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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

2011

Social work

Articles 1 - 13 of 13

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Foot Soldiers For Social Justice: Realities, Relationships, And Resilience, Carole J. Olson, Holly A. Riffe, Caroline Reid, Norma Threadgill-Goldson Sep 2011

Foot Soldiers For Social Justice: Realities, Relationships, And Resilience, Carole J. Olson, Holly A. Riffe, Caroline Reid, Norma Threadgill-Goldson

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Social justice is embraced as a central mission of social work, yet how the profession defines social justice lacks a clear and common understanding. This qualitative study explored social justice as perceived and practiced by social workers in diverse practice settings in mostly rural areas, small towns, and small cities. Their experiences illustrate ways that social workers engage and advocate for their clients with the goal of improving access to tangible and intangible resources through both conventional and unconventional means. The authors provide insight into the resilience that bolsters social workers’ efforts as they navigate between practice ideals and realities.

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The Experiences Of Clinical Social Workers In Diagnosing Bipolar Disorder In Children And Adolescents, Ashley Caroline Petitt Aug 2011

The Experiences Of Clinical Social Workers In Diagnosing Bipolar Disorder In Children And Adolescents, Ashley Caroline Petitt

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a diagnosis that an increasing number of individuals under the age of 18 are being given, despite the fact that the DSM-IV has no description or criteria of what BD in this age group looks like. The purpose of this exploratory study was to look at the experiences of clinical social workers who have diagnosed BD in children and adolescents. To do so, eleven social workers who have a Master's of Social Work were interviewed using a standardized open-ended interview guide. The major findings of this study follow. Participants reported having diagnosed significantly more adolescents with …

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Measuring The Cultural Competence Of Hospice Social Workers Using The Multicultural Counseling Self-Efficacy Scale-Racial Diversity Form, Revised Version For Use In Hospice Settings, Jessica Moore Begans Aug 2011

Measuring The Cultural Competence Of Hospice Social Workers Using The Multicultural Counseling Self-Efficacy Scale-Racial Diversity Form, Revised Version For Use In Hospice Settings, Jessica Moore Begans

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

Although about 40% of American deaths occur in hospice care, and although social workers are members of nearly all hospice teams, there is scant research on the cross-cultural practices and competence of hospice social workers. Before this study, no self-report cultural competence scale was available to measure the perceived cultural competence skills of hospice social workers. To address this issue, a validated cross-cultural competence scale, the Multicultural Counseling Self-Efficacy Scale – Racial Diversity (Sheu, 2005) was modified to reflect the functions of hospice social workers. The revised scale (Begans, 2011) was completed by 33 hospice social workers in a New …

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Psychosocial Needs Of Refugees From Burma: A Social Work Perspective, Audrey Tyszka May 2011

Psychosocial Needs Of Refugees From Burma: A Social Work Perspective, Audrey Tyszka

Social Welfare

The purpose of this paper is to emphasize the need for increased awareness regarding the psychosocial needs of refugees from Burma and the services they may require. Due to the current influx in resettlement of Burmese refugees, a greater focus needs to be placed on effective social work with culturally diverse groups. Refugees from Burma have experienced an immense amount of trauma and loss, which must be understood in order to foster the recovery process. This paper draws on the literature, my experience as a social work intern at the United States Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI), and my …

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Information Placed In Trust: Older Gay Men And Social Workers On Talking About Sexual Identity In Aged Care, Mark Hughes Jan 2011

Information Placed In Trust: Older Gay Men And Social Workers On Talking About Sexual Identity In Aged Care, Mark Hughes

Professor Mark Hughes

As more men who openly identify as gay approach older age, it is important for health and aged care professionals to consider the appropriateness of talking with these men about their sexual identity. This paper reports findings from a pilot study that examined how sexual identity should be acknowledged in aged care practice. The paper draws on qualitative data from two focus groups; one with older gay men and one with social workers. An analysis of the themes that overlapped the two groups highlighted the extent to which participants thought sexual identity should be discussed openly, the value placed on …

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Sabbatical Leave Report, Laura Jamison Jan 2011

Sabbatical Leave Report, Laura Jamison

Sabbaticals

As a professor and social worker, I'd been intrigued by Jane Addams for years. She is routinely discussed in introductory social work and sociology texts as a significant historical figure. She has been described as a selfless social reformer and as a catalyst in the American settlement house movement. I always felt that she deserved far more attention than she received in the texts- and from our students. I used my spring 2011 sabbatical leave to accomplish two different but complementary goals-engaging in research to acquire a greater depth of knowledge of Addams and also developing a strategy for how …

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Incarcerated Motherhood, Duchess Harris Phd, Jd Jan 2011

Incarcerated Motherhood, Duchess Harris Phd, Jd

Journal of Race, Gender, and Ethnicity

No abstract provided.

