Social Work Commons^™

A Legal Analysis: The Transgender Bathroom Debate, Josselyn Sheer

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article examines the current legal battles over transgender bathroom, locker room, and employment rights. In the recent years, there has been a major uproar surrounding the rights of transgender individuals; concurrently, our country is witnessing a shift in the ways in which individuals understand their gender outside of the binary male and female classification. While the word transgender can serve as an “umbrella term encompassing a wide array of identifies,” transgender rights have steadily grown across numerous areas (Buck, 2016, p. 465). However, there have been contentious legal issues that have put transgender individuals rights in the spotlight.

The …

Etiology Of Poverty: A Critical Evaluation Of Two Major Theories, Stephen W. Stoeffler, Rigaud Joseph

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The purpose of this article is to appraise two competing frameworks related to poverty attribution: individualistic theories and structural theories. Using the Theory Evaluation Scale (TES)—an empirically validated nine-criterion measure—this paper scrutinizes the aforementioned theories for coherence, conceptual clarity, philosophical assumptions, connection with previous research, testability, empiricism, limitations, client context, and human agency. Results revealed that, at the scale level, both perspectives are of excellent quality. However, at the item-level, the structural perspective was found to be significantly stronger than the individual perspective. Therefore, the structural perspective is an epistemologically sounder framework for informing antipoverty interventions.

"We're Not The Enemy And We're Not Asking For The World": Low-Wage Hospital Service Workers' Advocacy For Fair Wages, Sandra Wexler, Rafael J. Engel, Tal Laufer, Elizabeth Steiner

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

A number of states and localities have increased the minimum wage beyond that set by the federal government in recognition of the material and health challenges faced by low-wage earners. Academics, economists, and activists have offered microeconomic, economic justice, and moral rationales to support increasing the minimum wage. These justifications can be understood from the vantage of claims-making, that is, the ways individuals and groups attempt to define and shape a social problem to influence policy. This paper examines the wage-related claims-making of low-wage hospital service workers. These workers (N=156) testified to a City Council-created Wage Review Committee, which posted …

System Of Structural Dependency In The Sudanese Refugee Women Of Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya, Jessica Gladden

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Many countries facing an influx of refugees have established refugee camps to provide temporary housing. Lacking a solution for the refugee crisis, these temporary facilities become long-term housing for many refugees. As a result, many refugees spend years or even decades in refugee camps. The refugees often are legally prohibited from obtaining employment. They must rely on aid from the United Nations and other organizations for their survival. This study considers some of the impacts of living in a refugee camp and surviving solely on humanitarian aid. In particular, this study examines the structural dependency observed in the Sudanese refugee …

No One Cares About Crazy People: The Chaos And Heartbreak Of Mental Health In America, By Ron Powers, Christopher Giesfield

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Ron Powers, No One Cares About Crazy People: The Chaos and Heartbreak of Mental Health in America. Hachette Book Group (2018), 384 pages, $16.99 (paperback).

Social Workers Count: Numbers And Social Issues, By Michael Anthony Lewis, Renee Andersen Garbe

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Michael Anthony Lewis, Social Workers Count: Numbers and Social Issues. Oxford University Press (2018). 207 pages, $34.95 (paperback).

Critical Multiculturalism And Intersectionality In A Complex World, By Lacey M. Sloan, Mildred C. Joyner, Catherine J. Stakeman, And Cathryne L. Schmitz, María Aguilar-Amaya

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Lacey M. Sloan, Mildred C. Joyner, Catherine J. Stakeman, and Cathryne L. Schmitz, Critical Multiculturalism and Intersectionality in a Complex World. Oxford University Press. (2018). 171 pages, $23.97 (paperback).

The Impossible Imperative: Navigating The Competing Principles Of Child Protection, By Jill Duerr Berrick, Kalah M. Villagrana

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Jill Duerr Berrick, The Impossible Imperative: Navigating the Competing Principles of Child Protection. Oxford University Press (2018), 244 pages, $36.95 (hardcover).

Structured Savings And Asset Ownership: The Role Of Rotating Savings And Credit Associations Among African Immigrants In The United States., Habiba Ibrahim

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs) are commonly practiced in developing countries across the globe. The practice is also common among immigrants in developed economies. This study uses survey data collected from African immigrants in the United States to examine whether saving in ROSCAs is associated with asset ownership among the participants. The results found that after receiving the ROSCAs savings, asset ownership among participants increased. Home ownership increased by 13.6%, small businesses increased by 27.2% (including taxi and commercial trucks) and car ownership increased by almost 20%. In conclusion, ROSCA participation increased asset ownership.

