Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring The Intersectional Identities Of Youth Mentees And Their Mentors In Shaping The Quality And Duration Of Their Relationships, Kristian V. Jones, Theresa N. Melton, Amy J. Anderson, Thomas E. Keller, David L. Dubois

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Mentoring programs enjoy considerable empirical support as a strategy for supporting the positive development of youth, particularly those with marginalized identities (e.g., minoritized racial identities) and/or from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. There tends to be considerable variability, however, in both the quality of the mentor–mentee relationships established through programs and whether these relationships are sustained for intended periods of time. Research indicates these features of relationships can be significant influences on the outcomes of participating youth, thus making it imperative to better understand the factors that may contribute to mentoring relationship quality and duration. To expand inquiry in this area, the …

Without A Map: A Lived Experience Study Of The Paths People Create Through Homelessness, Kathleen P. Conte, Susan Avila, Desiree' J. Duboise, Carlton Bone, Marisa A. Zapata, Transformational Research For Equity And Experience In Shelter (Trees) Committee

Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative Publications and Presentations

The Pathways to Housing Study examines how people experience and navigate homelessness and the systems intended to help them move toward stable housing. Conducted in Multnomah County, Oregon, the study used a participatory mixed-methods design co-led with the TREES lived experience committee. The first phase was reported in April 2026 included surveys with 541 people with current or recent experience of homelessness. The second phase, reported here, used in-depth interviews and journey mapping with 29 participants to explore how pathways through homelessness unfold over time and across service systems.

Findings demonstrate that homelessness pathways are rarely linear. Participants described entering …

Ronald E. Mcnair Research Symposium Presentation Schedule 2026, Mcnair Scholars Program

McNair Symposium

This is the presentation schedule for the 24th Undergraduate Ronald E. McNair Research Symposium 2026.

Impact Of Chronic Pain On The Families Of U.S. Adults, Jennifer S. De La Rosa, Katherine E. Herder, Rita D. Romero, De'sha S. Wolf, Tally M. Largent-Milnes, Mohab M. Ibrahim, Stacy S. Pigott, Greg T. Chism, Beth E. Meyerson, Julie G. Pilitsis, Multiple Additional Auhors

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Introduction:. Chronic pain (CP) can profoundly strain family systems, yet few population studies have explored prevalence and population dynamics of CP with high impact on families. Objectives:. Examining prevalence and phenomenological characteristics of chronic pain with high impact on the families of U.S. adults. Situating HICP-family within a tiered cascade of functional impact. Methods:. Prevalence estimated using 2023 National Health Interview Survey Data (n = 29,522) Results:. Findings are as follows: (1) the population prevalence of CP with high impact on families (high-impact chronic pain [HICP]-Family) is 4.4% among U.S. adults, 18.1% among U.S. adults with CP, and 46.3% among …

Macro Social Work Education And Practice Over 1980–2024 Through Multiple Lenses: A Systematic Review Of The Empirical Literature, Bowen Mcbeath, Nguyen Thi Bich Thao

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Over the past 40 years, conceptual and empirical scholarship on macro social work has grown, particularly as the social work profession has turned to macro practice to respond to crises of neoliberalism and increasing social development needs. Using a systematic literature review with a sequential mixed-methods (quant→Qual) study design, we synthesize over four decades of empirical research (1980–2024) on master’s-level macro social work education, practice, and professional identity development. Our findings testify to the growth and diversity of macro practice from the perspective of social work educators, students, and alumni. Yet we find that this trend is accompanied by significant …

Trans And Gender Diverse Experiences With Healthcare Professionals, Victor N. Soto

University Honors Theses

There is a history of state powers working against the interest of Transgender and Gender Diverse (TGD) people, but since the second Trump election attacks on TGD have reached a new precedent; this suggests the state is engaging in necropolitical actions to gain and maintain power. To better understand how the current climate is impacting TGD people, and add to discussions about TGD-centered healthcare research, this thesis interviewed 15 TGD students from the Portland metro area about their experiences with healthcare providers. All fifteen of the interviews were transcribed and coded. Four primary themes were found: 1) bad provider experience; …

Navigating Filipino-American Identity Through Philippine Foodways, Jenelle Kirsten De Leon

University Honors Theses

This thesis examines the complexity of Filipino-American identity and investigates how Philippine foodways can function as a meaningful pathway for cultural understanding, identity formation, and intergenerational connection. Shaped by colonization, cultural hybridity, generational divides, and limited representation in Western education and media, Filipino-American identity is often difficult to define and navigate, leaving many individuals without accessible entry points to explore their culture, history, traditions, and more.

