Social Work Commons^™

Political Involvement And Noninvolvement Of Social Work Practitioners, Thomas A. Skarohlid

Theses and Graduate Projects

This exploratory study interviewed 8 social work practitioners from a nonprobability convenience sample in the public and private sector, using a one-to-one semi-structured interview guide. Content analysis of interview transcripts identified major themes in the perceptions of social workers involvement or noninvolvement in political activity. Findings suggest that social work practitioners are involved in advocacy activity at both the micro and macro levels. There were differences in personal resources and interests of social work practitioners, that influenced political involvement or noninvolvement in both the public and private sector. The expansion of advocacy beyond casework to the broader aspects of macro …

Methamphetamine Treatment: A Hermeneutic Study, Sandra S. Hamann

Theses and Graduate Projects

This hermeneutic study examines and compares the life experiences of three methamphetamine users who have been in chemical dependency treatment for their methamphetamine use. Findings of this researcher indicate that cognitive behavioral practice models have the best results when working with chemical users. There are few chemical dependency treatment programs which address methamphetamine users as needing different treatment approaches than other chemical users. Research indicates that those chemical dependency programs that address the multiple needs of the methamphetamine users and not just their drug use have the best results with helping them maintain long-term recovery from their chemical use. The …

From A Father's Point Of View: A Hermeneutic Study Of Non-Custodial Fathers And The Contributions That They Make To Their Children's Lives, Susan Pohl

Theses and Graduate Projects

This research is a hermeneutic study of three non-custodial fathers and contributions that they make to their children's lives. The literature review explores how children benefit from the presence of their fathers in their lives. The hermeneutic design was used asking the question, "What do you believe are the contributions that you make to your child's life?" The findings reveal that the fathers believe that they are contributing to their children's cognitive development, the development of humor, educational support, social emotional development, and identity. Implications for social work practice and programming are discussed.

An Evaluation Of Transitional Services - A Program For Youth With Aggressive Episodes, Lyla Peterson

Theses and Graduate Projects

Youth who display aggressive tendencies has been a domain of

increasing interest in the arena of social work. This

qualitative program evaluation examined if Transitional

Services was viewed as helpful in reducing the clients'

aggressive episodes while participating in the program, This

study also investigated Anoka County's Transitional Services and

its mission to promote a smoother transition from a restrictive

out-of-home placement back into the clients home environment.

Five social workers completed a qualitative questionnaire that

focused on the program's services for its assistance in

lessening youth aggression, and factors pertaining to family

reunification. The outcomes are based on common …

Fathers' Lived Experiences Of Perinatal Loss: A Hermeneutic Study, Leann R. Nelson

Theses and Graduate Projects

Despite a growing body of perinatal loss research since 1970, the lived experiences of fathers bereaved by perinatal death are virtually unexamined. This interpretive study presents shared meanings and common themes uncovered, using hermeneutic research methodology, in the transcribed texts of in-depth interviews with three bereaved fathers. The fathers' narratives revealed how they lived with two abiding philosophical questions--"Why us?" and "What if?"--during and for a long time after the actual loss experience. Fathers' cultural understanding of life and death as a natural progression was undermined by their loss experience, leaving them with an understanding of the tentativeness of life …

A Study Of School Social Workers' Perceptions Of Disruptive School Behaviors And Their Role In Response To The Problem, Thomas E. Lucy

Theses and Graduate Projects

This study examines the topic of disruptive behavior in the schools, with a focus on how the role of the school social worker relates to this issue. Specifically, this research asked two questions. First, how do school social workers perceive the issue of disruptive behavior in the schools? Second, what is the role of the school social worker in addressing this issue? To answer these questions, 75 school social workers from the Minnesota School Social Work Association were given a self-administered mail survey. The data showed that school social workers feel disruptive behavior is an increasingly difficult issue faced in …

Substance Dependent Women And Family Support, Christina Marie Decker

Theses and Graduate Projects

This hermeneutic study was undertaken to discover the lived experience of two substance dependent women with family support. This study attempted to capture the experience of two women and show how this experience affected their recoveries. The use of the hermeneutic research method allowed the researcher to engage in a process with the participants, both shaping and being shaped by the experience. The women's experiences were interpreted around the theme of connection. This involved a fluid process by which the women disconnected from original family, connected with other supports and then reconnected with original family in their new role as …

The Role Of Community Support Programs With Mothers And Fathers Who Are Mentally Ill, Deborah A. Hesli

