Social Work Commons^™

Full Issue

Issues in Religion and Psychotherapy

No abstract provided.

Thanks For Nothin,' Timothy Leary: Reflections On Gantt And Thayne's, Lane Fischer

Issues in Religion and Psychotherapy

No abstract provided.

All Things Denote There Is A God: A Response To Gantt And Thayne, Michael J. Richardson

Issues in Religion and Psychotherapy

Gantt and Thayne’s (pp. 3–21) cautions about Rogerian psychotherapy are warranted. Certainly, the theory has been interpreted in ways that lead to the very dangers they highlight. However, there may be more to the theory than first meets the eye, and the very dangers invoked by the theory might also represent opportunities. Neglecting some of the truths in the theory might alienate its proponents rather than persuade them of a better way. In this response, possible compatibilities between the theory and the gospel are explored, along with ways in which these might provide inroads for LDS psychologists to influence a …

Grace As Psychotherapy: Suggestions For Therapists With Latter-Day Saint Clients, Matthew R. Draper, James S. Mcgraw, Daniel Sturtevant, Richard D. Draper

Issues in Religion and Psychotherapy

There is a growing body of literature that shows how perfectionism has tremendous effects on a person’s well-being. Specifically, maladaptive perfectionism continues to have an alarming influence on many individuals’ experiences with depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and suicidal ideations. Interestingly, for religious or spiritual individuals, perfectionism is often colored by profound religious themes that further complicate treatment. This paper seeks to explore this issue by introducing the case of Sister Vivi, a Mormon woman who suffered a great deal of depression and anxiety, and eventually a suicide attempt due to perfectionism entwined within her religious beliefs. In cooperation with her …

No Safety In Solipsism, Aaron P. Jackson

Issues in Religion and Psychotherapy

No abstract provided.

The Experience Of Parents Of Early-Returned Missionaries, Kristine J. Doty-Yells, Harmony Packer, Malisa M. Drake-Brooks, Russell T. Warne, Cameron R. John

Issues in Religion and Psychotherapy

This paper shares the results of a mixed methods study designed to understand the lived experiences of parents of early-returned LDS missionaries. Researchers conducted two focus groups of parents (n = 7) and developed and administered a survey (n = 199). The study considered the phenomenon through the theoretical lenses of Kübler-Ross’s model of grief and Boss’s model of ambiguous loss. The results suggested that parents struggle with the early-return process, the lack of communication with mission presidents, a perceived lack of support from some church leaders and ward members, and personal adjustment to their child’s early return. Clinical implications …

Consequences Of Transgender Victimization, Zach Reid

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

This study reviewed 13 empirical and recent studies dealing with transgender victimization. It details the arc narrative of where bullying begins and what the result is. The study revealed transgender youth and young adults are at higher risk for being bullied which puts them into a statistically more likely category to experience physical harm, sexual harm, and long lasting mental health problems.

The Perception Of Children In Chile: Burden Or Joy?, Christine W. Black, Renata Forste

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

Globally, family values and behaviors have been shifting. This can be seen through a decrease in the universality of marriage, increased individualism, higher prevalence of divorce, older age at marriage and low birthrates with an increase in planned and controlled fertility. In Latin America, and specifically in Chile, these types of changes have been the most drastic. Data come from the ISSP where about 1,500 Chilean participants were asked a series of questions regarding family and gender attitudes as well as multiple demographic questions. This study looked at how these attitudes contributed to the perceived burden or joy of children. …

Outcomes Of Children Reunified From Institutional Care In Ghana, Kevin Shafer

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Both attachment theories and current research suggest that institutional care (more popularly thought of as orphanages) does not meet the attachment needs of children, which has strong negative consequences over the life-course. While preventing a child’s separation from a parent or parents is ideal, reunification may be the next best option when separation occurs. However, to date, no study has examined the well-being of children reunified with their families from residential care centers. Current policy in Ghana provided a prime opportunity to study this issue, since the government has recently instituted a policy facilitating the reunification of children. Currently, many …

