Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Social Work Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 21 of 21

Full-Text Articles in Social Work

Giving Voice To The Voiceless, Victoria L. Palmer Apr 2018

Giving Voice To The Voiceless, Victoria L. Palmer

Social Work Theses

The purpose of this study is to understand the experiences of matriculated, full time college students from a medium-sized Catholic, Liberal Arts College in the Northeast who identify as multi-racial or multi-ethnic, specifically identifying as coming from a white and non-white mixed background. In the ever-changing political climate in the United States, those who identify as mixed white and non-white backgrounds feel conflicted in how they ethnically or racially identify. Emerging adulthood (ages 18-25), and college experiences, are important years for identity development. This study tells the untold narratives of mixed non-white and white multi-racial, multi-ethnic individuals.


What Do You Bring To The Classroom? – A Look At Approaching Difficult Dialogues, Katherine Holleran Apr 2018

What Do You Bring To The Classroom? – A Look At Approaching Difficult Dialogues, Katherine Holleran

Social Work Theses

This qualitative research study assessed and evaluated experiences of professors from different departments, regarding their encounters with difficult dialogues and the perceived response from students in their classroom through untimed, semi-structured interviews. The interview questions were designed to have an open dialogue with the professor about their experiences in the classroom and how they feel their identities and strategies may have influenced or shaped conversations that took place. The findings include the perspective of four white female professors, one white male professor, and one female professor of color. The results emphasize that there are effective strategies that professors have found …


13 Reasons Why Not: Examining Peer Networks And Barriers To Help Seeking, Katharine Comber Apr 2018

13 Reasons Why Not: Examining Peer Networks And Barriers To Help Seeking, Katharine Comber

Social Work Theses

This paper examines mental health perceptions on a college campus, with an emphasis on the importance of peer networks, the barriers to help-seeking behaviors, and the persisting stigma against mental health treatment. The researcher hypothesized that students will report confiding in family, friends, and peers in times of emotional distress, rather than more formal support networks. The study utilized a 13-item survey that examined what barriers students face in seeking help, to whom students turn in times of distress, and if they feel that there is stigma on campus that is a deterrent to formal mental health treatment. The results …


A Narrative On The Witch-Hunt Narrative: The Moral Dimensions, Frederic G. Reamer Jan 2017

A Narrative On The Witch-Hunt Narrative: The Moral Dimensions, Frederic G. Reamer

Faculty Publications

Ross Cheit’s The Witch-Hunt Narrative raises a number of complex moral issues. Cheit’s principal purpose is to challenge the belief that our society has overreacted to claims about the sexual abuse of children. Both directly and indirectly, Cheit’s in-depth analysis broaches moral concerns pertaining to the integrity of child abuse allegations, investigations, civil litigation, and criminal prosecution, with an emphasis on the mixed motives of the parties involved in key cases. This article provides an overview of ethical questions pertaining to gathering information from very vulnerable individuals, informed consent, institutional review, protection of research participants, the use of deception and …


Nurses’ Perceptions Of Parents Staying During Chronically Ill Child’S Hospitalization: Learning To Speak The Same Language, Nicole Toscano Apr 2016

Nurses’ Perceptions Of Parents Staying During Chronically Ill Child’S Hospitalization: Learning To Speak The Same Language, Nicole Toscano

Social Work Theses

Since parents and nurses are at the forefront of a hospitalized child’s care, it is crucial to understand the views of parents and nurses to provide the best care for the patient. Parental views have been examined by previous research; thus, this qualitative research study assesses nurses’ perceptions concerning the parental role during a child’s hospitalization. Assessing where nurses’ place parents in the medical world will help the overall care of the patient. The results of the semi-structured interviews of two nurses corresponds with the hypothesis that nurses’ view parents as integral to the care of the patient, even if …


Clinical Social Work In A Digital Environment: Ethical And Risk-Management Challenges, Frederic G. Reamer Jan 2015

Clinical Social Work In A Digital Environment: Ethical And Risk-Management Challenges, Frederic G. Reamer

Faculty Publications

Clinical social workers’ use of digital and other technology to provide distance counseling services is proliferating. Increasing numbers of contemporary practitioners are using video counseling, email chat, social networking websites, text messaging, smartphone apps, avatar-based websites, self-guided web-based interventions, and other technology to provide clinical services to clients, some of whom they may never meet in person. The advent of this technology has produced a wide range of ethical challenges related to social workers’ application of traditional social work ethics concepts: client informed consent; client privacy and confidentiality; boundaries and dual relationships; conflicts of interest; practitioner competence; records and documentation; …


The Evolution Of Social Work Ethics: Bearing Witness, Frederic G. Reamer Jan 2014

The Evolution Of Social Work Ethics: Bearing Witness, Frederic G. Reamer

Faculty Publications

The evolution of ethical standards in social work, and conceptual frameworks for examining ethical issues, is among the most compelling developments in the history of the profession. Since the formal inauguration of social work in the late nineteenth century, the profession has moved from relatively simplistic and moralistic perspectives to conceptually rich analyses of ethical issues and ethical guidelines. This article examines the evolution of social work ethics from the profession’s earliest days and speculates about future challenges and directions.


