Social Work Commons^™

Group Experience With Parents Of Preschool Children With Seizure Disorders, George R. Jacobsen, Grant R. Kane, Joan Sacia

Dissertations and Theses

A project using parent seminars in aiding parents of children with seizure disorders was designed at the request of Dr. James R. Schimschock, pediatric neurologist and director of the Clinic for Neurologically Impaired Children, Good Samaritan Hospital and Medical Center. The clinic provides a diagnostic and educational therapy for neurologically impaired children. In addition to providing multidiscipline diagnostic evaluation, clinic services include operating classrooms for preschool and school-age children. The classrooms function for children with any type of neurologic impairment who are either excluded from school due to their delayed academic performance, their physical or developmental delay, emotional or behavior …

A Descriptive Analysis Of A Metropolitan Foster Parent Population As An Indicator For Recruitment, Elizabeth Connet

Dissertations and Theses

Recruiting and retaining a sufficient number of foster homes to offer quality care of children is of prime importance in the delivery of Child Welfare services. There are an insufficient number of foster homes available for the appropriate placement of foster children in Multnomah County, Oregon according to the largest placement agency in Oregon, Children's Services Division. The Tri-County Foster Parent's Association signed a Purchase of Service Agreement with t he Oregon Children's Services Division to develop a recruitment program to obtain additional foster homes. In an effort to do this effectively, the Foster Parent Association asked Portland State University …

Communication Barriers Between White Social Work Students And Black And Chicano Clients, Robert Hight, Joyce B. Smith, Evelyn F. Maxwell, Carol G. White

Dissertations and Theses

This study deals with the issue of communication barriers between white social work students and black and chicano clients, which represent the largest minority group in the United States.

Family Variables Which Are Associated With Achievement Of Community Tenure By Persons Released From Psychiatric Hospitalization, Thomas Mack Chambers

Dissertations and Theses

The pattern of frequent discharges and readmissions which characterizes most psychiatric hospitalization in this country today was described, and it was argued that the costs of this "revolving door" outweigh such benefits as might be derived from it. An alternative stepwise progression model of aftercare was proposed. This model identified community tenure as the most appropriate goal for initial aftercare efforts.

Attempts to identify correlates of the establishment of community tenure by mental hospital releasees were reviewed. It was found that the ex-patient's ability to remain in the community is not highly correlated with the extent to which he manifests …

Counseling Problems That Accompany The Diagnosis Of Mental Retardation, Betty Daggett, Shirley H. Durkheimer, Abigail M. Lawton

Dissertations and Theses

This is a report of a descriptive study in which a random sample of fifty out of four hundred returned questionnaires from parents with a mentally retarded child were analyzed. The foci of analysis were: (1) parental attitudes toward the child; (2) the changes experienced by the family as affected by birth order and sex of the mentally retarded child; (3) how the diagnosis was accomplished; and (4) how in their opinion services during this diagnostic period could be improved.

The data revealed that: (1) protectiveness toward the child is the predominant parental response; (2) negative changes are probably twice …

Changes In Personality Traits And Identification In Adolescent Female State School Residents, As A Function Of Length Of Residence, Mary L. Thompson

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of a significant exposure (six months) to a State School environment on selected personality traits and identity factors of adolescent girls. A second objective was to ascertain whether greater change takes place early in the period of residency (three months) or in a later stage. A third aim was to determine whether there is a significant difference in the degree of change between girls showing fewer pathological signs and healthier identity than those who show a greater number of such signs and a stronger delinquent identification.

Selected Attitudes And Values Of Young Adults In Northern Sierra Leone, Fatu Y. Kamara

Dissertations and Theses

The Republic of Sierra Leone is situated on the Northwest African coast and occupies an area of 28,000 square miles. It is bounded on t he north and the east by the Republic of Guinea, on the south by Liberia, and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. It has a population of 2.5 million people, comprised of thirteen tribes. The main tribal grouping are the Limbas, Mendes, Temnes, and Creoles. With the exception of the descendants of former slaves residing in t he Colony area, most of t he occupants of the interior are believed to have emigrated into …