Outcomes Of Children Reunified From Institutional Care In Ghana, Kevin Shafer

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Both attachment theories and current research suggest that institutional care (more popularly thought of as orphanages) does not meet the attachment needs of children, which has strong negative consequences over the life-course. While preventing a child’s separation from a parent or parents is ideal, reunification may be the next best option when separation occurs. However, to date, no study has examined the well-being of children reunified with their families from residential care centers. Current policy in Ghana provided a prime opportunity to study this issue, since the government has recently instituted a policy facilitating the reunification of children. Currently, many …

Return With Trauma: Understanding The Experiences Of Early Returned Missionaries, Kristine J. Doty, S. Zachary Bullock, Harmony Packer, Russell T. Warner, James Westwood, Thomas Ash, Heather Hirsch

Issues in Religion and Psychotherapy

No abstract provided.

Marital Quality In Remarriage, Dr. Kevin Shafer

Journal of Undergraduate Research

There were four goals of this MEG project. Unlike most MEG projects, I employed graduate students because the School of Social Work lacks undergraduate students. Below I outline the four goals of the project and discuss how each goal was met. Notably, we found some interesting effects related to relationship self-regulation in remarriage, which has led us to work in other areas, as well.

“Giver Of Light”: The Influence Of A Mexican Midwife On Community Development, Karen Sandberg, Jini Roby

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Dar a luz, meaning “to give light,” is the Mexican phrase for giving birth. The equation of light with the birth process reveals its significance to the Mexican people. Internationally, female midwives educated and assisted women in the birth process, making it a specific sphere of women’s influence. Midwives played an important role in the development and well being of their communities as well: they “served as healers,” using herbs and other medical treatment’s to promote general health (Sapiro 206). As such, health care has been one of the few areas historically where women have, in addition to their …

A Study On The Cultural Influences Involved In The Decision To Place Children For International Adoption, Heather Hintze, Jini Roby

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), international adoption is very common. The RMI has one of the highest international adoption rates per capita in the world. This research project was designed to learn and understand the reasons behind this high international adoption rate in the RMI. The research project focused on investigating the cultural influences that cause Marshallese women to relinquish their child for international adoption. Currently, the work is still in progress. All of the information was obtained from Marshallese birth mothers living in the Marshall Islands. Now the data entry needs to be done at Brigham …

Scrupulosity: Practical Treatment Considerations Drawn From Clinical And Ecclesiastical Experiences With Latter-Day Saint Persons Struggling With Religiously-Oriented Obsessive Compulsive Disorders, Kyle N. Weir, Mandy Greaves, Christopher Kelm, Rahul Ragu, Rick Denno

Issues in Religion and Psychotherapy

Scrupulosity, a religiously-oriented form of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), is both a clinical matter for treatment and can be an ecclesiastical concern for members, therapists, and priesthood leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints. Just as some people of all faiths suffer from scrupulosity, Latter-day Saints (LDS) persons are not immune. This article addresses the issues pertaining to scrupulosity and provides practical treatment considerations for working with LDS persons struggling with scrupulosity from both a clinical and ecclesiastical perspective. A treatment approach, including consultation with priesthood leaders, is outlined.

Openness In International Adoptions: An Idea Whose Time Has Come? The Experience Of U.S. Families Who Adopted Children From The Marshall Islands, Jamie Wyatt, Jini Roby

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Increased globalization of today’s society is bringing about dramatic change; the social sciences are not exempt from the results of these changes. Particular to this research study is the issue of international adoptions, particularly those which are characterized as open. “Open adoption” was defined in this study to be some form of continued contact between the biological and adoptive families following the finalization of an adoption. International adoptions are a relatively new concept in and of themselves; international adoption compounded with openness was largely unheard of until the recent onset of globalization when open adoptions increased in accessibility and desirability …

Investigation Of Child Headed Households In Mozambique, Africa, Gerald Cochran, Jini Roby

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Child headed households (CHHs) are homes lead by “…children [who] live alone and manage the household without guidance and economic support from adults” (Aspaas, 1999, p. 202). This definition may or may not exclude adults as residents of the home. Some CHHs have adults residing in the home, but the child most certainly is the leader and the responsible one of the home. The HIV/AIDS pandemic has spread across the African continent causing children to be left as orphans and/or left to care for themselves and others (Foster, Shakespeare, Chinemana, Jackson, Gregson, Marange, & Mashumba, 1995). However, HIV/AIDS is not …

International Views On Rape Crises: A Comparative Study Between American And Italian Rape Recovery Centers, Allyson Ugolini, Dr. Shirley Cox

Journal of Undergraduate Research

This project’s goal was to compare and contrast two culturally diverse, American and Italian, rape recovery centers and the social work systems that run them. Research findings will benefit and enlighten both societies on each other’s methods and ways of operation, allowing them to take the positives and the negatives of their respective systems and learn from them.

