Social Work Commons^™

Oral Histories Help Document The Impact Of Covid-19 On Cache Valley's Latinx Community, Virginia Hernandez, Jasmine Morales

Research on Capitol Hill

Sophomore Jasmine, of Box Elder, is president of the USU LatinX Creative Society, the Parent Committee for Centro de la Familia in Box Elder, and the Region Policy Council for the Migrant Program. She studies social work and Spanish. Junior Virginia is a Spanish teaching major and recipient of an Institute for Mexicans Abroad scholarship for her studies in Mexican language and culture. Jasmine led this project to interview a dozen Cache Valley families about their personal experiences during the pandemic as members of the Latinx community. The documentary these students are producing will discuss the ways that their culture …

Parent Perspectives On Preparing Students With Intellectual Disabilities For Inclusive Postsecondary Education, Jefferson Clark Sheen, Ty Aller, Robert L. Morgan, Kayla Currier Kipping

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Using a three-round Delphi survey, researchers explored parent perspectives regarding the personal competencies students with intellectual disabilities (ID) needed to be better prepared for participation in an Inclusive Postsecondary Education program (IPSE). An expert panel comprised of parents of students with ID in IPSE programs participated. Three Delphi rounds consisted of open-ended questions and cycles of subsequent rating scales on identified perspectives to establish a quantitative basis for consensus. The parent panel reached consensus on a list of 30 personal competencies that support student preparation for IPSE. A description of the methodology, results, and implications for practice are discussed.

The Impact Of Covid-19 On Students At Usu Eastern, Marcos Suarez, Brielle Mccourt, Aurelio Rodriguez, Jessica Hansen

Fall Student Research Symposium 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the lives of people throughout the world in numerous ways. The ramifications of the pandemic will be studied for years to come. We are interested in the effects the COVID-19 pandemic has had on college students, specifically those at Utah State University Eastern (USUE). We will be conducting an exploratory quantitative survey, in conjunction with the Student Counseling Center, for current students enrolled at USUE, ages 18 and above and will be asking questions about their mental, educational, financial, and social wellbeing. The survey will be distributed by email and will be available through the …

Re-Envisioning Transforming Communities Initiative, Alyssa Cronin

Fall Student Research Symposium 2021

Have you ever seen a large problem you wished we could just solve already? There are many: poverty, homelessness, racism, hunter. The list goes on. Huge issues like these require people to step up to the plate and dismantle oppressive systems and construct better ones. Social workers have been doing this since their conception; however, engagement in these areas have been dwindling over the past decades. TCI was born in 2014 to help combat this by training the next generation of civically engaged social workers while conducting research and working with communities in Utah to create change. It is now …

Testing A Wellness Indicators Measure For People With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities, Matthew Bogenschutz, Michael Broda, Sarah Lineberry, Parthenia Dinora, Seb Prohn

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

Background and Purpose: People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) often have health and wellness issues that are not as good as people without disabilities. States are required to monitor health and wellness for people with IDD who use many disability services. However, there are few ways to monitor wellness between states or at different points in time. In this study, we share a new model that states may use to monitor wellness of people with IDD.

Methods: We used data from a survey called the National Core Indicators (NCI) to develop this model. First, we developed the model using …

Advance Care Planning Within Individualized Care Plans: A Component Of Emergency Preparedness, Heather L. Church, Christina Marsack-Topolewski, Jacqueline M. Mcginley, Victoria Knoke

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

Federally-legislated Medicaid requirements for recipients with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD) to have a person-centered plan (PCP) do not specifically require that advanced care plans (ACP) be a component of the plan. However, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has provided a salient reminder of the importance of incorporating ACP within the PCP for people who have IDD. As demonstrated by situations arising from COVID-19, emergencies and crises can dramatically alter access to care for people with IDD. This paper synthesizes results from an environmental scan related to ACP for adults with IDD. Findings suggest that the use of ACP, particularly when …

A Hybrid Peer Support Training Model For Mental Health And Substance Use Disorder Treatment, Maren Wright Voss, Amy Campbell, Amelia Van Komen

Outcomes and Impact Quarterly

Utah State University (USU) Extension created a hybrid educational program to address barriers to participation of the Certified Peer Support Specialist (CPSS) trainings before and during COVID 19. This article provides an overview of the CPSS pilot program and discusses early program outcomes.

