Digital Commons Network^™

The Relationship Between Social Isolation And Child Abuse: A Critical Literature Review, Ann A. Pederson

Dissertations and Theses

This review began with an interest in treatment of child abuse and in how a study of social isolation might lend direction to treatment of abusing families. The literature leads one to believe that social isolation is somehow involved, but that the process is far from clear. The intent of this review is to synthesize the findings available on the relationship between social isolation and child abuse, to encourage further thought on how the concept of social isolation can be refined and operationalized, and to discuss the implications of that relationship for treatment and prevention of physical abuse. The information …

Washington County Mental Health Program Year End Report For Fiscal Year 1976-1977, Jennifer Dee Pockel

Dissertations and Theses

Program evaluation is in its infancy at the Washington County Mental Health Program; it is only within the last two years that there has been any emphasis placed on evaluation activities. The first chapter in this practicum will identify and provide a context for the recent introduction of the management by objectives approach to process evaluation within the Washington County Mental Health Program as well as present a rationale for such an approach; the second chapter in this practicum is a presentation of results obtained from the first follow-up study to employ management objectives as an evaluation tool; the third …

A Study Of Partner Attitudes Related To Male Involvement In Contraception At Planned Parenthood, Portland, Oregon, Patricia Long Burnet, Rhonda Lee Jack, Kathleen Margaret Leeson

Dissertations and Theses

In spite of the relative ease of accessibility to reliable contraception, unplanned pregnancy continues to be a major social problem for both society and for those individuals personally involved. The growing furor over adolescent unplanned pregnancy has not only led to arguments over abortions on legal, financial, and moral levels but has resulted in studies pertaining to non-use of birth control among all ages. Contraceptives are not being used as widely and effectively as they could be.

The primary goal of this research is to explore the male's role (or lack of it) in family planning. A further goal is …

A Comparative Study Of Persons Completing And Not Completing An Alcoholism Treatment Clinic's Group Intake Process, Timothy W. Hallinan, Eric J. Huelshoff

Dissertations and Theses

The present study is concerned with pre-treatment dropouts in an outpatient alcoholism treatment clinic. Previous pre-treatment dropout studies have been made in settings where there is one intake session followed by a treatment program. In the setting of the present study, however, there is an extended intake process, consisting of three (and occasionally four) group intake sessions followed by a session of staffing and then treatment. This study, therefore, differs from previous investigations, in that it considers as "pre-treatment dropouts," those clients who drop out at any point during the intake process, rather than just those clients who do not …

The Resilience Of The Child As A Factor In Successful Adjustment To Permanent Placement, Lani Maureen Mcdonald

Dissertations and Theses

This study explores the hypothesis that constitutional factors were significant in mediating their successful adjustment. The adjustment of children who in the past would have been viewed as permanently scarred and unable to adjust has provided researchers with an idiosyncratic situation that has also been found in other studies: children have adjusted despite odds against it and children considered to have incurred minimal trauma have had difficulty adjusting.

"Fallen Angels": An Historical Review Of Program Development And Clientele Of The Salvation Army White Shield Home With An Emphasis On The Years 1940-1976, Wendy Jo Ballard

Dissertations and Theses

The following paper is a study of the history of the Salvation Army White Shield Home of Portland, Oregon with emphasis on the years 1940 through 1976. The White Shield Home is a residential program which provides comprehensive services to school-age parents. A complete description of the setting and the services offered is found in Chapter II. "School-age parents" is the current term used to refer to unmarried pregnant women and women with infants in an effort to eliminate the stigma attached to "unwed mother" or "pregnant teenager".

The purpose of the study is threefold: 1) to familiarize the reader …

Native American Social Work Symposium : An Evaluation, Lou Stone

Dissertations and Theses

The inconsistencies of the state and federal policy toward Native populations and additionally those inconsistencies within the two governments themselves, require the maintenance of Indian and Alaskan Native organizations with sophisticated mechanisms developed to advocate “reforms” in Indian services to meet unique Indian needs.

