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

Social Work Commons

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

Articles 1 - 4 of 4

Full-Text Articles in Social Work

How Peer Support Specialists Uniquely Initiate And Build Connection With Young People Experiencing Homelessness, James Erangey, Connor Marvin, Danielle Maude Littman, Meredith Mollica, Kimberly Bender, Tom Lucas, Tara Milligan Dec 2020

How Peer Support Specialists Uniquely Initiate And Build Connection With Young People Experiencing Homelessness, James Erangey, Connor Marvin, Danielle Maude Littman, Meredith Mollica, Kimberly Bender, Tom Lucas, Tara Milligan

Graduate School of Social Work: Faculty Scholarship

Young people experiencing homelessness are often apprehensive to engage in conventional service systems due to prior mistreatment by providers and others in their lives, as well as stigma associated with accessing services. Even when relationships between service providers and young people are initiated, they often end prematurely. Mutual aid, or peer-to-peer support, has a long and promising history within the mental health field, yet has received little empirical attention in work with young people experiencing homelessness. The present study used participatory qualitative methods to understand how peers uniquely initiate and build connection with young people experiencing homelessness. Through interviews and …


An Evaluation Of Youth In(Vol)Ved: Impact On Participants' Attitudes Toward Volunteerism, Kelsey G. Steines Mar 2014

An Evaluation Of Youth In(Vol)Ved: Impact On Participants' Attitudes Toward Volunteerism, Kelsey G. Steines

Honors Program Projects

Youth In(VOL)ved is an 8 week youth volunteer program directed by the Grant Wood Area American Red Cross, which is located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The purpose of the program is to contribute to the American Red Cross’ goal of motivating and recruiting a new generation of volunteers, which supports the organization’s mission of alleviating human suffering in the face of emergencies. This paper examines the impact of Youth In(VOL)ved on participants’ attitudes toward volunteerism, which is information that can be used by the American Red Cross to apply for grant funding and to improve the program in future years. …


Testing Pathways Linking Exposure To Community Violence And Sexual Behaviors Among African American Youth, Dexter R. Voisin Dec 2013

Testing Pathways Linking Exposure To Community Violence And Sexual Behaviors Among African American Youth, Dexter R. Voisin

Faculty Scholarship

Exposure to community violence and HIV sexual risks are two major public health concerns among youth. This study tests various pathways linking exposure to community violence and sexual behaviors among African American adolescents. Using a sample of 563 (61 % females) African American youth attending high school we examined whether problematic psychological symptoms, low school engagement, and/or negative perceptions of peer norms about safer sex functioned as pathways linking exposure to community violence and sexual behaviors. Major findings indicated that, for boys, the relationship between exposure to community violence and sexual début and sexual risk behaviors were linked by aggression. …


Toward A Conceptual Model Linking Community Violence Exposure To Hiv-Related Risk Behaviors Among Adolescents: Directions For Research, Dexter R. Voisin Apr 2011

Toward A Conceptual Model Linking Community Violence Exposure To Hiv-Related Risk Behaviors Among Adolescents: Directions For Research, Dexter R. Voisin

Faculty Scholarship

Purpose: To present a conceptual framework which accounts for the relationship between community violence exposures (CVEs) and youth HIV risk behaviors. Methods: This article provides an overview of existing research on the links between CVE and HIV risk for youth and offers a conceptual framework for clarifying how CVE might contribute to HIV sexual risk behaviors. Results: Increasing empirical findings substantiate that the links between CVE and HIV risk behaviors among youth are mediated by psychological problem behaviors, low school success rates, and negative peer influences. Conclusions: Researchers have identified the behaviors that place teens at risk for becoming infected …