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The Biography Of A Scale: Contextual Factors That Influence The Measurement Of Family Functioning, Ludwig Geismar

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The subject of instrument relevance is addressed by examining issues that have arisen in the use of a single scale over a forty year period. The issues revolve around the impact of varying social conditions, changing ethos, differential respondent receptiveness, and evolving research technology. Extended use of an instrument, it is argued, yields information that transcends the conventional techniques for testing instrument adequacy. The lack of opportunities in social work for accessing information on extended use of measurement tools is due, among other factors, to a preoccupation with working on subjects that are new and original and to a lack …

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 24, No. 4 (December 1997)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• THE BIOGRAPHY OF A SCALE: CONTEXTUAL FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE MEASUREMENT OF FAMILY FUNCTIONING - Ludwig Geismar
• LESSONS FROM YELLOW MEDICINE COUNTY: WORK AND CUSTODIAL SERVICE AT THE COUNTY POOR FARM, 1889-1935 - Ralph Woehle
• ECO MAPS: A TOOL TO BRIDGE THE PRACTICE-RESEARCH GAP - Rena D. Harold, Lucy R. Mercier, Lisa G. Colarossi
• NEW COMMUNITARIAN THOUGHT AND THE FUTURE OF SOCIAL POLICY - John McNutt
• TIME SERIES ANALYSIS OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT POLICIES IN FEDERAL REGION V STATES - Susan Gaffney, Sumati Dubey
• THE PROCESS AND IMPLICATIONS OF DOING QUALITATIVE RESEARCH: AN ANALYSIS …

Review Of Queer Science: The Use And Abuse Of Research Into Homosexuality. Simon Levay. Reviewed By Carol Tully, Tulane University., Carol Tully

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Simon LeVay, Queer Science: The Use and Abuse of Research into Homosexuality. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 1996, 364 pages, $25.00 hardcover.

An Assessment Of Relationships Between Actual And Perceived Caregiving Demand And Negative Impact Measures, Michele L. Mandrich

Theses and Graduate Projects

Previous research has focused on the time spent and the tasks involved in caregiving and on care recipient characteristics in measuring caregiving demand and predicting negative impacts (Aneshensel, Pearlin, & Schuler, 1993; McKinlay, Crawford, & Tennstedt, 1995; Stull, Bowman, & Smerglia, 1994). However, the nature of the relationship between objectively measured caregiving demand and negative impacts for caregivers remains unclear. Researchers now note that assessing caregivers' perceptions of demand may be key in understanding negative impacts (Coverman, 1989; Litvin, Albert, Brody, & Hoffman, 1995; Loomis & Booth, 1995). This study assessed relationships between objective and subjective reports of caregiving demand …

A Summary Of The Important Components Of Female Gender Specific Programming As Determined By Adolescent Females In The Juvenile Corrections System, Gail J. Grogan

Theses and Graduate Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine the order of importance of components of juvenile correctional programming as ranked by adolescent females currently assigned to a probation officer in the juvenile correctional system. Twenty- two adjudicated adolescent females ranked in order of their perceived importance thirty-one components of correctional programming using a scale developed from components determined by the current literature to be important for gender specific programming for adolescent females . The results of the study were that subjects rated components addressing issues of physical safety, education, and vocation as being of primary importance. The subjects also stated …

Licensing Public Social Workers In Selected States, Kyle G. Cloutier

Theses and Graduate Projects

In Minnesota a coalition of seven professional associations (i.e., National Association of Social Workers, Minnesota Conference on Social Work Education, Minnesota School Social Workers' Association, Minnesota Nursing Home Social Workers Association, Minnesota Society for Clinical Social Work, Minnesota Society for Social Work Administrators in Health Care, and the Minnesota Home Care Social Workers Association) are attempting to persuade state legislators to amend a current statute that exempts public social workers from social work licensure. Unlike Minnesota, a number of other states have licensing requirements for social workers employed by public human service agencies. A review of the literature shows that …

Trends. Political Psychologies Of Welfare, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author discusses the pros and cons of government welfare programs.

