Social Work Commons^™

Factors Associated With Poverty Among Refugees In The United States, Mitra Naseh, Miriam Potocky, Shanna L. Burke, Paul H. Stuart, Fatma Huffman

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background and Purpose: Approximately three million refugees have arrived in the United States in the past four decades. Literature suggests, after arrival in the country and in the short-term period thereafter, it is likely for refugees as New Americans to experience poverty and deprivation in different aspects of life. In this context, knowledge of factors associated with poverty among refugees is important and relevant for social workers as front-line service providers for refugees and economically disadvantaged individuals. Using social exclusion theory as a framework, this study hypothesized that the factors associated with integration in the refugee integration conceptual framework (Ager …

Ready? Set? Go?: Examining Organizational Readiness For Change In A Quality Improvement Intervention For Youth Mentoring Programs, Renee Spencer, Alison L. Drew, Carla Herrera, Bowen Mcbeath, Thomas E. Keller

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

The number of youth mentoring programs has risen significantly in recent decades. This trend, coupled with evidence that programs employing a greater number of empirically supported practices achieve more positive effects for youth participants, has prompted increasing interest in how to promote more widespread use of evidence-based practice standards in mentoring programs. In an effort to describe and better understand efforts to implement recommended standards, we studied a multi-level initiative sponsored by a national advocacy organization in which its state-level Affiliates guided local mentoring programs through a structured quality improvement process. Specifically, we examined organizational readiness for change among mentoring …

A Comparative Study On The Cultivation Of Undergraduate Environmental Talents In Chinese And American Universities Based On Ecosystem Management Thought*, Qing Tian, Bowen Mcbeath, Takeo Morimo, Si Wang

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Since the Industrial Revolution, the relationship between human beings and nature has appeared unprecedented sharp contradiction. In modern times, human beings mainly respond to the contradiction in the relationship between human and nature through environmental management.

Distress And Resilience In Resettled Refugees Of War: Implications For Screening, Michael Hollifield, Eric C. Toolson, Sasha Verbillis-Kolp, Beth Farmer, Junko Yamazaki, Tsegaba Woldehaimanot, Annette Holland

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

There is little work published about predictors of specific trajectory types of distress in refugees of war during early resettlement in a host country. Data about distress (Refugee Health Screener—15 (RHS-15)) and possible predictors of distress were collected at the domestic medical examination (T1) within 90 days of arrival and the civil surgeon examination (T2) 11–16 months after T1 for refugee groups from three countries (COU). Descriptive, correlative, analyses of variance, and regression techniques were used to determine trajectory type and their predictors. A higher percentage (7.3%) were distressed at T2 than at T1. By group, the Bhutanese became more …

Pandemic And Protest In 2020: Questions And Considerations For Social Work Research, Kimberly D. Hudson, Gita Mehrotra

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

The convergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and social/political protest concerning structural anti-Black racism marks a moment for deep reflection and revision of many taken-for-granted assumptions about our research and academic lives as social work scholars. In this reflexive essay we, as two non-Black qualitative social work scholars, explore some of the questions and considerations for social work research that have surfaced since the emergence of these complex social, political, and economic crises. We organize our reflection around what we study, why, and how we go about studying it. We then offer a discussion of various constraints and challenges that emerge …

“We’Re More Than A Daycare”: Reported Roles And Settings For Early Childhood Professionals And Implications For Professionalizing The Field, Rachel E. Schachter, Qingyu Jiang, Shayne B. Piasta, Erin E. Flynn

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

In the US, recent efforts have focused on professionalizing the field of early childhood. One way to indicate professionalism is through the terms used to describe both the field and the workers. However, few have examined how practitioners or researchers describe early childhood professionals’ work. Using multiple data sources and analytic strategies, we examined the ways that those working with young children described their role and setting, as well as how these were described in research and practitioner journals. “Teacher” was the preferred term for both journals and professionals, and terms for setting reflected traditional K-12 school structures. Professionals linked …

Social Determinants Of Health And Parenting Self-Efficacy Among Mothers Of Preterm Infants, Susanne Klawetter, Blair W. Weikel, Kristi L. Roybal, Nazan Cetin, Mathew C, Uretsky, Stephanie L. Bourque, Anne Hall, Sunah S. Hwang, Madalynn Neu, Mauricio A. Palau, Multiple Additional Authors

