Social Work Commons^™

The Sexual Assault Severity Scale: A Comprehensive Measure Of Assault Severity, Karyn Crystal Swinson

Dissertations

Many studies in the sexual assault literature have found a significant relationship between sexual assault severity and psychological distress, specifically PTSD and suicidality. However, in the current literature, there is an inconsistent and incomplete definition of the construct of assault severity. The present study aims to create a comprehensive self-report questionnaire, called the Sexual Assault Severity Scale (SASS) that includes assault characteristics, such as victim-offender relationship, substance use, and peritraumatic responses, and cognitive variables, such as posttraumatic schema disruptions and coping self-efficacy in the conceptualization of assault severity. Two models evaluating the relationship between assault severity and post assault distress …

An Examination Of Civic Engagement Behaviors Among Members Of Social And Cultural Fraternities And Sororities, Gary Gribble Wiser Jr.

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Interventions That Help The Helpers: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis Of Interventions Targeting Compassion Fatigue, Secondary Traumatic Stress And Vicarious Traumatization In Mental Health Workers, Melissa Lynn Bercier

Dissertations

Compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress and vicarious traumatization have received widespread attention in the literature due to an increased awareness of negative effects mental health workers experience when working with people who have been traumatized. Mental health workers become more vulnerable to significant stress when they work with trauma victims, which can lead to many negative consequences that can affect their own health as well as their treatment of their clients. While there is much that we are learning about the causes and outcomes of mental health workers' exposure to their clients' trauma, there has been less focus on effectiveness …

Liberian Refugee Women's Personal Narratives On The Effects Of War On Motherhood, Florence Wanjiru Kimondo

Dissertations

One major effect of displacement by war and subsequently living in a refugee

camp is the disruption of the social, cultural, economic and legal institutions of

communities; this affects parenting and a child's development. Few research studies

address the effects of war, political upheaval, and displacement on parenting, specifically

the experience of motherhood and the cultural socialization process of children. Yet, most

research points at the undeniable connection between social and cognitive competence

and the social and physical context, with changes in these contexts influencing the

competencies parents' inculcate in their children. Furthermore,

there is sparse literature focusing specifically on …

Latino Academic Achievement: Impact Of Individual, Family, School, Community And Immigration Factors, Jessica Catharine Martone

Dissertations

The dissertation increases our understanding of the influence of multiple social systems on the academic achievement of Latino students. More specifically, this study examines the influence and dynamic interaction of individual, family, school, community, and immigration factors on the academic achievement of Latino students through a secondary data analysis of the ELS: 2002 dataset utilizing hierarchical linear modeling. Academic achievement is measured with a dichotomous variable: high achieving and low achieving. "High achieving" students are those that have an on-time transition to higher education and "low achieving" students are those that have a delayed or no transition to higher education. …

Acculturative Stress And Coping Strategies Used By Asian Indians Living In The United States: A Quantitative And Qualitative Inquiry, Ritu V. Thaker

Dissertations

The present research addressed acculturative stress experiences and coping strategies used by Asian Indians residing in the United States. The organizing research question was "What are the acculturative stress experiences and coping strategies used by first generation Asian Indians living in the United States?" The research question was explored through fourteen hypotheses.

A mixed method approach was employed. For the first phase, 54 first-generation Asian Indians were recruited from four sites using a purposive convenience sampling method, the SAFE-R standardized questionnaire was used to measure acculturative stress, the COPE scale to measure coping strategies, and a culturally grounded Socio-Demographic Information …

Identity Negotiation Of Young Arab Muslim Women Attending College In The United States And France, Danielle Dunand Zimmerman

Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how young Arab Muslim women attending college, in the United States and France, negotiate their identity vis-à-vis multiple contexts of citizenship in secular state, gender, religion, culture, and race. Sixteen interviews were conducted, eight in Paris and eight in Chicago. Using the theoretical frameworks of social identity, cultural studies, and critical race feminism, this study approached identity negotiation in terms of integration and differentiation from others; influence of dominant culture and attempt to redefine identity; gender and specificity of the experience of women of color as well as interrelation of multiple …

The Presence Of Empathy In Male Completers Of A Partner Intervention Program, Katherine Dahlberg

Dissertations

There is an abundance of research which has explored the complex nature related to men who commit partner abuse including: causative factors, co-occurring variables, treatment efficacy, and attrition and recidivism rates. Although, all of these issues are relevant to understanding and eliminating the problem of partner violence, unexplored conditions still remain. For instance, the mystery surrounding an abusive man's level of remorse for his behavior; particularly, his capacity for empathy toward his victim and related insights to how his behavior has had an impact on his victim have been under-researched. Exploring the ways in which abusive men think and learn …