Journeys Of Navajo Social Workers, Farina King

Journal of Undergraduate Research

My name is Farina King. During the summer of 2008, I was a student intern for the Diné Policy Institute (DPI), located in Tsaile, Arizona. I was an undergraduate senior, studying History and French with minors in Native American Studies and African Studies. I had to recite those same lines of personal information every time that I introduced myself to a Navajo social worker from the Navajo Nation Division of Social Services. I had to convince them to meet me, to spend some of their precious time (literally), and to share personal information with me in an interview.

The Narrative Identity Of Foster Youth As A Component Of Readiness For Independence, Jessica Woodbury, Jini Roby

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Researchers in a variety of disciplines have begun to describe identity development as having a narrative character (Kellas, 2005; Vangelisti, 2004). They explain that narrative identity consists of a self-perception which is rooted in personal and shared (especially within the family) stories (Vangelisti, 2004). These stories, or core memories, help us to define who we are, as well as our ultimate value and potential. With this research we desired to further the understanding and application of narrative identity theory as it applies to the fragmented personal and collective stories of children in foster care.

Helping Willing Hands: Educating Single Mothers To Create Skills-Based Resumes, Kiel Willmore, Dr. Maureen Rice

Journal of Undergraduate Research

I had two main objectives for my creative project when I received an ORCA grant earlier this year. First, the project was aimed towards helping local single mothers, who not having the chance to obtain a secondary education, create skills-based resumes rather than education or experience-based resumes in order to help them obtain greater career options. I was hoping that by providing such service, it would not only help lift the community around us, but that it would bless the lives of single mothers’ families and help bolster them towards more fruitful careers.

Longitudinal Course Of Female Eating Disorder Risk At Brigham Young University, Lane Fischer, Jacob Fischer, Lanae Valentine, Erin Winters, Joy Wiechmann, Karen Gochnour, Kristina Hansen, Maren Kanekoa

Issues in Religion and Psychotherapy

Three cohorts of entering freshman women were assessed over the course of four years at Brigham Young University (BYU). The Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) and the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) were administered at the beginning of each fall and winter semester. Results showed (a) steadily decreasing average levels of eating disorder risk and body shape dissatisfaction over time, which was mirrored in each cohort; (b) significantly lower eating disorder risk than other college samples; (c) a typically high percentage of women with clinically significant body shape dissatisfaction; (d) significant correlation between the EAT-26 and the BSQ; and (e) notable subgroups …

Robert Frost's "Mending Wall" As An Allegory Of Tolerance: Understanding, Acceptance, And Invitation, Kristina Hansen

Issues in Religion and Psychotherapy

Lane Fischer’s discussion of the nature of law in Turning Freud Upside Down (2005) describes tolerance as the combination of understanding, acceptance, and invitation to do better. This conceptualization of tolerance is equated to love for the other. The poem “Mending Wall” by Robert Frost is analyzed as an allegory of tolerance so defined.

Religious Acculturation And Spirituality In Latter-Day Saint Committed Converts, Kristin L. Hansen, Laurie Page, Lane Fischer, Marleen Williams

Issues in Religion and Psychotherapy

This study examines religious acculturation and spirituality in committed Latter-day Saint (LDS) converts living in Utah. We conducted a qualitative analysis using interviews from a sample of 20 North American and 20 International Latter-day Saint converts attending or working at Brigham Young University (BYU)—a western LDS private university—of varying age, time since baptism, and country of origin. Of the 40 converts, 39 were classified as committed in their LDS religious affiliation using Henri Gooren’s (2007) Conversion Career Model. Based on our analysis of the interviews, several pertinent themes emerged: converts (1) recognize and choose to acculturate; (2) report positive changes …