Theses and Graduate Projects

Although issues faced by adults with mental illness have been visible for centuries, the implications of mental illness on parenting have only recently been considered. Consequently, service providers in the mental health field have begun to examine their roles with these families, such as balancing the rights of the parent with disabilities with the vulnerabilities of the children. This study asked service providers in the mental health field about their roles working with parents with mental illness and their children. A questionnaire was completed by twenty-one Community Support Program staff working in an urban setting with parents with a mental …

Early Childhood Professional's Interpretations Of Preschool Children's Acting Out Behaviors In The Classroom, Stacy L. D'Amico

Theses and Graduate Projects

This exploratory qualitative study asks early childhood professionals for their interpretations of preschool children's acting out behaviors in the classroom setting. A non-probability convenience sample was selected. Six early childhood professionals were interviewed using a face-to-face semi-structured guide. All six participants currently hold teaching positions in early childhood classrooms. Interview questions focused on interpreting children's acting out behaviors as well as intervention methods used in response to this behavior. Responses from participants varied based on their experiences with children who may act out aggressively. Level of training and education as an indicator for varied responses is examined. How teachers interpreted …

Measuring Patient Satisfaction: A Study Of Former Nursing Home Residents, Bethany J. Roberts

Theses and Graduate Projects

It is be becoming more common for patients to be admitted short-term to nursing homes for rehabilitation and recovery, however, little attention is paid to their satisfaction with the services they receive. This study explores how patient satisfaction is related to discharge, using a quantitative survey research design. The survey was mailed to the universal sample of 60 patients discharged back to the community within a six-month time frame from a St. Paul nursing home. Findings indicate a correlation between how former patients rate their satisfaction with nursing home care and their preparedness at the time of their discharge. The …

Effective Interventions For Victims Of Workplace Violence As Perceived By Employee Assistance Professionals, William Anthony Curti

Theses and Graduate Projects

The purpose of this exploratory study is to describe effective interventions in helping victims and witnesses of violence in the workplace. The literature review revealed the problem of workplace violence, and the potentially negative effects this violence has on the individuals who are victims or witriesses to this trauma. Companies and organizations have enlisted the support of Employee Assistance Program counselors who are trained in Critical Incident Stress Debriefings. The goal of this type of debriefing is to help prevent the long-term negative effects of critical incidents. Questionnaires were sent to two hundred twenty Employee Assistance Professionals in the upper …

A Direct Practice Evaluation On The Effectiveness Of Using A Strength-Based Approach With Children Living In Foster Care, Emily E. Vincent

Theses and Graduate Projects

This mixed method qualitative / quantitative direct practice evaluation was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of working from a strength-based versus a problem-based approach with children living in foster care. A strength-based approach focuses on a client's positive qualities and identifies the skills they possess that will help them to overcome their situation. The purpose for this approach is to build on and encourage, through a strength-based practice, the certain individual attributes of the child and family and community supports that can enhance resiliency in children.

Three boys living in foster care ages 8-11 were evaluated three times over a …

Social Workers: Their Role And Relationship With The People They Serve, Sheila Moriarty

Theses and Graduate Projects

The purpose of this study was to analyze the perceptions that social service workers have of their role and relationship with the people they serve. This study explored these questions of role and relationship through stories told by the social service workers about their work. The literature review reveals that there has been little research looking at the role and relationship with people using the stories of social service workers. Postmodernism and its challenge to the social service worker role as expert is the conceptual framework for this thesis. The research method is hermeneutics. It recognizes the legitimacy of lived …

A Community Grief Support Program For Children A Needs Assessment, Peggy Wolner

Theses and Graduate Projects

The purpose of this study was to explore the need for a community grief support program for children, Nineteen professionals who work directly with children participated in this study. Data were collected utilizing an interview with a closed- and open-ended item questionnaire. Among the topics discussed were knowledge of existing grief support services, interventions to facilitate a child's adjustment to death and the need for a grief support program for children Findings indicated all of those who participated in the study felt a grief support program for children was needed. Participants provided useful information for the development of future programs. …

Development Of A Workshop Curriculum: Ensuring Culturally Competent Services For African Immigrants And Refugees, Tsehai Wodajo

Theses and Graduate Projects

The purpose of this project was to develop a workshop that will help to secure culturally competent social services for African immigrant and refugee families. The framework of the workshop focused on two areas. The first is to help the workers to become culturally competent by carrying out ethnic sensitive inventory to assess their competency. Skills developed included what to do during pre-contact. during problem identification and specification, goal formation, problem solving and termination. The second area focused on how to assess the needs and strengths of African immigrant and refugee families. Culturagram and Eco-map are the two major assessment …