Remembering The Cultural Trauma Legacies Of Slavery: African American Young Adult Perceptions On Racism, Ethnic Identity, And Racial Socialization, Kimya Pearl Barden

Dissertations

The purpose of this research investigation is to explore cultural trauma theory on African American young adult development. Cultural trauma theory asserts the adverse cross-cultural encounter, North American slavery, reproduces intergenerational psychosocial legacies for contemporary African Americans. Accordingly, cultural trauma theory is used to explore with African American young adults three "slave" legacies: ethnic identity formation, perceptions of racism, and racial socialization experiences. A qualitative case study approach is used for (N=26) participants enrolled in either college or a GED program. Each young adult participates in either an individual or focus group interview. To aid in data triangulation, older African …

Preserving The Bond: Child Welfare Professionals' Perspectives On The Opportunities And Challenges Of Parent-Child Visitation, Lina M. Munoz

Dissertations

The foster care system was designed to be a temporary placement for children when their parents are unable or unwilling to provide proper care and supervision. A permanency plan must be established for all children in care, stating clear goals for a permanent living arrangement to facilitate the child's reunification with his/her family. The current Illinois Child Welfare Practice Model promotes a family-centered, trauma-informed, and strength-based practice approach when providing child welfare services to families in foster care with the caseworker serving as the primary vehicle for facilitating change.

This study explored how this child welfare practice model is reflected …

¿Déjalo Descansar? The Parental Bereavement Experience Of Mexican Migrant Mothers, Illeana Gomez

Dissertations

"Déjalo descansar, no le llores" - "Let them rest, don't cry for them" is an expression Mexican mothers often hear after the death of a child. While accepted as a culturally polite means of expressing condolence, the phrase nonetheless can have a detrimental effect on the parental bereavement experience of these mothers. Through the use of focus groups, 22 Mexican migrant mothers were interviewed to better understand the role that imperatives such as "Déjalo descansar" and other prescribed beliefs, rituals, and customs play in their bereavement experience. From the five focus groups conducted in this qualitative study, participants reported that …

The Effects Of Acculturation, Health, Socioeconomic Status, And Perceived Respect On Older Adult Depression: Analysis Of Korean American Older Adults In Chicago, Kyungsoo Sim

Dissertations

This study explored the extent to which acculturation level, health condition and SES influence depressive symptoms mediated or moderated by perceived respect and current geographical background of 121 Korean-American older adults in the Chicago metropolitan and its suburban area.

A multi-method approach was imported to analyze self-collected quantitative survey data from two groups of 80 participants in Chicago and 41 in the suburbs, qualitative interview data from 4 focus groups, 2 in-depth interviews and GIS (Geographic Information Systems). In the survey, Suinn-Lew Asian Stress-Identity Acculturation Scale, Geriatric Depression Scale-30, Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue, Health Perception Questionnaire-36, 13-item questions …

Organizational Constraints And Supports For Psychosocial Care Of Ethiopian Children At Risk: The Case Of Services In Addis Ababa, Daniel Hailu

Dissertations

The dissertation describes from an institutional perspective psychosocial support services being provided to orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa. Despite the presence of sufficient but fragmented legal, policy and strategic framework, Ethiopia's social protection landscape has suffered from a historic dearth of interventions that address psychosocial risks and vulnerabilities. Over the past decade and half, however, psychosocial support services to OVC have been slowly defused into the Ethiopian society as elements of programming for care and support to the population. Consequently, there currently exists diversity in the types of psychosocial risks and vulnerabilities that interventions prioritize …

Psychotherapist Understanding Of Genital Self-Mutilation Amongst Male To Female Transsexuals, Michael Robert Kenney

Dissertations

Self-mutilation of the genitals is a complex phenomenon that can provoke strong countertransference reactions amongst mental health clinician. Transsexuals who engage in self-inflicted mutilation of the genitals face a potentially increased risk of alienation from healthcare providers due to marginalization and lack of understanding by treating clinicians. Frequently, assumptions are made regarding the motivation for the behavior that fails to take into account the complex interplay between contributing psychological, social, and environmental forces.

This qualitative study explored the experience of four psychotherapists who had encountered the behavior in their work with transsexual clients in order to gain a more accurate …

The Effects Of An Experiential Learning And Mentorship Program Pairing Medical Students And Persons With Cognitive Impairment: A Qualitative Content Analysis, Darby J. Morhardt

Dissertations

The United States population is aging rapidly and with it a tremendous rise in the number of people with dementia. In the future, as now, physicians and other health care professionals will likely provide the majority of health care for older people and those with dementia. The non-geriatric trained workforce must have the attitudes, knowledge and skills needed to provide high quality care for this aging and increasingly cognitively impaired population. There is evidence that prevailing stigma regarding older adults can be modified with experiential opportunities early in students' career. Few of these programs are aimed at persons with dementia. …