Value Conflicts In Psychotherapy, Aaron P. Jackson, Jamie Hansen, Juliann M. Cook-Ly

Issues in Religion and Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy has historically been viewed as value neutral; however, over the last half-century, developments have led many scholars to conclude that we can no longer dismiss the role of values in therapy. Our position is that therapists and clients will inevitably encounter value conflicts during the course of psychotherapy. This article postulates how such conflicts can be addressed so as to preserve and promote the integrity and well-being of both client and clinician. We review challenges to value neutrality and summarize ethical considerations. We discuss strategies to manage values in psychotherapy and conclude by recommending areas for consideration in professional …

Understanding The Gendered Patterns Of Substance Use Initiation Among Adolescents Living In Rural, Central Mexico, Stephanie Ayers, Flavio Marsiglia, Steven Hoffman, Zhyldyz Urbaeva

Faculty Publications

Background: Little is known about the age of initiation and gender differences in substance use among adolescents in rural, central Mexico.

Methods: The cross-sectional data were collected from students enrolled in the Videobachillerato (VIBA) (video high school) programme in Guanajuato, Mexico. Questionnaires asked students about the age at which they had used alcohol, cigarettes, or cannabis for the first time. Kaplan–Meier Survival Functions were used to estimate if males and females were significantly different in their cumulative probabilities of initiating substances over time.

Results: On average, alcohol is initiated at 14.7 years of age, cigarettes at 15.1 years of age, …

Mexican Adolescents' Risky Sexual Behavior And Migration Intentions, Stephanie L. Ayers, Flavio F. Marsiglia, Steven Hoffman, Jildyz Urbaeva, Jaime Booth

Faculty Publications

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to identify the association between risky sexual behaviors and migration intentions among adolescents living in Guanajuato, Mexico.

Design/methodology/approach - Data were collected by self-administered questionnaires to students enrolled in an alternative schooling system in Guanajuato, Mexico, during the school year of 2006-2007. The sample size for this study includes 538 unmarried students, 35 percent male, ages 14-19. Ordinal logistic regression is used to estimate the odds of engaging in risky sexual behaviors.

Findings - The results reveal that male adolescents with higher intentions to migrate have significantly higher odds of engaging in …

Critical Thinking In Applied Psychology: Toward An Edifying View Of Critial Thinking In Applied Psychology, Aaron Jackson, Steve Yanchar, Kristin L. Hansen, Jamie Hansen

Issues in Religion and Psychotherapy

A gospel-centered approach to critical thinking that can facilitate psychotherapeutic work and be edifying to faithful counselors and clients would be very beneficial. This article examines what a defensible approach to gospel-centered critical thinking about psychotherapy would look like, how it would differ from secular scholarly disciplines and practices, and whether it should differ at all. Because all critical thinking strategies are framed by a theoretical background of assumptions and values and because not all assumptions and values are true or useful, approaches to critical thinking must be carefully examined by those who would employ them. Latter-day Saint counselors and …

Kin Care And Perceptions Of Equity Among Ugandan Youth, Laurel George, Jini Roby

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

Children receiving kin care in Sub-Saharan Africa are at risk for differential treatment, especially where household resources are scarce. Using Pearson χ2 and multinomial logistic regression, we investigated whether such disparity exists within households receiving agency oversight and services designed to protect such children and preserve family households. We use existing data from face-to-face interviews with Ugandan youth age 8 to 18 (N = 518) and their caregivers to examine whether differences exist in child-perceived equity of food distribution and work requirements by type of family relatedness to caregiver. Income, but not relatedness, was negatively associated with food inequity, but …

Human Trafficking And Prostitution: A Comparative Review Of Swedish And Dutch Policy, Emilie Davidson, Kelsey Perry, Jini Roby

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

1.2 million children are trafficked every year (UNICEF), and and the total number of prostituted children could be as high as 10 million (The Lancet). Trafficking is the second largest source of illegal income worldwide, exceded only by the sale of illegal drugs (Belser, 2005). A study of women trafficked to the European Union found that 95% of victims had been violently assaulted or coerced into a sexual act, and over 60% of victims reported fatigue, neurological symptoms... back pain, vaginal discharges, and gynecological infections (Zimmerman, 2006). Definitions: Trafficking refers to “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, …