A Follow-Up Attitudinal Study Of Selected Groups In The City Of The Dalles Toward The Community Attention Home, Landon Gilstrap, Joyce Larson, Janice Page

Dissertations and Theses

Prior to the opening of the Attention Home in August of 1971, a survey was conducted by David Clitheroe and Garrett Long to determine what specific attitudes local groups in the community had about the Attention Home. Their study represented the first part of a two part study. It established the baseline data on the community attitudes toward the Attention Home prior to the opening of the home. These attitudes will be compared with the attitudes after one year's operation of the home in order to assess what attitudinal changes, if any, have taken place between the first and second …

A Descriptive Follow-Up Study Of 21 Children From Parry Center, Paul Duke

Dissertations and Theses

The age-old question persists: Does an agency operated treatment program contribute significantly to a child’s personal development and adjustment following release from the institution? Since it is the agency's responsibility to weigh the needs of the disturbed child and provide appropriate services according to those needs, their basic question--whether residential treatment or another mode of treatment is more effective--remains unanswered and, in many instances, uncontested. If residential child care benefits the disturbed child, which characteristics of that agency are conducive to the improvement of the child's behavior and re-adaption? The following study will attempt to isolate such characteristics. We will …

An Evaluation Of A Graduate Social Work Training Program At John Adams High School, George E. Hall, Guy H. Lutz

Dissertations and Theses

This research study is an evaluation of a graduate social work training program funded by NIMH of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare entitled "Teaching-Trainingship Grant in School Social Work." This grant provides training opportunities in a field placement at John Adams High School in Portland, Oregon, for Portland State University School of Social Work Masters degree candidates. Originally approved in June 1969, the grant became operational for the school year 1970-71.

The primary focus of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the training program at Adams High School. Secondarily, this study will attempt to answer three …

Student Perceptions Of The Teacher-Counselor Role At The Albina Youth Opportunity School, Florence M. Morton, Billie L. Smith

Dissertations and Theses

This project is a descriptive study of the Albina Youth Opportunity School of Portland, Oregon. The school is described as one whose primary function is to help disadvantaged students who have extreme social and academic problems. The study focused on the students' perception of their teachers, who are defined by the school as teacher-counselors. Of the seventy full-time students, sixty-five participated in the study, and five refused to do so.

The major questions of the study were concerned with the students' assessment of the teacher-counselors characteristics. Main areas for exploration dealt with the students' perception of the role of a …

Student Perceptions Of The Chemawa Alcohol Education Center, Carol Colley

Dissertations and Theses

This paper was a study of the student perceptions of the Chemawa Alcohol Education Center at Chemawa Indian School including a review of the literature on adolescent drinking, Indian youth in particular. Students who entered the CAEC building during the week of November 14-21, 1972, were individually interviewed to determine the demographic data on the student population, patterns of participation, and student ideas about the CAEC program. It was discovered that students interviewed prefer this year's program over last year's, that students brought in for drinking violations were more involved in the counseling aspects of the program, and that the …

Predicting And Detecting First Grade School Adjustment, Julie D. Holmes, Janice L. Bartlett

Dissertations and Theses

School maladjustment incidence studies estimate that thirty percent of American school children experience school adaptation problems and that about ten percent need immediate clinical attention. (Glidewell, 1969) Various labels, including school maladjustment, school maladaptation, school dysfunction, soclo-emotional disorders and emotional disturbance have been used more or less interchangeably in current research to refer to this thirty percent of the school population. A leading researcher in the field, Emory L. Cowen, considers children to be "maladapted when they are unable, because of prior history and personal qualities or skill deficiencies, to cope with the educational or behavioral demands that the school …

Self-Awareness Testing For School Of Social Work Students At Portland State University, Beverly Paull, Bette Schuman, Dorothy Davis

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this project was to evaluate from the student point of view the feasibility and desirability of self-awareness testing for first year School of Social Work students. Originally, the authors had hoped to arrange and evaluate mental well-being interviews for a significant sampling of students, using as a model the voluntary, private, completely confidential interviews that were conducted at McGill University's School of Social Work during 1961-1963. However, the task of funding offcampus professional interviews proved insurmountable. Therefore, the authors turned to objective personality testing with individual interpretive interviews conducted by counselors at Portland State University's Counseling Center.

