Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring Internalized Racism : A Critical Review Of The Literature And Implications For Clinical Social Work, Keshia Unika Williams

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

In social work, like many of its allied disciplines, the effects of racism on the racially oppressed has tended to focus on overt manifestations like violence and discrimination (Pyke and Dang, 2003). Largely missing from the mainstream social work literature is a clear and consistent definition and framework for internalized racism. An understanding of the deleterious effects of internalized racism- the subtle, often unconscious, processes by which racial inequality shapes the way that the oppressed think of themselves and other members of their group- is often lacking in clinical social work literature. Internalized racism represents a harmful consequence of a …

Examining Our Worst Fears, Jennifer Elmassian Leszkiewicz

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

Fifty five graduate students in the 2008 class of Smith College School for Social Work, on average, seek symbolic immortality through existential themes, excluding religion. Additionally, the more students identify with themes that define meaning in their lives, the greater their fear of encountering threats to that meaning. Further, students reported that they daydream about existential fears that threaten symbolic immortality more frequently than they dream, or have memories of them; and that they dream about primal fears more frequently than they daydream, or have memories of them. This study tested the hypotheses that people fear what they imagine might …

Using Art Making In Cross-Cultural Clinical Therapy, Sara Ruth Schieffelin

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

Literature in the field of multicultural counseling and therapy supports the need to develop effective theories and practical models for working cross-culturally. Literature in the field of art therapy provides strong evidence that art-making can be a successful tool for therapeutic use with a wide range of clients. Yet there is little research linking these two fields. This theoretical study aims to extend the limited research on this topic by looking at the literature from these two fields, and examining how art-making in therapy can be used as a tool to alleviate some of the problems that can occur when …

Vietnam Combat Veterans : Readjustment Through The Lenses Of Identity And Social Drama, Michael S. Slevin

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This thesis asks whether Erik Erikson's theory of psychosocial development and Victor Turner's theory of social drama can be usefully integrated to help social workers better understand the experiences and challenges of Vietnam veterans. Specifically, this thesis will apply Erikson's phase of identity consolidation and confusion that occurs in late adolescence. Turner's processual social drama will be applied to the rules, roles, and institutions of a changing society. The phenomenon is twofold: first, it comprises the social and ideological upheaval during the decade of the 1960s; second, it comprises the individual stories of challenge and change in the lives of …

The Role Of Psychotherapy In The Age Of Medication : A Theoretical Analysis Of Biological And Psychodynamic Perspectives On The Etiology And Treatment Of Schizophrenia, Tessa Leona Hutchinson

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This theoretical study explores the role of psychodynamic psychotherapy in the treatment of schizophrenia in an era where biologically oriented psychopharmacological interventions are the dominant treatment model. The study was undertaken as an effort towards clarification, as a graduate student from a psychodynamic training program, of how my training might possess or lack efficacy or application in my future work with those living with schizophrenia. Psychodynamic and biological perspectives on schizophrenia etiology and treatment have, throughout history, remained predominantly in opposition to one another. Currently neither perspective is able to fully explain the origins of schizophrenia, nor is the biologically-based …

What Are The Factors That Influence Whether A Clinician Discusses Race In The Crossracial Therapeutic Encounter?, Anna Cristina Goett

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This study attempts to gain insight into cross-racial therapy from the point of view of the clinician. Engaging in dialogues about race is one method identified in the literature that is said to facilitate the cross-racial therapeutic process. The primary research question is: What are the factors that influence whether a clinician discusses race in the cross-racial therapeutic encounter? This researcher hypothesizes that certain clinician characteristics, such as race, years of clinical experience, and graduate training affect the ways in which clinicians address racial difference in the cross-racial therapy. A quantitative survey was used to collect the data, and 56 …

The Subjective Experience Of Attachment For Children With Mothers Who Have Been Formally Diagnosed As Schizophrenic : An Exploratory Study Based On The Practice Wisdom Of Clinical Practioners, Richard Cabada

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This qualitative study explored what could be learned from the practice wisdom of clinical practitioners about the subjective experience of attachment for children that have been raised in a family where the primary caretaker was a mother formally diagnosed as schizophrenic. Most of the literature on this subject has addressed this mother-child dyad by focusing on the subjective experience of the mother. The sample was comprised of eight licensed clinical practitioners that generated nine cases with ten children for discussion. The mothers in all cases experienced multiple hospitalizations and most were single parents. The children in all cases experienced physical …

