Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Review Of Rebuild America: Solving The Economic Crisis Through Civic Works. Scott Myers-Lipton. Reviewed By Frank Stricker., Frank Stricker

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Scott Myers-Lipton, Rebuild America: Solving the Economic Crisis Through Civic Works, Paradigm Publishers, 2009. $82.00 hardcover, $17.95 papercover.

Review Of More Than Just Race: Being Black And Poor In The Inner City. William Julius Wilson. Reviewed By Marguerite G. Rosenthal., Marguerite G. Rosenthal

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of William Julius Wilson, More than Just Race: Being Black and Poor in the Inner City (Issues of Our Time). W. W. Norton and Co., 2009. $24.95 hardcover, $15.95 papercover.

Review Of Remembering Our Childhood: How Memory Betrays Us. Karl Sabbagh. Reviewed By Susan P. Robbins., Susan P. Robbins

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Karl Sabbagh, Remembering Our Childhood: How Memory Betrays Us. Oxford University Press, 2009. $29.95 hardcover.

Review Of Why David Sometimes Wins. Marshall Ganz. Reviewed By Ed Marakovitz., Ed Marakovitz

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Marshall Ganz. Why David Sometimes Wins. Oxford University Press, Inc., 2009. $34.95 hardcover.

Review Of Longing And Belonging: Parents, Children, And Consumer Culture. Allison J. Pugh. Reviewed By Cheryl Najarian Souza., Cheryl Najarian Souza

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Allison J. Pugh, Longing and Belonging: Parents, Children, and Consumer Culture. University of California Press, 2009. $55.00 hardcover, $21.95 papercover.

Review Of Essential Skills Of Social Work Practice: Assessment, Intervention, And Evaluation. Thomas O'Hare. Reviewed By Karen M. Vandeusen., Karen M. Vandeusen

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Thomas O'Hare, Essential Skills of Social Work Practice: Assessment, Intervention, and Evaluation. Chicago, IL: Lyceum Books, Inc., 2009. $39.95 paperback.

Mentoring: Meanings, Models, And Metaphors, Thomas E. Keller

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

This is a PDF of a PowerPoint program presented at the UNST Peer Mentor Program, Fall Mentor Development Conference, September 2010

Is School-Based Mentoring Effective? Making Sense Of Mixed Findings, Marc E. Wheeler, Thomas E. Keller, David L. Dubois

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

This presentation summarizes the findings and conclusion of a recent issue of the Social Policy Report, a publication of the Society for Research on Child Development, that was co-authored by Mr. Wheeler and Drs. DuBois and Keller.

The Dynamics Of Autistic-Academic Partnerships, Dora Raymaker, Christina Nicolaidis

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Traditionally, research about autistics has been developed without autistics, leading to systemic problems that reinforce stereotypes and divide communities. Some academics find the idea of autistics contributing meaningfully to research unthinkable, while the autistic community is often angered by research which holds no potential benefit, or is even directly harmful, to community aims. Problematic dynamics between academics and minority populations are neither new nor specific to autism research. Research approaches involving academic-community partnerships can change these dynamics to benefit all partners. Academic-community partnerships empower minorities to execute research relevant to community priorities and enable academics to perform high-quality, ethical science. …

Household Assets And Food Stamp Program Participation Among Eligible Low-Income Households, Jin Huang, Yunju Nam, Nora Wikoff

Center for Social Development Research

This study examines the association between asset ownership and Food Stamp Program participation among eligible households using a sample from a longitudinal national survey. This study employs two approaches: A multinomial model on the level of program participation and an event history analysis on the duration of eligible nonparticipation spells. Analysis results show that home, vehicle, and bank account ownership are negatively related to program participation, suggesting that asset ownership may reduce low-income households’ chances of receiving food assistance. It is recommended that program administrators liberalize asset eligibility rules and simplify procedures to facilitate program participation among low-income asset owners.