Through an analysis of existing literature, primary research, and a survey of Filipino-American youth, this study finds that Filipino cuisine operates as a powerful site of cultural and historical knowledge. The narratives embedded within …

Understanding Moral Injury In Emergency Department Clinicians: Predictors, Outcomes, And Evidence Gaps, Rose Doering Lightspeed

University Honors Theses

Moral injury (MI) is an emerging construct for understanding clinician distress in high-acuity healthcare settings, yet its application to Emergency Department (ED) clinicians remains limited. MI refers to psychological distress resulting from exposure to, or participation in, situations that conflict with deeply held moral or ethical standards, often due to systemic or organizational constraints. Although prior research has examined MI in heterogeneous healthcare samples, the ED remains underexamined despite its unique combination of high patient acuity, throughput pressure, and resource limitations.

This review synthesizes literature on MI among healthcare workers with a focus on ED clinicians, drawing on Industrial-Organizational psychology …

Radical Social Work In The United States: An Integrative Literature Review, Anastasia Miller

University Honors Theses

Scholars have noted that social work in the United States is particularly dependent on, and tied to, the government. While frameworks that are popular in the U.S. explicitly provide social support, they also implicitly maintain social order. Thus, social work in the U.S. may provide immediate, short-term relief, but as a result of government-imposed limitations, dominant social work frameworks do not work towards the ultimate liberation of humanity. Radical social work methods both challenge and liberate service users, along with those who deliver them.  Existing scholarship has examined the development and implementation of radical social work across the globe– especially …

Meeting The Needs: Examining The Response To Houselessness In Portland, Or, Miguel Angel Lopez Paz

University Honors Theses

All across the nation, there is an affordable housing crisis that has led to many people losing their homes. In this paper, This paper examines the current response to ending unsheltered homelessness in Portland, Oregon, and the ways that this response impacts the people it is intended to serve. The current mayor, Keith Wilson, ran his campaign with a plan to expand the number of shelter beds available. This plan has had mixed results as some people have been able to benefit, while others choose not to access shelters for various reasons. Besides opening more shelters, the city has another …

Critical Information Literacy In Higher Education: An Evolution In Theory, Practice, And Assessment, Dan Williford

Communications in Information Literacy

This article offers a critical synthesis of scholarship on critical information literacy (CIL) in higher education from 2015 to 2026, extending and recalibrating prior longitudinal reviews to account for post-2020 theoretical, political, and technological shifts. Drawing on a corpus of 48 peer-reviewed publications published between 2020 and 2026, the study employs thematic cluster analysis—building on Tewell’s four-domain framework—to examine developments in theory, pedagogy, digital and political engagement, reflexive critique, and assessment. Rather than treating critical information literacy as a settled framework, this review positions it as an evolving and contested practice shaped by the political economy of higher education. It …

The Dolor: How A Generation Of Women Quietly Lost Their Children, Alexis Mclean

University Honors Theses

This thesis is an exploration of the phenomenon of increased adoption rates between the years of 1945 and 1973 and attempts to establish a cohesive explanation for and image of the experience of these birth mothers. My research found that adoptions during this time period are generally characterized by the utilization of maternity homes, coercion, and secrecy. The typical birth mother during this time was white and middle class, emblematic of the motivations of their adoptions: to maintain an idealist image of their motherhood and maintain socioeconomic status. Despite this position framed by privilege, these women too often report having …

"I Still Care About Her": Ambiguous Loss And Social Death In Substance-Affected Relationships, Margaret M. King

University Honors Theses

Substance use creates a ripple effect, affecting the individual as well as their family members. The struggles associated with problematic substance use result in feelings of ambiguous loss towards the substance using individual, a type of loss in which a person is still living but either psychologically or physically unavailable. This research explores the experiences of ambiguous loss in college students with loved ones struggling with substance use, examining how they are thrust into caregiving roles, experience support, and find meaning within their loss. Seven semi-structured interviews were held with adult college students who identified as having a loved-one struggling …

A Qualitative Study Into The Impact Of Sweeps On Homeless-Serving Mutual Aid Groups In Portland, Or, Clover Javurek-Humig

