Social Work Commons^™

Developing A Platform For Integrating Disability Issues Into City Municipality Decisions; Case Study: City Of Knoxville, Sravanthi Pamu

Masters Theses

The People with Disabilities (PWD) & Senior Citizen (SC) are isolated from the mainstream society, and they face several barriers in everyday life. There is no communication platform for them to express their concerns, in turn, participate in the city municipality policy decisions related to PWD- & SC-friendly city development. The purpose of this research is to integrate disability and senior citizen issues in the city of Knoxville to the city council decisions. The comprehensive literature search is done to identify the frequently mentioned disability and age-friendly city factors. An effective survey was designed to identify the issues in collaboration …

Preparing The Workforce For Integrated Healthcare, Denise Ratliff Black

Doctoral Dissertations

Integrated healthcare is recommended to deliver care to individuals with co-occurring medical and mental health conditions. Identifying the knowledge necessary for behavioral health providers to practice in integrated settings, and determining whether a computer application is an effective strategy to disseminate this knowledge, are essential steps to transitioning these individuals to integrated healthcare delivery systems. A literature review of U.S. based publications from 1999 to 2015 identified 68 articles that met inclusion criteria and identified specific knowledge for integrated healthcare settings. A survey completed by 154 behavioral health providers working in integrated healthcare settings examined the extent to which respondents …

Distress During Cancer Treatment And Its Relation To Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms, Matthew Robert Moore

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on the psychological response to stress in cancer patients. Specifically, it examines the factors which increase the likelihood of experiencing distress and posttraumatic stress (PTSS), as well as the relationship between distress and PTSS. The dissertation is composed of three manuscripts, the first of which presents a review of the current literature on distress and PTSS in adult cancer patient populations. It indicates that distress is prevalent in cancer patient populations, and that increased levels of distress may be related to PTSS. Furthermore, risk and protective factors are identified, including older age and social support, which may …

How Do People In Animal Welfare Fields Respond To Family Violence Situations?, Bethanie Allison Poe

Doctoral Dissertations

Cross-reporting refers to the idea that people working in human welfare and people in animal welfare fields who observe or have suspicions of abuse or neglect of children, domestic violence, elderly or disabled people, or animals, respectively, are obligated to report their observations to the appropriate agencies. This exploratory study investigates the types of maltreatment witnessed or observed while at work by people in animal related fields; what responses these workers are making to what they are seeing; and the factors influencing their responses. Using an open online survey, this study found that 21% to 29% of the participants indicated …

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 …

Investigating The Effects Of Commonly Implemented School Safety Strategies On School Social Work Practitioners, Matthew James Cuellar

Doctoral Dissertations

A primary objective of the school social work profession is to maintain equality and empower students while promoting educational achievement for troubled and disadvantaged youth in schools. They are among the leading mental health care providers for youth in United States schools today. As school social workers are increasingly being used in United States schools, many find themselves working within practice contexts with complex security environments. These environments can introduce a number of complexities to their practice as well as the students they serve; however, the relationship between school safety strategies and school social work practice, and the role school …

Economic Wealth And Social Welfare: A Longitudinal Analysis Of Transnational Well-Being, Kelly Brooke Martin

Doctoral Dissertations

Macro changes in the financial arena have prompted ongoing research focused on global economic trends. As America emerges from an era of stagnant wages, rising unemployment, and growing class stratification it is necessary to explore differences in cross-national socioeconomic behavior to address the changing needs of our country. Many studies attempt to describe statistical correlations between economic wealth and social well-being domestically and abroad by utilizing methodological perspectives that do not account for longitudinal change. To address the gap in existing research, this study seeks to measure variations in econometric indicators between the U.S. and Nordic countries to further explicate …

Mechanisms Of Change In An Organizational Culture And Climate Intervention For Increasing Clinicians’ Evidence-Based Practice Adoption In Mental Health, Nathaniel J. Williams

Doctoral Dissertations

Objective: Increasing the adoption of evidence-based practices (EBPs) is a focus of national and international efforts to improve the quality and outcomes of mental health services for youth; however, few studies have examined the multilevel change mechanisms that explain how successful implementation strategies increase EBP adoption. Identifying these mechanisms is necessary to develop more effective and efficient strategies. This study tested the multilevel mechanisms that link an empirically supported organizational implementation strategy called ARC (for Availability, Responsiveness, and Continuity) to increased EBP adoption.