A Man Without A Job Is A Dead Man: The Meaning Of Work And Welfare In The Lives Of Young Men, Kathleen A. Kost

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Little is known about the use of welfare by young men as most research and debate have concentrated on the use of welfare by families headed by single women. This research includes young men in this debate by examining the personal characteristics, events that precipitated their use, why they exited, and the barriers they faced in obtaining employment. Data are from qualitative interviews of 20 young men who resided in Madison, Wisconsin. Findings suggest that these men use General Assistance as a type of unemployment insurance between jobs. Policy, program and research recommendations are made regarding the need for assistance …

Moving Along: An Exploratory Study Of Homeless Women With Children Using A Transitional Housing Program, Sondra J. Fogel

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The increase in the number of women and children who are homeless, particularly in the last fifteen years, has generated the innovation of shelters that combine longer term housing arrangements and social services. These organizations are usually called "transitional housing," intended to assist this population toward the economic goal of "self-sufficiency." The impact and success of this strategy is often debated. However, there has been scant research investigating how residents of this setting use skills and resources to secure housing outcomes and community re-integration. Through multiple in-depth interviews and other qualitative data collecting strategies, a conceptual model is presented which …

Moving Along: An Exploratory Study Of Homeless Women With Children Using A Transitional Housing Program, Sondra J. Fogel

Social Work Faculty Publications

The increase in the number of women and children who are homeless, particularly in the last fifteen years, has generated the innovation of shelters that combine longer term housing arrangements and social services. These organizations are usually called "transitional housing," intended to assist this population toward the economic goal of "self-sufficiency." The impact and success of this strategy is often debated. However, there has been scant research investigating how residents of this setting use skills and resources to secure housing outcomes and community re-integration. Through multiple in-depth interviews and other qualitative data collecting strategies, a conceptual model is presented which …

Conceiving Identity: Bisexual, Lesbian And Gay Parents Consider Their Children's Sexual Orientations, Carrie Yang Costello

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study demonstrates the inadequacy of the traditional theory of childhood socialization and identity formation, which holds that children are socialized to internalize the key parameters of their parents' identities. The lesbian, gay and bisexual parents studied were willing actively to foster a sexual identity different from their own in their children. This illustrates that parents may seek to shape the process of internalization so that their children are able to develop identities fundamentally different from their own. The implication for social work is that adoptive or birth parents may successfully instill identities in their children which differ from their …

Successful Adaptation Of Immigrants From The Former Soviet Union To Project Renewal Neighborhoods: The Influential Factors, Haya Itzhaky

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Migration has been an international phenomenon for centuries. The widespread trend toward migration in recent years has resulted in efforts to examine the factors involved in the adaptation of immigrants to life in the host country. This study examines the factors that effect immigrant adaptation and integration in urban neighborhoods in Israel that are undergoing a process of rehabilitation. Adaptation is defined by the variables: contact with neighbors, participation in community activities, sense of belonging to the community and well-being. These mediator and dependent variables were found to be directly effected by home and host related variables. These variables were …

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 24, No. 3 (September 1997)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• EDITORIAL - Bob Leighninger
• ESCAPING POVERTY AND BECOMING SELF-SUFFICIENT - Richard K. Caputo
• SUCCESSFUL ADAPTATION OF IMMIGRANTS FROM THE FORMER SOVIET UNION TO PROJECT RENEWAL NEIGHBORHOODS - Haya Itzhaky
• THE FRAMING OF POLITICAL ADVOCACY AND SERVICE RESPONSES IN THE CRIME VICTIM RIGHTS MOVEMENT - Frank J. Weed
• CONCEIVING IDENTITY: BISEXUAL, LESBIAN AND GAY PARENTS CONSIDER THEIR CHILDREN'S SEXUAL ORIENTATIONS - Carrie Yang Costello
• A MAN WITHOUT A JOB IS A DEAD MAN: THE MEANING OF WORK AND WELFARE IN THE LIVES OF YOUNG MEN - Kathleen A. Kost
• MOVING ALONG: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF HOMELESS WOMEN WITH …

The Class Politics Of Domestic Violence, John P. Mckendy

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The claim is often voiced that wife abuse is a problem that "cuts across" all social and economic lines. Yet there is considerable research evidence suggesting an inverse relationship between wife abuse and the socioeconomic status of both victims and perpetrators. The question of the relevance of social class has generally been construed as a factual one, in principle resolvable by collecting more and better data. Doing a participant observation study of a treatment programme for men who batter, I was forced to bracket the "objective," empirical question, but freed to see how certain ideological practices worked to keep class …

A Survey Of Programs Addressing The Psychosocial Developmental Needs Of African American Men Ages 18 To 26, Rodney J. Dewberry

Theses and Graduate Projects

The purpose of this exploratory study is to present information on Afrocentric programs providing continuous preparation for the PSYCHO-SOCIAL developmental needs of African American young men ages 18 to 26 in the Minneapolis, Minnesota, area. Programs designed to meet the social, psychological, and educational challenges confronting African American men are identified and described here. This study also presents a literature review of research regarding PSYCHO-SOCIAL needs and intervention strategies used by service providers for African American men. Included is program information gathered through publications, conversations and interviews with program providers and information from educational programs, churches, and social service agencies. …