A Slight Schooling On Deaf Education, Kathryn L. Hayden

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

By comparing a residential school for the deaf and hard of hearing with a mainstream inclusion educational setting, the performance of school-aged children who are deaf is presented. Previous research within the area of education for individuals who are deaf was gathered and used as a historical basis for the subsequent investigation. With the study of Erik Erikson's psychosocial stages of development and Lev Vygotsky's zone of proximal development, an analysis of education for individuals who are deaf was conducted and re-synthesized to provide a new understanding of education. Erik Erikson's psychosocial stages of development and Lev Vygotsky's Zone of …

Attachment Style And Identity Construction : The Choice Of Profession As One Method Of Culturally Mediating, Locating And Fulfilling Attachment Needs Both Interpersonally And Societally, Gwendolyn Cutting Wishard

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This mixed method study was undertaken to determine if successful professionals who are away from home for extended periods for work due to long hours and travel have particular types of close relationships, coping skills and identities. Secondly, the study examined whether their attachment styles as assessed by the quantitative measure, the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale -- ECR (Brennan, Clark and Shaver, 1998), revealed any relationships to their interview narratives concerning their professional successes, identities, close relationships in childhood and coping mechanisms. Using snowballing methods, successful professionals were recruited who had been in their careers for at least two …

Implications Of Frequent Online Social Network Use For Adolescent And Emerging Adult Social Experiences, Nora Anne Heins

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This study explores the impact of frequent use of Online Social Network (OSN) sites on late adolescent and emerging adult social experiences. Information for this study was gathered using 12 in-person, semi-structured interviews with late adolescents/emerging adults about their OSN experiences. This study looks at the overall experience of socializing using OSNs and what this is like for youth in their late teens and early twenties. The study results support that OSN use can provide a sense of connectedness, as well as create difficulties, in relationship termination and provide opportunities for boundary violations by acquaintances and ex-partners. The data show …

The Double Bind Theory And Gender Non-Conforming Identity Development, Shannon Lydia Sennott

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

The aim of this study was to qualitatively investigate the double binding effects of gender oppression on the lives of persons that self-identify as masculine-spectrum gender non-conforming. The qualitative interview used was designed to illuminate early memories of an individual's family of origin and the ways in which parents, siblings, and other primary support systems reacted to gender non-conforming behaviors in a child. The purpose of this study was to answer the following question: Is the identity development of a masculine-spectrum gender non-conforming person built on a relational foundation that is intra-psychically located within a double bind? The definition of …

An Investigation Into What "Best Practice" Entails With Adolescent Survivors Of Prolonged Child Abuse, Lauren P. Mcevoy

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This theoretical study explored the differences between narrative therapy (White, 2007a) and the family contextual model (Gold, 2000) in the treatment of adolescent survivors of prolonged childhood abuse (PCA). The aim of this research was to contribute to defining "best practice" with this population. Narrative therapy and the family contextual model were selected for this research because they are primarily client directed and trauma responsive as opposed to trauma focused. These were important considerations given the differences between the treatment needs of survivors of long-term childhood trauma, which are inevitably intertwined with development and attachment, and those of single-incident trauma …

Difference In Perception Of Campus Climate Between White Students And Black And Latino Students At One New England Independent School, Nola-Rae Cronan

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This study examined the perception of campus climate between White students and Black and Latino students at one independent school in New England. It was hypothesized that there would be differences in the perception of campus climate between the two groups, specifically as it relates to campus climate as defined by; students feeling safe, listened to, valued, and treated fairly and with respect. The study utilized previously collected data gathered with a survey addressing diversity. There were150 students surveyed, with 21 of those students self identified as Black or Latino. The responses of identified Black and Latino students were examined …

Do School-Based Mental Health Programs Have A Positive Outcome On Elementary, Middle And High School Aged Student's Functioning From The Perspective Of Teachers In Urban Public School Systems In New York City, Boston And Berkeley, Ca?, Mwaniki F. Mwangi

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This mixed methods, primarily quantitative study examined the perceptions of urban public school teachers about school-based mental health (SBMH) programs and services. The participants included public elementary, middle, and high school teachers from the urban areas of New York City, Boston, and Berkeley, California. Forty participants responded to an online survey, which included questions addressing the demographic characteristics of participants and ideas for improving the SBMH program at their schools. Twenty-five of the participants were from Boston, eight were from New York City, and seven were from Berkeley. Seventeen participants were teachers in elementary schools, ten were teachers from middle …