Journal Of Sociology And Social Welfare Vol. 47, No. 2

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Complete issue of Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare Volume 47, Number 2

Psychometric Properties Of The Job Burnout Scale Among Social Service Workers: A Pilot Study, Madhavappallil Thomas, Yong Li

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study examined the psychometric properties of the Job Burnout Scale among Social Service Workers (JBSSW). The JBSSW was administered among 248 social service workers employed in governmental and nonprofit social service agencies. Findings show that that this scale has three independent dimensions: person-related burnout, work-related burnout, and agency-related burnout. All three dimensions have good reliability and construct validity. Work-related burnout and agencyrelated burnout also have good concurrent validity. This scale may be used by social service agencies, researchers, and practitioners to gauge staff burnout and alleviate it by changing the interactions between individuals, the nature of their work, and …

The Social Construction Of Arab Identity In The U.S.: The Historical Complicity And The Modern Responsibility Of Social Work, Suhad Tabahi, Jacob Bucher

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper presents the sociopolitical experiences of early Arab migrants in the United States (U.S.) and the process of contradictory and socially constructed racial categorizations favoring white supremacy. While there is much discourse of the racial formation of Arab immigrants since 9-11, the actual racial project started in the early twentieth century, through varies entities including the social work profession where the “othering” process of early Arabs Americans existed in social welfare practice. Examples of the pejorative attitudes towards Arab immigrants from the early social work discourse are examined through proceedings from the National Conference on Social Welfare (NCSW) in …

Review Of Shaping A Science Of Social Work: Professional Knowledge And Identity By John Brekke And Jeane Anastas, Yawen Li

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Review of Shaping a Science of Social Work: Professional Knowledge and Identity by John Brekke and Jeane Anastas, Oxford University Press (2019).

Children And The Welfare State: The Need For A Child-Centered Analysis, Colleen Henry

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Variation in child well-being across rich Western nations suggests that the welfare state may play a role in shaping child well-being. However, welfare scholars have largely overlooked children in their analyses. This paper seeks to bring children to the center of welfare state analysis by examining how comparative welfare state theory can consider child well-being. The paper begins with an examination of Esping- Andersen’s seminal work, The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism, which has come to frame welfare state analysis for nearly three decades. Next, the paper explores the main critiques of Esping-Andersen’s work, with special attention paid to the …

Review Of Social Movements: The Structure Of Collective Mobilization By Paul Almeida, Melanie Reyes

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Review of Social Movements: The Structure of Collective Mobilization by Paul Almeida, University of California Press (2019).

Review Of The Age Of American Unreason In A Culture Of Lies By Susan Jacoby, Mark Olson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Review of The Age of American Unreason in a Culture of Lies by Susan Jacoby, Vintage (2019).

Deconstructing The Racialized Cannabis User: Cannabis Criminalization And Intersections With The Social Work Profession, Amar Ghelani

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Cannabis users have been historically stigmatized and criminalized for non-violent behaviors such as consuming, producing, and distributing cannabis. Racialized cannabis users in particular have been constructed as fundamentally different, dangerous, and mentally unstable, while state actors have benefited from the subjugation of this group. The following article reviews the history of cannabis prohibition with an emphasis on the social construction of racialized cannabis users and role of social workers in the treatment of this group. As laws liberalizing cannabis use and trade are passed across North America, an emergent legal framework is maintaining racial divides and marginalizing non- White cannabis …

Illiberalism: A Primer And Call To Action For Social Workers, Loring P. Jones, David Engstrom

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Liberal democracies had been ascendant in the post-World War II era. President Trump is part of a wave of nationalist, anti-immigrant politicians with autocratic tendencies who are challenging liberal democracy. The term given to the governing philosophy of these leaders is illiberalism. This paper is meant to be a primer on illiberalism for social workers, describing this ideology and the threat illiberalism poses for democracy, our social welfare system, and the interests of social work clients. We conclude with a discussion on what social workers can do to defend democracy in light of the historic mission to advance social …

School Lunch Participation And Youth School Failure: A Multi-Racial Perspective, Shiyou Wu, Kalah M. Villagrana, Siobhan M. Lawler, Renee Garbe

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In the United States, students from low-socioeconomic status and minority ethnic groups graduate from high school at lower rates than their peers. Limited studies exist about the risk and protective factors that affect the disproportionate graduation rates by income and ethnicity. Using the 2016 Arizona Youth Survey data (N = 32,178), this study aims to explore the relationship between the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) participation and school failure, and other risk and protective factors from a multi-racial perspective. Logistic regressions were conducted on the total sample and the six ethnic subsamples (i.e., White, Latino, Black, American Indian, Asian/Pacific Islander, …