An Exploratory Study Of Clergy's Perceived Stress Related To Their Counseling Duties, Susan R. Monson

Theses and Graduate Projects

This exploratory study examined the possible relationship between clergy's level of counseling training and their perceived stress related to counseling duties. Interest in the topic stemmed from this researcher's social work field placement within a church counseling center. Ordained clergy belonging to United Methodist, Roman Catholic, and American Baptist churches were surveyed regarding amount of time spent counseling, counselling training, and perceived stress related to counseling. Findings differed from those previous studies on clergy stress that reported high stress levels. Less than half of clergy reported moderate to high stress levels. However, limited qualitative data provided in this study did …

Therapeutic Foster Care: Some Characteristics Of Youth And Children In Out Of Home Placements In The State Of North Dakota, Paul B. White Jr.

Theses and Graduate Projects

This study provides a description of the children and youth who are in out of home placements. The study population consists of an analysis of some characteristics of 146 children and youth to be used as a baseline analysis which can be utilized for agency program planning, policy development, and administration. The characteristics of the children and youth were obtained from individuals residing in therapeutic foster care in the state of North Dakota, supervised by the Professional Association of Treatment Home (PATH). An independent organization tabulated the raw data utilized in this study. The information was collection for a period …

Community Support Program Staff Attitudes Toward Family Involvement With The Adult Who Has A Serious And Persistent Mental Illness, Timothy W. Himango

Theses and Graduate Projects

Research has shown that staff of mental health programs will blame family members for problems incurred by an adult member with a serious and persistent mental illness and therefore be excluded from invotvement in the adult's community support plan. Fifteen personal interviews of staff from four community support programs (CSP's) in Minnesota's Hennepin County were conducted, using a combination of a standardized open-ended question interview format and a S-point Likerttype scale. The CSP staff viewed family members as both positive and negative in their influence on the adult with a mental illness. Their decision was influenced by client self-determination, confidentiality, …

Grandmothers Laughing: Intergenerational Transmission Of Cultural Beliefs About Pregnancy And Childbirth Among Native American Women, Claudia Robin Long

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation reports findings from a qualitative study of intergenerational transmission of pregnancy and childbirth information among Native American women. Proposed is a theory of intergenerational transmission that explains four pathways used by Indian women to gain information about pregnancy and childbirth. Antecedent, consequent, and core elements are associated with the transmission process.

Discriminant sampling was used to identify the middle generation of Indian mothers and grandmothers, between 36 and 65 years of age, residing on or near the reservation, with experience of assimilation policies that had moved off-reservation temporarily. The researcher used the grounded theory method to analyze responses …

Homeownership And Well-Being Among Blue-Collar Workers, Deborah Page-Adams, Nancy Vosler

Center for Social Development Research

The economic, social, and psychological vulnerability of blue-collar workers increases as the U.S. economy continues to shift from manufacturing to service and technology. This paper reports findings from an analysis of economic resources and well-being among automobile manufacturing workers. Following previous theoretical and empirical work suggesting positive homeownership effects for vulnerable populations, this analysis was designed to test relationships between homeownership and four measures of well-being while controlling for household income and education levels. Workers from two adjacent automobile manufacturing plants in a large midwestern metropolitan area were surveyed. Multivariate analysis of data from a subsample of 193 workers indicate …

Mortgage Lending: Is Gender A Factor?, Cynthia K. Sanders, Edwaard Scalon, Shirley R. Emerson

Center for Social Development Research

In promoting well-being for women and female-headed households, social policy analysts are increasingly attending to wealth accumulation rather than focusing solely on income. Homeownership equity is a form of wealth that may be especially helpful for low-income women. This paper analyzes 1992 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data for the city and county of St. Louis. Our primary hypothesis was that women, controlling for marital status, income, and race, would be more likely to be denied home loans. The findings from this data set contradict our hypothesis and suggest that men are slightly more likely than women to be denied mortgage …

The Cost And Benefit Of Supported Employment In Minnesota: A Social Policy Analysis, Robert Schwartz

Theses and Graduate Projects

This study analyzed the economic feasibility of supported employment for people with mental illness using a cost/benefit framework and outcome data from the Institute on Community Integration (ICI) at the University of Minnesota. A purposive sample was chosen of three programs offering community-based individual supported employment for people with mental illness. Using the ICI framework and a Goeller Scorecard, programs were evaluated for cost/benefit. Findings indicate that when viewed from the ICI model, two of the three programs demonstrated positive cost/benefit ratios.

