Social Work Commons^™

Social Work Students' Understanding Of Childhood Psycho-Emotional Maltreatment By Caregivers, Todd M. Rubin

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Child psychological, emotional maltreatment (CPEM) presents to the social work profession as one of the most challenging to detect, prevent and intervene. The consequences of CPEM have been equally devastating to a child’s development compared to all other forms of childhood maltreatment. The purpose of this study is to assess graduate social work students’ knowledge of CPEM as a determinant of their clinical preparedness to work with families in practice. The rationale for this study is to explore how the lack of focus on CPEM in university education, field experience, and field supervision impacts a social worker’s ability to prioritize …

From Neglected To Nurtured: The Crisis Of The Foster Care System And The Crucial Impact Of Stability, Emma Miller

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

This paper addresses some of the problems with the foster care system in the United States, and seeks to propose a solution to the extensive wait families experience when adopting a child out of foster care. Specifically, it studies the positive impact of government-nonprofit collaborations on participants in the system, and emphasizes the importance of placing children in stable environments.

Conceptualizing Attorney Motivation: A Study Of The Representatives For Parents And Children In The Child Welfare System, Shannon Moody

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

Background. Attorneys who represent parents and children in dependency, neglect, and abuse (DNA) proceedings are key in influencing the outcomes of the cases they carry. These influences include the length of time a child spends in the custody of the state or the necessity for foster care, visitation with family members, length of time to reunification, and recommended services for the child and parents (Courtney & Hook, 2012; Goldman, 1993; Thornton & Gwin, 2012; Zinn & Peters, 2015). The American Bar Association’s analysis is that there are “four constants: high caseloads, low compensation, inadequate training, and lack of supervision” …

Assessing Effectiveness Of Child And Family Teaming As A Prevention Strategy In Rural County Child Welfare Services, Rose Gennett Martin

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This research project is an analysis of Child and Family Teaming (CFT) utilized in rural California child welfare departments as a prevention strategy to court intervention and children being placed in care. Currently, the mandates for CFT in the state of California only apply to children who have been removed from their homes. Within the rural counties of this study, CFT is viewed as best practice, and it is offered to families as an opportunity to engage with the agency and strategize to create safety in order to mitigate removal and/or the need for court intervention.

The research project followed …

Educators' Barriers To Reporting Child Maltreatment, Miriam Figueroa, Mariaisela Maldonado

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify educators’ perceptions of barriers to reporting child maltreatment. This study used a survey design with self-administered questionnaires. Sixty five teachers from a large southern California school district participated in the study. Quantitative and demographic data was collected using Linkedin and Facebook to recruit study participants. The questionnaires gathered information about their knowledge, training, experience, and professional responsibility regarding reporting suspected maltreatment.

This study found that most educators received training in reporting requirements and were able to spot signs of maltreatment. However, the study also revealed that some participants had a low comfort …

Child Helpers: A Multidisciplinary Perspective, David F. Lancy

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

This essay was greatly inspired by a 15" film titled Tiny Katerina, which shows glimpses of Katerina from two- to four-and-a-half years of age. She lives with her parents and older brother in Northwestern Siberia in the taiga. The Khanty-speaking people live by foraging (berries, for example), fishing and herding reindeer; they are semi-nomadic. In their camp and the vicinity, there is no evidence of electricity or any other public service. These people are very much “off the grid.” From the first, as a wobbly toddler, Katerina is shown being helpful. She carries (and drops and picks up) firewood …

Rural Community Mental Health Agency’S Strategies To Involve Parents In Children’S Psychosocial Treatment, Kerry Ellen Morrell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The increased prevalence of children’s mental illness and the need for community-based treatment with enhanced outcomes is propelling the need to improve children’s mental health treatment to the forefront of children’s mental health policy reform. Including parental involvement in children’s mental health treatment increases the possibility of improved treatment outcomes. However, policy, social, attitudinal, and fiscal factors have affected the strategies used to overcome the barriers to facilitating parental involvement. The purpose of this in-depth qualitative case study was to understand the strategies that one mental health agency used to overcome the barriers to facilitating parental involvement in the psychosocial …

Child Abuse Prevention In Rural Southern California: A Participatory Action Research Project, Nelly Zambrano

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This research project examines resources and services to prevent families and children from entering the child welfare system in a rural town in Southern California. There is constant struggle to get the adequate services, resources and trained staff in this rural area because it is isolated and it takes about two hours’ travel time to get to the metropolitan cities. The literature review discusses child welfare services challenges, strengths and social capital to support families and children as well as the child welfare system itself in rural areas. Constructivism is the appropriate framework for this research project, because the goal …

Strategies To Improve Interdisciplinary Communication In An Acute Care Inpatient Pediatric Unit, Sarah Thompson, Haley Pelletier, Barbara Bush Children's Hospital-Inpatient, Maine Medical Center, Suneela Nayak, Ruth Hanselman, Stephen Tyzik

Maine Medical Center

Interdisciplinary patient rounding has been shown to improve patient and family satisfaction as well as reduce patient length of stay and readmission rates. In an acute care inpatient pediatric unit, baseline metrics demonstrated that 100% of the time, nursing was not included in these rounds thus resulting in sub optimal communication.

