Social Work Commons^™

Exploring Acculturation Stress On Mexican Americans, Daniel Anthony Lopez

Theses Digitization Project

The focus of this study was how common acculturation stress is among Mexican Americans, what the demographics of this demonstrate, and how this is related to mental health services. Acculturation is the process of adapting to the social norms, customs, and values of another culture. When a Mexican American reaches his limit of what he is able to cope with, then that person is in danger of being afflicted with acculturtion stress. Even when faced with this prospect, few Mexican Americans seek out mental health services.

A Practitioner Perspective On Working With Drug-Exposed Infants, Hindi Rebecca Zeidman

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of the study is to bring to light the desperate need and attention substance-exposed infants require currently but are not receiving. This study will show cognitive, behavioral, emotional, and social deficits substance-exposure produces in these dependent powerless infants. This study will focus on the perspective of practioners who work with this population on a daily basis. The practitioner perspective will be collected from three SART (Screen, Assess, Referral, Treatment) Programs spanning the country's largest county, San Bernardino County. The Sart Program is an early intervention program designed for children between the ages of zero through five years old, …

California Child Welfare Reentry Trends From January 1998 Through December 2007, Sarah Marie Jacobson, Melissa Anne Weber

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this quantitative research study was to examine the characteristics of children who reentered the child welfare system in the state of California. Another purpose of this study was to see how San Bernardino County's reentry trends fit in to the rest of the state of California. It is the hope to develop a child welfare practice to determine if a policy or specific practices can be altered so that the recidivism rate decreases.

Addressing The Disproportionate Representation Of African American Children In The Child Welfare System, Cecilia Elizabeth Roman

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study is to examine social workers' perceptions on the disproportionate representation of African American children in the child welfare system and social workers views on their training and education on cultural competence. Eight face-to-face interviews were carried out with masters' level social workers at San Bernardino County's Gifford office of Children and Family Services. Qualitative method was used to analyze the findings.

Feelings And Concerns About Community Services And Social Economic Conditions Of Catholic Charities Members, Stephan Ernie Oldham

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to explore the feelings and concerns of clients of Catholic Charities in relation to the community services and the low socioeconomic conditions they are currently experiencing.

Levels Of Attachments And Childhood Abuse Among Mexican-Americans, Christina Shinn

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study to investigate the relationship between mother-child attachment and childhood abuse trama. It will examine levels of attachment and their relationship to different types of abuse including physical, emotional, sexual and negligence. Instruments utilized were the Parental Attachment Questionaire, Childhood Trauma Questionaire, and Parental Bonding Instrument.

A Need Assessment For People Who Have Multiple Sclerosis And Their Support Groups, Eric Lee Markley

Theses Digitization Project

This paper discusses the problem the researcher finds in the lack of information on what people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) are looking for in support groups that are designed around specifically for people with MS. This paper discusses what MS is, the reasoning on designing a study on this topic, and the significance of the project to social work. The type of research design that was used to find this information was a survey questionaire. Theoretical within the context of a social comparison model. A total of 58 people completed the survey.

Awareness Of Parental Infidelity In Childhood: Attitudes Toward Infidelity As Adults, Nicole Marie Paredes

Theses Digitization Project

This study explores the attitudes of adults who became aware of their parents infidelity as children in comparison to the attitudes of adults who are unaware of the presence of infidelity within their parents' relationship.

Eleven Case Studies Of Parents' Experiences When Accessing Services For An Autistic Spectrum Disorder Child, Michelle Barbara Wood

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study is to understand parent's experiences of accessing services for their ASD children. It was the researcher's goal to document parent's stories and experiences of accesssing services for their ASD children. This research project engaged 11 families in in-depth interviews exploring their experiences accessing services. Four areas of services emerged from the interviews: diagnostic services, services through Regional Centers, services offered at their child's school, and other services accessed (i.e. through insurance or community organizations).

Exploring The Efficacy Of Evidence-Based Practice Within Public Mental Health Agencies, Hannah Kaye Norton

Theses Digitization Project

The aim of this project was to explore the efficacy of evidence-based practice within public mental health agencies. It is hoped that this research project will create dialog surrounding evidence-based practice as well as push for a more clear understanding of it and its implementation in public mental health agencies.

The African American Male: Examining Resiliency, Success, And Family, Takenya Chimene Mcmihelk

Theses Digitization Project

This study is an examination of resiliency, success and family among African American Males. It is purposed to empower the individual that it affects and soften the hearts of the individuals who continue to consciously and unconsciously oppress these men. The purpose was not to restate what was already known but to create a system to eliminate the re-occurrence of the problem.

