Social Work Commons^™

A Differential Analysis Of Factors That Contribute To Kin Support Among Employed African Americans, Jacqueline R. Clay

Masters Theses

The study is an analysis of factors that contribute to kin support and family bonds among a sample of employed African Americans (N=188). The secondary analysis examined differential levels of kin support for female and male respondents, and assessed the comparative influence of other variables, including income level, education level, religious bonds, and family bonds. Findings pointed out that there was a clear contrast between genders in relation to strength of kin support. Female respondents demonstrated higher levels of support for close relatives (m=1.58, SD=.62), as well as stronger family bonds (F(4,153)=4.080, p<.005, R [squared] of .096), based on frequency of contact, proximity of relatives, and so forth. Implications are discussed in relation to social work family intervention in an era of widespread public reductions in income maintenance programs such as Temporary Aid to Needy Families.

From Father To Child: An Application Of The Process-Person-Context-Time Model, Lauren Ella Renkert

Doctoral Dissertations

This study assumes several overarching goals. The first is to bring the social work profession firmly to the table in the discourse on fathering. A second goal of this study is to place the study of fathering in a theoretical framework that aptly acknowledges and accommodates the complexities of the subject. Applying Bronfenbrenner’s (1995) Process-Person-Context-Time model, a third major goal of this study is to examine more closely what fathers themselves say about fathers and fathering and the implications of their perceptions. This study utilizes a subsample of fathers from a large nationally representative data set to test and expand …

Student Reports Of Physical And Psychological Maltreatment In Schools: An Under Explored Aspect Of Student Victimization In Schools, Kathryn Suzanne Whitted

Doctoral Dissertations

Purpose

This study examined the extent to which students reported that adults in a school setting had mistreated them. Specifically, this study provides findings on the students’ perceptions of the extent to which they were the victims of physical maltreatment and psychological maltreatment during their school careers. The study investigated whether the types or frequency of maltreatment was related to demographic characteristics of the student (i.e., race and gender).

Methods

The sample (N = 50) was composed of students in alternative education schools in the southeastern U.S. during the 2004-2005 school year. Students reported the frequency and types of …

Social And Emotional Development Of Children 0 To 36 Months In Poverty, Valentina Bopkova

Doctoral Dissertations

The study examined the effects of poverty on young children’s social and emotional development through the effects poverty has on parenting. National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) was the chosen data set. Total of 148 children and their parents (primarily mothers) took part in the study, at two survey time points 1998 and 2000. The study was a reanalysis of survey data and not an original survey data collection. There were two types of regression analyses performed ("snap-shot" and motion-picture"). First each of the four crafted hypotheses was tested within one time frame, and then year 1998 was used as …

A Criterion Validity Study Of Individuals' Reports Of Gunfire And Recorded Gunfire, Sylvia Jane Sergent

Doctoral Dissertations

The focus of this study was the validation of people's reports of gunfire in two inner city neighborhoods in the Southeast. A survey design was used in which 342 people were interviewed by telephone. An ARIMA analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between people's gunfire reports and 58 days of ShotSpotter recordings. The results indicated that the percentage of residents reporting the presence of gunfire was a valid predictor of night gunfire. However, residents' reports of the actual number of gunshots did not appear valid. Reports of gunfire did not appear to have a statistically significant correlation with 911 …

Aggression And The Big Five Personality Factors Of Grades And Attendance, Juan J. Barthelemy

Doctoral Dissertations

The focus of this study was to determine whether aggression adds incremental validity above and beyond the big five personality factors in predicting academic success. An archival data analysis was used in this study. The data \vas consisted of all of the eight grade students who were present when the data was collected in a middle school in the SoutheasteIl1 region of the United States. The students completed the Personal Style Inventory-Adolescent (PSI-A), which is a 120 item survey instrument designed to measure the big five personality factors and aggression. Results from this study indicated that aggression does in fact …

Empathy And The Mssw Curriculum: Are Students’ Levels Of Empathy Influenced By The Curriculum?, Melissa Rene Routh

Masters Theses

Empathy has been recognized as an important element in the helping profession, specifically within the field of social work. It has been acknowledged as an important component for promoting, restoring, maintaining, and enhancing clients’ well-being. Evaluation of empathy research has demonstrated contradictory conclusions about the impact of graduate education on students’ levels of empathy. While the social work curriculum assumes reciprocal empathic communication is an attained skill developed throughout the MSSW curriculum, little research has been conducted on the extent of empathic communication obtained through the social work curriculum. This study assessed the impact of graduate social work education on …