Supporting Those With Mental Health Diagnoses: An Evidence-Based Practice Guide For Social Work Practitioners, Kimberlie Lassen-Johnson

Evidence-Based Social Work Practice Guide Series

An evidence-based practice guide that explores 5 ways for the general public to support those with mental health and mental health diagnoses. These 5 topics consist of getting to know people with mental health diagnoses, practicing wise mind, re-evaluating your values, establishing boundaries, and challenging your negative thinking.

Trauma-Informed Practice In K-12 Schools: An Evidence-Based Practice Guide For School Administrators, Emily A. Ross

Evidence-Based Social Work Practice Guide Series

This guide will assist K-12 school administrators in implementing better trauma-informed practices in their schools. School administrators consist of leaders and decision-makers in a school system. Specifically, this information is directed toward principals, vice principals, and any other key personnel. Of course, administrators should direct trauma-informed practices with the guidance of school counselors who have the proper training regarding trauma-informed interventions. School counselors’ efforts to promote positive mental health outcomes and social emotional learning will be significantly more impactful with the support of school administrators. The following recommendations are not all inclusive but will lay the groundwork for implementing trauma-informed …

Suicide On College Campus: An Evidence-Based Practice Guide For College Professors Of Emerging Adults, Tyler Richardson

Evidence-Based Social Work Practice Guide Series

This guide is geared to educate college professors on how to recognize the signs and risks of suicide in their students, and to know specific steps that they can take to help students who may be at risk. There are five suggestions in the guide, that are taken from current research on protective measures that help prevent suicide in at risk populations.

Combating Loneliness In Assisted Living Facilities: An Evidence-Based Practice Guide For Social Work Practitioners Working With Older Adults, Annie Alexis Romano

Evidence-Based Social Work Practice Guide Series

It has been well documented that social needs do not change with aging (Teater, Chonody, & Davis, 2021), but often, older adults are left out of the conversation when it comes to loneliness and the feelings that come with social isolation. In the same way that researchers are de-stigmatizing the mental health conversation for youth and middle-aged adults, we need to bring to light the issues that come with those who live in assisted living facilities or nursing homes and the social issues presented in that population.

An Evidence Based Practice Guide For Parents And Schools: Supporting Kids And Adolescents' Mental Health During And After Covid-19 Pandemic, Ivanna M. Fuentes Javier

Evidence-Based Social Work Practice Guide Series

Adolescent mental health is important to consider by parents and schools. Parents need to build a strengthened mentality in their children and with the school support, the results would be greater. The active participation of schools is needed in order to support kids' and adolescents' mental health and create parent awareness about mental health. Also, when parents are able to identify early signs of mental health problems, they can prevent it from becoming greater and the school can help parents learn about these early signs. In addition, parents play a fundamental role in identifying symptoms of mental health problems in …

Common Presenting Problems Among Youth Exposed To Substance Abuse In Their Household, Amalia Gamboa

Evidence-Based Social Work Practice Guide Series

This is an Evidence-Based guide for practitioners who are looking for ways to understand common presenting problems among youth exposed to substance abuse in their household

Borderline Personality Disorder: Interventions For Adolescents And Caregivers, Addison Odum

Evidence-Based Social Work Practice Guide Series

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) encompasses a wide range of symptoms characterized by emotional dysregulation, including challenging interpersonal relationships, impulsivity, disturbances in cognition and identity, and is often accompanied by intentional self-injury and suicidal behaviors. In this guide, emphasis is placed on three aspects of intervention: (1) clinical interventions for adolescents who meet the criteria for BPD; (2) interventions clinicians can teach to parents/caretakers so they can better work with their child’s diagnosis; and (3) due to the negative impact this can have on adolescents, clinical interventions for parents/caregivers diagnosed with or exhibiting common symptoms of BPD is also provided.

Preventing Teen Dating Violence And Promoting Healthy Dating Relationships Among Adolescents Ages 12-18: An Evidence-Based Practice Guide For School Social Workers, Rachel N. Waddell

Evidence-Based Social Work Practice Guide Series

This EBP guide is to help school social workers become familiar with the prevalence of teen dating violence, and learn some of the elements of unhealthy teen relationships. It also provides some guidance in promoting healthy relationship skills for adolescents ages 12-18, while promoting bystander intervention in teen dating violence. It can also be used as a resource for community members, families, and teens.