Method: In a randomized controlled trial, 14 outpatient children’s mental health clinics in a large Midwestern city …

Women At War: A Qualitative Study Of U.S. Female Military Personnel, Their Journeys Home, Multiple Deployments, And The Effect Of War, Autumn Nicole Lowry

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation is a multi-manuscript collection consisting of three papers written about female service members. The first manuscript is a literature review that explores research regarding this population and distinguishes gaps in the literature is well. This manuscript identifies theoretical frameworks as well as commonly used research methods when working with female service members. The second and third manuscripts were constructed using secondary data from a documentary film project that produced valuable data regarding the lived experiences of women experiencing deployment. These data were transcribed from filmed interviews and those transcripts were subsequently used for the purpose of this dissertation. …

Effectiveness Of Proloquo2goTm In Enhancing Communication In Children With Autism During Aba Therapy, Taylor Eastin Krcek

Doctoral Dissertations

Autism is a bio-neurological developmental disorder presenting in early childhood that has a profound effect on an individual's ability to communicate. The iPad® with the Proloquo2Go^TM app is a multilingual Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) solution designed to assist people who have difficulty speaking or cannot speak at all. This study examines the effectiveness of the Proloquo2Go^TM app delivered via iPad® to enhance the tacting, manding, and verbal completion repertoires of children with autism. Participants included five children between the ages of three and four years old diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and with low to …

A Phenomenological Study: African American Clergy Response To Violence Against Women, Milicia Antoinette Tedder

Doctoral Dissertations

Violence against women and religious participation are two phenomena that are pervasive across many African American communities. African American women experience intimate partner violence (IPV) at a rate higher than the majority of racial groups in the U.S. Although many African American women highly depend on their faith and church to navigate their experiences with IPV, scant attention has been given to the role that Black clergy have in responding to IPV against women. As a result, clergy leaders’ responses to IPV were examined in this study. This study utilized a phenomenological method to understand African American clergy leaders’ responses …

The Relationship Between Demands And Resources And Teacher Burnout: A Fifteen-Year Meta-Analysis, Tammy Marie Stewart

Doctoral Dissertations

This meta-analysis explored the phenomenon of teacher burnout— the biggest contributor to teacher attrition (Owens, 2013; Unterbrink, 2014; Yu, 2015). The focus of this study was to use meta-analytical procedures to explore the relationship between burnout dimensions (i.e., emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and feelings of personal accomplishment) and specific demand and resource correlates. Demand correlates included work overload, role conflict, role ambiguity, and student misbehavior. Resource correlates included peer support, supervisory support, and decision-making. This meta-analytical research method encompassed fifteen years of published and unpublished studies from January 2000 through January 2015. A total of 116 studies met the following inclusion …

Those Who Choose To Stay: Narrating The Rural Appalachian Queer Experience, Amy Michelle Jordan

Masters Theses

“Those who choose to stay” is a qualitative exploratory study compromised of four LGBT youth from rural towns in East Tennessee. These young adults were recruited through LGBT listservs, pride festivals, and word of mouth. Each young adult was interviewed over the course of one to three hours. The interviews were then transcribed and coded using Atlas.ti software, allowing codes to surface from the text. Four main themes were discovered: religious atmosphere, family, coming out, and peer networks.

Religious atmosphere was generally found to be a destructive part of these youths’ environments, making them fear for their safety and worry …

Finding Work In America: Employment Outcomes Among Recent Immigrants, Catherine A. Arwood

EURēCA: Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement

Finding employment is necessary for immigrants’ self-sufficiency. This study explores factors that influence successful employment among recent immigrants in the United States. Understanding these factors helps social service providers meet the needs of foreign-born clients. Methods: Outcomes were examined for 373 Latino and Asian respondents who immigrated to the United States within five years prior to the survey, and are working (n=330) or looking for work (n=43), as reported in the National Latino and Asian American Study. Surveyors conducted interviews at respondents’ homes in the respondents’ preferred language. Analyses compared employed and unemployed workers based on English language proficiency, education, …

Factors Associated With Successful Completion Of A Comorbid Substance Abuse And Mental Health Intensive Outpatient Group, Matthew Stephen Crescenzi

