Digital Commons Network^™

Associations Between Childhood Maltreatment And Young Adult Romantic Relationships: A Focus On Gender Differences, L. Kris Gowen, Celina Kishna

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Two recent studies investigated the associations between experiencing maltreatment in childhood and dating aggression and interpersonal problems in young adult romantic relationships, with a focus on gender differences.

How Mental Health Challenges Impact The Sexual And Relational Health Of Young Adults, L. Kris Gowen

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Sexual behavior is a normative aspect of young adulthood—90% of young adults have had vaginal intercourse and/or oral sex before the age of 30.1 Similarly, engaging in romantic and/or intimate relationships is seen as an essential developmental task of young adulthood. However, little is known about the sexual and romantic relationships of young adults with serious mental health conditions (SMHC), despite the fact that there is evidence that this population is disproportionately affected by poor sexual health. This article will outline what is known about the sexual and romantic relationships of young adults with SMHC and highlight the importance of …

Seoul Hope Plus Savings Accounts: Asset-Building Program For Low-Income Households In Seoul (Second-Year Collaborative Research Report), Youngmi Kim, Soonung Lee, Mihyun Kim

Center for Social Development Research

Seoul Hope Plus Savings Accounts: Asset-Building Program for Low-Income Households in Seoul (Second-Year Collaborative Research Report)

International Service And Higher Education: Toward A Vision For The Field, Amanda Moore Mcbride, Eric Mlyn

Center for Social Development Research

International Service and Higher Education: Toward a Vision for the Field

Direct Effects Of Assets And Savings On The College Progress Of Black Young Adults, William Elliott Iii, Ilsung Nam

Center for Social Development Research

Direct Effects of Assets and Savings on the College Progress of Black Young Adults

Reducing The College Progress Gap Between Low- To Moderate-Income (Lmi) And High-Income (Hi) Young Adults: Assets As An Understudied Form Of Economic Capital, William Elliott Iii, Monique Constance-Huggins, Hyun-A Song

Center for Social Development Research

Reducing the College Progress Gap Between Low- to Moderate-Income (LMI) and High-Income (HI) Young Adults: Assets as an Understudied Form of Economic Capital

The Age Old Question, Which Comes First? A Simultaneous Test Of Children's Savings And Children's College-Bound Identity, William Elliott Iii, Eun Hee Choi, Mesmin Destin, Kevin Kim

Center for Social Development Research

The Age Old Question, Which Comes First? a Simultaneous Test of Children's Savings and Children's College-Bound Identity

Race, Substance Abuse, And Mental Health Disorders As Predictors Of Juvenile Court Outcomes: Do They Vary By Gender?, Chiquitia Welch-Brewer, Patricia A. Stoddard Dare, Christopher A. Mallett

Social Work Faculty Publications

Predicting juvenile court outcomes based on youthful offenders’ delinquency risk factors is important for the adolescent social work field as well as the juvenile justice system. Using a random sample of 341 delinquent youth from one Midwestern urban county, this study extends previous research by examining if race, substance abuse, and mental health disorders influence important delinquency outcomes (number of court offenses, felony conviction(s), probation supervision length, detention length, and number of probation services) differently for male and female juvenile offenders. Multivariate analysis findings revealed that race was significant only for males, and having a substance use disorder was a …

Thinking About Peace Today, Michael Allen Fox

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Discussing peace-and how to get to and maintain situations, practices, and socio-political structures that build peace-is of the greatest urgency. But the first step, both psychologically and epistemologically, is overcoming preoccupation with war and resistance to thinking about peace. This article takes on these problems and lays essential groundwork for substantive discussion of peace. Attractions of war and myths of war are deconstructed, and negative views of humans' capacity for peaceful behavior are examined and rejected. Wide-ranging costs of war and war-preparedness are also exposed. The value of peace is then discussed. A concluding section offers a list of "home …

Students For Peace: Contextual And Framing Motivations Of Antiwar Activism, Eric Swank, Breanne Fahs

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article traces the development of peace activism among undergraduate social work students. In doing so, it explores how social statuses, political contexts, and collective action frames affect the likelihood of joining the movement against the Afghanistan war (2001 to current). After analyzing data from a multicampus sample of Bachelors in Social Work (BSW) students (n = 159), results show that peace activism was predicted by level of education as well as perceptions of proper foreign policy, the relative efficacy of social movement tactics, and identification with specific activist ideals. Finally, being situated in activist networks fostered greater peace activism …

Contesting Buddhisms On Conflicted Land: Sarvodaya Shramadana And Buddhist Peacemaking, Masumi Hayashi-Smith

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Buddhism in its various incarnations has both aided and hindered the peace processes in Sri Lanka. Sarvodaya Shramadana, a Buddhist development organization, stands out in the way it uses religion to promote peace through a more humanist interpretation of Buddhist teachings. While Sarvodaya's alternative approach toward the religion provides an optimistic space for promoting peace, its connections to and dependence on populism can also complicate its politics. This article argues that the most effective means of peace work can be found through the same channel of collective mobilization that hindered it, Buddhism.

