Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Project Miracle: Increasing Empathy Among Psychosocial Support Staff Working With Refugees Through Brief Training In Motivational Interviewing, Miriam Potocky, Kristen L. Guskovict

School of Social Work

Motivational interviewing (MI) is presented as a mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) approach for increasing empathy among psychosocial support staff working with refugees in resettlement. In a pilot study, 34 case managers in US refugee resettlement non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were trained in MI in a 3-h webinar format using a randomized controlled trial with a wait-list condition. Outcome was measured using the Helpful Responses to Refugees Questionnaire, which assesses empathetic responses to common refugee scenarios. Training group participants’ responses significantly improved from before to after training compared to the wait-list group which received no training; these results were subsequently …

Repatriation Of Afghan Refugees From Iran: A Shelter Profile Study, Mitra Naseh, Miriam Potocky, Paul H. Stuart, Sara Pezeshk

School of Social Work

One in every nine refugees worldwide is from Afghanistan, and Iran is one of main host countries for these refugees. Close to 40 years of hosting Afghan refugees have depleted resources in Iran and resulted in promoting and sometimes forcing repatriation. Repatriation of Afghan refugees from Iran to Afghanistan has been long facilitated by humanitarian organizations with the premise that it will end prolonged displacement. However, lack of minimum standards of living, among other factors such as private covered living area, can make repatriation far from a durable solution. This study aims to highlight the value of access to shelter …

Mitigating Psychological Distress Among Humanitarian Staff Working With Migrants And Refugees: A Case Example, Kristen L. Guskovict, Miriam Potocky

School of Social Work

Ongoing acute stress in humanitarian work leads to psychological distress among humanitarian workers. Stress management within humanitarian agencies requires responses at both the individual staff member and agency levels. Stress management is often conceptualized in four categories: stress that can be accepted; stress that can be altered; stress to which individuals can adapt; and stress that can be avoided. Humanitarian workers accept the stress created by the environment in which they choose to work. They can manage stress by altering their own behaviors through improved communication skills and the implementation of self-care plans. They can adapt, with the help of …

Assessing Refugee Poverty Using Capabilities Versus Commodities: The Case Of Afghans In Iran, Mitra Naseh, Miriam Potocky, Shanna L. Burke, Paul H. Stuart

School of Social Work

This study is among the first to calculate poverty among one of the world’s largest refugee populations, Afghans in Iran. More importantly, it is one of the first to use capability and monetary approaches to provide a comprehensive perspective on Afghan refugees’ poverty. We estimated poverty using data collected from a sample of 2,034 refugee households in 2011 in Iran. We utilized basic needs poverty lines and the World Bank’s absolute international poverty line for our monetary poverty analyses and the global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) for our capability analyses of poverty. Findings show that nearly half of the Afghan …

Enhancing Empathy Among Humanitarian Workers Through Project Miracle: Development And Initial Validation Of The Helpful Responses To Refugees Questionnaire, Miriam Potocky, Kristen L. Guskovict

School of Social Work

Background: Empathy is an important tool needed for service providers working with people who have experienced trauma, such as refugees and torture survivors. However, the high caseloads, rigorous deadlines, and overwhelming circumstances under which humanitarian workers typically operate often make it challenging to employ empathy. The Helpful Responses to Refugees Questionnaire (HRRQ) was developed to measure empathetic responsiveness, a core skill of Motivational Interviewing, among service providers working with refugees, including torture survivors.

Methods: The HRRQ was adapted specifically for measuring empathy in refugee contexts, including among asylum-seekers and torture survivors. Face validity and content validity were established by a …

Can Online Consumers Contribute To Drug Knowledge? A Mixedmethods Comparison Of Consumergenerated And Professionally Controlled Psychotropic Medication Information On The Internet, Shannon Hughes, David Cohen

School of Social Work

Background: Ongoing initiatives to filter online health searches exclude consumer-generated content from search returns, though its inferiority compared with professionally controlled content is not demonstrated. The antidepressant escitalopram and the antipsychotic quetiapine have ranked over the last 5 years as top-selling agents in their respective drug classes. Both drugs have various off-label mental health and non–mental health uses, ranging from the relief of insomnia and migraines to the treatment of severe developmental disorders.

Objective: Our objective was to describe the most frequently reported effects of escitalopram and quetiapine in online consumer reviews, to compare them with effects described in professionally …

Intergenerational Associations Between A Consensual Childhood Sexual Experience And Adult Substance Abuse Among Latina Mothers And Daughters, Patria Rojas, Sunny Kim, Frank R. Dillon, Theophile Niynonsenga

School of Social Work

Purpose: Early onset of sexual activity has been linked to later substance abuse. Our study aimed to further describe the associations between Latina mothers’ and daughters’ early sexual activity and adult substance abuse.

Methods: A survey was conducted with 92 Latina mother–daughter dyads whose members never experienced sexual abuse. Childhood sexual experience was defined as the occurrence of a consensual sexual encounter at the age of 15 years or younger. Substance abusers were identified by the extent of substance use during the 12 months prior to the interview. Path analysis was used to fit our conceptual models to the data. …

Improving Treatment Through Research Directing Attention To The Role Of Development In Adolescent Treatment Success, Eric F. Wagner

School of Social Work

Treatment of adolescents with alcohol use problems can be as successful as in adults, but the success often is short-lived, with most treated adolescents relapsing within a few months. Developmental differences among adolescents may contribute to this high rate of relapse, and treatment approaches that pay direct attention to the patients’ developmental status may improve outcomes. To date, studies assessing adolescent alcohol treatment rarely have investigated the association between developmental stage and outcome. In addition, even experts do not fully agree on the developmentally appropriate outcomes that should be evaluated in adolescent treatment studies. Research methods and variables used to …

Determinants Of Success: Lessons To Be Learned From Rail Transit System Development In Miami-Dade And Dallas Counties, Patrick Bell, Gina Scutelnicu, Susan Young

School of Social Work

The Miami Metro Transit Authority Master Plan was originated 25 years ago, and its goals remain largely unmet. In approximately the same time period the Dallas Area Rapid Transit Authority has completed its phase one plan. Using a comparative approach, this study seeks to elucidate transportation model outcomes which are suitable to region specific needs. Our investigative intent is twofold. First, our analysis will yield policies that facilitate greater functionality in terms of access and time-efficient methods of transportation. Second, the analysis will reveal policies and factors influencing transportation outcomes in geographically dispersed locales such as Miami Dade County and …

Do Antidepressants Cure Or Create Abnormal Brain States?, Joanna Moncrieff, David Cohen

School of Social Work

No abstract provided.