Social Work Commons^™

Suicide Attempts From Adolescence Into Young Adulthood: A System Dynamics Perspective For Intervention And Prevention, Saras Yu Chung

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Though the reduction of suicide-related deaths has been a national priority for over a decade (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2001) and over $22 million per year (National Institutes of Health, 2015) have been invested to prevent suicide, rates of suicide have not declined (CDC, 2012). In fact, for some groups of adolescents, these rates seem to be on the ride (Wasserman, Cheng, & Jiang, 2005). The ineffectiveness in reducing deaths by suicide despite increased funding and coordinated efforts suggests the need for a new perspective on examining why and how adolescents begin to desire and attempt suicide …

Exploring The Relationships Between Social Skills, Mental Health And Behavior In A Child Welfare Involved Population, Megan Anne Feely

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Promoting child well-being is one of the three primary goals of the child welfare system. In contrast to safety and permanency, the other two primary goals, that are precisely defined in the federal statute, well-being remains undefined and poorly understood. Recently, the Administration on Children Youth and Families (ACYF) highlighted one facet of child well-being -- social and emotional well-being -- as a particular focus of the agency. These categories, i.e. behavior, emotional development and social functioning collectively are referred to as social and emotional well-being. The relationship between these constructs is unknown although it is likely that they are …

Social Support And Intimate Partnerships In African American Women With Breast Cancer, Tess Thompson

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

This mixed methods study investigated social support in African American breast cancer patients in one Midwestern metropolitan area. The study includes a quantitative analysis of social support in 227 African American breast cancer patients participating in a quality of life study, as well as a qualitative component involving a subsample of 15 married participants. In the larger sample, growth curve models were used to assess factors contributing to initial levels of perceived social support and change in social support over time. Interviews with women in the qualitative study allowed an in-depth exploration of how breast cancer affected womens relationships with …

The Burden Of Student Debt: Findings From A Survey Of Low- And Moderate-Income Households, Mathieu R. Despard, Samuel H. Taylor, Dana C. Perantie, Michal Grinstein-Weiss

Center for Social Development Research

Completing a college degree continues to offer a pathway for enjoying greater earnings. Yet tuition has risen sharply and state higher-education funding has declined in recent years, shifting the burden of paying for college to students and their families. As a result, most students (70%) depend on loans to help pay for college and student debt is now greater than credit card debt in the United States. Student debt is increasingly difficult to manage, as debt-to-income ratios, loan default rates, and delinquency rates are on the rise. This brief utilizes data from the 2014 Refund to Savings study to examine …

Americans’ Attitudes About Changing Current Prescription Drug And Medical Device Regulation, R. J. Blendon, J. M. Benson, Caitlin L. Mcmurtry, J. M. Sayde

Brown School Faculty Publications

A new poll of adults in the United States by Stat and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health examines public opinion on provisions in the 21st Century Cures Act and a similar package in the Senate, which aim to speed up the process for developing new prescription drugs and medical devices. A majority of Americans do not favor these measures, after being told that changing government regulations could help make new drugs and devices available faster to patients, but could also increase the risk that therapies with harmful side effects or ones that are less effective could be approved …

A Savings Account For Every Child Born In Israel: Recommendations For Program Implementation, Michal Grinstein-Weiss, Meredith Covington, Margaret M. Clancy, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

In November 2015, Israel enacted legislation to create and fund a Child Development Account program. Beginning in 2017, every baby born to an insured Israeli resident will receive a Child Development Account in his or her name. This brief details the policy, which was developed in collaboration with researchers at the Center for Social Development, and offers recommendations to guide its implementation.

Frequently Asked Questions About The Features Of Child Development Accounts In Israel, Michal Grinstein-Weiss, Meredith Covington, Megan Brewster, Jane E. Oliphant

Center for Social Development Research

In November 2015, Israel enacted legislation to create and fund a Child Development Account program. Beginning in 2017, every baby born to an insured Israeli resident will receive a Child Development Account in his or her name. This Fact Sheet provides answers to frequently asked questions about the policy, which was developed in collaboration with researchers at the Center for Social Development.