"Do I Pull The Race Card?" : Middle-Class African American Parental Perceptions Of Racism In Their Children's Public Schools, Tamika M. Brock

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This qualitative study explored middle-class African American parental perceptions of racism in their children's public schools. Twelve African American parents with either a bachelor's degree or a total median household income of $48, 451(U.S. Census Bureau, 2007) were asked a series of open-ended questions regarding their personal experiences with individual, cultural, and institutional forms of racism, as well as their children's experiences. Participants were also given Phinney's (1992) Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure to assess their sense of ethnic group membership, one of many variables found to influence perceptions of racism. The major findings revealed an achieved ethnic identity status for …

Social Work Practice With Latino Pentecostals : Applying Femininst Family Theory And Object Relations Theory, Angela Marie Baczewski Hakkila

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This study was undertaken to provide a framework for understanding the identity formation and experience of Latino Pentecostals. The exploration of Feminist Family Theory accompanied by Object Relations Theory provided two opportunities to appreciate the Latino Pentecostal experience. This study focuses on documenting the evolution of the Latino Pentecostal community in the United States and a description of the traditional aspects of this faith group in terms of practice of Spirit Baptism and traits as religious fundamentalists, collectivistic, and social activists. The application of a Feminist Family Theory lens provides a perspective on opening the conversation to dismantle the dominant …

Abstracts Of Master's Theses 1967-2006, Smith College. School For Social Work

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

No abstract provided.

Abstracts Of Theses 1920-1966, Smith College. School For Social Work

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

No abstract provided.

Kahn Chronicle: Spring 2008, Smith College, Kahn Liberal Arts Institute

Kahn Chronicle

Table of Contents:

The Kahn Institute "On the Road"
Announcements
Spotlight on Students
Interim Reports: Sustainable Houses, Homes and Communities; Undergrounds Underworlds
Spring 2008 Short-Term Projects
Updates on New Project Forms
Spotlight on Faculty
A Word From the Director

Family Burden Of Compulsive Hoarding: Results Of An Internet Survey, David F. Tolin, Randy O. Frost, Gail Steketee, Kristin E. Fitch

Psychology: Faculty Publications

Compulsive hoarding, the acquisition of and failure to discard large numbers of possessions, is associated with substantial health risk, impairment in functioning, and economic burden. Despite clear indications that hoarding has a detrimental effect on people living with or near someone with a hoarding problem, no empirical research has examined these harmful effects. The aim of the present study was to examine the burden of hoarding on family members. Six hundred sixty-five family informants who reported having a family member or friend with hoarding behaviors completed an internet-based survey. Living with an individual who hoards during childhood was associated with …

No Place Like Home : Trans-Individuals' Search For Belonging In A Binary Gendered World, Leslie Catherine Kilpatrick

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

Subjective gender experiences for post-operative trans-individuals were investigated in this study to empirically assess participants' current sense of a match or a lack of a match between their present biological sex and their gender identity. Survey Monkey, an internet site for collection and analysis of responses to survey questions, was used to gather demographic information from 18 respondents and to answer the study questions about post-surgical congruence or incongruence. The responses generated themes of belonging or lack of belonging that lumped together in three categories through which the data was analyzed: A) the individual's relationship to self, B) their relationship …

Kahn Chronicle: Fall 2007, Smith College, Kahn Liberal Arts Institute

Kahn Chronicle

Table of Contents:

In the Kahn Spotlight: David Lowenthal & Peter Stallybrass
Announcements
Student Announcements
Narrative : Identity Final Report
Marriage and Divorce Final Report
08-09 Long-Term Project Descriptions
Religious Tolerance Book Publication
07-08 Short-Term Project Descriptions
A Note from the Director

The Emergence Of Organized Feminist Resistance To Sexual Harassment In The United States In The 1970s, Carrie N. Baker

Study of Women, Gender, & Sexuality: Faculty Publications

The first organized resistance to sexual harassment grew out of the women’s movement, emerging at the intersection of activism against employment discrimination and feminist opposition to violence against women. The issue of sexual harassment brought together women’s workplace concerns with resistance to male sexual aggression. In the mid-1970s two organizations formed to focus primarily on sexual harassment—Working Women United in Ithaca, New York, and the Alliance Against Sexual Coercion in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Based on archival materials and interviews, this article documents the early movement against sexual harassment, focusing particularly on the feminist activists who founded these organizations—who they were and …