World Peace: A First Step Commentary For The Special Issue On Peace, Conflict And War, Michael D. Knox

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The first step in achieving peace on earth must be the elimination of war and threats of war. Citizens of the United States are in a better position than others to make this happen. We spend significant portions of our tax dollars, and borrow money from foreign countries, to wage wars. We sell weapons and destabilize governments. We prioritize funding for war over spending on education, medical research, alternative energy sources, healthcare, housing and food for the needy, a balanced budget and almost everything else that can have a positive impact on this planet's quality of life.

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 38, No. 2 (June 2011)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

SPECIAL ISSUE ON PEACE, CONFLICT AND WAR

• THINKING ABOUT PEACE, CONFLICT, AND WAR: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SPECIAL ISSUE - Sondra J. Fogel and Daniel Liechty, Special Editors
• THINKING ABOUT PEACE TODAY - Michael Allen Fox
• HUMANITARIAN AID AND THE STRUGGLE FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE: ORGANIZATIONAL INNOVATION AFTER A BLIND DATE - Joseph G. Bock
• CIVIL RESISTANCE AND THE CORRUPTIONVIOLENCE NEXUS - Shaazka Beyerle
• "JUST SAY NO": ORGANIZING AGAINST MILITARISM IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS - Scott Harding and Seth Kershner
• STUDENTS FOR PEACE: CONTEXTUAL AND FRAMING MOTIVATIONS OF ANTIWAR ACTIVISM - Eric Swank and Breanne Fahs
• PEACE AND WAR IN THE …

Secondary Traumatic Stress: Social Workers In A Veterans Affairs Healthcare Setting, Nikola R. Alenkin

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The purpose of this study is to examine secondary traumatic stress (STS) and the coping of social workers in inpatient and outpatient settings in a Veterans Affairs healthcare system. A convenience sample of 126 master's level and above social workers completed a survey measuring Secondary Traumatic Stress. Rates of reported secondary traumatic stress symptoms and utilization of coping strategies by social work staff were investigated. Setting was not a significant factor in reported secondary traumatic stress scores. Although female social workers in inpatient settings reported higher rates of stress symptomatology than other social workers across settings, the rates were not …

Spirituality's Role In The Interaction Between Child Welfare And Black Families, Laurel Brown

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

This qualitative study explored how a sample of key stakeholders, including African American parents and child welfare staff in the Moreno Valley area of Riverside County, California, jointly construct the role that spirituality/religion plays in engaging, assessing and intervening with African American families. Utilizing a constructivist paradigm, the goals were to, through the development of "hermeneutic dialectic" circles, (1) arrive at shared constructions about the role of spirituality/religion in child welfare work with African American families, and (2) to identify a participatory group of stakeholders to design and implement action utilizing the results. Nationally, African American children are disproportionately overrepresented …

Enhancing Family Functioning To Buffer Risk During Middle School Transition: Development Of The Multiple Family Group Weekend Retreat., Robert Broce

Theses and Dissertations

Children experience changes in multiple levels of their social ecologies when they transition into middle school (Eccles, 1999; Jozefowicz-Simbeni, 2008). These biological, psychological, social, and environmental changes create increased risk for dropout and other factors related to academic adjustment (Cataldi, Laird & KewalRamani, 2009). For low- income minority children these risks can be magnified by environmental and social factors (Ge et al., 2002). Healthy family functioning, including balanced levels of cohesion and flexibility, has been shown to buffer these risks (Burchinal, Roberts, Zeisel & Rowley, 2008; Olson, 2010; Wampler, Munsch, & Adams, 2002) and was targeted by a Multiple Family …

Keys To Unlocking Creative Potential: The Expressive Path To Personal Growth, Marta D. Ockuly

