a limited number …

Independent Living Outcomes Evaluation Project, Craig J. Padgett

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This project developed specific examples of skills and resources for three example categories of ILST and developed recommendations for enhancing the creation of goals. It was important to develop indicators into a tiered structure for reinforcing those skills and resources into knowledge through an added educational component. Methodology was developed and necessary instrumentation and processes were designed for implementation. And, an informed consent was designed for any organization providing Independent Living Skills Training (ILST).

Anger Management For Adults: Developing An Evidence-Based Anger Management Program, Kari Velzke

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this project is to identify and organize key components necessary in an evidence-based anger management program to be implemented by Lutheran Social Service (LSS) in a rural setting. Current research was examined along with existing anger management program models. Results indicated evidence-based program components that best addressed anger regulation and control for the adult population age 18 and older in a group setting.

Esl Work Readiness Curriculum Survey, Lynda Devine

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Minnesota has seen a 120% increase in immigration between 2003 & 2009. Since work is an integral aspect of quality of life in the USA, and in order to successfully integrate into the USA workforce, the new arrivals will need assistance in gaining USA work related skills .The CLUES agency contracts with Ramsey County, MN for its Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) clients. The contract includes providing job skill training to persons for whom English is a Second Language (ESL). CLUES chose to create an ESL Work Readiness curriculum that was meaningful and linguistically appropriate for the participants while meeting …

Assessing Gaps In Services For Geriatric Patients With Mental Health Needs, Angela Nelson

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Older adults in southwest Minnesota have limited options regarding mental health services. Sanford Tracy Medical Center and Sanford Westbrook Medical Center sought to identify the needs of this population so they can better serve their patients. The following research questions were asked: Do local service providers feel gaps in services exist for older adults experiencing mental health needs in the rural southwestern Minnesota communities of Tracy and Westbrook and the surrounding areas? Do area service providers feel that geriatric patients would benefit from a mental health intervention implemented within the primary healthcare setting? A survey of area geriatric service providers …