Social Work Commons^™

Peer-To-Peer Mentoring Programs In The School Setting For Grades 7-12, Jennifer Crawford

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This Capstone project will provide a complete literature review on peer-to-peer mentoring programs; summarize findings; review evidence-based research regarding existing mentoring programs; compare and contrast the review findings; address potential limitations, and make recommendations to the school administration of United South Central School District #2134, regarding design and implementation of a research-based peer-to-peer mentoring program.

Handbook On Sensitive Practice For Health Care Practitioners: Lessons From Adult Survivors Of Childhood Sexual Abuse, Candice L. Schachter, Carol A. Stalker, Eli Teram, Gerri C. Lasiuk, Alanna Danilkewich

Lyle S. Hallman Social Work Faculty Publications

This handbook is the culmination of a multiphase, multidisciplinary research project that used grounded theory and participatory action research to illuminate ways that healthcare providers can work sensitively (in a trauma-informed way) with adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

The research identified nine Principles of Sensitive Practice: respect, rapport, taking time, sharing information and control, respecting boundaries, fostering mutual learning, understanding non-linear healing and demonstrating an understanding of trauma to patients. Specific guidelines were developed for a wide variety of issues pertinent to clinical practice such as, removal of clothing, touch, responding to disclosures of abuse, managing triggers among others. …

Infant Social And Emotional Development: The Emergence Of Self In A Relational Context, Katherine L. Rosenblum, Carolyn Joy Dayton, Maria Muzik

Social Work Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Best Practices For Increasing Pro-Social Behavior In Adolescents With Mental Health And Behavioral Disorders, Danielle Armbrust-Malone

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Approximately 2 to 16 percent of the general population has a disruptive behavior disorder such as oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) or conduct disorder (CD) (Corcoran & Walsh, 2006). In a school setting, youth with these disorders may engage in acts such as disrespecting teachers, swearing at others, threatening others, assaulting staff or students, stealing, or vandalizing property and may benefit from a day treatment program which provides mental health services in a school setting. (Whitfield, 1999). Micro intervention strategies such as cognitive behavioral therapy and contingency management and mezzo interventions such as family therapy have been used to treat disruptive …

Effective Truancy Prevention Models, Nicole K. Hachfeld

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

In the United States, truancy has been identified as one of today’s top ten educational problems (Zhang, Katsiyannis, Barret& Wilson, 2007). Across the country, every day there are hundreds of thousands truant students (U.S. Department of Education, 1996). Attendance can be influenced by mental health issues, substance abuse, teenage pregnancy, student employment, family responsibilities, teacher attitudes, size of school, and inconsistent application of truancy policies and lack of meaningful consequences for truancy. Family factors that influence attendance include: domestic violence, poverty, lack of supervision, substance abuse, parental attitudes toward school and education (Kim & Streeter, 2006). The purpose of this …

Characteristics Of Evidence-Based Parent-Training Programs, Peggy Sorensen

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Purpose: To identify key characteristics in evidence-based parent-training programs that ensure effectiveness and efficiency for agencies serving families with children aged 5–9 with emotional and behavioral disorders. My research strategy will be to do a literature review of evidence-based parent-training programs that strengthen parent competencies, foster parent’s involvement in school, decrease children’s behavioral problems and strengthen children’s social and academic competencies.

Problem to be addressed: When children receive inconsistent or ineffective discipline from parents, they are at risk of developing childhood behavioral disorders. By adolescence, these problems can develop into Conduct Disorders as demonstrated by violence, substance abuse and criminal …

The 2009 Portland National Youth Summit Report, Rebecca Strachan, L. Kris Gowen, Janet S. Walker

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

The following report outlines the planning process, the agenda, and the outcomes of the 2009 Portland National Youth Summit. The purpose of the Youth Summit was to invite systems-experienced youth (e.g., those who have been involved with the services such as mental health, child welfare, and/or juvenile justice systems) together to create a “Call to Action” that outlines positive solutions to improve the mental health services they receive. This Summit took place in conjunction with the Research and Training Center’s (RTC) Building on Family Strengths Conference, Monday, June 22, 2009. A Youth Summit Advisory Board comprised of four young members …