Fostering Resilience In Adolescents: An Evidence-Based Practice Guide For Therapists And Practitioners Of Adolescents In Foster Care, Jordyn Jacobson

Evidence-Based Social Work Practice Guide Series

This guide shares 5 evidence-based suggestions to aid practitioners in helping their clients in foster care increase in resilience.

Family Caregiving During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Sharon Milberger, Christina Marsack-Topelewski, Elizabeth Janks, Preethy S. Samuel

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

Background: The Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has taken a disproportionate toll on people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) as well as their family caregivers. This is especially true for older family caregivers, many of whom assume dual or compound caregiving roles, and provide care as they undergo their own aging experiences. This research brief presents findings from family caregivers of adults with I/DD to better understand how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected their lives. Method: Thirty family caregivers from across the state participated in a one-hour special COVID-19 virtual discussion group. All participant identifiers were deleted from a …

Using Quality Improvement (Qi)-Focused Evaluation To Redesign Direct Home- And Community-Based Services During The Covid-19 Public Health Emergency:, Marcia Moriarta, Anthony Cahill, Heidi Fredine

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

Like many UCEDDs in the Developmental Disabilities (DD) network, the Center for Development and Disability at the University of New Mexico offers direct service programs in home and community settings. Before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, services were delivered in-person to about 1,000 families across the state including clients with intellectual or developmental disabilities and/or from at-risk communities. In March 2020, due to the spread of COVID-19, a public health emergency was declared in New Mexico and home and community services were stopped throughout the state. This meant direct service programs at the Center had to turn to telehealth …

Treating Suicidal Ideation On College Campuses: An Evidence-Based Practice Guide For Counselors On Campus, Lexi Sherwood

Evidence-Based Social Work Practice Guide Series

The suicide rate on college campuses is rising. These 5 evidence-based practices can help therapists and counselors address suicidal ideation and treat the causes.

Working With Substance Use Disorder: An Evidence-Based Practice Guide For Practitioners Working With Sud Clients, Joe Kotynek

Evidence-Based Social Work Practice Guide Series

Counseling individuals with substance use disorder using mindfulness based practice.

Suicide In College: An Evidence-Based Practice Guide For Social Work Practitioners, Hailey Bowler

Evidence-Based Social Work Practice Guide Series

After steadily increasing rates of suicide in colleges each year, this article was produced in order to gain a deeper understanding of prevention and intervention practices as clinicians. Through evidence-based research, this article allows for possible solutions to such as devastating issue.

Activism Among College Students With Disabilities And The Move Beyond Compliance To Full Inclusion, Brenda K. Smith, Jefferson Clark Sheen, Keith M. Christensen

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

This article discusses two case studies of activism by college students with disabilities that have successfully moved disability issues beyond regulatory compliance to a conversation of equity. The two case studies are compared to identify strategies that promoted the success of the campaigns. The article concludes with a discussion of the usage of student activism to ensure equality of opportunity.

Covid-19, Politics, And Science In Utah: Executive Summary Of Research Findings, Jessica Ulrich-Schad, Jennifer E. Givens

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Daily life in the United States and Utah has changed considerably since the global outbreak of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus. On March 6th, 2020, Gary R. Herbert, Governor of the State of Utah, declared a “State of Emergency” in response to pandemic. On March 27th the Governor then issued the “Stay Safe, Stay Home” Directive, which was much less strict than the shelter in place orders seen in other states as it simply urged residents to leave home infrequently, stay 6 feet away from others outside the home, and banned private gatherings larger than 20. At the end of April, …

An Examination Of Best Practices For Survey Research With Agricultural Producers, Edem Avemegah, Wei Gu, Abdelrahim Abulbasher, Kristen Koci, Ayorinde Ogunyiola, Joyce Edful, Shuang Li, Kylie Barington, Tong Wang, Deepthi Kolady, Lora Perkins, A. Joshua Leffler, Péter Kovács, Jason D. Clark, David E. Clay, Jessica Ulrich-Schad

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

To improve the economic and environmental sustainability of agriculture, information is needed on how to target research, teaching, and outreach programs. However, conducting survey research in general, and with agricultural producers specifically, is increasingly challenging given issues such as declining response rates and limited resources. While studies examining the best practices for promoting higher response rates exist, few focus explicitly on agricultural producers. In three separate surveys conducted with agricultural producers in South Dakota in 2018 and 2019, we included experiments testing how token pre-incentives, a research partnership, and response mode options impacted response rates. We also examined how sample …

