Social Work Commons^™

Proving Their Love: Violence And Gender Norms In Descriptions Of Relationships Among Rural Mexican Adolescents, Heidi Adams Rueda, Steven Hoffman, Kaitlin Grytza

Social Work Faculty Publications

Mexican youth from impoverished areas are at increased risk for experiencing relationship violence. Research in the United States has suggested that perpetration may be contextualized by culturally-influenced gender values, specifically performance of negative aspects of male masculinity (i.e., machismo) and its female counterpart (i.e., marianismo). This study utilized focus group methods to explore how middle school adolescents (N = 98) from a rural area of Central Mexico differentiate between healthy and unhealthy dating relationships.

We evoked a feminist developmental lens to interpret themes which centralized males as physical and sexual aggressors and to offer culturally-relevant program and practice recommendations.

Self-Care Among Social Workers Employed In Rural Settings: A Cross-Sectional Investigation, Diane N. Loeffler, J. Jay Miller, Theresia M. Pachner

Social Work Faculty Publications

Despite growing recognition about the importance of self-care for social work professionals, research related to the topic has not kept pace with the changing landscape of the profession. Particularly, self-care practices among rural social work professionals have been overlooked in the research. Rural social work practice is, in many ways, decidedly different from practice in more urban areas. Thus, the primary aim of this exploratory study was to investigate the personal and professional self-care practices of rural social workers. Specifically, the study sough to better understand how often social workers engage in self-care and whether or not there are associations …

Child Sexual Abuse And The Impact Of Rurality On Foster Care Outcomes: An Exploratory Analysis, Austin G. Griffiths, April L. Murphy, Whitney Harper

Social Work Faculty Publications

Given the cost of long-term foster care placement in both human and economic terms, few studies have specifically explored if any factors help to predict why this vulnerable population spends significantly more time in foster care. The overarching goal of this exploratory study was to use binary logistic regression to investigate whether any child demographic or environmental characteristics predicted the discharge of a child placed in Kentucky's foster care system for child sexual abuse. Results indicated that children in the most rural areas of the state were over 10 times more likely to be discharged from foster care during the …

Judges’ Perceptions Of The Nebraska Casa Program, A. C. West, J. L. O'Gara, Jeanette Harder

Social Work Faculty Publications

This article discusses judges’ perceptions of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) programs in the rural state of Nebraska, as reported in two online surveys. The goal of CASA is “to train and support volunteers in advocating for safe and permanent homes for abused and neglected children” (CASA for Children, 2013). One survey investigated the opinions of judges presiding in Nebraska counties that did not yet have a local CASA program; another was administered to judges in counties that did have a CASA program. Data from both surveys were analyzed separately and then compared to provide information regarding judges’ satisfaction with …