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Objective: To explore the relationships between social and environmental factors and parenting self-efficacy (PSE) among mothers of preterm infants hospitalized in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) using a social determinants of health (SDoH) framework. Method: We analyzed data from a prospective cohort study that included 187 mother-infant dyads admitted to four NICUs in the Mountain West region between June 2017 and December 2019. We used multivariable linear regression models to assess the independent associations between maternal and infant characteristics and PSE. Results: Our final multiple linear regression model predicting the efficacy score including maternal race/ethnicity, age, insurance, employment status before …

Evaluating The N/Ne Preference Policy, Amie Thurber, Lisa K. Bates, Susan Halverson

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

North/Northeast Portland has long been the heart of Portland's Black community. By 2010, the area had lost two-thirds of its Black residents to displacement. In response, the City adopted a Preference Policy that prioritizes displaced affordable rental and homeownership applicants. This report describes findings from the first phase of a study to understand what difference this policy is making in the lives of residents.

Interrupting White Supremacy In Field Education: Experiences Of Microaggressions In Placement Settings, Anita Reinette Gooding, Gita Mehrotra

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

As social work’s signature pedagogy, field education socializes students into their professional roles as practitioners. However, for students and field instructors of color, racial microaggressions add another dimension to the practice experience. Utilizing findings from a qualitative study exploring the experiences of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) social work students and agency-based field instructors, this paper highlights experiences of microaggressions in field placement settings. Specifically, BIPOC students and field instructors described being tokenized in agencies, feeling invisible in placement settings, experiencing microaggressions from service users or students, and witnessing microaggressions. Experiences of microaggressions had emotional impacts, and affected …

Stopped Listening: Experiences Of Higher Education Refugee-Background Learners, Peggy Lynn Maclsaac, Staci B. Martin, Wilson Kubwayo, Chablue Wah, Salome Nanyenga

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper discusses the academic agency of refugee-background individuals who have resettled to the United States of America and the responsibility of higher education to value refugee-background learners as knowledge creators. Contrary to deficit thinking that views learners as unable to succeed due to their refugee background, this study explores how their experiences demonstrate their multiple capacities to succeed in higher education. The essence of these experiences is presented using self-reflexive collaborative speaking and writing inquiry. Three main themes drawn from the results were the capacities of refugee-background learners to adapt cultures, maintain multiple social connections, and exercise agency.

“We Were Queens.” Listening To Kānaka Maoli Perspectives On Historical And On-Going Losses In Hawai’I, Antonia R.G. Alvarez, Val. Kanuha, Maxine K.L. Anderson, Cathy Kapua, Kris Bifulco

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study examines a historical trauma theory-informed framework to remember Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and/or māhū (LGBTQM) experiences of colonization in Hawai`i. Kānaka Maoli people and LGBTQM Kānaka Maoli face health issues disproportionately when compared with racial and ethnic minorities in Hawai’i, and to the United States as a whole. Applying learnings from historical trauma theorists, health risks are examined as social and community-level responses to colonial oppressions. Through the crossover implementation of the Historical Loss Scale (HLS), this study makes connections between historical losses survived by Kānaka Maoli and mental health. Specifically, this …

“Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Lanza Tu Pelo”: Storytelling In A Transcultural, Translanguaging Dialogic Exchange, Erin E. Flynn

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this study, we examined story circles to understand how the small‐group activity supports and shapes the storytelling of young students in multicultural, multilingual preschool classrooms. Through a representative example, we show how language development unfolds in the context of a transcultural and translanguaging dialogic exchange of stories. We describe features of increasing linguistic complexity present in students’ storytelling as they established affinity‐affirming connections over ideas, shared ways of languaging, and shared ways of storytelling. By examining changes in one student’s storytelling in the context of a mixed‐language story circle group, we offer insights into both language development and features …

Public Housing With Services For Older Adults With Developmental Disabilities: Differences In Efficacy Among Asian And White Communities, Junghee Lee, William Donlan, Paula C. Carder, Leigh Grover, Insik Hwang, Younghwan Kim, Gretchen Luhr