Youth Savings Patterns And Performance In Colombia, Ghana, Kenya, And Nepal, Lissa Johnson, Yungsoo Lee, David Ansong, Margaret S. Sherraden, Gina Chowa, Fred Ssewamala, Li Zou, Michael Sherraden, Moses Njenga, Joseph Kieyah, Issac Osei-Akoto, Sharad Sharma, Jyoti Manandhar, Catherine Rodriguez Orgales, Frederico Merchán, Juan Saavedra

Center for Social Development Research

Youth Savings Patterns and Performance in Colombia, Ghana, Kenya, and Nepal

Annual Report On The Asset Project's Head Start Family Financial Capability Pilot: 2014–2015, Anne S. Robertson, Jami Curley

Center for Social Development Research

Since the Great Recession (December 2007–2009 in the United States), poverty has compromised many families and increased the prevalence of young children living in neighborhoods of concentrated, deep poverty. However, financial literacy interventions have reported promising outcomes for influencing financial choices and financial knowledge, highlighting the potential of such programs for improving the economic positions of families and children. This report presents results from a mixed-methods evaluation of a financial literacy intervention with Head Start families in the St. Louis metropolitan area. The intervention combines savings incentives and one-on-one coaching with 10 hours of financial education on debt management, banking, …

A Borrowed Language, Yvonne Osei

Graduate School of Art Theses

Art has the potency of mediation: bridging human differences, questioning voids in historical trajectories, negotiating spaces of relevance, and most importantly, being signifiers that embody the absent. I speak in a borrowed language, a multilingual visual tongue, inspired by a culmination of Western and African Art modes of practices to create charged platforms for multicultural communication.

My art presents visual portals that allow for intercultural and interracial mingling as issues of colorism, present-day colonialism, gender inequality and the politics of dress are foregrounded for collective deliberation. The essence of the work is often activated and brought to its full potential …

Characteristics And Hardships Associated With Bank Account Ownership Among Refund To Savings Participants, Michal Grinstein-Weiss, Dana C. Perantie, Jane E. Oliphant, Anna Deruyter, Mathieu R. Despard

Center for Social Development Research

Having a bank account is one important way for households to securely accumulate savings, build credit, and earn interest on assets. Nationally, 7.7% of households are unbanked—lacking both a checking and a savings account. One proposed step toward financial inclusion is to encourage unbanked households to open accounts and deposit refunds into savings at tax time, when many low-income households receive the year’s largest lump sum of cash. This brief utilizes data from the 2013 Refund to Savings study to summarize differences between banked and unbanked households. The findings show that unbanked status is a marker for other financial disadvantages, …

Research Summary: Universal Accounts At Birth: Results From Seed For Oklahoma Kids, Sondra G. Beverly, Margaret M. Clancy, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

This research summary consolidates the findings of several studies from the SEED for Oklahoma Kids experiment, a large-scale policy test of universal, automatic, and progressive Child Development Accounts (CDAs). Studies report the positive impacts of the CDA on financial outcomes (e.g., OK 529 college savings account holding and savings) and on nonfinancial outcomes (e.g., educational expectations, mother’s mental health, and child development). The impacts are often greater for disadvantaged and at-risk children. of note, the automatic components make the CDA in SEED OK inclusive and reduce asset inequality early in life. SEED OK studies indicate the importance of automatic account …

Testing Universal Child Development Accounts: Financial Impacts In A Large Social Experiment, Margaret M. Clancy, Sondra G. Beverly, Michael Sherraden, Jin Huang

Center for Social Development Research

This study examines financial impacts of Child Development Accounts (CDAs) designed to build assets for every newborn in the treatment group. Data come from the randomized SEED for Oklahoma Kids experiment 7 years after the intervention began. The CDA’s automatic features have large impacts on account holding and asset accumulation for college, and especially so for disadvantaged children. This is an important finding because having designated college savings likely shapes children’s educational expectations, which in turn likely influences their precollege academic behavior and achievement. Moreover, demonstrating full inclusion—that is, accounts and assets for all newborns—sets the stage for more equitable …

Americans’ Attitudes About Cancer, R. J. Blendon, J. M. Benson, Caitlin L. Mcmurtry, J. M. Sayde

Brown School Faculty Publications

A new poll of adults in the United States by Stat and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health finds substantial bipartisan support for the National Cancer Moonshot ─ a $1billion initiative announced by the White House in 2016 to “prevent, diagnose and treat cancer.” Nearly half of Americans believe a 20 percent increase in federal funding for cancer research is about right, while more than a third would like to see an even greater rise in funding. This strong support is likely related to perceived gains in the efficacy of cancer treatment and the extent to which Americans perceive …

Americans’ Attitudes About Prescription Painkiller Abuse, R. J. Blendon, J. M. Benson, Caitlin L. Mcmurtry, J. M. Sayde