The Relationship Between Complementary Medicine And Quality Of Life Among Women With Breast Cancer, Nicole Diane. Lombardo

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This exploratory study examines the relationship between complementary medicine and quality of life among women with breast cancer. The objective of this study was to better understand why women choose to use these techniques, which techniques they were using, how effective they perceived them to be, and the overall impact on quality of life. There were twelve women that participated in a semi-structured interview process where they were asked a series of questions about their breast cancer experience. Participant's ages ranged from 32-65 years old, and annual household income varied from less than $30,000 to greater than $75,000. Eleven participants …

Role Model Development In Young African American Males : Toward A Conceptual Model, Christian Edward Gale

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This theoretical study explores the impact of role models on the adolescent African American male identity development. The study examines the current vulnerable status of African American males in the United States and reveals how they are presently at an overwhelming disadvantage to lead fulfilling and productive lives. In order to understand the phenomenon, this study utilizes literature on general identity development, male identity development, and ethnic identity development, in order to investigate how African American males define themselves and how role models can impact their identity development. Since there is some evidence in current literature that imitation and modeling …

Do Personality And Other Individual Differences Affect The Development Of Post Traumatic Stress Symptoms In Male Police Officers?, Megan Kane. Myers

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This study was undertaken to determine whether personality and other individual differences such as age, race, combat military experience, police experience, job assignment, and job satisfaction were associated with posttraumatic stress symptoms in male police officers. Secondly, I sought to determine if there a police personality distinct from that of the general population. Questionnaire packets containing three instruments were distributed to 109 male police officers. Thirty officers completed and returned the study materials which included: a demographic questionnaire; a personality inventory to assess the domains of neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness; and a trauma scale to assess …

Dealing With Migration Loss : The Resilience Of Latinas And Their Coping Strategies, Aurora Perales

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This study was undertaken to discover resiliency factors and coping strategies utilized by Latinas in dealing with migration loss. Research conducted on people of color and particularly on women is limited. Strengths-based research on these communities is also minimal available. This study aimed to address the various gaps of information. Twelve Latinas with diverse ethnic backgrounds were interviewed. The women demonstrated an ability to articulate their experiences with migration loss and an ability to identify coping strategies. The participants of the study utilized many resiliency tools and coping strategies in order to survive and thrive in spite of having endured …

A Comparative Qualitative Study Of Marianismo : Mexican And Mexican American Women's Perspectives On Their Latina Values, Women's Roles And Their Parents' Influence, Jennifer Marie Vazquez

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

The research study had three goals. First, the study explored and compared adherence to Marianismo values in Mexican women born in Mexico and Mexican- American women born in the U.S. The hypothesis was that Mexican women would endorse more Marianismo values because Mexican-American women who are born, raised and educated in the U.S. are more likely to adopt more American values. Second, the study gathered and compared the women's perspectives on cultural differences between U.S. and Latino culture views of the women's role. Third, the study sought to further understand the relationship between acculturation and Marianismo to ascertain differences and …

The Revaluation Of Pathology : Narrative, Nietzsche And The Emergence Of The Storied Body :, Jenessa Margaret Radocchio

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This research project is a theoretical inquiry into the connections and significations between philosophy and contemporary clinical practice. It is hypothesized that postmodernism has a direct and meaningful impact on the work of clinical social workers and mental health professionals generally. For a more manageable study and to make the topic more accessible to the reader, one type of philosophy (postmodernism) was chosen to be analyzed, along with its clinical counterpart (narrative therapy). To ground the study, Nietzschean ideology and narrative therapy were analyzed and discussed through the lens of self-mutilation. It was found that many significant connections exist between …

Sometimes Love Ain't Enough : A Study Of The Perceived Relationship Barriers As Reported By 12 Heterosexual African American Women And Men, Stephanie Harris

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

The goals of the current study were to explore what barriers African American men and women experience in their past and/or current relationships and to explore in what way, if any, thesis issues correspond with those issues reported by White Americans. This researcher also wanted to examine if gender role issues and racism have contributed to the problems faced by African Americans couples. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 African American men and women, all of whom had a past and/or current heterosexual relationship of two years or longer. Interview questions focused on the troubling issues in the relationship, perceived …