Indian and Alaskan Native social workers invariably find themselves at the confluence of client service provision and surviving the extension of policies available to them from resource allocators for the purpose of service provision. In order to approach this dilemma, the Native American Social Work Symposium, held in May of 1977, convened on the basis of …

Perceptions Of Indian Tribal Leaders Regarding The Indian Self-Determination Act (Public Law 93-638), Ramona O'Connor

Dissertations and Theses

This study is an analysis of a policy, The Indian Self-Determination Act (Public Law 93-638), and consists of a survey designed to examine the perceptions of selected Indian tribal leaders regarding the policy. The findings of the survey are reviewed and analyzed and the study is concluded with a consideration of the implications of the findings for social work. In general, the study is concerned with an aspect of the social policy process. A specific policy is addressed and a survey of perceptions of people effected by that policy was taken. The policy itself is an indication of a seemingly …

A Study Of The Incidence Of Divorce, Religious Conflict, And Need And Potential Utilization Of Marital/Family Services Among Seventh-Day Adventist Couples In The North Pacific Union Conference, Fern M. Ringering

Dissertations and Theses

The following study is designed to look at one religious group and assess some of the social service needs as seen by the study participants.

Since social services cover such a broad spectrum, it was decided to limit the study to marital counseling needs and related issues as seen by individual church members.

A Comparative Study Of The Resettlement Status Of Indochinese Refugees In Portland, Rosalynn R. Ringor, Chareundi Van-Si, Steven Hernandez

Dissertations and Theses

This study sought to explore the resettlement of Indochinese refugees to their new life in Portland, Oregon. Three basic areas were under consideration. The first area dealt with demographic data: who are the refugees and what are their pasts? The second area focused on aspects of successful resettlement: what do refugees seek in order to consider themselves successfully resettled, and how do their ideas of successful resettlement collate with their present state of resettlement? The third area dealt with the effectiveness of resettlement programs: how have various assistance programs been helpful to the refugees, and are the refugees aware of …

Personality, Counseling And The Cancer Patient, Janet March, Ann Maxwell

Dissertations and Theses

The researchers in this study are concerned about what factors are involved in determining who actually does seek out adjunctive counseling for help in dealing with their diagnosis. In particular, personality factors of those who have cancer are examined. The more known about what motivates a patient to seek counseling, the easier it will be to develop rehabilitation and supportive programs to meet the needs of cancer patients. Hence, sanction for a research project such as this lies in the fact that the question of motivation regarding adjunctive counseling has not been dealt with specifically in the past.

An Explorative Study Of Parents' Ability To Predict Representative Feelings Of Their Children, Kathleen Marie Koudele

Dissertations and Theses

This is a study of thirty fifth-grade children and their parents to examine how accurately parents can predict the feeling reactions of their children in various situations. This focus on parent-child interactions regarding feelings has several implications for the field of Social Work.

Parental Perceptions Of Behavioral Changes In Children Following Divorce, Kenneth W. Bork

Dissertations and Theses

This research was undertaken primarily to describe the parental perceptions of the effects of divorce upon the children age eighteen or younger of the first married couples filing for divorce in Clackamas County, Oregon during 1975.

Alternative Living Situation For Indian Youth, Colleen Lynn Langer Yost, Lloyd Blackstone Pinkham

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis includes a proposed program that is designed to provide alternatives for Indian youth, allow for the creation of a residential treatment facility for the diagnosis, placement, and treatment of Indian juvenile delinquents, establish reporting and operating procedures with various courts, and help reduce the delinquent behavior of the resident youth.

Medical Social Workers' Attitudes Toward Death And Related Matters, Lon M. Stratton

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study to examine the attitudes of several (MSW) medical social workers, currently employed in hospital settings, regarding: (1) death and dying issues, (2) education and training received related to working with the terminally ill patient, (3) specific practice issues which relate to the terminal patient, and, lastly, (4) the effectiveness of each social worker's place of employment in meeting the needs of the terminally ill patient and providing for adequate training of staff in this sensitive area.