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

An experiential journey into personal growth and creative expression is, by nature, transformational.  Undertaken in a public platform using social media (Twitter and blogging) it reveals powerful potential as a teaching and mentoring tool for inspiring creative action around the world.  This project was designed to blend my joys and passions for tweeting positive inspiration and encouragement, sharing my readings and research related to creativity, exploring expressive art, activating creative potential with joy, collecting and sharing quotes, coaching positive change and creative action, and raising awareness of everyday creativity into a learning pathway which could be accessed by anyone using …

What They Wish They Would Have Known: Support For Comprehensive Sexual Education From Mexican American And White Adolescents' Dating And Sexual Desires, Heidi Adams Rueda, Lela Rankin Williams

Social Work Faculty Publications

Focus groups were conducted to assess what Mexican American and White male and female adolescents wished they had known about romantic and sexual relationships. Relevant gender and ethnic differences emerged in adolescents' desires and findings across all groups supported a need for comprehensive sexual education that contextualizes sexual activity within a framework that emphasizes socio-emotional skills and well-being. Adolescents' desires were emotional, relational, physical and interpersonal in nature. Youth preferred parents and school educators as key sources of information and support. Recommendations for prevention programming and policy are discussed.

The Effects Of Housing And Childcare On Academic Persistence: Perceptions Of Scholar House Residents, Jessica Hawkins

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Scholar House is a program that provides college students who are parents with supports such as affordable housing and childcare so that they are able to stay enrolled full time in school in hopes that they might graduate. This research investigates the perceptions the program participants have about the supports and how they affect their ability to persist academically. Residents were given the Scholar House Supports Survey, a 22-item instrument, that measured their perceptions of how being a part of the Scholar House program affected their grade point average, time, and finances. Mean scores were taken revealing that Scholar House …

Disaster Management Policy And People With Disabilities In The United States And Jamaica, Jessica Jagger

Theses and Dissertations

Natural and human-influenced disasters impact every demographic group around the world. People with disabilities face unique barriers to disaster preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery related to functional needs and societal barriers. This study examines the relationship between emergency management planners and disability communities, by exploring the intent of emergency management policy, implementation of the policy, and the experiences of people with disabilities in Jamaica and Virginia. In this study, 36 people with disabilities were interviewed about their experiences with disaster, and 18 planners were interviewed about the intent and implementation of disaster management plans. Participants were from different communities across …

Caring For Grandchildren And Intergenerational Support In Rural China: A Gendered Extended Family Perspective, Zhen Cong, Merril D. Silverstein

Falk College Research Center

This investigation examines how support from adult children is affected by their parents’ involvement in grandchild care. Instead of focusing on dyadic interactions, we adopt a gendered extended family perspective to examine how financial and emotional support from children was influenced when their siblings received help with child care from their elder parents. The data were from a two-wave (2001, 2003) longitudinal study of 4,791 parent–child dyads with 1,162 parents, aged 60 and older, living in rural areas of Anhui Province, China. Random effects regression showed that emotional support from both sons and daughters was strengthened when parents provided more …

Perceptions And Experiences Of Bsw Students With Religion And Spirituality In Social Work Education And Practice, Clifford J M Rosenbohm

Faculty Publications - College of Social Work

The role of religion and spirituality has not always been included in conversations about social work education and practice, but there has been an increased interest in the topics as evidenced by the attention given to religion and spirituality in the professional literature. Although there have been multiple studies focused on students at the masters’ level as well as with practitioners and a few with faculty there were even less with social work students at the undergraduate level.

Using a cross-sectional survey design, a national stratified random sample of social work programs were asked to invite senior BSW students to …

Acceptability Of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (Prep) As An Hiv Prevention Strategy: Barriers And Facilitators To Prep Uptake Among At-Risk Peruvian Populations, Jerome T. Galea, Janni J. Kinsler, Ximena Salazar, Sung-Jae Lee, Maziel Giron, Jennifer N. Sayles, Carlos Cáceres, William E. Cunningham

Social Work Faculty Publications

This study examined Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) acceptability among female sex workers, male-to-female transgendered persons, and men who have sex with men in Lima, Peru. Focus groups explored social issues associated with PrEP acceptability and conjoint analysis assessed preferences among eight hypothetical PrEP scenarios with varying attribute profiles and their relative impact on acceptability. Conjoint analysis revealed that PrEP acceptability ranged from 19.8 to 82.5 out of a possible score of 100 across the eight hypothetical PrEP scenarios. Out-of-pocket cost had the greatest impact on PrEP acceptability (25.2, p < 0.001), followed by efficacy (21.4, p < 0.001) and potential side effects (14.7, p < 0.001). Focus group data supported these findings, and also revealed that potential sexual risk disinhibition, stigma and discrimination associated with PrEP use, and mistrust of health care professionals were also concerns. These issues will require careful attention when planning for PrEP roll-out if proven efficacious in ongoing clinical trials.