The Mental Health Of Low Socio-Economic Populations, Sarah E. Bumgarner

Honors Program Theses

Depression is an illness that has a negative impact on our society. Depression not only lowers the depressed person's quality of life, but it also negatively impacts people close to the person suffering from this illness. This research is in response to the seriousness of this epidemic, particularly in the low socio-economic status (low SES) population. Topics explored include factors of a low SES environment that influence the onset of depression as well as how those factors relate to the quality of mental health care among depressed people of low SES. A review of the literature identified many barriers to …

Developing Evidenced Based Practice For Social Emotional Screenings In Schools, Kim Anderson

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The social problem being addressed through this project includes several challenges faced by our nation's schools, namely increasing numbers of disciplinary referrals, suspensions, and expulsions (Marchant, Anderson, Caldarella, Fisher, Young,Young, 2009). Further research states that "more and more children entering school are unprepared to learn, unable to cope with the social tasks involved in making friends and getting along with others, and unaware of their negative social effect on others," (Marchant et al., 2009, p.131). Only about 20% of children and adolescents with a psychiatric disorder in the United States receive any kind of mental health services (Fritz, 2007). Yet …

School Improvement Programs, Kimberly Barry

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Teachers face a growing number behavior challenges that effect the delivery of classroom instruction (Center for Effective Collaboration and Practice , n.d). This affects how the teacher teaches and how the other students learn. Disruptions in the classroom force teachers to direct their attention to that student resulting in less time teaching. School wide programs help school staff develop expectations for behavior and allows for a common language amongst all staff and students. There are many school wide programs that claim to make behaviors decrease. It can be very cumbersome and time consuming for schools to go through all of …

Bring Mental Health Services Home: Meeting The Mental Health Needs Of Adolescents And Their Families In Rural Minnesota, Laura Filzen

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this project was to develop a program that addressed housing and therapeutic support to adolescents experiencing mental health issues, allowed adolescents to remain in the community, and promoted reunification with their families. “An important indicator of success for children in out-of-home care is a timely transition to reunification” (Park and Ryan, 2009). Based on the literature and practice, it is believed that intensive family therapy is needed to promote reunification and reduce recidivism of placement.

The Importance Of Worksite Supervisors In At-Risk Youths' Lives, Laura Luna

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this research study is to learn the importance of supervisory needs for at-risk youth and young adults between the ages of 14 and 24. The researchers examined age, sex, race, education, and living situations to determine if there differences in needs of these groups related to worksite supervisors. Data was collected and analyzed from a sample of 97 youth residing in Blue Earth, Brown, Le Sueur, and Nicollet rural Minnesota counties.

Implementation And Data Tracking Of School-Linked Mental Health Services At A Rural Mental Health Agency, Jim Redmond

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

In late December of 2007 Tom McNeely, the clinical director for the Sioux Trails Mental Health Center, received a Request for Proposals (RFP) from the Minnesota Department of Human Services soliciting grant applications for a new school-linked mental health program. The school-linked program would provide students (K-12) attending public schools full therapeutic services in an effort to reduce mental health issues as a barrier to learning. This approach mirrored Sioux Trails’ belief that a holistic philosophy incorporating prevention and early intervention is the most effective healthcare service. Since the RTF seemed a good fit for the agency, Mr. McNeely, along …

Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Electric Training Modules, Jennifer Stuehrenberg

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The South Central Crisis Center is a State Operated Services mental health facility in Mankato, Minnesota. The center is designed to offer people suffering an acute mental health episode, such as suicidal thoughts, or who need a medication adjustment or other psychiatric services, up to a few days in a safe, secure environment. The center accepts referrals from law enforcement, county or health care professionals in these participating counties: Blue Earth, Brown, Faribault, Freeborn, Le Sueur, Martin, Nicollet, Rice, Sibley and Watonwan. Recently, the program has been serving a larger amount of clients who have a diagnosis of Asperger’s Disorder …