An Evaluation Of Hew Grant 426, A Training Program For Foster Parents Of Handicapped Foster Children, William Mckee Thome

Dissertations and Theses

In 1969, the "President's Committee on Mental Retardation" issued a challenge to all those involved in the care and treatment of the mentally retarded, to integrate institutionalized children into "... normal community living... and enable them to develop their ability and potential to the fullest extent."¹ In addition to this mandate the federal government became increasingly aggressive in its campaign to make available to all handicapped children the same rights and privileges as "normal children". One of the major thrusts of this campaign today is to encourage local communities to commit themselves to fulfilling the needs of the handicapped …

Menopause, Middle Age, And The Social Worker, Bonnie C. Vatter

Dissertations and Theses

The central thesis of this paper is that the social work profession needs to know much more about menopause and its concomitants in order to enhance diagnosis and treatment. Unfortunately, the woeful lack of research and consequent paucity of data on the subject require a heavy reliance upon intuitively plausible statements in support of larger propositions about many of the strategic relationships advanced in the course of the argument. When these propositions and statements are taken as a whole, the paper is also an outline of essential research topics.

Description And Analysis Of The Public Guardian And Conservator Program In Multnomah County, Oregon, Dianne Wyers

Dissertations and Theses

The law and the public programs designed to implement the intent of the law should serve as a model for the way in which needs are met in our society. With this view in mind, a study of the Public Guardian and Conservator program has been undertaken.

This study is the first written description of a young program designed to offer unique services to legally incapacitated persons. Public guardianship and conservatorship evolved from an early notion that a guarantee of rights is a public as well as a private responsibility. The question of the extent of public responsibility required as …

The Divorce Experience And Its Impact On The Father-Child Relationship, Susan Coffman, Ellen Lane, Erika Worth

Dissertations and Theses

This project began with the notion that an in-depth examination of perceived changes in the parent-child relationship as reported by the noncustodial father would be both beneficial to mental health professionals as well as to paraprofessional groups and organizations working with divorced fathers. The authors were aware of much related research pertaining to the children of divorced parents and also the plight of divorced mothers, but felt there to be a lack of data concerning the noncustodial father and thus identified this area as an important mental health concern.

A Study Of Behavior Changes Among Children Who Have Left The Children's Psychiatric Day Treatment Center, Julia A. Jones, Larry G. Pederson

Dissertations and Theses

This study began with the authors' interest in the Portland Public Schools' program for Emotionally Handicapped children. Originally, the researchers were interested in assessing behavioral characteristics and changes among children in that program and in relating these variables to the kind and extent of parental involvement. Such a study was particularly timely, it was felt, since some schools were considering eliminating the parent involvement component of the program and there was discussion of phasing out the entire program as it then existed in favor of "mainstreaming." The researchers soon discovered the paucity of research information relating to program effects on …

Attitudes Of Psychiatric Nurses And Aides At An Oregon State Hospital Toward Homosexuality, Don Andersen

Dissertations and Theses

Homosexuality is something which has been a part of almost every society throughout history. In western society this has been a subject of secrecy and taboo. Throughout our history homosexuals have been persecuted and forced to hide their sexual identity. The effects of this on an individual should be something of concern to professionals in the mental health field.

While in the past there has been little knowledge of homosexuality, and no self-expression on the part of homosexuals, there has, in recent years, been growing information and expression. The effect of this change on mental health workers is what this …

An Evaluative Study Of Client Satisfaction At A Mental Health Clinic, Dianne E. Carlton

Dissertations and Theses

Evaluative research in the field of mental health is carried out pursuant to several goals. One is to study a very particular intervention on a very particular client (or client population) in a controlled way with the aim to test a theory of intervention. This form of research requires basically an experimental research design. It also requires rigorously defined and measured intervention and a good control for factors other than intervention. The requirements for this form of research are stringent and the number of such projects reported is, therefore, rare.

The present study was done as a pilot study for …

The Vertically-Oriented Organization : A Theoretical Perspective, Beth M. Kurren

Dissertations and Theses

This study will focus on a particular program (The Area Agency on Aging) which was developed in response to the problems of fragmentation among the service delivery system for the aging.