Brown School Faculty Publications

A new poll of adults in the United States by Stat and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health shows that just days after the passage of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016 through the U.S. Senate, more than two in five Americans believe that the amount of money the government currently spends on treatment programs for people addicted to prescription painkillers or heroin is too low. Despite historic levels of partisan polarization, self-identified Democrats and Republicans nationwide agree not on only increases in government addiction treatment funding, but also on treatment instead of incarceration for drug offenses, …

Patients’ Perspectives On Health Care In The United States: Ohio, R. J. Blendon, J. M. Benson, Caitlin L. Mcmurtry, J. M. Sayde

Brown School Faculty Publications

The landscape and experience of health care in the United States has changed dramatically in the last two years. January 2014 saw insurance purchased on state exchanges and the federal marketplace go into effect, the start of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate and its accompanying subsidies and tax credits for qualifying Americans, discrimination protections, including pre-existing conditions, for those seeking to buy health insurance, and the implementation of essential health benefits for all plans sold through the insurance marketplace.

Patients’ Perspectives On Health Care In The United States: Oregon, R. J. Blendon, J. M. Benson, Caitlin L. Mcmurtry, J. M. Sayde

Brown School Faculty Publications

The landscape and experience of health care in the United States has changed dramatically in the last two years. January 2014 saw insurance purchased on state exchanges and the federal marketplace go into effect, the start of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate and its accompanying subsidies and tax credits for qualifying Americans, discrimination protections, including pre-existing conditions, for those seeking to buy health insurance, and the implementation of essential health benefits for all plans sold through the insurance marketplace.

Patients’ Perspectives On Health Care In The United States: Texas, R. J. Blendon, J. M. Benson, Caitlin L. Mcmurtry, J. M. Sayde

Brown School Faculty Publications

The landscape and experience of health care in the United States has changed dramatically in the last two years. January 2014 saw insurance purchased on state exchanges and the federal marketplace go into effect, the start of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate and its accompanying subsidies and tax credits for qualifying Americans, discrimination protections, including pre-existing conditions, for those seeking to buy health insurance, and the implementation of essential health benefits for all plans sold through the insurance marketplace.

Patients’ Perspectives On Health Care In The United States: Wisconsin, R. J. Blendon, J. M. Benson, Caitlin L. Mcmurtry, J. M. Sayde

Brown School Faculty Publications

The landscape and experience of health care in the United States has changed dramatically in the last two years. January 2014 saw insurance purchased on state exchanges and the federal marketplace go into effect, the start of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate and its accompanying subsidies and tax credits for qualifying Americans, discrimination protections, including pre-existing conditions, for those seeking to buy health insurance, and the implementation of essential health benefits for all plans sold through the insurance marketplace.

Patients’ Perspectives On Health Care In The United States: A Look At Seven States And The Nation, R. J. Blendon, J. M. Benson, Caitlin L. Mcmurtry, J. M. Sayde

Brown School Faculty Publications

The landscape and experience of health care in the United States has changed dramatically in the last two years. January 2014 saw insurance purchased on state exchanges and the federal marketplace go into effect, the start of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate and its accompanying subsidies and tax credits for qualifying Americans, discrimination protections, including pre-existing conditions, for those seeking to buy health insurance, and the implementation of essential health benefits for all plans sold through the insurance marketplace.

Patients’ Perspectives On Health Care In The United States: Kansas, R. J. Blendon, J. M. Benson, Caitlin L. Mcmurtry, J. M. Sayde

Brown School Faculty Publications

The landscape and experience of health care in the United States has changed dramatically in the last two years. January 2014 saw insurance purchased on state exchanges and the federal marketplace go into effect, the start of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate and its accompanying subsidies and tax credits for qualifying Americans, discrimination protections, including pre-existing conditions, for those seeking to buy health insurance, and the implementation of essential health benefits for all plans sold through the insurance marketplace.

Patients’ Perspectives On Health Care In The United States: Florida, R. J. Blendon, J. M. Benson, Caitlin L. Mcmurtry, J. M. Sayde

Brown School Faculty Publications

The landscape and experience of health care in the United States has changed dramatically in the last two years. January 2014 saw insurance purchased on state exchanges and the federal marketplace go into effect, the start of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate and its accompanying subsidies and tax credits for qualifying Americans, discrimination protections, including pre-existing conditions, for those seeking to buy health insurance, and the implementation of essential health benefits for all plans sold through the insurance marketplace.