A Study Describing Pastoral Counseling Among The Christian Church Ministers In Oregon, With Special Emphasis On The Counseling Training That They Received At Northwest Christian College, Thomas O. Woodruff

Dissertations and Theses

Pastoral Counseling is recognized by many people with the Church as one of the expected duties of the Minister. It is built into his role as Spiritual and moral leader of the people within the Congregation. Although this concept of the Minister varies among denominations and churches, it appears to be fairly consistent within the Christian Church. It was out of an interest and concern for both the Christian and mental health, that a study about Pastoral Counseling was conceived. It was hoped that such a study would clarify what was involved in Pastoral Counseling and how it was related …

A Study Of A Token Economy Program Initiated At Oregon State Hospital, Helenjane R. Kudelko

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a token economy program at Oregon State Hospital in terms of patients’ behavioral improvement during the first seventy days of the program. As the study progressed, it became apparent that a study of the problems involved in initiating this program would be significant. Thus an attempt has been made to evaluate both the patients’ behavioral improvement and the problems involved in setting up an effective token economy program.

Prior to the June 1, 1972 reorganization of the hospital, the county geographical unit system had been in effect for approximately eleven years. On …

Transactional Analysis Jargon In Time Limited Groups, Diane Jones, Earl Eyre, Joan Logan

Dissertations and Theses

There are three assumptions in the field of psychology about Transactional Analysis that are examined in this thesis: first, TA has an identifiable language, composed of common, easily understood terms; second, it is assumed that people who wish to use TA theory must first learn the language; third, once the language is learned, it is thought that these people can put it to use in their lives.

Evaluating "Peer Mobilization" Films As A Tool In Altering Self Concept, Leslie Larson, Mary Morton

Dissertations and Theses

The thesis examines the Peer Mobilization film series to determine if they are effective tools to positively affect mental health.

Sickle Cell Anemia : A Psychosocial Study Of Attitudes And Effect, Sharon Ann Goddard, Marian Genita Gilmore

Dissertations and Theses

This research study was focused on two broad areas of exploration. The first area deals with the identification of various factors affecting a family when a family member has the anemia or symptomatic form of sickle cell disease. Data obtained from a personally administered questionnaire (Form A), enabled the researchers to determine if genetic counseling had been offered and received, and if this counseling was considered helpful by the respondents. In addition to this, data was collected on several demographic variables, including sex and age of patient, family income, religion, education, ethnic group, living arrangements and occupation, and response to …

Selected Attitudes And Perceptions Of Adolescents At The Hood River, Oregon, Attention Home, Marilyn Czerwinski, Linda Olson

Dissertations and Theses

The aim of this study is to report selected perceptions and attitudes of adolescents placed in the “attention home” at Hood River, Oregon, as an early aid towards improved understanding and treatment, and program assessment.

Parental Attitudes Toward, And Knowledge Of Open-Space Schools, Brian Hines

Dissertations and Theses

As part of an extensive examination of open~space elementary schools in the Beaverton School District, a study was conducted to determine how parents view these schools and the "open" concept of education. This is a description of that study. This report will explain why the research was undertaken, provide some background information, on open-space schools, describe the survey design, and discuss both the results of the study and some implications that can be drawn from the results.

A Study Of Open Space Schools, Carol Ormiston

Dissertations and Theses

By the spring of 1972 Beaverton School District had five open space schools in operation and three others under construction. These schools are built without separate, individual classrooms. Space is more flexible and can be used in a number of ways. Open space buildings provide the setting for a new kind of teaching and learning process.

Within the Beaverton School District, the Department of Administrative Services was requested to provide information regarding the operation of the open space teaching and learning process. As a result a plan was developed for a descriptive study of some aspects of open space as …

Meaning Of Work For Women, Susan Ackerman

Dissertations and Theses

In this research practicum we were concerned with the measurement and implications of factors which influence the meaning of work for white American women. The present study was a pilot study for the second part of a research project proposed by the Human Interaction Research Institute (H.I.R.I.). John Marks, Ph.D., was co-director of the first part of the project and is the director of this study.