Dissertations and Theses

Sweeps and land use enforcement are among the most persistent issues impacting unhoused communities. Mutual aid groups in Portland network with unhoused people regularly to mitigate the impacts of sweeps, provide direct aid, and build social capital among encampments. This study aims to understand the impact of policing and sweeps on mutual aid groups working with unhoused communities in Portland, OR. I conducted 18 interviews with mutual aid organizers and 8 months of fieldwork with mutual aid groups in Portland, OR in the years of 2025–2026. Transcripts were analyzed using a general inductive approach. This study finds that 1) Mutual …

Practice Research In Social Work-Participation, Co-Creation, And Service Users' Positions: Introduction To The Articles From The Sixth International Conference On Practice Research, Bowen Mcbeath, Sui Ting Kong, Lars Uggerhoj

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Purpose

This special issue examines practice research in social work, focusing on participation, co-creation, and service users’ positions in knowledge production and utilization. Practice research is advanced as a collaborative, context-sensitive approach that challenges hierarchical models of evidence and foregrounds co-produced knowledge.

Method

Drawing on the Sixth International Conference on Practice Research at Aalborg University, Denmark, the 11 special issue articles explore service user involvement, positionality, and organizational conditions shaping inquiry.

Results

The introduction synthesizes cross-cutting themes from the articles into an integrative framework linking epistemic justice, co-methodologies, and institutional supports for co-learning and improvements in practices, structures, and policies. …

Disrupting The Link Between Exposure To Violence And Adolescent Delinquency: The Protective Role Of Expectations About The Future, Eunbyeor Sophie Yang, Seohyun Kim, Su-Kyung Oh, Hyeyoung Kang, Ick-Joong Chung

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Exposure to violence significantly influences adolescent delinquency, posing a critical public health concern. We examine the moderating role of expectations about the future in this context, particularly whether their impact differs between minor and severe delinquency. Analyzing data from the fifth wave of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (n=1,272), we employed hierarchical linear regression and the PROCESS macro. Our findings reveal that exposure to violence is positively associated with delinquency; meanwhile, expectations about the future are negatively associated with adolescent delinquency. Positive expectations about the future significantly mitigate the impact of exposure to violence on adolescent delinquency …

Psychometric Analysis Of The German Version Of The Barriers To Healthcare Checklist-Short Form, Judith Peth, Nicole David, Sophia Duckert, Petia Gewohn, Daniel Schottle, Pascal Rahlff, Alexander Konnopka, Hannah Konig, Kai Vogeley, Christina Nicolaidis, Dora M. Raymaker, Holger Schulz

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Autistic people face multiple barriers to health care. To recognize specific barriers in a standardized way, autistic people, health care providers, and researchers need a suitable measure. The Academic Autistic Spectrum Partnership in Research and Education successfully developed the Barriers to Healthcare Checklist— Short Form (BHC-SF). It remains unclear whether (1) a German version of the BHC-SF performs well in terms of psychometric properties and (2) the BHC-SF consists of multiple constructs (i.e., assessing structural validity). Methods: We created a translated and culturally adapted version of the 17-item BHC-SF and used it with 345 autistic people in Germany. Psychometric …

Pacts: Critical Dispositions Necessary For A Culturally Responsive And Transformative School, Family, And Community Partnership For Black Pan-African Immigrant Students And Families, Jada Phelps, John Nimmo, Talgat Bainazarov, Zahra Abukar, Jamal Dar, Michelle Stratton, Leslie Ann Locke, Tianyang Xu

Leadership, Learning and Counseling Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study highlights a culturally responsive transformative school, family, and community partnership in the Western Region of the United States. The partnership served over 100 students and 300 parents of Black Pan-African immigrant descent responding to persistent school alienation. Using Critical Race Theory, Community Cultural Wealth, and a critical participatory action research design, we explored the structural forces shaping these experiences and the community-based responses that sought to resist them.

Data sources included professional development sessions, counterstorytelling, Theater of the Oppressed, asset mapping, and semi-structured interviews.