Informing Social Work Practice Through The Enhancement Of The Biological Perspective: A Course Intervention Model For Human Service Professionals Working With Youth And Problems Of Conduct., Allison Sampson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention model designed to enhance practitioners’ biological lens when using a biopsychosocial-spiritual model of holistic assessment and planning. The specific intervention utilized is a course curriculum developed to broaden human service professionals’ (including clinical social work professionals) understanding of attachment theory, neuroscience and trauma informed methods of practice. The course teaches professionals how to apply this knowledge to clinical assessment and intervention planning with youth who have experienced significant trauma in their lives and exhibit problems of conduct. Using an experimental design, participants from a large private mental …

Lessons From Learning The Craft Of Theory-Driven Research, Michael A. Dover

Social Work Faculty Publications

This paper responds to Richard's Swedberg's call for analysis of the craft of theorizing and to Gabriel Abend's work on the meanings of theory. Their work is applied to a retrospective case study of the theoretical content of the introduction to the author's dissertation. The case study includes lessons drawn from several sections of that chapter: the choice of a research topic; identifying originating, specifying and subsidiary questions; distinguishing between the object and the subject of the research; reviewing the social policy and social science relevance; identifying the relevant research tradition; presenting a general conceptual framework and a specific conceptual …

Partnership Development Among Mental Health Organizations, Alicia C. Bunger

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Mental health organizations can play a key role in enhancing youths' access to care by working together to bridge gaps in service delivery systems. This dissertation study examines partnerships among a network of children's behavioral health organizations. The specific aims are to (1) describe and understand the network of partnerships among members of the Children's Services Coalition, (2) assess the capacity of the system to provide coordinated service delivery, and (3) test how patterns of organizational characteristics influence conditions that facilitate and inhibit partnerships among the Children's Service Coalition organizations. This dissertation is a predominantly quantitative cross-sectional network study of …

Estimating The Life Course Dynamics Of Asset Poverty, Mark R. Rank, Thomas A. Hirschl

Center for Social Development Research

Poverty can be conceptualized and measured in several different ways. The most common approach has been to rely on a scarcity of income as the basis for poverty. This paper analyzes poverty using a relatively new and alternative measuring stick—that of asset poverty. Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, we examine the extent to which individuals have enough assets to allow them to live for three months above the official poverty line. Households that fail to have the necessary amount of assets are considered asset poor. Three different measures of counting assets are used in this paper—net …

Risk And Protective Factors Associated With Academic Achievement Among Ghanaian Youth, Ziblim Abukari

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Young people in Ghana who grow up in poverty and to families with little or no education endure limited early learning opportunities, underfunded educational systems, and more health and mental health problems compared to their peers from more privileged backgrounds. A significant body of literature addressing the relationship among risk, protection, resilience and academic achievement is based on youth populations in North America and Western Europe. Relatively little is known about the applicability of ecological and risk and resilience frameworks in non-Western countries. Consequently, educational outcomes of young people in Ghana are often characterized by similarities in low achievement, lack …

First Jobs Academy Work Readiness Training For Child Welfare Involved Youth: Trainer Guide, Amy Beaulieu (Ed) Mssw, Lcsw

Children, Youth, & Families

This curriculum focuses on mastery of knowledge, skills, and abilities related to work readiness in four main competency areas:

Communication: Articulates thoughts and ideas clearly and effectively; demonstrates public speaking skills; writes work-related materials clearly and effectively.

Critical Thinking & Problem-Solving: Exercises sound reasoning and analytical thinking; uses knowledge, facts, and data to solve workplace problems.

Professionalism: Demonstrates personal accountability and effective work habits, such as punctuality, working productively with others toward a goal, and time and workload management.

Teamwork & Collaboration:Builds productive and professional working relationships with colleagues, supervisors, and customers; able to work with diverse teams; able to …

First Jobs Academy Enhanced Management Training: Curriculum For Employers Of Child Welfare Involved Youth, Amy Beaulieu (Ed.) Mssw, Lcsw

Children, Youth, & Families

First Jobs Academy Enhanced Management Training prepares community employers to successfully hire and retain youth in the child welfare system. Training sessions are designed to help employers understand the strengths and struggles these youth bring to the world of work in order to increase opportunities for success.