The Stressors Of The Military Lifestyle And The Services Available To Help Military Families, Jacquelyn Desrosiers Jan 2014

The Stressors Of The Military Lifestyle And The Services Available To Help Military Families, Jacquelyn Desrosiers

Social Work Theses

This quantitative, descriptive study focuses on the effectiveness of the various services available for military families from the perspective of Rhode Island military residents. A review of the literature outlines the major stressors of the military lifestyle. The services available to help military families deal with these stressors are analyzed in the study. Five Rhode Island military families participated in this study. Results revealed overall satisfaction with the resources available through the military itself, dissatisfaction with services available through other areas, such as schools, churches, or organizations, the necessity of aid during the reintegration experience, the minimal usage of the …


Helping Children Find A Home That Offers Safety, Stability, And Love, D'Nique Melissa Stevens Jan 2014

Helping Children Find A Home That Offers Safety, Stability, And Love, D'Nique Melissa Stevens

Social Work Theses

The researcher wanted to look closely to see if preferences of adoptive parents, such as a particular race, age, or gender of the adoptee, helped or hindered the process of adoption. Gathering research, based on previous studies, the researcher was able to compare and contrast, to see if there are any patterns regarding adoptive parent preferences. There was a hole in the literature in regards to the preference of gender. This was a quantitative descriptive study completed by Providence College students, using a Likert-like style instrument. The main findings in the research was the statistically significant relationship of the values …


The Impact Of Partner Support In Abortion, Amy Gentile Jan 2014

The Impact Of Partner Support In Abortion, Amy Gentile

Social Work Theses

This quantitative, relational study aimed to examine whether there was a significant relationship between mental health of the female post-abortion and partner support both during and after abortion. A review of the literature indicates that many women do not suffer psychological trauma post-abortion and a large majority of women who have abortions report feeling supported by the prospective father. However, no research has examined if these two groups are in fact one in the same. One hundred forty-three questionnaires were collected on a college campus to measure respondent’s predictions of partner support and emotional well being post-abortion. Results indicate a …


“IʼM A Leader Of All Of Them To Tell The Truth”: Participatory Action Principles For Uplifting Social Work Research Partnersʼ Identities, Katherine Mccrea Jan 2014

“IʼM A Leader Of All Of Them To Tell The Truth”: Participatory Action Principles For Uplifting Social Work Research Partnersʼ Identities, Katherine Mccrea

Social Work: School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Other Works

Identity, understood from many vantage points, is continually evolving based on relationship experiences, including those relationships established in social and behavioral research. Whether rendered anonymous in large quantitatively-studied samples, or intimately known in qualitative studies, those contributing to science in a role termed “subject” receive, through the research, definitions of their identities. Because those identities are part of published social research, identities created in the research process become part of the public discourse about persons in the “subjects’” situations, and also influence policies that in turn influence persons’ lives. For their part, the identities of social and behavioral researchers also …


Distance And Online Social Work Education: Novel Ethical Challenges, Frederic G. Reamer Jan 2013

Distance And Online Social Work Education: Novel Ethical Challenges, Frederic G. Reamer

Faculty Publications

Digital technology has transformed social work education. Today’s students can take individual courses and earn an entire degree without ever meeting their faculty members in person. Technological innovations such as videoconferencing, live online chat, asynchronous podcasts, and webinars enable social work educators to reach students whose personal circumstances and geographical locations make it difficult for them to attend school in person. This paper highlights complex ethical issues associated with the proliferation of digital and online social work education. Key ethical issues concern student access; course and degree program quality and integrity; academic honesty and gatekeeping; and privacy and surveillance.


Perceived Job Readiness Among The Previously Incarcerated, Amy Audet Apr 2012

Perceived Job Readiness Among The Previously Incarcerated, Amy Audet

Honors Projects

This study aims to determine the primary factor in employment readiness for previously incarcerated individuals. Ex offenders were were surveyed for job readiness using a scale developed in the studies' literature review. This scale emcompasses factors such as skills, knowledge, confidence and goals. Surveys were also done according to age, age of first incarceration, incarceration history and job training history. Because this population is marginalized, this study may bring new awareness about the effects of employer discrimination and the need for future programs to increase job readiness among the previously incarcerated individuals.