Part I of the "Meaning of Work" project examined alternative life styles and corresponding career choices made by young men. This study identified values, aspirations, backgrounds, and characteristics of men who were grouped as …

Chinese Attitudes And Knowledge Concerning Social Services: A Survey Of The Portland Chinese Community, Laura Lum Sing, Wendy Po-Kow Chan, Peter Tau-Ping Wang

Dissertations and Theses

The professional social worker needs to understand, wide social issues, including the culture and cultural background of minority persons and groups in the United States. One minority group with which social work has not much contact, and thus has little knowledge about, is the Chinese. Regarding professional social work knowledge about minority groups, the Chinese could be considered a "silent minority."

Community Vocational Success Of Institutionalized Mental Retardates As A Function Of Coping Style, Jane C. Schilling

Dissertations and Theses

In May, 1968, Fairview Hospital and Training Center (for the Mentally Retarded) located in Salem, Oregon, initiated its first Manpower Development and Training Program (MDT) coupled with an On-The-Job Training Program (OJT). The OJT portion of the training phase was eventually renamed and is now known as the Jobs Optional Program (JOP). Since the start of the program, a total of 273 residents have participated in the institutional phase and 131 in the JOP phase.

The purpose of this study was to develop a scale that would predict a trainee's (or potential trainee's) success or failure in the JOP phase …

Identifying And Defining Natural Service Delivery Systems, James R. Garrison, William J. Teverbaugh

Dissertations and Theses

One aspect of reality that professional social workers are experiencing in the course of performing social work is what the authors will refer to as natural service delivery systems. We use this particular term for clarity, yet there are questions that still remain. Are there, in fact, measurable phenomena that we can call natural service delivery systems? If these systems exist, what kind of services do they deliver or what types of services do they imply? If these services do exist and if we recognize them, what are the implications for professional social workers? How does our knowledge base allow …

Villa St. Rose Group Home Study, William H. Finkle

Dissertations and Theses

There has been a gradual move from the exclusive use of institutions for delinquent adolescents as a treatment resource to a realization that institutions need a variety of treatment methods in order to rehabilitate delinquents and other adolescents with adjustment problems. Villa St. Rose is an example of an institution which has acknowledged the effectiveness of developing a therapeutic milieu based on a professional institutional program supported by community treatment in the form of a group home experience.

An Analysis Of Change In Girls Released From Villa Saint Rose, H. Marie Ades

Dissertations and Theses

When juveniles are defined by society as delinquent they are frequently institutionalized. These institutions are referred to as reform schools, correctional institutions or schools, residential care facilities, treatment centers, or variations of the above. They are state sponsored or privately sponsored. Whatever name is on the sign by the front door, each institution is in the business of "people changing."

The excellence of an inanimate product can be measured, weighed, checked, and reproduced; but an altered person is more difficult to measure. If one is in the business of people-changing, it seems important to see if one is in fact …

Diagnostic Congruence: A Study On Presentation Of Clinical Information To Parents And Recall, Miriam Rae Maier

Dissertations and Theses

The present study was an investigation of recall following presentation of diagnostic information. The setting was the Crippled Children's Division of the University of Oregon Medical School.

The purpose of the study was to test the hypothesis that one session conferencing imparting diagnostic information to parents of handicapped children reduces recall. Additionally, it was hypothesized that multi-discipline conferencing is related to greater diagnostic recall than single discipline conferencing. The sample was made up of 20 parent units whose children were evaluated at the Crippled Children's Division for suspected Cerebral Palsy and/or Mental Retardation. There were ten families from the Cerebral …

The Impact Of Coordination By A Child Abuse Committee On Community Services To Battered Children, Grace Jackson Anders, Rebekah M. Burton

Dissertations and Theses

The Child Abuse Committee at the University of Oregon Medical School has assumed a coordinating role as an attempt to provide more effective service to abused children and their families. This research report is a follow up to a 1970 study by Matusak which evaluated the effectiveness of the Committee. The Matusak study seemed to indicate that, because of Committee action resulting in appropriate intervention and services, definite improvement in the situation of the children in the study was seen. This study follows the children from the 1970 study one year later and makes further comparisons of child abuse cases …