Parent Training, Support And Psychoeducational Groups As Evidence Based Practice In Children's Mental Health, Dorothy Wagner

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The evidence base for programs in children’s mental health has expanded significantly in the last decade (Burns, 2003), yet the implementation of these programs has lagged behind (Walrath, Sheehan, Holden, Hernandez & Blau, 2005). The purpose of this project is to research current evidence based practices and programs that could improve and/or update services that are provided to children and adolescents diagnosed with severe emotional disturbance (SED) in Steele County. Research and analysis of the feasibility of implementing a group intervention to provide support, psychoeducation and/or skills training to families was conducted.

Establishing A Basis For Multi-System Collaboration: Systemic Team Development, Rosalyn M. Bertram

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Reports of child sexual abuse require police, child protective services, forensic and medical evaluators, prosecutors, family court and treatment providers to negotiate complementary, overlapping roles with children and families. Administrators from these agencies in Kansas City, Missouri clarified this multi-system response by applying a theory-based model for team development previously studied in direct practice with families. This article presents that model and an exploratory case study of this effort. Findings suggest the model's efficacy for resolving inter-agency conflict and may contribute to constructing logic models in multi-system collaboration

"It's All One Big Circle": Welfare Discourse And The Everyday Lives Of Urban Adolescents, Staci T. Lowe

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Welfare reform succeeded, in part, because of discourse that characterized the poverty problem as one of long-term dependency and personal irresponsibility. Adolescent pregnancy was targeted as both cause and manifestation of a welfare crisis. This study examined how welfare reform was perceived and experienced by lowincome, urban adolescents. Findings from interviews revealed that adolescents agreed with many of the basic tenets of welfare reform, largely because they had appropriated much of the discourse prevalent in wider society. However, their complex life stories contained a powerful subtext concerning structural determinants of poverty that ran counter to prevailing notions of "personal responsibility."

Issues In Religion And Psychotherapy, Volume 32, Issue 1, 2008, Issues In Religion And Psychotherapy

Issues in Religion and Psychotherapy

No abstract provided.

Meditation, Christian Values And Psychotherapy, Kristin L. Hansen, Dianne Nielsen, Mitchell Harris

Issues in Religion and Psychotherapy

In recent decades meditation has been studied in the psychotherapy literature and incorporated into psychotherapy treatments (see Walsh & Shapiro, 2006, for review). As therapists who find meditation compatible with our Christian-based treatment approach, we have struggled to describe the integration of meditation and psychotherapy. In this article we first describe what meditation is, then consider its mechanisms of change, use in therapy or as a complement to therapy, and utility for therapists. The authors believe, consistent with Richards and Bergin’s (1997) view, that meditation is a spiritual intervention that can be used in theistically framed therapy. Ongoing research continues …

Bullying: An Adult Perspective From Educators Who Work Predominately With African American Students, Rebecca A. Robles-Piña, Anthony Harris, Rachel Porias

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

A survey of 31 teachers and counselors who work predominantly with African American students about bullying revealed these findings: Analyses by individual questions indicated that participants (a) disagreed that bullies and victims were of any particular ethnic group, (b) were unsure about whether gender impacted bullying and whether bullying had decreased (c) agreed that pairing loners with other students was a good intervention and that victims tended to be students with special needs, and (d) strongly agreed that bullies have feelings of power and control. Analyses by categories and demographic characteristics indicated no statistically significant differences for gender and job …

Acculturation And Mental Health Among Mexican Immigrant Women, Monique Diana Castaneda

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between the independent variable of acculturation and the dependent variable of mental health. The sample was drawn from a group of Mexican immigrant women residing in San Bernardino, California.