Findings revealed key partnership members centered five dispositions—Prophetic Activism, Asset- Based Ideology, Critical Consciousness, …

Collaborating To Create A Research Training Program For Underrepresented Students: Insights And Strategies For Developing And Sustaining A Multi-Institutional Consortium, Mackenzie J. Gray, Dara Shifrer, De’Sha S. Wolf, Olivia M. Ainsworth, Rosemary A. Fama, Roberto P. Anitori, Ernest Blackwell, Tracey K. Burke, Carlos J. Crespo, Derek Helsham, Travis Kibota, Alissa Leavitt, Beylul Solomon, Thomas E. Keller

Sociology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Introduction

In 2014, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) invested in the Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD) initiative to enhance diversity in the biomedical research workforce. As one of ten grantees nationwide, the BUILD EXITO project at Portland State University established an institutionally and geographically diverse consortium including local community colleges, a research-intensive medical institution, and universities and community colleges around the Pacific Rim. The goal of this collaboration was to support comprehensive research training for undergraduates from backgrounds historically underrepresented in the biomedical workforce. This manuscript aims to provide insights into creating and sustaining a large-scale multi-institutional consortium.MethodsUsing …

"I Know Who I Am": Gender-Creative Children Draw-And-Tell Their Social And Healthcare Experiences, Eline L. Lenne, Ben Anderson-Nathe, Christina J. Sun, Martha Driessnack

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Gender-creative children have an elevated risk of healthcare avoidance and adverse health outcomes related to stigma and discrimination. Despite evidence that family affirmation is protective and pediatric providers influence care outcomes, young children’s perspectives related to their social support and clinical experiences remain underrepresented in health research. Indeed, children’s agency has been historically restricted in healthcare and health research. This community-engaged, artsbased, qualitative study used Draw-and-Tell Conversations—a participatory approach combining drawing, storytelling, and writing—with 12U.S.-based gender-creative children (ages 5–10). Although children’s caregivers completed surveys to contextualize findings, the project highlighted children’s capacity to report on their own experiences. Data were …

Measuring Indigenous Cultural Strengths: A Systematic Review Of A Decade Of Approaches., Melissa L. Walls, Danica Love Brown, Victoria M. O'Keefe, Evan J. White, Miigis Gonzalez, Ivy Blackmore, Tara L. Maudrie, Meenakshi Richardson, Timothy R. Werwie, Hariata G Tai Rakena, Multiple Additional Authors

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Indigenous Peoples experience severe health inequities rooted in experiences of colonization. Calls for strengths-based, culturally grounded research and practice to redress these harms continue to grow. This systematic review assesses how Indigenous "culture" has been quantified in research across the globe over a 10-year span. Following PRISMA guidelines, we searched four databases (2013-2023) for peer-reviewed, English-language articles featuring quantitative measures of Indigenous culture as a positive/protective factor. Data were extracted via a double coding system to assess cultural domains, operationalization strategies, and sociodemographic characteristics of reviewed studies. We reviewed 279 records and identified 461 measures, 289 of which were unique. …

Pdxscholar Annual Report 2025, Julia Stone, Bertrand Robinson, Stacey Schlatter, Carolee Harrison

Library Faculty and Staff Publications and Presentations

This PDXScholar Annual Report covers the period between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2025. This report demonstrates PDXScholar’s continued impact through readership data, new and growing collections, and comments and feedback from our users.

Using A Place-Based Harms Typology To Inform Community Practice And Research: Illustrative Cases And Contexts, Jason Sawyer, Greer A. Hamilton, Amie Thurber, Amy Krings

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Place-based harms comprise direct threats to community wellbeing within the spaces where people live. These harms, rooted in structural and cultural violence, are codified in policies and programs that contribute to poverty, homelessness, over-policing and surveillance, and environmental injustices. This paper argues, although community practitioners are needed to work alongside communities impacted by place-based harms, there are critical tensions and tradeoffs embedded within the place-based strategies. To illustrate this, we draw from the Contested Places Typology and present cases that highlight key tensions, tradeoffs, and nuances associated with its six approaches: (1) Reparation, (2) Remembrance, (3) Regeneration, (4) Resistance, (5) …

Navigating Homelessness And Housing Accessibility: An Ethnography Of Guests At Operation Nightwatch, Chase Kawika Patton

Dissertations and Theses

In 2025, over 7,000 individuals in Portland, Oregon experiencing unsheltered homelessness are without access to shelter or transitional housing. In this resource gap Operation Nightwatch (ON) provides material support for people experiencing homelessness (PEH) in the University District neighborhood of downtown Portland. This study focused on the experiences of chronically homeless guests of Nightwatch as they navigated homelessness and housing access. The study relied on semi-structured interviews with staff and guests and on-site participant observation to determine the availability of support to access housing in a system governed by Coordinated Access and the Housing First model. Primary research took place …