The Enhanced Management Training program provides employers with basic information and context about working effectively with youth, specifically youth in the foster care system. In the First Jobs Academy model, employers are called “business mentors” to highlight their importance in providing youth with direct support, modeling, and encouragement at the worksite. Business mentors …

Failure Of Intimate Partner Violence Screening Among Patients With Substance Use Disorders, Esther K. Choo, Christina Nicolaidis, Robert H. Jenkinson, Jessi M. Cox, Kenneth J. Mcconnell

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Objectives: This study examined the relationship between substance use disorder (SUD) and intimate partner violence screening (IPV) and management practices in the emergency department (ED). Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of adult ED patients presenting to an urban, tertiary care teaching hospital over a 4-month period. An automated electronic data abstraction process identified consecutive patients and retrieved visit characteristics, including results of three violence screening questions, demographic data, triage acuity, time of visit, and ICD-9 diagnosis codes. Data on management were collected using a standardized abstraction tool by two reviewers masked to the study question. Multivariate logistic regression …

Saving For Post-Secondary Education In American Indian Communities, Amy Locklear Hertel, Mary Elizabeth Jäger

Center for Social Development Research

Saving for Post-Secondary Education in American Indian Communities

How Young Adults With Mental Health Conditions Use The Internet To Access Mental Health Information And Support, L. Kris Gowen, Matthew Deschaine

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Presentation that probes how young adults with significant mental health challenges use the internet, specifically as it relates to finding information and "self-diagnosis." The authors explore how youth with mental health challenges use the internet, and share the results of three Oregon focus groups. Also discussed is how online sources are evaluated, and barriers facing seekers of health information online.

Youth Savings In Developing Countries: Trends In Practice, Gaps In Knowledge, Jamie Zimmerman, Jamie M. Zimmerman, David Ansong, Shweta S. Banerjee, Ray Boshara, Gina Chowa, Rani Deshpande, Lissa Johnson, Rainier Masa, Kate Mckee, Margaret Miller, Margaret Sherraden, Michael Sherraden, Fred Ssewamala, Thierry Van Bastelaer, Jamie M. Zimmerman, Li Zou

Center for Social Development Research

Youth Savings in Developing Countries: Trends in Practice, Gaps in Knowledge

Perceived Impacts Of International Service On Volunteers: Interim Results From A Quasi-Experimental Study, Amanda Moore Mcbride, Benjamin J. Lough, Margaret Sherrard Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

There is growing interest in the potential of international service to foster international understanding between peoples and nations and to promote global citizenship and intercultural cooperation, and international service may be growing in prevalence worldwide. Despite the scale of international service, its impacts are not well understood. Although there is a growing body of descriptive evidence about the various models and intended outcomes of international service, the overwhelming majority of research is based on case and cross-sectional studies, which do not permit conclusions about the impacts of international service. This paper reports on a quasi-experimental study that assesses perceptions of …

Saving For Post-Secondary Education In American Indian Communities: A Geospatial And Quantitative Analysis, Amy Locklear Hertel, Mary Elizabeth Jäger

Center for Social Development Research

A college education is critical to achieving financial stability in the United States. Empirical evidence linking college completion to higher incomes supports this assertion (Bergman, 2006). Every child should have the opportunity to obtain a post-secondary education and achieve financial stability. However, little is known about the practices and behaviors of American Indians when it comes to saving for post-secondary education. This pilot study is the first in this regard. There are two objectives for this study. The first is to assess spatially NC 529 College Savings Plan (NC 529 Plan or Plan) awareness and ownership among American Indian participants …

Developing Brokered Community Transportation For Seniors And People With Disabilities, Jerry D. Marx, Christie Davis, Caitlyn Miftari, Anne Salamone, Wendy Weise