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study examined the efficacy of a culturally responsive housing with services model for Asian-American older adults and persons with developmental disabilities separately, and with both for an interaction effect. Study participants, including 278 Whites and 75 Asian Americans, lived in 10 properties of public housing with services in Portland, OR. All Asian-American participants (except four) were immigrants from China, Korea, and Vietnam, and were well connected through community-based health and social services that were delivered onsite and at a nearby center by staff members who were also immigrants from these three countries. Asian-American participants were older, very poor, with …

Picturing Forgotten Filipinx: Family Photographs And Resisting U.S. Colonial Amnesias, Stevie Cadiz, Alma M.O. Trinidad

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

U.S. imperialism in the Philippines has led to the multiple generations of diasporic conditions of colonial amnesia and systematic forgetting of history. Its impact on the Filipinx community has left unrecorded memories and voices of immigrants silenced, and considered lost to history. This study examines the relationship between U.S. colonialism and imperialism in the Philippines and the experiences of Filipinx immigration to the U.S. through a critical Indigenous feminist lens of visual imagery and storytelling. Given that many of the experiences within the Filipinx diaspora in relation to the American Empire have been systematically forgotten and erased, this study utilizes …

Healthy Birth Initiatives: The Road Toward Reproductive Justice, Roberta Hunte, Susanne Klawetter, Sherly Paul

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study concerns racialized experiences of reproductive oppression among Black women and the efforts of one organization - Multnomah County’s Healthy Birth Initiatives (HBI) - to combat this oppression and move towards Reproductive Justice. This study explores how Black women experience and respond to racism-related stress and its impacts on their health during and after pregnancy and subsequent parenting. The project was informed by a pilot focus group conducted in 2016 by Drs. Jenna Ramaker and Roberta Hunte in partnership with HBI, which asked HBI clients about the role of toxic stress and racism-related stress in their lives. The current …

A Qualitative Study On Health Needs Of Syrian Refugees In Jordan Using Emic And Etic Views, Mitra Naseh, Natalia Liviero, Zahra Abtahi, Maryam Rafieifar, Miriam Potocky

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

The ongoing civil war in Syria has resulted in the world's largest refugee crisis since 1945. Many Syrians have lived in a protracted exile in Jordan, the neighboring country of Syria, for more than five years. Estimates suggest that by the end of 2017, around 1.4 million Syrians lived in Jordan. As the exile continues for Syrians in Jordan, this study aimed to explore what refugees perceive as their major health needs in comparison to what service providers believe is needed for refugees in Jordan. Grounded theory and thematic analyses (Braun & Clarke, 2006) were used to analyze 17 semi-structured …

We Are Brave: Expanding Reproductive Justice Discourse Through Embodied Rhetoric And Civic Practice, Roberta Hunte, Catherine Ming T’Ien Duffly

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this article, we share the example of our recent community-based performance project on reproductive justice, We are BRAVE, to serve as a model of how community-based performance can be an embodied strategy for social change. We draw from the work of scholars of feminist rhetoric, community-based performance, and reproductive justice. In sharing the example of We are BRAVE, we show how using communitycentered, performative storytelling as embodied rhetoric can be an effective mode of public and political persuasion.

Workforce Participation Of Parents Of Children And Youth With Mental Health Difficulties: The Impact Of Community Services And Supports, Claudia Sellmaier, Lisa M. Stewart, Eileen M. Brennan

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study explored the effects of demands related to caring for children and youth with mental health difficulties and of resources in community ecologies including health services, schools, neighborhoods, and social supports, on parental workforce participation. Through secondary analysis of U.S. data from the 2016 National Survey of Children’s Health, we found that when children’s mental health issues were more severe, parents experienced frustration with their ability to get services and spent more time providing health care, they were less likely to be employed. Community factors were critical: employed parents reported more frequent contact from the school system, and fewer …

Development And Psychometric Testing Of The Aaspire Adult Autism Healthcare Provider Self-Efficacy Scale., Christina Nicolaidis, Gavin Schnider, Junghee Lee, Dora M. Raymaker, Steven K. Kapp, Lisa A. Croen, Anna Urbanowicz, Joelle Maslak