The goal of this performance improvement project was to attain increased nursing participation. Data collection demonstrated several reasons for lack of participation and corrective actions were instituted. After undertaking this KPI goal and utilizing operational excellence, 95% of the time, nurses were called to morning rounds with the medical …

Accounting For Variability In Mother-Child Play, David F. Lancy

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

This paper highlights contrasting perspectives in the study of mother-child play. One contrast emerges as we look at the phenomenon using the lens offered by anthropology as opposed to the more commonly used lens of psychology. A second contrast is apparent from on-the-ground descriptions of childhood in the ethnographic record compared to observations of children in the upper strata of modern society. Psychologists and those public agents who adopt their perspective see mother-child play—from infancy—as both necessary for normal development and an unlimited good. Its self-evident value should be impressed upon those who are as yet, unenlightened. Anthropologists not only …

Exploring The Impact Of Mental Health On Infant Growth In Urban West Bengal, India :: A Retrospective Cohort Study Exploring The Association Of Mental Health Status Of Parents With A Deterioration In Weight For Age Z Score (As An Indicator Of Under-Nutrition) Of Children Under The Age Of 4 In A Cohort Living In An Impoverished Urban Community In West Bengal, India, Noah E.C. Levinson

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

Underweight malnutrition is considered the underlying contributing factor in 45% of all child deaths worldwide. Employing a retrospective cohort study design, we explored the association of mental illness symptoms of parents with a deterioration in weight for age z score (as an indicator of under-nutrition) of their children under the age of 4 in a cohort living in an impoverished urban community in West Bengal, India. Results, inconsistent with other studies, indicate that the association is not statistically significant among the studied population. The likely explanation is the intensive, multi-faceted nutrition interventions of Calcutta Kids, an organization working for many …

Fish, Christine Stark

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Trauma Exposure And Sexual Revictimization Risk: Comparisons Across Single, Multiple Incident, And Multiple Perpetrator Victimizations, Erin A. Casey, Paula S. Nurius

Erin Casey

Although research demonstrates a link between child sexual abuse and sexual revictimization in adolescence or adulthood, less is known about specific mechanisms that increase women's vulnerability to reassault. This study examined experiential and outcome differences between survivors of a single assault, survivors of ongoing abuse by a single perpetrator, and survivors of multiple assaults by different offenders. Multiply victimized women differed from survivors of a single assault or of ongoing abuse on psychological distress, health, and nonsexual trauma variables. Revictimization by new perpetrators was predicted by an earlier age during a first sexual assault and by nonsexual trauma in childhood.

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 …

From Entrenched To Empowered : The Factors Promoting Resiliency And Healing For Lgbtqia Identified Adult Survivors Of Childhood Sexual Assault, Hal Brown

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

The objective of this study was to examine the experiences of adults, who as a result of their incidents of childhood sexual abuse were predisposed to present with a variety of negative outcomes, in pursuit of identifiable interventions, practices, and supportive factors effective in mitigating the negative outcomes and promoting survivor resiliency. The bulk of the previous studies of the critical elements for survivor resiliency had been conducted in religious communities. Ensuring a sample composed of individuals with access to an identity-based community, noting that community and connectedness had frequently been considered significant, this study was limited to LGBTQIA identified …

The Effects Of Parental Response On Their Children’S Trauma Experience, Carly S. Vaplon

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

The American Psychological Association defines trauma as the emotional response to a terrible event. An event becomes traumatic when its adverse effects produce feelings of helplessness and lack of control, and thoughts that one’s survival may possibly be in danger. The purpose of this study was to collect data from licensed professionals who have experience working with children who have experienced trauma and their parents to determine the effects parental response to their child’s trauma have on their child’s trauma experience. Eight professionals were interviewed in this qualitative study to determine the effects of supportive and unsupportive parental responses. This …

The Child Client: Representing Children In Child Protective Proceedings, Merril Sobie

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Perpetrator Gender On Child Protective Services Sexual Abuse Cases: A National Picture, David Axlyn Mcleod

Theses and Dissertations

Child sexual assault is a problem of epidemic proportions in the United States with some research suggesting up to one fifth of our nations children being victimized before reaching adulthood. Research has suggested females could be responsible for up to 20% of child sexual abuse cases, and at the same time only represent only 1% of sexual offenders incarcerated the US. This creates a situation where a large group of relatively under-researched offenders are evading detection. Numerous calls for further research have been made, but relatively few studies have had the ability to shed significant light on this phenomenon on …