Open Adoption And Adolescence, Deborah H. Siegel Jul 2008

Open Adoption And Adolescence, Deborah H. Siegel

Faculty Publications

In open adoptions, birth and adoptive families exchange identifying information and have contact. Although most adoptions today include some form of openness, much of the public remains wary of this. The purpose of this study was to explore, longitudinally, adoptive parents' perceptions of their children's open adoptions. This article reports the findings of tape-recorded interviews with 31 adoptive parents who were first interviewed when their children were infants and toddlers, again 7 years later, and a third time when their children were adolescents. The study found adoptive parents were committed to maintaining contact with the birth family even when discomforts …


Social Workers' Management Of Error, Frederic G. Reamer Jan 2008

Social Workers' Management Of Error, Frederic G. Reamer

Faculty Publications

Social workers, like all professionals, sometimes make mistakes. For example, they may disclose clients' confidential information inappropriately, fail to respond to clients' reasonable requests in a timely manner, or engage in improper dual relationships with clients. Ideally, social workers who err would follow a protocol that honors the profession's commitment to responsible and honest communication and minimizes the practical risks faced by social workers who might be named in lawsuits, licensing board complaints, and ethics complaints. This article explores the nature and forms of social work error and possible constructive responses to it that (a) protect clients, (b) minimize risk …


Ethical Issues In Open Adoption, Frederic G. Reamer, Deborah H. Siegel Jul 2007

Ethical Issues In Open Adoption, Frederic G. Reamer, Deborah H. Siegel

Faculty Publications

Total secrecy and confidentiality no longer typify adoption in the United States. Today, most adoptions involve an exchange of information or some form of contact between the birth family and adoptive family - so-called open adoptions. This article provides a comprehensive overview of ethical issues associated with various forms of open adoption, including issues of privacy, confidentiality, self-determination, paternalism, conflicts of interest, deception, and truthtelling.We present guidelines for social work practice in open adoptions, based on current ethical theory and ethical standards in social work.


Nontraditional And Unorthodox Interventions In Social Work, Frederic G. Reamer Apr 2006

Nontraditional And Unorthodox Interventions In Social Work, Frederic G. Reamer

Faculty Publications

Social work interventions with individuals, families, couples, and small groups have evolved over time. Traditional casework methods associated with social work's pioneers during the early and mid-twentieth century, such as Mary Richmond, Florence Hollis, Harriett Bartlett, Grace Coyle, and Helen Perlman have been transformed. Today's social workers are more likely to discuss and debate the use of such approaches as dialectical behavior therapy, narrative therapy, hypnosis, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, art and dance therapy, radical cognitive therapy, and Internet-based therapy, among others. Clinicians now have access to a staggering array of clinical options that would be unimaginable to social …


Ethical And Legal Standards In Social Work, Frederic G. Reamer Apr 2005

Ethical And Legal Standards In Social Work, Frederic G. Reamer

Faculty Publications

Social workers frequently encounter circumstances involving ethical and legal issues. In many instances, relevant ethical and legal standards complement each other; however, in some circumstances, ethical and legal standards conflict. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the relationship between U.S. ethical and legal standards in social work. The author presents a conceptually based typology of 4 types of relationships between legal and ethical standards. Case examples are included. The author concludes with a decision-making framework designed to enhance social workers' constructive management of difficult decisions involving ethical and legal standards.


Moral Philosophy Meets Social Work, Frederic G. Reamer Sep 2001

Moral Philosophy Meets Social Work, Frederic G. Reamer

Faculty Publications

In recent years, social workers have become increasingly aware of ethical dilemmas in practice. Beginning especially in the mid-to-late 1970s, social work's literature has included a steady stream of reflections on difficult moral choices involving conflicts among professional duties and obligations (Loewnberg and Dolgoff 1996; Congress 1998; Reamer 1998, 1999). To what extent do clients have the right to engage in self-harming behavior without interference? How should social workers allocate scarce or limited resources such as emergency services, shelter beds, funds, and even their own time? Is it ethically permissible for social workers to violate laws and regulations they believe …


Families Affected By Substance Abuse, Annmarie Mumm, Lenore J. Olsen, Darlene Allen Jul 1998

Families Affected By Substance Abuse, Annmarie Mumm, Lenore J. Olsen, Darlene Allen

Faculty Publications

A generalist approach to practice with families affected by parental addiction is presented. Using a model program for working with parents and children who have been affected by substance abuse, the article illustrates the application of the problem-solving process to effect change at multiple levels, including individual, family, community, organizational, and policy-making levels. The authors describe assessment and intervention strategies at each of these levels and conclude with an evaluation of the project's success.


The Free Will-Determinism Debate And Social Work, Frederic G. Reamer Jan 1983

The Free Will-Determinism Debate And Social Work, Frederic G. Reamer

Faculty Publications

Social workers'judgments about the determinants of clients' problems have a substantial effect on practitioners' willingness to provide assistance. There is considerable variation in professionals' beliefs about the extent to which clients are themselves responsible for their difficulties, as opposed to factors that are beyond their control. This article examines the philosophical controversy known as the free will-determinism debate, and assesses its implications for the profession of social work.