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

The adult healthcare system is ill-prepared to provide high-quality care to autistic adults. Lack of provider training may contribute to the problem, but there are few previously tested survey instruments to guide provider training efforts. Our objective was to develop and test a measure of healthcare providers' confidence (or "self-efficacy") in providing healthcare to autistic adults and to use it to better understand their training needs. We used a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach, in partnership with academic researchers, autistic adults, supporters, and healthcare providers, throughout the project. We developed a one-page questionnaire and surveyed 143 primary care providers from …

Fifth Year Persisters: High School, College, And Early Career Outcomes For Persisting Non-Graduates, Mathew C. Uretsky, Angela K. Henneberger

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

There is limited extant knowledge regarding academic and workforce experiences of students who remain engaged in high school, but do not graduate in the traditional four years. The current study used Multilevel modeling and descriptive statistics with statewide linked longitudinal administrative data (N = 2917) to (1) examine the student- and school-level factors related to earning a diploma during the fifth year of high school and (2) describe proximate academic and career outcomes for non-graduates and fifth year graduates. Multiple student-level factors were associated with increased likelihood of earning a diploma in the fifth year (e.g. special education eligibility, passing …

Teachers’ Perspectives On Year Two Implementation Of A Kindergarten Readiness Assessment, Rachel E. Schachter, Erin E. Flynn, Amy R. Napoli, Shayne B. Piasta

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this study we examined teachers’ perspectives regarding the second year of implementing a Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA). Using a mixed-methods approach, we focused on the administration process, the perceived benefits of the assessment, and how teachers used the assessment to inform instruction. We also investigated whether these differed by teacher and district characteristics and how KRA experiences were different in the second year of implementation. Research Findings: Teachers generally did not view the KRA as beneficial for instruction or for students, reporting administration difficulties, inadequate KRA content, and limited utility of KRA data for supporting instruction as ongoing …

Exploring College Student Identity Among Young People With Foster Care Histories And Mental Health Challenges, Rebecca Miller, Jennifer E. Blakeslee, Chanel Ison

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Young adults with foster care histories experience unique barriers to success in postsecondary academic settings, including higher rates of mental health challenges. This study reports the perspectives of college students with foster care histories and self-identified mental health concerns (N = 18) about how these factors relate to their post-secondary academic experiences. Study participants describe managing their mental health amid other academic and life stressors, share their perspectives on campus-based support and help-seeking experiences, and highlight the need for acknowledgement of their foster care identities in conjunction with their developing college student identities. Participants make a case for programming to …

Addressing Substance Use Utilizing A Community-Based Program Among Urban Native American Youth Living In Florida, Rose Wimbish-Cirilo, John Lowe, Eugenia Millender, E. Roberto Orellana

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study was conducted in Florida among two urban Native American youth programs that are sponsored by urban Native American community organizations. Convenience and snowballing were used as a sample recruitment strategy. Assignment to the experimental condition (UTC) and the control condition (SE) was established by randomizing the two community youth program sites to the two conditions. Utilization of a culturally relevant theory, Native-Reliance, guided the intervention approach for the prevention of substance use among urban Native American youth. Results of this study provided evidence that a culturally based intervention was significantly more effective for the reduction of substance use …

Investigating Mentor Commitment In Youth Mentoring Relationships: The Role Of Perceived Program Practices, Alison L. Drew, Thomas E. Keller, Renee Spencer, Carla Herrera

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Highly committed mentors may be less likely to end their mentoring relationships with their mentees. Theory suggests commitment is predicted by relationship satisfaction, investment, and perceptions of available alternatives. Mentoring program practices may influence commitment, but little research has investigated potential mechanisms. Using data from 537 mentors representing 55 mentoring programs, this study examined a theoretical path model in which mentor perceptions of program practices, specifically setting expectations, prematch mentor training, and matching based on mentor preferences, predict mentor satisfaction, investment, perceptions of available alternatives, and ultimately, relationship commitment. As expected, commitment was associated positively with satisfaction and investment and …

Toxic Stress Among Black And African American Oregonians, Roberta Hunte, Margaret J.F. Braun

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Toxic stress is a reaction to ongoing adversity such as abuse, neglect, poverty, racism, discrimination, and exposure to violence; it is powerful enough to change brain chemistry and architecture. Toxic stress and associated changes to the brain can lead to poor health outcomes later in life. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), racism*, and discrimination can trigger toxic stress and have long term consequences for the health of many people, particularly those in the Black and African American community.