Adolescents And Young Adults In Transition: From Homelessness To Permanent Housing, Tona L. Willand

Theses and Graduate Projects

This study explores the intrapersonal and environmental factors associated with change in the transition from homelessness to permanent housing from the perspective of young women who have experienced it. Three young women were interviewed face-to-face in semi-structured interviews, using a non-probability convenience sample. Content analysis was used to identify intrapersonal and environmental factors that affected the process of change. Research participants identified goal-directed behavior, persistence and hope as intrapersonal factors in effecting change. Supportive relationships and practical assistance were identified as supportive factors in the transition period. The findings are discussed in relation to research from the literature, and the …

Maturity And Responsibility In "Troubled" Families, Ruthelle Winfrey West

Theses and Graduate Projects

Despite increased knowledge and trained professionals in the field of human behavior, growing numbers of dysfunctional families are overwhelming the human service systems and society at-large. This qualitative study focused on the childhood experiences of two women from "troubled" families and exprored their perceptions and interpretations of their parents' maturity and responsible behavior. Their comments were then compared. to the Global Crlteria of Maturity. The phenomenological approach was used in exploring the childhood experiences of these women. It was found through the study that the two women perceived their parents' behavior as being responsible but, on the other hand, they …

The Involvement Of Gay Men In The Lutheran Church, Mary E. Vorhes

Theses and Graduate Projects

Gay men have varying degrees of involvement in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). This exploratory, qualitative study looked at the participation of gay men in Reconciling-In-Chnst (RIC) Lutheran congregations, what has affected that participation, and how the participants feel about their involvement in the Lutheran Church. Five gay men between the ages of 40-60 were interviewed regarding how they feel about their participation in the Lutheran church. The findings indicate that some participants left the church at some time, that all participants are curently active in the Lutheran Church, and that all participants are dissatisfied with the ELCA …

The Relationship Between Parental Involvement And The Reunification Of Youth In Foster Care, Gretchen K. Welch

Theses and Graduate Projects

This is a quantitative secondary data analysis which researched the effects of parental involvement on youth in foster care within a private non-profit treatment foster care agency. The study was intended to educate the agency and their foster parents on the significance of parental involvement with youth in foster eare to successfully achieve each youth's initial placement goal of reunification. According to current laws, reunification is considered the preferred permanency plan for foster youth. Existing data used from the agency consisted of surveys from foster parents and social workers concerning 344 youth between the ages of 12 and l9 years …

Sa/Fe Program: A Rural Health Care Response To Sexual Assault, Sheri Arnett

Theses and Graduate Projects

Governor Arnie Carlson's Minnesota Task Force on Violence found that health care providers lack consistent health promotion for victims of sexual assault, especially in rural settings. Research has shown that efforts to help victims of sexual assault during the initial crisis, and in follow-up care, reducing harmful and expensive residual effects. This study describes the design and implementation of a sexual assault forensic examiner program for rural settings that reduces risks to the victim. A model of health addresses the psycho-social and forensic needs of victims and barriers to expert care, as well as demonstrates ways to reduce costs for …

Adolescent Females As Participants In Service Learning And Their Moral, Social, And Political Ideologies: A Case Study, Allison R. Erickson

Theses and Graduate Projects

Service learning programs have been increasingly more popular among social service agencies and academic institutions. Service learning curriculum are being adopted through efforts to provide for adolescents the opportunities to foster responsible character traits and to also prevent anti-social or health-compromising behavior. There has been considerable research regarding service learning and adolescence, however, little research is available on how the adolescents themselves perceive the effect their service learning experience has on themselves. I conducted a qualitative study exploring adolescent girls' understanding of the effect their community service experience had on their moral, social and political values. My research consisted of …

Development Of A Workshop Exploring Physical Disability And Film Media, Debra J. Peterson

Theses and Graduate Projects

The purpose of this project was to develop a one day workshop for human service professionals which would help them to explore commonly held attitudes and values towards citizens with disabilities and heighten awareness of the impact of popular media, particularly film, in the shaping of such values. The framework is founded in symbolic interactionism with an emphasis on the following concepts: disability, handicap, mass media and the formation of culture. Th rough individual and group activities, lecture, analysis of film segments and overhead transparencies, workshop participants would expand their awareness and skills associated with citizens with disabilities and obtain …

Immigration Policy, Intolerance, And Social Work After World War Ii, Ariel Racine

