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Prevention

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Full-Text Articles in Social Work

From Childhood Obesity Risk To Healthy Growth In The U.S.: A 10-Year Social Work Research & Policy Update, Brittany R. Schuler, Christian E. Vazquez, Nicole O'Reilly Feb 2023

From Childhood Obesity Risk To Healthy Growth In The U.S.: A 10-Year Social Work Research & Policy Update, Brittany R. Schuler, Christian E. Vazquez, Nicole O'Reilly

Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Childhood obesity is a major health issue and a prominent chronic health condition for children in the United States (U.S.), caused by a multitude of factors. Most existing models of childhood obesity prevention have not worked, yielding little to no effect on improving weight status or the proximal health behaviors most attributed to obesity risk: nutritional intake, physical activity, sedentary behaviors, and sleep. There is an urgent need for new approaches to prevent health disparities that are responsive to impacts of economic inequality on healthy child growth in marginalized populations. In this Short Commentary, a social justice update is …


Latina Young People’S Perspectives On Healthy Romantic Relationships: A Strengths-Based, Qualitative Inquiry, Susan R. Pace, Jenn M. Lilly, Maddox C. Emerick Jan 2023

Latina Young People’S Perspectives On Healthy Romantic Relationships: A Strengths-Based, Qualitative Inquiry, Susan R. Pace, Jenn M. Lilly, Maddox C. Emerick

Social Service Faculty Publications

There is a dearth of research examining the relationship perspectives of Latina young people, a population that reports disproportionate rates of teen dating violence (TDV). This strengths-based, qualitative study utilized critical narrative inquiry to explore Latinas’ relationship perspectives through in-depth interviews. Rigorous analysis revealed participants’ desire for freedom from violence/abuse, open communication, independence, and egalitarian values in relationships, while reporting relationship models and media representation as their main influences on relationship perspectives. Our findings demonstrate that although patriarchal gender norms influence romantic relationships with Latinx cultures, many participants rejected traditional gendered power dynamics that can lead to violence, providing important …


The Future Of Environmental Social Work: Looking To Community Initiatives For Models Of Prevention, Samantha Teixeira, John Mathias, Amy Krings Jul 2019

The Future Of Environmental Social Work: Looking To Community Initiatives For Models Of Prevention, Samantha Teixeira, John Mathias, Amy Krings

Social Work: School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Other Works

Social work responses to environmental degradation have sought to mitigate harm that has already occurred and create strategies to respond or adapt to environmental hazards. Despite a good deal of literature suggesting the promise of prevention-focused models, social workers have less frequently considered prevention models to address environmental issues. In this manuscript, we consider how communities engaged in environmentally-based prevention work might inform the development of ecosocial work practice. We describe how a prevention-focused agenda, in partnership with communities, can be a promising avenue for ecosocial work practice to address the root causes of environmental degradation and its social impacts.


Moving Beyond A Protective Approach To Stopping Sexual Violence Of People With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities, Katie Crowell, Jenni Elwer, Beatrice Makori, Laura Schultz Apr 2019

Moving Beyond A Protective Approach To Stopping Sexual Violence Of People With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities, Katie Crowell, Jenni Elwer, Beatrice Makori, Laura Schultz

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) have some of the highest rates of sexual violence of any group—at least 7 times the rate for people without disabilities. (6) Attempts to alleviate this problem have been unsuccessful and based on the Medical Model of Disability, which views people with I/DD as inherently vulnerable and in need only of protection. Viewing people with I/DD as inherently vulnerable further stigmatizes them and increases dependency on others, instead of fostering capabilities and independence. Minnesota needs to move beyond taking a protective “recognize, report, and respond” approach, to taking a comprehensive approach to sexual …


The Implications Of Ace Science: A Call To Respond, Valerie Norcross Apr 2019

The Implications Of Ace Science: A Call To Respond, Valerie Norcross

The Diana McDonald Writer's Challenge

In “The Implications of ACE Science: A Call to Respond,” Valerie Norcross employs a professional format for writing in the field of psychology. Her essay cites studies linking Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) with higher mortality rates due to a range of causes. Norcross explains some of the scientific theories for why childhood traumas contribute to shorter life expectancies. She describes efforts to screen children for ACEs and interventions for diminishing the long-term detrimental health effects of ACEs.


Stop Truancy Before It Starts: Getting Every Kid To School, Everyday, Brittany Roulette, Hannah Twedt, Paula Skala Mar 2017

Stop Truancy Before It Starts: Getting Every Kid To School, Everyday, Brittany Roulette, Hannah Twedt, Paula Skala

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

Attending school consistently builds a foundation for academic achievement and social success in the future. Students missing an excessive number of school days throughout childhood for any reason experience increasingly negative outcomes as they grow older. When truancy leads to dropping out of school, this costs individuals money in lost wages associated with reduced education levels. Truancy also costs society as a whole in reduced tax collection, increased crime, and increased need for public services. Research demonstrates that minority students and youth with other risk-factors are more likely to experience school disengagement leading to truancy. Punitive school policies such as …