Benevolence And Brutality: Evangelical Christianity & Child Welfare Social Work In Historical Perspective, Grace Pappas

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Evangelical Christians in the U.S. are a unique population with tremendous socio-political influence. While evangelicals have a unique interest in foster care and adoption, little social work scholarship explores intersections between evangelicalism and child welfare. Through an integrative literature review of 11 historical articles discussing evangelical Christianity and child welfare social work, I found the scholarship as a whole tended to emphasize evangelical Christians’ good intentions and deeds, while only limitedly discussing white supremacy, xenophobia, and settler colonialism. In light of these findings, I discuss potential implications and offer three invitations for further exploring this line of inquiry.

Building Connections With Graduate Students Through Credit-Bearing Instruction, Michelle Desilets, Kimberly Pendell

Library Faculty and Staff Publications and Presentations

Graduate students often need support with research skills and other professional development that is under-recognized by their programs. Librarians play a key role in helping students fill in these gaps. This case study reviews student feedback on a librarian-developed and -delivered credit-bearing course. The course, Library Research and Scholarly Communication Fundamentals, is offered to graduate students across all disciplines. The curriculum is flexible and applicable to each student’s research, covering topics such as researching literature, citation and data management, and publishing in scholarly journals. The course has generated positive and constructive feedback from students, encompassing themes of self-efficacy, improved research …

Adolescent Math Anxiety: Teachers' Grouping Approach At The Intersection Of Multiple Student Identities, Dara Shifrer, Hannah Sean Ellefritz, David Hernandez-Saca, Allison Roda, Karla Santana Martinez

Sociology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Math anxiety represents a substantial barrier to many students’ math learning. In this paper, we apply interdisciplinary perspectives to data on over 13,200 ninth graders and their math teachers from the High School Longitudinal Study. Results suggest that being perceived as dis/abled relates to heightened math anxiety regardless of adolescents’ gender, or race and ethnicity. Our intersectional approach reveals that adolescents’ expressions of math anxiety do not always correspond with gender, racial, and ethnic stereotypes, with Black girls, Black boys, and Latine boys expressing relatively low levels of math anxiety. Finally, consistent with the principles of inclusion and universal design, …

Platforms For The Development And Sustainability Of Practice Research In Social Work: An International Cross-Case Analysis, Bowen Mcbeath, Michael J. Austin, Ilse Julkunen, Maija Jappinen, Lynette Joubert, Ralph Hampson, Rosaleen Ow, Lars Uggerhoj

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Purpose:

This paper presents an institutional and organizational comparative case analysis of practice research platforms in social work, which are institutionally embedded partnerships of university-based research centers, organizations delivering social services and healthcare, and other knowledge intermediaries that connect social work practice and research.

Methods:

An institutional and organizational comparative case analysis is presented concerning four practice research platforms from the USA, Finland, Australia, and Singapore.

Results:

We identify similarities and differences in the platforms’ purpose and basic goals, administration and financing, and substantive and methodological foci in the development of social work practice research studies.

Discussion:

We conclude by …

The Explored Experiences Of Latino Families In The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Devlynne S. Ondusko, Veronica I. Underwood Carrasco, Astrid Platteau, Susanne Klawetter, Roberta Suzette Hunte, Emily Hawkins Carter, Morinne Osborne, Jaime W. Peterson

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

While many families experience multiple etiologies of stress during a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission, unique stressors arise for certain groups that are at higher risk for disparities in infant outcomes, including Latino families. The objective of this study was to explore the experiences of Latino families regarding support received in the NICU while their infant was hospitalized to identify ways to enhance the quality of care.

The Hope Industrial Complex: Resisting Manufactured And False Hope With Critical Hope In Peace Education, Thailand's Refugee Context, Staci B. Martin, Hayso Thako, Rey Ty, Sudarat Tuntivivat, Rattanak Ly

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Our Point of Departure (POD) argues that the type of hope fostered within the Karen refugee community in Thailand – manufactured, false, or critical – shapes the impact of peace-building and higher education efforts. Through a dialogue among a Karen scholar, his supervisor, and a migration researcher, we demonstrate that manufactured hope, often driven by external aid, sustains dependency and overlooks core conflicts. In contrast, false hope arises from the gap between student desires and institutional barriers, leading to unmet expectations. We aim to show that by applying critical hope, the pedagogical approach enables the Karen community to enhance its …