Continuing Attachment Bonds To The Deceased: A Study Of Bereaved Youth And Their Caregivers, Erica Hill Sirrine

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although grief is a universal experience impacting the lives of many children and adolescents each year, not much study has been afforded to this population. In addition, the concept of a continuing attachment bond (CAB) or ongoing relationship to the deceased and its role as adaptive or maladaptive in the bereavement process is in its infancy of research among adult populations and is largely unstudied among bereaved youth. This mixed-methods study attempted to bridge the gap by examining the relationship between CABs among a sample of 50 bereaved youth (ages 11-17) and their bereaved adult caregivers. In addition, the study …

Factors Affecting End Of Treatment Symptom Severity For Children Receiving Trauma-Informed Evidence-Based Treatment, Jessica G. Eslinger

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

The purpose of this project is to examine how the factors of gender, placement status, type of treatment, the number of different types of trauma experienced, and a child’s age at the start of treatment may influence end of treatment symptom severity scores for children ages 2-12 years who received trauma-informed evidence-based treatment for trauma. Method: Caregivers and children receiving outpatient services (N=134) completed the Child Behavioral Checklist, Trauma Symptom Checklist for Young Children, and the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children-Alternate Version at baseline and end of treatment. Hypotheses were tested with a series of ANCOVA analyses, Independent t-Tests, …

Non-Suicidal Self-Injury And Suicidal Behaviour In Children And Adolescents Accessing Residential Or Intensive Home-Based Mental Health Services, Michele Preyde, Hanna Watkins, Nicklaus Csuzdi, Jeff Carter, Kelly Lazure, Sara White, Randy Penney, Graham Ashbourne, Gary Cameron, Karen Frensch

Partnerships for Children and Families Project

Objective: There is a dearth of Canadian research with clinical samples of youth who self-harm, and no studies could be located on self-harm in children and youth accessing residential or intensive home-based treatment. The purposes of this report were to explore the proportion and characteristics of children and youth identified as self-harming at admission by clinicians compared to youth not identified as self-harming, compare self-harming children to adolescents, and to compare caregiver ratings of self-harm at intake to clinician ratings at admission.

Method: This report was developed from a larger longitudinal, observational study involving 210 children and youth accessing residential …

Trauma Exposure And Sexual Revictimization Risk: Comparisons Across Single, Multiple Incident, And Multiple Perpetrator Victimizations, Erin A. Casey, Paula S. Nurius

Social Work & Criminal Justice Publications

Although research demonstrates a link between child sexual abuse and sexual revictimization in adolescence or adulthood, less is known about specific mechanisms that increase women's vulnerability to reassault. This study examined experiential and outcome differences between survivors of a single assault, survivors of ongoing abuse by a single perpetrator, and survivors of multiple assaults by different offenders. Multiply victimized women differed from survivors of a single assault or of ongoing abuse on psychological distress, health, and nonsexual trauma variables. Revictimization by new perpetrators was predicted by an earlier age during a first sexual assault and by nonsexual trauma in childhood.

The Prevalence Of Child Sexual Abuse: Integrative Review Adjustment For Potential Response And Measurement Biases, Kevin M. Gorey

Social Work Publications

This integrative review synthesizes the finding of 16 cross-sectional surveys (25 hypotheses) on the prevalence of child abuse among nonclinical, North American samples. It is essentially a research literature on sexual abuse; only one of the studies assessed physical abuse, and there has not yet been a single study of prevalent child emotional abuse nor neglect. The following summative inferences were made: (1) response rates diminished significantly over time, M = 68% prior to 1985 and M = 49% for more recent surveys, p < .05; (2) unadjusted estimates of the prevalent experience among women and men of childhood sexual abuse was 22.3% and 8.5%, respectively; (3) study response rates and child abuse operational definitions together accounted for half of the observed variability in their abuse prevalence estimates, R2 = .500, p < .05; (4) female and male child sexual abuse prevalence estimates adjusted for response rates (60% or more) were respectively, 16.8% and 7.9%, and adjusted for operational definitions (excluding the broadest, noncontact category) they were 14.5% and 7.2%; (5) after adjustment for response rates and definitions, the prevalence of child sexual abuse was not found to vary significantly over the three decades reviewed. Given the large human costs, both personal and social, of child abuse, and the identified gap in the requisite knowledge needed to steer effective preventive and treatment interventions, it is time to invest in a large, methodologically rigorous, population-based study of child abuse which, if it does nothing else, spares no expense in ensuring very high participation.

Children Facing Death: Awareness, Development And Terminal Illness, Deborah Greenham, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

This paper examines a number of recent research studies on the dying child with particular attention to the relationship between growth and development and the child’s awareness of his/her dying condition.