Attune With Baby: An Innovative Attunement Program For Parents And Families With Integrated Evaluation, Sara Beth Lohre Jan 2017

Attune With Baby: An Innovative Attunement Program For Parents And Families With Integrated Evaluation, Sara Beth Lohre

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Infants speak in their own language; sounds, screeches, cries, and howls that help them to communicate their caregiving needs. Unaware, parents may develop a checklist of caregiving approaches to the baby. The infant tells the adult directly what they need, and waits for the parent to respond. Infant talk may change from soft and quiet to loud and aggressive; coos and cries become crying and screams as the infant’s caregiver—communicating the intensity of emotion, urgency of their request, or their frustration with varied and sometimes inadequate, failed, or missing caregiving patterns the infant has no choice but to accept. When …


Gender Transformative Approaches To Engaging Men In Gender-Based Violence Prevention: A Review And Conceptual Model, Erin Casey, Juliana Carlson, Sierra Two Bulls, Aurora Yager May 2016

Gender Transformative Approaches To Engaging Men In Gender-Based Violence Prevention: A Review And Conceptual Model, Erin Casey, Juliana Carlson, Sierra Two Bulls, Aurora Yager

Social Work & Criminal Justice Publications

Engaging men and boys as participants and stakeholders in gender-based violence (GBV) prevention initiatives is an increasingly institutionalized component of global efforts to end GBV. Accordingly, evidence of the impact of men's engagement endeavors is beginning to emerge, particularly regarding interventions aimed at fostering gender equitable and nonviolent attitudes and behaviors among men. This developing evidence base suggests that prevention programs with a "gender transformative" approach, or an explicit focus on questioning gender norms and expectations, show particular promise in achieving GBV prevention outcomes. Interventions targeting attitude and behavior change, however, represent just one kind of approach within a heterogeneous …


Prevention Strategies And Mental Health In Vietnam, Edward Cohen Jan 2016

Prevention Strategies And Mental Health In Vietnam, Edward Cohen

Faculty Publications

This paper addresses the current state of mental health services in Vietnam and provides recommendations for improving the care of people with mental illness. Vietnam’s mental health problems are as prevalent as anywhere else in the world. The country has recently begun an initiative to reform mental health care by improving community-based services for people with serious mental illness. However, mental illness has not been a part of public discourse in Vietnam. There is little recognition of prevalent common mental illnesses (such as depression, anxiety and alcohol abuse) and the care of people with serious mental illnesses relies on either …


Mexican American Adolescents’ Perceptions Of Dating Violence Programs: Recommendations For Effective Program Design And Implementation, Lela Rankin Williams, Heidi Adams Rueda, Bianca N. Altamirano May 2012

Mexican American Adolescents’ Perceptions Of Dating Violence Programs: Recommendations For Effective Program Design And Implementation, Lela Rankin Williams, Heidi Adams Rueda, Bianca N. Altamirano

Social Work Faculty Publications

Although promising dating violence programs have emerged, little is known about their effectiveness for Mexican American youth, a vulnerable and understudied population. The purpose of this study was: (1) to offer culturally-grounded recommendations towards the development of effective Teen Dating Violence (TDV) programs and/or the modification of existing programs, and (2) to identify potential barriers to Mexican American youth’s participation in TDV programs. Using the perspectives of Mexican American youth (15 to 17 years old) and a phenomenological study design, focus groups (N = 14) were conducted that were homogeneous by gender and level of acculturation (low/bicultural/high). Youth provided …


Factors Impacting Intention To Leave In Social Workers And Child Care Workers Employed At Voluntary Agencies, Wendy Zeitlin, Charles Auerbach, Junqing Liu, Gretta Fernandes, Brenda Mcgowan, Nancy Claiborne Jan 2012

Factors Impacting Intention To Leave In Social Workers And Child Care Workers Employed At Voluntary Agencies, Wendy Zeitlin, Charles Auerbach, Junqing Liu, Gretta Fernandes, Brenda Mcgowan, Nancy Claiborne

Department of Social Work and Child Advocacy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Introduction: To ameliorate high turnover in child welfare, researchers have attempted to identify factors that lead to undesirable turnover. While this has been studied extensively, little attention has been paid to turnover based upon job roles. Like social workers in child welfare, the field of child care also experiences high turnover. Child care workers employed in child welfare settings are no exception. The current study seeks to understand differential factors that impact intent to leave for preventive and child care workers employed in child welfare agencies. Materials and methods: Data for prevention workers (n = 538) were obtained from all …


Strengthening Family Practices For Latino Families, Karen G. Chartier, Lirio K. Negroni, Michie N. Hesselbrock Jan 2010

Strengthening Family Practices For Latino Families, Karen G. Chartier, Lirio K. Negroni, Michie N. Hesselbrock

Social Work Publications

The study examined the effectiveness of a culturally-adapted Strengthening Families Program (SFP) for Latinos to reduce risks for alcohol and drug use in children. Latino families, predominantly Puerto Rican, with a 9–12 year old child and a parent(s) with a substance abuse problem participated in the study. Pre- and post-tests were conducted with each family. Parental stress, parent-child dysfunctional relations, and child behavior problems were reduced in the families receiving the intervention; family hardiness and family attachment were improved. Findings contribute to the validation of the SFP with Latinos, and can be used to inform social work practice with Puerto …