Contested Dam Development In Iran: A Case Study Of The Exercise Of State Power Over Local People, Elham Hoominfar, Claudia Radel

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Student Research

In this article, we address the interaction of the Iranian State, an agent of power, with affected village residents, as four dam projects are planned and implemented. Dams, recently positioned as a green energy source, are a central component to Iran’s national development strategies; yet historically their construction has been a source of significant conflict and resistance around the world. We focus on ten villages facing displacement or partial loss of lands at the time of the research, and we answer the question: During dam building and resettlement processes, how have residents experienced their role in decision making and the …

A Landscape Perspective On Climate-Driven Risks To Food Security: Exploring The Relationship Between Climate And Social Transformation In The Prehispanic U.S. Southwest, Colleen Strawhacker, Grant Snitker, Matthew A. Peeples, Ann P. Kinzig, Keith W. Kintigh, Kyle Bocinsky, Brad Butterfield, Jacob Freeman, Sarah Oas, Margaret C. Nelson, Jonathan A. Sandor, Katherine A. Spielmann

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Spatially and temporally unpredictable rainfall patterns presented food production challenges to small-scale agricultural communities, requiring multiple risk-mitigating strategies to increase food security. Although site-based investigations of the relationship between climate and agricultural production offer insights into how individual communities may have created long-term adaptations to manage risk, the inherent spatial variability of climate-driven risk makes a landscape-scale perspective valuable. In this article, we model risk by evaluating how the spatial structure of ancient climate conditions may have affected the reliability of three major strategies used to reduce risk: drawing upon social networks in time of need, hunting and gathering of …

The Plurality Of Farmers’ Views On Soil Management Calls For A Policy Mix, Michael Braito, Heidi Leonhardt, Marianne Penker, Elisabeth Schauppenlehner-Kloyber, Georg Thaler, Courtney G. Flint

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

While soil degradation is continuing to threaten the global agricultural production system, a common understanding of how to encourage sustainable soil management is missing. With this study, we aim to provide new insights on targeted policies that address the heterogeneity of farmers. We scrutinized the plurality of views on soil management among arable farmers in the Austrian (and European) policy context. To do so, we applied Q methodology, a method that identifies different perspectives on a topic present in a population and analyzes this subjectivity statistically. We interviewed 34 arable land farmers who varied in their farming backgrounds. The results …

Gender Difference In Longitudinal Social And Personal Factors Related To Frequency Of Alcohol Consumption Of South Korean Adults: A Fixed-Effects Model, Baksun Sung

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Student Research

The purpose of this study was to examine the longitudinal social and personal factors related to frequency of alcohol consumption by South Korean adults focused on comparisons between the men and women. Data came from the 2005-2016 Korea Welfare Panel Study. A fixed-effects model was used to examine the longitudinal correlations between dependent and independent variables. According to the present results, first, life satisfaction except for health satisfaction and marital status were not associated with alcohol consumption patterns by men. On the other hand, higher frequency of alcohol consumption by women is negatively associated with various life satisfaction variables and …

Prehistoric Irrigation In Central Utah: Chronology, Agricultural Economics, And Implications, Steven R. Simms, Tammy M. Rittenour, Chimalis Kuehn, Molly Boeka Cannon

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

In 1928, Noel Morss was shown “irrigation ditches” along Pleasant Creek on the Dixie National Forest near Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, by a local guide who contended they were ancient. We relocated the site and mapped the route of an unusual mountain irrigation canal. We conducted excavations and employed OSL and AMS 14C showing historic irrigation, and an earlier event between AD 1460 and 1636. Geomorphic evidence indicates that the canal existed prior to this time, but we cannot date its original construction. The canal is 7.2 km long, originating at 2,450 m asl and terminating at 2,170 m …

Mental Health And Weather Extremes In A Southeastern U.S. City: Exploring Group Differences By Race, Lisa Reyes Mason, Bonita B. Sharma, Jayme E. Walters, Christine C. Ekenga

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

The connection between mental health and weather extremes is a public health concern, but less studied to date than physical health. This exploratory study examines the mental health impacts of two kinds of weather extremes increasingly linked to climate change—summer heat waves and extreme winter weather—in a low-to middle-income population in the Southeastern U.S. The distribution of mental health impacts, and potential pathways to them, are examined with a focus on race. Data are from a random-sample survey of 426 participants and are analyzed with bivariate statistics and path analysis. Self-reported mental health impacts, in both seasons, were common in …