EURēCA: Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement

An East Tennessee community mental health center, specializing in co-occurring substance abuse and mental health services, has an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) that utilizes a combination of cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, and relapse prevention. Currently, 50% of individuals who enter the IOP program fail to graduate. The purpose of this study is to identify the factors associated with successful program completion. Methods: A secondary analysis was conducted on data from 116 participants in the IOP group. A logistic regression model was used to determine which factors were related to successful program completion. Results: The overall regression model was found …

Effects Of Prenatal Stress And Poverty On Fetal Growth, Teresa Anne Lefmann

Doctoral Dissertations

Background. Prenatal stress has negative effects on the developing fetus through the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Programming of the stress response system during gestation has lifelong effects that put the infant at risk for multiple stress-related pathologies. Populations most vulnerable to prenatal stress are African-Americans and individuals of low socioeconomic status.

Methods. The Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) research project, a collaboration between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and individual state health departments, was utilized for this study. Tennessee data from 2009 were compiled from individual birth certificates and PRAMS questionnaire responses to examine three …

Acculturative Stress And Social Support Among Immigrant Arab American Adolescents In East Tennessee, Ayat Jebril Nashwan

Doctoral Dissertations

The study investigated sources and levels of acculturative stress among immigrant Arab American adolescents, and sources of social and emotional support that may mitigate acculturation-related stressors. The purposive sample (N=230) consisted of Arab American youth, 11-17 years of age, most of whom attended public schools in a moderate-sized city in East Tennessee, USA. Respondents were balanced in terms of gender, most were 13-17 years old, and were middle and high school-aged students. Over half were born in one of 16 different Arab countries, mainly Iraq, Egypt, and Syria. They had lived in the United States for 1-17 years, with a …

Assessing The Effect Of Sense Of Community On Military Veteran Community Reintegration Difficulties, Veliska Joy Thomas

Doctoral Dissertations

Sense of Community (SOC) has been the theoretical underpinnings of practice models with veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (Amdur et al. 2011; Bowen, Martin, Mancini & Nelson, 2000; Hollingsworth, 2011; U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs). The current study addresses the need for empirical evidence to support this practice intervention by testing the mediation role of SOC on the relationship between Veteran Community Reintegration (VCR) risk factors and VCR difficulties. Secondary data from a cross-sectional survey consisting of N=131 military veterans in the southern region of the United States was used to test this model. Confirmatory …

Perceived Racial Discrimination By Students Of Color Among Social Work Programs In The United States: A Cross-Sectional Study, Mira Hanna

Masters Theses

Social work is a profession that is based upon principles such as social justice and dignity and worth of the person. As such, social work education ought to reflect those values by ensuring that all students receive an adequate education in an environment characterized by fair and equal treatment of all students, including students of color. There is a lack of research, however, that addresses the experiences of students of color in colleges of social work across the United States. This study addresses this gap in literature by conducting a secondary data analysis of the data gathered using the Bowie-Hancock …

Stimulus, Spring/Summer 2014, Ut College Of Social Work

Stimulus Alumni Newsletter

No abstract provided.

The Relationships Between Internalized Heterosexism, Spirituality, And Mental Health In Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Young Adults, Jon Raymond Bourn

Masters Theses

Minority stressors like internalized heterosexism have been found to be related to suicidality among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals (e.g., Savin-Williams & Ream, 2003). Additional research is needed, however, to better understand the factors that may serve as moderators (i.e., protective factors) in the relationships between minority stressors and negative mental health outcomes, such as depression and suicidality (e.g., Szymanski et al., 2008). The current study attempted to examine the relationships between internalized heterosexism and two negative mental health outcomes associated with suicide, psychache (defined as unbearable psychological pain) and depression, in a sample of LGB young adults. Given …

Stimulus, Fall/Winter 2013, Ut College Of Social Work

Stimulus Alumni Newsletter

No abstract provided.