Social Work

Communities are exploring ways to increase transportation coordination to improve access for seniors. One such effort is a brokered transportation system in which one agency serves as the central point of contact for ride information or actually arranging transportation for clients of multiple programs by use of a combination of transportation services. A team of social work faculty and students from the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Social Work Outreach Center, a center that provides service learning opportunities to students, collaborated with a local coalition to investigate the specific transportation needs of the region's senior citizens. A total of 641 …

Fathers And Child Welfare: Stories Of Men’S Everyday Life Experiences, Gary Cameron

Partnerships for Children and Families Project

This report explores the life experiences of fathers involved with child welfare services and acts as both a stand-alone document and a companion document to the research report on father’s service experiences with child welfare. This report is intended for multiple audiences including child welfare service providers, community organizations working with men, students and instructors interested in men’s issues, and fathers. A summary of all the men's stories that were analyzed for these two reports are captured in the Fathers and Child Welfare (Story Volume).

Does Context Matter In Determining Psychological Abuse? Effects Of Pattern, Harm, Relationship, And Norms, Dana D. Dehart, Diane R. Follingstad, Alice M. Fields

Faculty and Staff Publications

This study explored contextual influences in determining whether psychologically aggressive actions constitute abuse. One hundred and thirty-one undergraduates completed measures of key experiences, attitudes, and traits, and rated abusiveness of behaviors in a series of vignettes. Vignettes varied contexts in which behaviors occurred, including whether the behavior was a pattern, whether there was harm to the recipient, characteristics of the initiator-recipient relationship, and whether behavior was normative. Results showed no effects for participants' gender, past experiences with psychological aggression, and traits or attitudes. Findings indicated that behaviors were rated as more abusive when harm to recipient was evident. Findings regarding …

Counselor Attitudes Toward The Harm Reduction Approach In Substance Abuse Treatment, Nicole Marie Kyser

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

In the United States, the preferred method for treating alcohol and drug addictions is the abstinence based approach. While most American mental health professionals use this approach, studies over time have demonstrated that relapse rates remain high. In Europe, the harm reduction approach, in which the primary goal is to decrease the harms associated with substance use, is beginning to be implemented as an additional approach to abstinence. Although the outcomes of the harm reduction approach are not yet clear, countries that utilize harm reduction have seen a decrease in crime, wages lost, and hospitalizations due to alcohol and drug …

Focal Point, Volume 24, Portland State University. Regional Research Institute

Research and Training Center - Focal Point

The articles included in this inaugural issue of the "new" Focal Point address "Transitions to Adulthood" from the perspectives of researchers, youth, family, and professionals. [This is the first issue of Focal Point as published by the Research and Training Center for Pathways to Positive Futures; previous issues had been published under the preceding RTC for Family Support and Children's Mental Health.]

Emotional Distress And Social Disruptions Associated With Undocumented And Illegal Immigration: A Western New York And Related Areas Sample, Ismaila Mane

Multidisciplinary Studies Theses

The purpose of this research project was to gather information, inform and educate on the various forms and levels of emotional distress, psychological and social disruptions as a result of illegal immigration in the United States. Millions of people from different countries of Asia, Africa, South America and the Middle East have been living in the USA illegally. They are often referred to as illegal immigrants or undocumented immigrants. Previous literature on illegal immigration has mostly focused on the political and criminal aspects of the issue. That is to say, many illegal immigrants were considered criminals just because they broke …

Supporting Transition-Aged Youth: One State's Efforts, L. Kris Gowen

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Young adults need specialized services as they age out of children’s mental health care and into adult services. Starting in 1997, Connecticut began to address this need by creating a Young Adult Services (YAS) program, designed to assist those over 18 who had moderate to severe symptoms of mental illness. YAS provides comprehensive service delivery that includes clinical, residential, case management, vocational, and social rehabilitation supports. Major principles that guide the YAS program include: (1) services must be comprehensive and integrated—focusing on one issue without supporting a young adult in other aspects of his or her life is ineffective; (2) …