The current project examined toxic stress and its impact on the health of Black and African American Oregonians. We looked at two indicators …

Telehealth For Transition Age Youth And Young Adults: Privacy, Emotional Safety And Welfare During Covid-19 And Beyond, Maria Hermsen-Kritz

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

The past few months have seen a boom in the use of telehealth for providing mental health services as agencies and providers rapidly adapt to the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Along with this has come a proliferation of guidance documents and tip sheets on responsibly engaging clients in telehealth.

The tips that follow provide options for protecting the emotional safety, privacy and welfare of transition-age youth and young adults while they are participating in virtual mental health care. These were compiled over the course of several conversations with providers currently working with this population, including youth peer support …

A Qualitative Evaluation Of The Impacts Of A Strength-Based And Youth-Driven Approach To Suicide Prevention In Rural And Minority Communities In Hawai‘I, Mapuana C.K. Antonio, Jane J. Chung-Do, Deborah A. Goebert, Kris Bifulco, Antonia R.G. Alvarez

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Suicide is a serious public health issue, particularly for Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islander youth living in rural communities in Hawai‘i. The Hawai‘i’s Caring Communities Initiative (HCCI) for Youth Suicide Prevention was implemented to address these concerns and used a strength-based, youthleadership approach to suicide prevention. A qualitative study was completed with youth leaders and adult community coordinators to evaluate the impacts of participating in HCCI. Participants included 9 adult community coordinators and 17 youth leaders ages 13-18 years. Coordinator interviews took place at a location of the interviewee’s convenience, and youth leader focus groups were conducted at 1 …

Having All Of Your Internal Resources Exhausted Beyond Measure And Being Left With No Clean-Up Crew’’: Defining Autistic Burnout, Dora Raymaker, Alan R. Teo, Nicole A. Steckler, Brandy Lentz, Mirah L. Scharer, Austin Delos Santos, Steven K. Kapp, Morrigan Hunter, Andee Joyce, Christina Nicolaidis

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Although autistic adults often discuss experiencing ‘‘autistic burnout’’ and attribute serious negative outcomes to it, the concept is almost completely absent from the academic and clinical literature.

Methods: We used a community-based participatory research approach to conduct a thematic analysis of 19 interviews and 19 public Internet sources to understand and characterize autistic burnout. Interview participants were autistic adults who identified as having been professionally diagnosed with an autism spectrum condition. We conducted a thematic analysis, using a hybrid inductive–deductive approach, at semantic and latent levels, through a critical paradigm. We addressed trustworthiness through multiple coders, peer debriefing, …

Investigating A Multiple Mentor Model In Research Training For Undergraduates Traditionally Underrepresented In Biomedical Sciences, Thomas E. Keller, Jennifer Lindwall

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Models of persistence and success in undergraduate research training emphasize the importance of engagement and integration across social, educational, research, and career settings. Students are likely to benefit from multiple sources of mentoring to meet their multidimensional needs for support across these domains. As part of a comprehensive training initiative for traditionally underrepresented students aspiring to careers in biomedical research, BUILD EXITO implemented a multiple mentoring model matching each undergraduate scholar with a research mentor, a faculty mentor, and a peer mentor. By design, each mentor has a different functional role. This study investigates whether the nature of support scholars …

Study Guide: How Youth Partners Can Collaborate With Family Partners In Wraparound, Research And Training Center For Pathways To Positive Futures, Portland State University

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

It is our hope that this study guide can be a helpful training, coaching, and conversational tool to help supervisors and staff think through the nuances of this particular working relationship. It can be used when onboarding new staff, when a family partner is working alongside a youth partner for the first time (or vice versa), when addressing challenges that come up, or simply to check in on and refresh staff skills. In addition, it can be used during one-on-one supervision as well as in a group training or coaching session. This tool also may be useful for colleagues who …