Majority Tyranny Or Minority Power? Impact Of Direct Democracy On Same-Sex Relationship Rights, Jylisa Renea Doney

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This research study examined the conditions under which direct democracy advanced versus impeded gay relationship rights. Many policy makers argue that direct democracy works to create a “tyranny of the majority” in which the majority impedes the rights of minority citizens. However, other researchers disagree and note that direct democracy contests advance gay rights as seen in Switzerland (Frey & Goette, 1998). I hypothesize that direct democracy advanced gay relationship rights legislation when influenced by non-traditional norms regarding family and gender, and/or the contests occurred in states or cantons that were heterogeneous in their values, while direct democracy hindered gay …

Child Advocacy Centers And Child Sexual Abuse In Nevada, Chrystal Ruggieri

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Child sexual abuse has gained significant attention from the medical, legal and social research communities over the last couple decades. Developed in the 1980s, Child Advocacy Centers (CACs) have been noted as one of the leading developments in combating child sexual abuse. Child Advocacy Centers bring together multi-disciplinary teams in a child friendly environment to improve resources for abused children and their families as well as aid in prosecution. The majority of states across the country have adopted aggressive legislation and funding initiatives to aid in protecting this vulnerable population. This study analyses Nevada's position on childhood sexual abuse and …

Exploring The Relationship Between Place Identity And Personalization Of Space In Temporary Student Housing, Joshua H. Rowley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study is to better understand the relationship between the personalization of one’s physical environment and the degree of place identity the person has toward their space, specifically those living in temporary student housing. There have been several studies on peoples’ inherent need to personalize their space. While previous research has identified key factors that help to define place identity in general, this study addresses the fact that not much has been said about how people in temporary housing, specifically student housing, actually go about creating their living spaces.

The key issues this research addressed were the …

Distinguishing Between Homeless And Unstably Housed Men On Risk Factors For Homelessness, Valerie Holton

Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the risk factors for homelessness in single men, the largest group of people experiencing homelessness and a group about which little is known regarding their risks for homelessness. A case control design was used to differentiate risk factors between men who were homeless and men who were unstably housed. Risk factors included cumulative risk, negative life events, and demographic factors. Two models were tested using discriminant function analysis (DFA). The Cumulative Risk Model did not significantly differentiate between the two groups. However, the Negative Life Events Model yielded one discriminant function that significantly differentiated between the groups …

Reducing The College Progress Gap Between Low- To Moderate-Income (Lmi) And High-Income (Hi) Young Adults, William Elliott Iii, Monique Constance-Huggins, Hyun-A Song

Center for Social Development Research

College progress identifies young adults who are “on course,” that is, those who are currently enrolled in, or who have a degree from, a two-year college or a four-year college. However, little is known about the impact of these factors on low-to-moderate-income (LMI) young adults. Findings suggest LMI young adults with school savings are two and half times more likely to be on course than LMI young adults without savings. Policies such as universal Child Development Accounts (CDAs) that can help adolescents accumulate savings may be a simple and effective strategy for helping to keep LMI young adults on course.

Toward A Conceptual Model Linking Community Violence Exposure To Hiv-Related Risk Behaviors Among Adolescents: Directions For Research, Dexter R. Voisin

Faculty Scholarship

Purpose: To present a conceptual framework which accounts for the relationship between community violence exposures (CVEs) and youth HIV risk behaviors. Methods: This article provides an overview of existing research on the links between CVE and HIV risk for youth and offers a conceptual framework for clarifying how CVE might contribute to HIV sexual risk behaviors. Results: Increasing empirical findings substantiate that the links between CVE and HIV risk behaviors among youth are mediated by psychological problem behaviors, low school success rates, and negative peer influences. Conclusions: Researchers have identified the behaviors that place teens at risk for becoming infected …

Direct Effects Of Assets And Savings On The College Progress Of Black Young Adults, William Elliott Iii, Ilsung Nam

Center for Social Development Research

Large disparities in attendance and graduation rates exist between White and Black young adults. We find that 63% of White young adults between the ages of 17 to 23 are on course (i.e., either in college or have graduated from college) in 2007 compared to only 35% of Black young adults. Moreover, research suggests that Black young adults who manage to stay on course and graduate are facing ever increasing amounts of college debt. Debt can lessen the return on education, making college appear less desirable for future generations. Thus, finding novel and promising ways to promote college progress that …