In so doing, two very important questions will be answered:

1. To what extent do the characteristics of the Area Agency on Aging resemble a vertically-oriented organization?

2. To what extent does the Area Agency on Aging gear its activities toward the coordination of services for the elderly?

The basic assumption is that because the Area Agency on Aging resembles another vertically- oriented organization, its main focus of attention …

An Assessment Of The Impact Of Public Housing On The Low Income Elderly Residents Of The Burnside Community, Timothy C. Jacobs

Dissertations and Theses

This study will be a look at housing for Portland's Burnside population with special emphasis on the Foster hotel public housing project. Before housing or any other aspect of Burnside can be intelligently discussed, it is important to have a realistic historical and contemporary understanding of the Burnside community. The second chapter of this study is designed to provide that understanding. The third chapter surveys the ways that other American cities have dealt with their skid row communities. Cities roughly the same size as Portland were chosen. Their efforts will be compared to Portland's plans for and actions toward its …

A Descriptive Study Of Some Problems Of Widows In Portland, Oregon, Kathleen Marsha Davis, Gail Petchesky

Dissertations and Theses

Widowhood is an inevitable phase of the life cycle for three out of every four married women. It is apparent by the lack of research about widowhood that it has been neglected as a developmental phase in the life cycle. Presently there are ten million widows in this country and their numbers are increasing each year. It is appalling that with a population this large, little attention has been directed towards research about widowhood. Other than recognizing that the widow may have financial problems for which Social Security provides assistance, few people realize what it means to be widowed. For …

A Demographic Study Of Two Alcoholic Populations In A State Hospital, James John Schelot

Dissertations and Theses

Twenty-five alcoholic patients in the Alcohol Treatment Program at Dammasch State Hospital near Wilsonville, Oregon, and twenty-five alcoholic patients in the same hospital who were not participating in the program were given a questionnaire designed to collect demographic data on both groups. The demographic characteristics were to be gathered in order to assess the possible need of diversified treatment programs for alcoholic patients at Dammasch State Hospital and in the Portland community.

Demographic data involved the social background, the alcohol background, and the medical/psychological history of the patients.

The results seemed to suggest that the two groups of patients were …

Grassroot Organizations In The Black Community In Portland, Danny B. Copeland

Dissertations and Theses

This is a descriptive study of grassroot organizations in the Black community of Portland, Oregon. The primary objective of this study is to determine whether the Black community of Portland is actively working to improve the socio-economic and political position of the Black residents of Portland, or whether it is disorganized, apathetic, and removed from the main stream of society.

To achieve the goals of this study, answers will be sought for the following questions: Are there grassroot organizations in the Black community of Portland, Oregon? If yes, how many are there? Who are the members? What is the nature, …

A Follow-Up Study Of The Graduates In The Academic Track At Wssb, Linda Heider, Renee Klisch

Dissertations and Theses

This study was conducted to discover the most significant factors associated with the present functioning and attitudes and the success of the adult outcomes of graduates of the Washington State School for the Blind in Vancouver, Washington.

The researchers assumed that WSSB had done everything feasible to prepare each student for a successful life, both in respect to the ability to lead an adequate socially active life and to develop as much independence as possible for a later profession or vocation.

The researchers hypothesized that type of education, sex, onset of blindness, degree of blindness and age would affect the …

An Exploratory Study Of Adolescent Perceptions Of Communication Behavior, Pat Adams, Marion Summers

Dissertations and Theses

The interaction between troubled adolescents and the adult world is generally characterized as laden with ambiguity and conflict, and is rarely seem as productive or mutually satisfying. This research project is an attempt to study the way in which this interaction is perceived by a group of female adolescents involved in the Bridge, a short-term residential program for girls in a state of early crisis as demonstrated by runaway behavior. This study specifically focuses on communication behaviors of parents and of adults other than parents as perceived by the adolescent upon her entry into The Bridge and at her release …

Attitudes And Perceptions Of Medical Social Workers Held By Primary Care Physicians In Private Practice, Defined As Family Practitioners, Internists, And Pediatricians, Rosemarie Rosenfeld

Dissertations and Theses

This is an exploratory study intended to determine whether certain physicians in primary practice utilize the services of social workers and social agencies. An attempt is made to find out how much primary care physicians know about the role and functions of medical social workers, and whether and for what services they refer patients to medical social workers. The information obtained may be useful in promoting better working relationships between the two professions.