Social Work Commons^™

Physical Home Environment, Personal Competencies, And Psychological Well-Being Of Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Development Of A Structural Model, Shannon Marie Trecartin

Doctoral Dissertations

This multi-manuscript dissertation focuses on the relationships between the physical home environment, personal competencies, and psychological well-being among older adults living in community settings. The ecological model of aging serves as the guiding theoretical framework for the exploration and design of the subsequent studies. The first paper is a critical review of the literature. Results suggest that there is little consistency in the measurement of the physical home environment across studies. Also, more research is needed to clarify the relationships between the three major constructs and to expand the area of study to U.S. populations. Finally, some support exists to …

On Becoming An Ecologically Conscious Social Worker: Exploring Professional Identities That Include A Response To The Environmental Crisis, Meredith C. F. Powers

Theses and Dissertations

Mounting scientific evidence about the global environmental crisis has created an urgent call to action for all people to promote sustainable environmental practices that enhance the well-being of humans and the ecological systems in which they live. Despite the increasing body of social work literature or the recent social work leadership’s emphasis on this call to action, the social work profession as a whole has been slow to embrace an “expanded professional identity” that includes a response to the environmental crisis. Further insight is needed from individual social workers who have expanded professional identities. Knowledge is needed from their specific …

People Who Live Unsheltered: The Role Of Trust In The Bond Component Of Their Working Alliances, Candice Morgan

Theses and Dissertations

An estimated 240,000 individuals are unsheltered, sleeping on the street, under abandoned buildings, in ditches and fields, and other locations in communities each night. Using semi-structured interviews, I sought to understand the nature of the working alliances of people living unsheltered and the role of trust in the bond component of those working alliances. Findings highlight that people who live unsheltered engage in alliances with either strangers or acquaintances to complete a simple task, which often results in the attainment of a basic item or assistance. In some but not all alliances trust plays a role. Trust alliances in-volve vulnerability …

Tradition And Transition: American Orthodox Jewish Women Preparing And Becoming Sexually Active Within Marriage, Shoshannah D. Frydman

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The purpose of this project is to expand knowledge about the lived experience of married Orthodox Jewish women’s preparation and transition into sexual activity in marriage. When Orthodox women get married, they are undergoing a significant shift, for many, this is their first experience having a sexual relationship. In addition to the prohibition of premarital sexual behavior, the Orthodox Jewish community has a number of rituals, laws, and practices specifically related to menstruation and sexual relations within marriage. These laws, taharat hamishpacha, or family purity, are a set of laws and practices that regulate sex within marriage for both …

Minorities' Perceptions Of Child Protective Services, Vernae Elaine Hicks

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The study examined minority persons’ views and experiences with Child Protective Services (CPS) in the community. This study used a qualitative design with face‑to‑face interviews with 12 participants in the community. This study used the “Post‑Positivist” data analysis, which is qualitative in evaluation and explained each participant’s subjective reality.

The study found that most participants were satisfied with the results and were dissatisfied with the process in and of itself. Overall the study found that most participants felt that there was some sort of a disconnect with social workers in reference to cultural competency. Miscommunication between the social workers at …

Social Work Students’ Prepardness For Grief And Loss Services, Luis Andres Mitchell, Juan Felipe Murillo

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Expectedly and unexpectedly, people pass away. Millions of individuals die in the United States every year. Loss is a natural part of life and some will need grief and loss support. Social workers are in a position to support individuals with grief and loss and end-of-life issues. However, are students ready to provide these services? This study surveyed undergraduate and graduate social work students’ perceived competence in providing grief and loss services. The sample consisted of students in the School of Social Work at California State University, San Bernardino. The study found that respondents in both programs did not feel …

Ageism: Abilene Christian University Students’ Perception Of Aging Adults, Taylor A. Nix

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The world is aging at a rapid pace. This creates a need for society to focus attention toward issues that are affecting the elderly population. This shift in focus regarding the elderly population also calls for the need of additional geriatric education as well as training while working with this vulnerable population. Research targeting college students’ shows that there is a lack of desire among students for working with the aging adult population. This lack of desire to work with the elderly population is associated with ageism; or, biased perceptions about age. The purpose of this study was to determine …

Human Trafficking: Exploration Of Best Practices For Restoration And Integration For Survivors In Southeastern United States, Joel D. Shafer Mr.

Honors College Theses

Domestic human trafficking, especially of minors, has become a serious though largely

invisible issue in the United States. There are, however, organizations and policies in place that

have become active in caring for, restoring and reintegrating those survivors who have been able

to escape. Through the perspectives of service providers, this exploratory qualitative study

examines the factors of vulnerability of victims, the issues that support reintegration for

survivors and the best practices as well as indicators of success when caring for survivors. This

was accomplished through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with representatives from

various social service agencies in Georgia that are …

Application Of Cotter And Colleagues' Glass Ceiling Test To Examine Salary Disparity In Field Of Social Work, Kris Foote

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Abstract