Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Redefinition Of The Problem Of Homelessness Among Persons With A Chronic Mental Illness, Donald M. Linhorst

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Two definitions of the problem of homelessness among persons with a chronic mental illness are examined, along with their implied solutions and ramifications for policy. Homelessness among this group is first viewed as the result of deinstitutionalization, and secondly, as the outcome of a critical shortage of low-income housing. Solutions stemming from the deinstitutionalization definition of homelessness, reinstitutionalization or improvement in the mental health system, are seen as inadequate to deal with the problem of homelessness among the mentally ill. Instead, state departments of mental health are called upon to provide a leadership role in the development of affordable housing.

Differential Perception And Adolescent Drinking In The United States: Preliminary Considerations, John B. Harms, James L. Wolk

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper addresses adolescent drinking from a perspective very similar to Sutherland's differential association theory. Drinking occurs when positive perceptions of drinking outweigh or outnumber negative ones. Our research focuses on images of drinking communicated by rationalized sources organized specifically to shape perceptions of drinking. We call these organizations "agencies" and assess their impact on perceptions of drinking. It is our contention that the political economic context of the United States in which these agencies function is such that positive images of drinking outnumber and outweigh negative ones, and that this is an important factor contributing to adolescent drinking.

Applying The Matching Law In A Sheltered Workshop, Kristin Elizabeth Skousgard

Masters Theses

This study assessed the validity of the matching law in an applied setting. It manipulated extraneous reinforcement and measured the rate of rocking in a 24-year-old developmentally disabled man. The resulting data were compared to that predicted by the matching law.

The results were important in three ways: (1) extraneous reinforcement systematically affected rocking in an applied setting in the manner predicted by the matching law, (2) a clinically undesirable behavior decreased in frequency, and (3) this decrease occurred in the absence of direct intervention on the target behavior. Thus, to a slight degree, scientific, practical and humanitarian goals were …

Advocacy/Empowerment: An Approach To Clinical Practice For Social Work, Stephen M. Rose

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Social Work has been embedded in a structural and ideological contradiction throughout its history. The profession, its employing institutions, and the problems confronted by its clients are all produced by the same political economy that pays its workers and supports its schools. Ideologically, the profession has avoided the confrontation implied by its dependency upon individual defect explanatory or causal analysis frameworks that constitute a betrayal of its real constituencies. An advocacy! empowerment paradigm is offered as an alternative.

Long-Term Care Policy: Where Are We Going?, Gerontology Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Omb Watch

Gerontology Institute Publications

Millions of Americans suffer from physical or mental conditions that make it difficult for them to live fully independent lives. These are the frail elderly, disabled and chronically ill persons of all ages, and many mentally ill or mentally retarded persons. They need help to manage daily activities, whether they live in their own homes or in nursing homes.

Such care can be extremely expensive, since it often must be provided for many years, even a lifetime. Today, those costs are met largely by the individuals themselves or by their families and by public programs for low-income persons.

For many …

Parallel Process: An Empirical Investigation, Thomas E. Pollack

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to conduct an empirical investigation of parallel process. The study used a cross-sectional design in which 30 therapy relationships and the corresponding supervision relationships were studied. The therapist assessed the behavior manifested by the patient during a targeted therapy session. Following the subsequent supervision session, the supervisor assessed the behavior manifested by the supervisee during the supervision session. In addition, each of the triad participants (patient, therapist, supervisor) rated the level of anxiety they experienced during the targeted therapy and supervision sessions. Measures of interpersonal style for each of the subjects were also …

Alcoholism: A Barrier To Empowerment For Women, Marion Brink

New England Journal of Public Policy

Women's increasing economic power has encouraged the promotion of their drinking as fashionable. However, women are more vulnerable to the impact of alcohol, and the stigma attached to alcoholism is greater for them than it is for men. As a consequence, a woman — and those around her — will deny her alcoholism until she has lost much more than her male counterparts. When, or if, she seeks help for this devastating disease, she finds a lack of woman-specific programs and facilities. This article notes the barriers to recovery for women and offers some suggestions for breaking them down. Two …

An Obsessive-Compulsive View Of Obesity And Its Treatment, Raymond Mount, Fugen Neziroglu, Christina J. Taylor

Psychology Faculty Publications

It was hypothesized that some obese individuals who are obsessed with food and who eat compulsively may not respond to the stimulus control techniques widely used in treating obesity. Sixty-eight participants were ad- ministered a measure of obsessive tendencies and randomly assigned to three treatment modalities: (a) Exposure and response prevention; (b) Stimulus control; (c) Control. Results indicated that participants who scored high on the Eating Obsessive Compulsive questionnaire (EOC) maintained weight loss significantly better with exposure and response prevention (ERP) training than did either the stimulus control or the control group. It was concluded that for the obsessive-compulsive eater, …

The Relationship Between Needs And Interpersonal Problems Of Women In Four Interpersonal Categories, Valarie Elaine Sikes-Nova

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This study empirically assessed the relationship between needs structure and interpersonal presentation in women. Proposed indices for selective attention were assessed as to their ability to detect pathology. The relationship between interpersonal presentation and interpersonal problems were also studied. The measures used were The Picture Identification Test (Chambers, 1976), The Interpersonal Adjective Scales-Revised (Wiggins, 1985), The Inventory for Interpersonal Problems (Horowitz, 1986), and The Marlowe-Crowne Social-Desirability Scale (1964).

Subjects were assigned to one of four interpersonal categories (Friendly-Dominant, Friendly-Submissive, Hostile-Dominant, Hostile-Submissive) on the basis of their self-reported IAS-R and one category on the basis of their counselor-reported IAS-R scores. Subjects …