A Mixed Methods Multiple Case Study Of Implementation As Usual In Children’S Social Service Organizations: Study Protocol, Byron J. Powell, Enola K. Proctor, Charles A. Glisson, Patricia L. Kohl, Ramesh Raghavan, Ross C. Brownson, Bradley P. Stoner, Christopher R. Carpenter, Lawrence A. Palinkas

Social Work Publications and Other Works

Background

Improving quality in children’s mental health and social service settings will require implementation strategies capable of moving effective treatments and other innovations (e.g., assessment tools) into routine care. It is likely that efforts to identify, develop, and refine implementation strategies will be more successful if they are informed by relevant stakeholders and are responsive to the strengths and limitations of the contexts and implementation processes identified in usual care settings. This study will describe: the types of implementation strategies used; how organizational leaders make decisions about what to implement and how to approach the implementation process; organizational …

The Lived Experience Of Transitioning From The Foster Care System To Adulthood, Carla Renee Parker

Doctoral Dissertations

Approximately 408,000 children were in foster care in the United States at the end of fiscal year 2010 (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2012). Some children return to their families of origin; however, some children remain in the foster care system until they reach age 18 or 21 and must leave, which is called “emancipation” or “aging out” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2012). Transitioning foster youth are at risk for many negative consequences including poverty and homelessness. These negative consequences are associated with significant health implications, such as mental health problems and risky sexual behaviors. …

Religion And Intimate Partner Violence: A Double-Edge Sword?, Lee E. Ross

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

This article examined hypothesized relations between Judeo-Christian religion and intimate partner violence. Given its complex and controversial nature, the following two questions were explored: (1) whether batterers selectively misinterpret scripture to justify or rationalize violence toward women, and (2) whether certain religious tenets around faith, the nature of marriage, the role of women and men, obedience, forgiveness, and salvation constrict and inevitably bind women to abusive relationships? An integrative literature review was employed to draw inferences among male patriarchy, religious scripture, and intimate partner violence. Overall, the findings are twofold: (1) elements of male patriarchy are included in much of …

Is There A Relationship Between Teams-Games-Tournaments And Changes In Communication And Attitude About Substance Abuse?, Michael Lee Burford

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate relationships between gender and race as it pertains to communication with parents about substance abuse and attitudes about substance abuse, using Teams-Games-Tournaments as an intervention. The scope of the substance abuse problem, adolescent communication and attitudes regarding substance abuse literature, attachment theory, and Teams-Games-Tournaments intervention literature are reviewed. Secondary data was used with a repeated measures design, with 159 subjects at baseline, 112 at exit, and 99 at follow-up. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences and Hierarchical Linear Modeling were used for analysis. Findings suggest that gender and race are not significant …

Overseeing Supervisees Treating Clients Exhibiting Suicidal Behaviors: Its Impact On Clinical Supervisors, Michael Girard Catalana

Doctoral Dissertations

Individuals at risk of suicide often seek mental health treatment (Brook, Klap, Liao, & Wells, 2006; Moscicki, 2001; Souminen, Isometsa, Martunnen, Ostamo, & Lonnqvist, 2004). The clinicians who treat these individuals experience significant levels of stress (Knox, Burkard, Bentzler, Schaack, & Hess, 2006; Ruskin, Sakinofsky, Bagby, Dickens, & Sousa, 2004). Clinical supervisors are an important resource for clinicians (Chemtob, Hamada, Bauer, Kinney, & Torigoe, 1988a; Kleespies, Smith, & Becker, 1990; Knox et al., 2006; Maltsberger, 1992; Ruskin et al., 2004). Researchers recently acknowledged that overseeing clinicians whose client exhibited suicidal behavior is also stressful (Catalana, 2012; Hoffman, 2009; Sanger, 2010). …

The Detrimental Effects Of Aging Out Of Foster Care And Knoxville's Representativeness Of Appropriate Services, Samantha Leanne Stout

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

The Link, One Health, And Social Capital: A New Strategy For Empathy Education And Social Work, Phil Arkow

International Veterinary Social Work Summit

For 150 years, animal welfare and veterinary advocates have promoted a doctrine that animal welfare will be enhanced by teaching children kindness to animals and responsible animal husbandry practices. However, these efforts have been stymied by societal and professional perceptions that “animal” causes are less worthy than “human” services. Ten significant challenges have made it difficult, if not impossible, to gain access to educators’ curricula and social work training. In a society that continues to place humans’ interests above animals’, it is time to try a new approach that focuses on the human benefits of animal welfare. In particular, a …

Stimulus, Spring/Summer 2013, Ut College Of Social Work

Stimulus Alumni Newsletter

No abstract provided.