Fathers' Level Of Involvement In The Lives Of Their Special Needs Children, Lorraine Jimenez

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this project was to explore the level of father involvement in the upbringing of their special needs child. For most parents, raising children is filled with great moments, milestones and achievements as well as being highly stressful and overwhelming, especially if the upbringing involves a special needs child. The levels of stress involved in the upbringing of a developmentally disabled child are intense and can often times hinder the healthy growth and development of the family unit. The results in this study indicated that fathers were highly involved with their special needs children.

Does Child Sexual Abuse Affect Long-Term Intimacy Development And Functioning, Michelle Debra Kelley

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to examine practitioners' views of the long-term effects of child sexual abuse on intimacy development and to determine if child sexual abuse leads to an underdeveloped sense of intimacy in the adult. Problems with intimacy development are defined as trouble forming close interpersonal relationships, not being able to trust others, being sexually promiscuous, and avoiding emotion.

Domestic Violence: Treatment Barriers In The Gay And Lesbian Community, Susan Crane

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study is to investigate barriers to seeking services pertaining to domestic violence among the gay and lesbian population. The treatment barriers to seeking support and services for Same Sex Domestic Violence (SSDV) is related to fear, not feeling safe, judgmental attitudes, lack of education, and law enforcement discrimination.

A Study Of The Coping Strategies Of Financially Vulnerable Families Facing The Child Care Cliff, Susan J. Roll

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For many families child care is a necessity for economic self sufficiency, as without it caretakers cannot enter and stay in the workforce. However, for many low-income families childcare expenses are so high that they often cannot afford it without government support. The focus of this study was to understand how families make decisions about childcare in relation to government support. Of specific interest are low-income families who receive the government supported child care subsidy in Colorado known as the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program (CCCAP).

CCCAP is a part of work support benefits that are provided by the State …

Male-To-Female Transsexual Individuals' Experience Of Clinical Relationships: A Phenomological Study, Karen M. Scarpella

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological study was designed to gain insight into male-to-female transsexual clients' experience of clinical relationships. Transsexual clients who enter into a clinical relationship have an experience that is unique due to their transsexual status in society. Their circumstances warrant attention in research due to the following factors: 1) the nature of being transsexual 2) the gate-keeping requirements necessary for transition 3) their experience in society as a vulnerable and oppressed population, and, 4) the importance of understanding the transsexual individuals' experience of clinical relationships from the perspective of transsexual clients themselves. Twelve transsexual women were interviewed using semi-structured format …

A Grounded Theoretical Approach To Embodiment Among Homeless Youth, Felicia Washington Sy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Using grounded theory methodology, this research explored, described and theorized about the ways youth, specifically homeless youth; make sense of their bodies within the context of living environments. It describes the relationship between body, space, and context for homeless youth in order to inform treatment options for this population. The importance of context, setting, and participant frame of reference was stressed, because embodiment is contextually and culturally influenced. The research addressed the questions: What is the process of becoming consciously embodied for homeless youth who have experienced multiple traumas? Do homeless youth who have experienced multiple traumas perceive a role …

Impact Of Globalization On Central Appalachian Women: Social Capital And Social Support Networks, Jennifer Lanham

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Social networks and capital often sustain community and individual survival. This phenomenological study was designed to illuminate the experience of job loss within the context of globalization, describing the phenomenon from the perspective of rural women and its meaning for those participants. Using a phenomenological approach, this qualitative study explored eight rural women in Appalachian Kentucky who had experienced apparel factory layoffs as a result of global outsourcing. A modified form of van Kaam's method (Moustakas, 1994) was used for phenomenological analysis of the data. Data were analyzed using an eight-step technique to identify essential characteristics of rural women's lived …

A Study Of The Effect Of Social Capital On The Recovery Of Persons With Mental Illness In Taiwan, Su-Fen Liu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The main purpose of this study is to explore the association between social capital and recovery from mental illness in community-based rehabilitation services within the Taiwanese social and cultural context. This study employed a cross-sectional survey design using a convenience sample of 310 mental health consumers who were members in community mental health agencies (the rehabilitation centers or the half-way houses) in Taiwan and 26 practitioners who were familiar with these participated consumers. A series of hierarchical multiple-regression models were used to identify whether access to social capital has an independent effect on the perceptions of recovery. As expected, access …

Developing Emotional Security Among Children Who Have Been Adopted, Kate Trujillo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the development of emotional security among 6-10 year old children who have been adopted by exposing them to an experimental condition during which they could engage with either a live dog or a robotic dog. The live dog was a certified therapy dog; the robotic dog was a FurReal® toy marketed by Hasbro as "Biscuit." Utilizing a mixed-method embedded experimental design, the experimental condition was intentionally structured to promote engagement between the participant and the dog or robot. 43 children who had been adopted from the child welfare system were randomly assigned to one of two groups. …