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The Lies That Bind : Heteronormative Constructions Of "Family" In Social Work Discourse, Cassie Maude Peterson Jan 2011

The Lies That Bind : Heteronormative Constructions Of "Family" In Social Work Discourse, Cassie Maude Peterson

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

The social work profession has a long, enduring history and commitment to American families, and has often led the way in embracing alternative family arrangements. Gay and lesbian families are gaining more political visibility and lobbying for the rights and protections from which they were previously excluded. Therefore, this study is an analysis of social work's contemporary, defining representations of gay and lesbian families. Twelve, gay and lesbian "family" research studies were culled from the database, Social Work Abstracts, and subjected to queer discourse analysis in order to illuminate how these alternative family forms are being constructed within the discipline …

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Youth Work As A Public Good: Older Teenager's Experiences Of Youth Services In Dulbin, Matt Bowden, Kerri Lanigan Jan 2011

Youth Work As A Public Good: Older Teenager's Experiences Of Youth Services In Dulbin, Matt Bowden, Kerri Lanigan

Articles

In the context of consumerism, individualism and the privatisation of young people’s leisure, youth work struggles to attract young people, especially those aged 15 to 9 years. Drawing from a study exploring young people’s perspectives on participation in youth services, it is argued that youth work offers a type of public and civic engagement that is not on offer from consumption-based activities. While certain activities attract young people into youth work, what maintains their participation is the sense of belonging they experience and the opportunity to participate meaningfully in decision making. In this regard the youth work sector needs to …

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What Factors Deter Self-Identified White Anti-Racist Social Workers From Interrupting Acts Of Racism In Interpersonal Interactions, Mary Jane Panke Jan 2011

What Factors Deter Self-Identified White Anti-Racist Social Workers From Interrupting Acts Of Racism In Interpersonal Interactions, Mary Jane Panke

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

Current National Association of Social Workers codes, mandates, and policies require members to work to end racism. Although there is a strong need for social workers to consistently act against racism there are times social workers choose not to interrupt racism in interpersonal interactions. This study was interested in learning how social workers understand their decisions not to act against racism to gain a better understanding of the barriers to interrupting racism. This information may assist social workers in meeting their personal and professional obligations to combat racism. Ten self-identified White anti-racist social workers were interviewed for this qualitative study. …

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The Effectiveness Of An Interactive Multimedia Psychoeducational Approach To Improve Financial Competence In At-Risk Youth: A Pilot Study, Bradley Klontz, Caesar Pacifici, Lee White, Carol Nelson Jan 2011

The Effectiveness Of An Interactive Multimedia Psychoeducational Approach To Improve Financial Competence In At-Risk Youth: A Pilot Study, Bradley Klontz, Caesar Pacifici, Lee White, Carol Nelson

Journal of Financial Therapy

In recent years, a growing number of initiatives have been aimed at increasing financial literacy among youth in America. However, these efforts have tended to target mainstream populations, and failing to adequately address the backgrounds, learning, and psychological needs of at-risk youth. This study piloted a curriculum on money management that presented a basic set of financial skills via story situations and characters that are meaningful to at-risk youth using a dynamic interactive multimedia online delivery to heighten youths’ interest to learn. The approach also helped at-risk youth gain insight into their money beliefs and psychological barriers to success, integrating …

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Sexual Attraction To Clients : Are Master Of Social Work Students Trained To Manage Such Feelings?, Jennifer Davis Begun Jan 2011

Sexual Attraction To Clients : Are Master Of Social Work Students Trained To Manage Such Feelings?, Jennifer Davis Begun

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This exploratory/descriptive study was undertaken to determine if master of social work students in a current field placement experienced sexual attraction to clients, and whether they felt adequately trained on the subject. The study also inquired about how the students handled their feelings of sexual attraction and whether they discussed them with their supervisor and/or fellow students. An email was sent out to the researcher's fellow social work students asking them to complete the qualitative and quantitative survey and to pass it along to others in master of social work programs. To be eligible, all survey respondents had to be …

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Social Work Students' Attitudes Toward Teenage Pregnancy Prevention: The Importance Of Religiosity And Feminist Ideology, Pilar Thompson Borne Jan 2011

Social Work Students' Attitudes Toward Teenage Pregnancy Prevention: The Importance Of Religiosity And Feminist Ideology, Pilar Thompson Borne

LSU Master's Theses

Effective teenage pregnancy prevention is a topic of debate in current literature. Religiosity is frequently examined in the research, and studies typically assess associations between behavior patterns and level of religiosity. Feminist ideology is another theme found in the teenage pregnancy prevention literature that mainly examines how feminist perspectives contribute to effective prevention approaches. The current study examined the interrelationships among religiosity, feminist ideology and attitudes toward teenage pregnancy prevention. A self-report survey instrument was used to collect data from 69 MSW students, a sample surveyed for the first with the current study. A significant positive correlation was found between …

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