A Framework For Analyzing, Developing, And Applying Community Practice Interventions, Jason M. Sawyer, Shane R. Brady

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Due to multiple factors, the community practice field struggles with incongruent community practice language and activities. In this article, authors unpack various challenges associated with community practice and explore implications for analysis, development, and application of effective interventions. Grounded in applied social science paradigms, authors offer a framework incorporating multi-paradigmatic approaches to inform intervention development and application. Principally centered in praxis—that is, reflection and action—this article builds on the work of foundational scholars to cultivate contextual interventions in planned change work. The authors aim to further develop the community practice knowledge base, expand what constitutes relevant evidence, and aid practitioners …

Childhood Snap Receipt As A Protective Factor Against Adult Obesity: Examining The Interaction Of Snap Participation And Neighborhood Disadvantage, Thomas Vartanian, Linda Houser

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) with family fixed-effects (FE) models, we explore how neighborhood conditions and time receiving SNAP benefits during childhood interact to relate to time spent obese in adulthood. Results suggest that, for those growing up in less advantaged neighborhoods, SNAP receipt between the ages of 9–13 and 14–18 was associated with subsequently shorter periods of time obese in adulthood. Conversely, for those growing up in more advantaged neighborhoods, SNAP receipt during these same late childhood/ adolescent time periods was associated with relatively high proportions of time in adulthood spent obese. SNAP participation during early …

Does Internet Access Create Or Destroy Social Capital? The Case Of West Java Province, Bayu Kharisma, Sutyastie Soemitro Remi

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Bonding social capital is within a group or community, whereas bridging social capital is between social groups, social class, race, religion, or other important sociodemographic or socioeconomic characteristics. This paper aims to investigate the determinants of household involvement and the effect of internet access on bridging and bonding social capital in West Java, Indonesia. The data used in this study were sourced from the results of a survey conducted by the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) of West Java Province in 2014, The National Socio-Economic Survey (Survei Sosial Ekonomi Nasional) on Socio-Cultural and Educational Module (Modul Sosial Budaya dan Pendidikan) …

Review Of Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation And Sexual Assault: Challenging The Myths. By Corina Schulze, Sarah Koon-Magnin, And Valerie Bryan, Kimberly A. Hogan

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Review of Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation and Sexual Assault: Challenging the Myths.

Review Of The Homelessness Industry: A Critique Of U.S. Social Policy. By Elizabeth Beck And Pamela C. Twiss, María Aguilar-Amaya

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Review of The Homelessness Industry: A Critique of U.S. Social Policy.

Journal Of Sociology And Social Welfare Vo. 47, No. 3

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Complete issue of Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare Volume 47, Number 3

Review Of Gerontological Social Work And The Grand Challenges: Focusing On Policy And Practice. By Sara Sanders, Stacey R. Kolomer, Cheryl Waiters Spellman, And Victoria M. Rizzo, Katelyn Hill

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Review of Gerontological Social Work and the Grand Challenges: Focusing on Policy and Practice.

Review Of Jesus And John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted A Faith And Fractured A Nation. By Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Daniel Liechty

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Review of Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation.

Review Of Music And Dementia: From Cognition To Therapy. By Amee Baird, Sandra Garrido, And Jeanette Tamplin, Kinsey Stapleton

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Review of Music and Dementia: From Cognition to Therapy.

Review Of Why We’Re Polarized By Ezra Klein; Irony And Outrage: The Polarized Landscape Of Rage, Fear, And Laughter In The United States By Dannagal Goldthwaite Young; Prius Or Pickup? How Answers To Four Simple Questions Explain America’S Great Divide By Marc Hetherington And Jonathan Weiler, Daniel Liechty

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Review of Why We’re Polarized; Irony and Outrage: The Polarized Landscape of Rage, Fear, and Laughter in the United States; Prius or Pickup? How Answers to Four Simple Questions Explain America’s Great Divide

When Personal Raises Political: Experience Of Racial Discrimination And Distrust Of Authorities Among Children Of Immigrants, Luis Fernandez-Barutell

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Substantial research has addressed the association between welcoming or hostile contexts and sociopolitical behavior among second generation immigrants. Previous analyses have conceptualized positive elements (e.g., group solidarity) and negative factors (e.g., anti-immigration bias) related to specific outcomes, such as voting or activism. This study examined factors associated with distrust of authorities and, in particular, whether experiencing personal discrimination based on race/ethnicity is related to distrust of government and police among second generation Latinos in the United States. Our results confirmed that experiencing discrimination in two contexts (school and police) is indeed related to distrust of authorities. Recommendations for practice and …