Promoting Fathers' Engagement With Children: Preventive Interventions For Low-Income Families, Philip A. Cowan, Carolyn Pape Cowan, Marsha Kline Pruett, Kyle Pruett, Jessie J. Wong Aug 2009

Promoting Fathers' Engagement With Children: Preventive Interventions For Low-Income Families, Philip A. Cowan, Carolyn Pape Cowan, Marsha Kline Pruett, Kyle Pruett, Jessie J. Wong

School for Social Work: Faculty Publications

Few programs to enhance fathers' engagement with children have been systematically evaluated, especially for low-income minority populations. In this study, 289 couples from primarily low-income Mexican American and European American families were randomly assigned to one of three conditions and followed for 18 months: 16-week groups for fathers, 16-week groups for couples, or a 1-time informational meeting. Compared with families in the low-dose comparison condition, intervention families showed positive effects on fathers' engagement with their children, couple relationship quality, and children's problem behaviors. Participants in couples' groups showed more consistent, longer term positive effects than those in fathers-only groups. Intervention …


Prevention Of Elder Mistreatment In Nursing Homes: Competencies For Direct-Care Staff, Dana Dehart, Jennifer Webb, Carol Cornman Jan 2009

Prevention Of Elder Mistreatment In Nursing Homes: Competencies For Direct-Care Staff, Dana Dehart, Jennifer Webb, Carol Cornman

Faculty and Staff Publications

Existing training on elder mistreatment in nursing homes focuses on detection and reporting of abuse, with little training specifically targeted toward prevention of mistreatment before it occurs. We used qualitative interviews with nursing home staff, policymakers, and related professionals to identify training needs. Based on participant accounts, we drafted a number of competencies essential for caregiver training to prevent mistreatment in nursing homes. Competencies include those dealing with: definitions and policies; risks for mistreatment; communication and respect; and development of a cooperative working environment. Competencies are discussed along with illustrative examples, and implications for practice and policy are addressed.


Sexual Diversity, Social Inclusion And Hiv/Aids., Carlos F. Cáceres, Peter Aggleton, Jerome T. Galea Aug 2008

Sexual Diversity, Social Inclusion And Hiv/Aids., Carlos F. Cáceres, Peter Aggleton, Jerome T. Galea

Social Work Faculty Publications

Despite a number of programmes to prevent HIV among men who have sex with men (MSM) and, more generally, sexually diverse populations, gay and other homosexually active men continue to be at heightened risk of HIV and its consequences. This paper analyses some of the reasons for this situation and offers policy and programmatic recommendations to contribute to a solution. The social exclusion of MSM and transgender individuals is an overwhelming reality in the majority of countries worldwide. Although progress has been achieved in some countries, in most of the world the situation remains problematic. Present challenges to equality and …


An Approach To Preventing Coparenting Conflict And Divorce In Low-Income Families: Strengthening Couple Relationships And Fostering Fathers' Involvement, Carolyn Pape Cowan, Philip A. Cowan, Marsha Kline Pruett, Kyle Pruett Mar 2007

An Approach To Preventing Coparenting Conflict And Divorce In Low-Income Families: Strengthening Couple Relationships And Fostering Fathers' Involvement, Carolyn Pape Cowan, Philip A. Cowan, Marsha Kline Pruett, Kyle Pruett

School for Social Work: Faculty Publications

In the context of current concern about levels of marital distress, family violence, and divorce, the SFI study is evaluating the effectiveness of an intervention to facilitate the positive involvement of low-income Mexican American and European American fathers with their children, in part by strengthening the men's relationships with their children's mothers. The study design involves a randomized clinical trial that includes assignment to a 16-week couples group, a 16-week fathers group, or a single-session control group. Couples in both group interventions and the control condition include partners who are married, cohabiting, and living separately but raising a young child …


Teaching Parenting Skills In A Methadone Treatment Setting, Randy R. Gainey, Kevin P. Haggerty, Charles B. Fleming, Richard F. Catalano Jan 2007

Teaching Parenting Skills In A Methadone Treatment Setting, Randy R. Gainey, Kevin P. Haggerty, Charles B. Fleming, Richard F. Catalano

Sociology & Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Family factors significantly affect children’s risk of substance abuse, delinquency, and other problem behaviors (Arthur, Hawkins, Pollard, Catalano, & Baglioni, 2002). Children of substance abusers represent a particularly high-risk population. Prenatal exposure to addictive substances and the medical complications that may arise are important factors that, from conception, place this population at high risk of drug abuse and other problem behaviors (Griffith, Azuma, & Chasnoff, 1994). As children of substance abusers mature, their lives are characterized by exposure to continued drug and alcohol abuse by family members, recurrent or chronic illnesses, frequent moves, financial troubles, legal conflicts, family disorganization, and …