Theses and Graduate Projects

This study is an historical analysis of the profession of social work involvement in immigration policies and social welfare programs. This study sought to explore how the social work profession related to immigration policy from the turn of the century until the present, focusing on the aftermath of World War II. Three themes emerged from the literature: l) the development of the social work profession; 2) the methods in which social work responded to the events after World War II; and 3) the lack of involvement of society and the social work profession on the behalf of immigrants during this …

Teachers' Perceptions Of Students With Attention Deficit Disorders, Paula A. Watts

Theses and Graduate Projects

Attention Deficit Disorders (ADHD/ADD) are rapidly becoming an important educational issue. Currently, ADHD/ADD is the most frequently diagnosed condition found in school age children. Educators, unlike other professionals, have a unique opportunity to observe students on a daily basis and over extended periods of time within a setting where the deficits associated with this disorder are perhaps most visible. As a result, teachers have long served as the catalysts for suggesting the diagnosis of ADHD/ADD in their students. They have also been responsible for implementing strategies within the classroom to assist students with ADHD/ADD in being successful. However, teachers' experience …

Critical Incident Stress And The Effectiveness Of Debriefing For Hospital Personnel, Brenda S. Verbick

Theses and Graduate Projects

A model of intervention called Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) has been developed for the hospital setting to mitigate the impact of a critical incident and to assist workers in recovering as quickly as possible from the stress associated with the event.

This quantitative cross-sectional survey expands the knowledge of the impact of critical incidents on hospital workers and the effectiveness of the CISD model of intervention in reducing stress reactions. Through a self-administered survey, participants were asked to complete a subjective stress measurement tool, the revised Impact of Event (IES-R), as well as a ‘helpfulness’ questionnaire developed to obtain …

Adult Mentoring: Benefits To Adolescent Mothers, Kim Landrigan

Theses and Graduate Projects

This exploratory study was conducted to explore the following research questions: l) What are the needs of pregnant and parenting adolescents in the St. Cloud community? 2) What support systems were most helpful to pregnant or parenting adolescents?

Once youth become parents, they face many challenges such as dropping out of high school, becoming economically deprived, and lacking emotional support. Eleven pregnant and/or parenting adolescents, ages 15 to 19, were interviewed using a structured interview guide. The interviews focused on assessing the participant's educational achievements, financial stability, self-esteem, level of emotional support and social support networks.

Overall the study found …

Evaluating A Grief Support Group's Effectiveness In Alleviating A Person's Grief Experience, Kristin Lea Anderson

Theses and Graduate Projects

Grieving over the death of a loved one is an incredibly painful experience for anyone to endure. Moving through this grief in isolation can make the experience even more devastating. Fortunately, grief support groups have been developed as a way for people to receive the necessary emotional and social support during this difficult time. This study is a direct practice evaluation examining the effectiveness of a grief support group's ability to alleviate a person's level of anger, despair, and social isolation. Those participating in the study included 7 new members of a grief support group who had experienced the death …

Observing Attachment Disorder In Adults, Aileen G. Ockwig

Theses and Graduate Projects

Mental health professionals who work with adults typically encounter clients who have issues left over from childhood. This paper discusses the Attachment Theory first conceptualized by John Bowlby and the therapeutic implications with adults concerning attachment theory based on psychoanalytic-object relations theory. Understanding and emphasizing the importance of affectional bonds with caring others is an essential part of treating adult clients with attachment issues. The purpose of this study is to define the nature of the therapeutic relationship between client and clinician to identify therapeutic strategies that create a safe place for adult clients to explore issues of attachment, separation …

Grieving The Loss Of A Partner: The Ways Of Isolation A Hermeneutic Experience, Nichole M. Yager

Theses and Graduate Projects

This hermeneutic, qualitative study was undertaken to find out what the lived experience has been for one woman who lost her partner. Hermeneutics is an interpretive approach to looking at everyday experiences and uncovering what is usually hidden from us. Theorists have developed many frameworks to apply to the bereaved person. They try to explain how the loss will affect those who suffer a loss. This study attempted to capture what this experience was like for one bereaved person, what her thoughts and feelings were while living the experience and how this experience has changed her life. The participant lost …

Jane Addams, Mary Richmond And Liberal Feminism: An Historical Analysis, Elizabeth Reum

Theses and Graduate Projects

This historical thesis analyzed records and archival information regarding feminism in American social work by contrasting two key historical figures, Mary Richmond and Jane Addams who were considered the matriarchs of the social work movement in the earliest part of the 20th century. The study examined the accomplishments of Ms. Addams and Ms. Richmond, their backgrounds and philosophies that helped shape their feminism, beliefs, and political work and the impact it had on social work as a profession. The research gathered attempted to answer the question of whether the work done by these two women meets the current criteria of …