Patients’ Perspectives On Health Care In The United States: New Jersey, R. J. Blendon, J. M. Benson, Caitlin L. Mcmurtry, J. M. Sayde

Brown School Faculty Publications

The landscape and experience of health care in the United States has changed dramatically in the last two years. January 2014 saw insurance purchased on state exchanges and the federal marketplace go into effect, the start of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate and its accompanying subsidies and tax credits for qualifying Americans, discrimination protections, including pre-existing conditions, for those seeking to buy health insurance, and the implementation of essential health benefits for all plans sold through the insurance marketplace.

Support For A Tax-Time Savings Policy: Interest In Deferring Tax Refunds With Matched Incentives, Dana C. Perantie, Jane E. Oliphant, Michal Grinstein-Weiss

Center for Social Development Research

Support for a Tax-Time Savings Policy: Interest in Deferring Tax Refunds With Matched Incentives

Community Based System Dynamic As An Approach For Understanding And Acting On Messy Problems: A Case Study For Global Mental Health Intervention In Afghanistan, Jean-Francois Trani, Ellis Ballard, Parul Bakhshi, Peter Hovmand

Brown School Faculty Publications

Background: Afghanistan lacks suitable specialized mental healthcare services despite high prevalence of severe mental health disorders which are aggravated by the conflict and numerous daily stressors. Recent studies have shown that Afghans with mental illness are not only deprived of care but are vulnerable in many other ways. Innovative participatory approaches to the design of mental healthcare policies and programs are needed in such challenging context. Methods: We employed community based system dynamics to examine interactions between multiple factors and actors to examine the problem of persistently low service utilization for people with mental illness. Group model building sessions, designed …

Collective Action Dynamics In Urban Neighborhoods: A Study Of Urban Community Gardens, Nishesh Chalise

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Lessons from various policies and programs both in the United States and international development have led to a knowledge base concluding that an engaged community is a critical component for developing a thriving community. This is based on a premise that even in the modernized world community still has a role to play along with government and the market in their own development. Community’s role is further highlighted in areas such as low-income urban neighborhoods where both the government and the market may not be able to fulfill all the needs.Research has followed by trying to understand why people engage …

The Role Of Trauma And Mental Health Problems In The Perpetration Of Intimate Partner Violence In Post-Genocide Rwanda, Sarah Myers Tlapek

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Exposure to political violence or war is associated with intimate partner violence (IPV) in post-conflict settings (Clark et al., 2010; Gupta, Reed, Kelly, Stein, & Williams, 2012), and civilians and veterans who develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after exposure to combat or violence are more likely to perpetrate violence against an intimate partner (Taft, Watkins, Stafford, Street, & Monson, 2011). Rwandan health professionals estimate that after the 1994 genocide more than one-quarter of the country’s population now suffers from PTSD (Munyandamutsa, Nkubamugisha, Gex-Fabry, & Eytan, 2012). Although the majority of Rwandan women (56%) have experienced IPV in their lifetime (National …

Asset-Based Policy In South Korea, Youngmi Kim, Li Zou, Soyoon Weon, Michael Sherraden, Jin Yong Choi

Center for Social Development Research

Asset building was first discussed at the 56th Korean National Meetings in November 2004. In November 2006, the conference “Toward a New Paradigm in Social Policy: The Potential of Child Development Accounts in Asset-Based Social Policy,” organized by the Korean Labor Institute and Chung Ang University, generated substantial discussion and reinforced interest in asset-based policy in Korea.

Building Children's Assets In Singapore: The Beginning Of A Lifelong Policy, Vernon Loke, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

Singapore has comprehensive lifelong asset-building policies for its citizens. Four programs specifically target children: (1) Children Development Accounts (CDAs) for children starting at birth to age 12; (2) the Edusave account for school children aged six to 17; (3) Postsecondary Education accounts (PSEAs) for children aged 13 years and older; and (4) the Medisave Account, which is opened for every newborn.

Use Of Alternative Financial Services Among Low- And Moderate-Income Households: Findings From A Large-Scale National Household Financial Survey, Mathieu R. Despard, Dana C. Perantie, Lingzi Luo, Jane Oliphant, Michal Grinstein-Weiss

Center for Social Development Research

Use of Alternative Financial Services Among Low- and Moderate-Income Households: Findings From a Large-Scale National Household Financial Survey