The Denial Of Emergency Protection: Factors Associated With Court Decision Making, Carol E. Jordan, Adam J. Pritchard, Pamela Wilcox, Danielle Duckett-Pritchard

Office for Policy Studies on Violence Against Women Publications

Despite the importance of civil orders of protection as a legal resource for victims of intimate partner violence, research is limited in this area, and most studies focus on the process following a court’s initial issuance of an emergency order. The purpose of this study is to address a major gap in the literature by examining cases where victims of intimate partner violence are denied access to temporary orders of protection. The study sample included a review of 2,205 petitions that had been denied by a Kentucky court during the 2003 fiscal year. The study offers important insights into the …

Assessment Practices In Residential Treatment Facilities For Juvenile Offenders, Liz Marciniak, Diane T. Marsh

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

Given the high prevalence of mental disorders among juvenile offenders, as well as the link between untreated disorders and delinquent behavior, there is a critical need for standardized, cost-effective, and clinically effective procedures to identify youth with mental health problems. Surveys were sent to staff in juvenile residential facilities throughout Pennsylvania to examine statewide assessment practices, including the background and training of staff, the standard intake procedures used in these facilities, and the role of assessment in treatment planning. Although results provide evidence of some common statewide assess-ment practices, there was significant variability in the use of specific procedures. Suggestions …

An Examination Of Female Youth Gangs, Tiffiney Y. Barfield-Cottledge, Myrna Cintron, Jonathan Sorensen

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

Cohen's subculture of delinquency theory (1955) posits that male youth gangs exist largely as the result of the status frustration experienced by rejected adolescents in their search for middle class acceptance. Cohen concluded that social and structural factors, particularly neighborhood and school environments, impacted youth gang prevalence. While many studies related to the existence of youth gangs have been conducted, few have focused specifically on female youth gangs. In the current study, an examination of female youth gangs was conducted using self-report data gathered for the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1997-2001). Contrary to arguments that gendered-specific criminological theories are …

Television Violence Prevention Versus Juvenile Violence Prevention: Any Connections In Parental Control?, Sharlette Kellum

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

Animated features, like children's cartoons, are considered by some to be the most violent shows on televi-sion, with approximately 25 to 50 acts of violence per hour (Dietz and Strasburger, 1991). Cartoons, unlike other shows that portray violence, present instances of violence to children in an "acceptable" way, which teaches children from zero to 17 years of age that hurting people is tolerable. Television violence has been linked to juvenile aggression, which has been linked to juvenile violence. In researching several studies, the author found that many of the preventions mentioned in the television violence studies were also mentioned in …

Which Sexual Abuse Victims Receive A Forensic Medical Examination? : The Impact Of Children's Advocacy Centers, Wendy A. Walsh, Theodore P. Cross, Lisa M. Jones, Monique Simone, David Kolko

Sociology

Abstract

Objective

This study examines the impact of Children's Advocacy Centers (CAC) and other factors, such as the child's age, alleged penetration, and injury on the use of forensic medical examinations as part of the response to reported child sexual abuse.

Methods

This analysis is part of a quasi-experimental study, the Multi-Site Evaluation of Children's Advocacy Centers, which evaluated four CACs relative to within-state non-CAC comparison communities. Case abstractors collected data on forensic medical exams in 1,220 child sexual abuse cases through review of case records.

Results

Suspected sexual abuse victims at CACs were two times more likely to have …

The Health Implications Of Violence Against Women: Untangling The Complexities Of Actual And Chronic Effects: Part Two, Carol E. Jordan

Office for Policy Studies on Violence Against Women Publications

No abstract provided.

The Health Implications Of Violence Against Women: Untangling The Complexities Of Acute And Chronic Effects: Part One, Carol E. Jordan

Office for Policy Studies on Violence Against Women Publications

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Perceived Discrimination On Samoan Health, Shail Singh

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of perceived discrimination on Samoan health. This study employed purposive data collection and was conducted quantitatively using a questionnaire format, which measured everyday perceived discrimination, depression, and physical health.

Depression And Coping Among Hmong Refugees, May Vang

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of study was to explore depression among Hmong refugees and the ways they use their coping skills to deal with stressful life events.