Adoption Permanency Of Older Children: Evaluation Of Adoptive Family Functioning Variables In Families Who Adopt Older Children, Rhonda M. Jager-Pippy

Theses and Graduate Projects

Current adoption literature indicated a steady increase in adoptive placements of older children over the past twenty years. The Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 was based on the belief that every child has a right to a permanent, stable home. The result of permanency legislation increased the number of school age children who were legally freed for adoption. Previous studies indicated the probability of adoption disruption increased as the age of the child increased. This research study examined adoptive family characteristics and functioning that were related to adoption permanency for older children. This research study was adapted …

Practitioners' Perceptions Of Older Male Batterers And Related Factors: An Exploratory Study, Connie F. Pribyl

Theses and Graduate Projects

This was an exploratory study to determine: if mental health practitioners were serving older men who batter; if the practitioners perceived that there were characteristics that differentiated older men who batter from younger men who batter; if these characteristics impacted treatment outcomes and if so, what treatment approaches should be used. Four family violence practitioners participated in a semi-structured interview. The initial findings indicated that: (l) older men who batter comprised a very small proportion of the practitioner's clientele, may be due to fewer older partners utilizing law enforcement assistance; (2) practitioners perceived little difference in characteristics between older men …

Economic Self-Sufficiency Programs Within Privately-Owned, Subsidized, Family Housing Communities: A Program Development Process, Wendy A. Geving

Theses and Graduate Projects

The decreasing size of the United States' affordable housing stock coupled with increasing rates of family poverty and demand for housing assistance make it essential to find ways to make subsidized, family housing communities more transitional in nature and able to serve more low-income families. One way of doing so is by creating economic self-sufficiency (ESS) program within those communities. This study surveyed managers of six existing housing-based ESS programs on their experiences with regard to program development and their thoughts on program components most effective in moving residents toward increased ESS. Program components rated most effective included GED classes, …

An Exploratory Study: Out-Of-Home Placement Practices In Two Mid-Western Counties, Michael I. Frafjord

Theses and Graduate Projects

The purpose of this study is to explore the criteria used by social workers in two mid-western counties to place children out of the home. This exploration has been done using a questionnaire that asks questions intended to identify a consensus among workers about the criteria considered to place children. Out-of-home placement for the purpose of this study will include any placement done by a county agency either on an emergency basis or by a plan, started at the beginning of a worker/client relationship. These placements are those in which a child has been removed from the home or from …

Implementation Of A Conflict Mediation Program In An Elementary School, Ruth Ann Moreno Belland

Theses and Graduate Projects

Schools are looking at how violence in the school contributes to students' stress levels and how it interferes with the academic abilities and performance of students. If schools are to be orderly and peaceful places in which high quality education can take place, students must learn to manage conflicts constructively. Studies show that conflict mediation plays a role in creating an environment where students regulate their own behavior in regards to conflict in school. This research study surveyed students about their attitudes and opinions towards conflict mediation at Beaver Lake Elementary School. This study also evaluated whether staff to student …

Examining The Complex Relationship Between Social Support And Self-Reported Physical And Emotional Status Of Older Adults, Janet L. Cahill

Theses and Graduate Projects

This exploratory quantitative study was undertaken to examine the complex relationship between social support and the self-reported physical and emotional health status of older adults. The participants (N=30), clients and volunteers of DARTS (Dakota Area Resources and Transportation For Seniors), completed a structured interview consisting of twenty-one questions from two validated questionnaires. The survey measured physical health status, emotional well-being and perceived social support of the participants. The implications of the findings of this study, although complex in nature, are consistent with past studies and will assist DARTS in planning and evaluating services for seniors and their caregivers in Dakota …

Caregiver Support Groups: Benefits Of Participation, Charlotte Jean Mcintosh

Theses and Graduate Projects

As the population ages, many adults will find themselves dependent on others for care due to chronic illness or disability. Often a family member will assist an individual by becoming the caregiver. A caregiver experiences a unique set of stressors and challenges that come with this responsibility. In the community, there are caregiver support groups that are designed to assist a caregiver. This study explored three aspects of participation in a caregiver support group. The findings of this study reveal that participation in a caregiver support group has benefits for the caregivers. The caregivers reported that they learned about resources …

Ethics In Field Education: Promise, Pretension, Or Practice?, Gary Mathews, Susan Weinger, Marion Wijnberg

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Ethics are the foundation of every profession. Field education is central to the education of professional social workers. There is a consensus among educators that field education should include ethics education. The field education literature pays lip service to the importance of ethics. Ethical practice is being taught infield education in a cursory manner. Reasons for the discrepancy between promise and practice are discussed. Suggestions are made for including ethics education in the field.