Social Work Commons^™

Lessons About Recruiting Primary Care Practices To Domestic Violence Trainings, Jim Winkle, Christina Nicolaidis

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

A few studies have evaluated continuing medical education programs on domestic violence, but they have generally used convenience samples and have not provided information regarding their recruitment strategies or the proportion of eligible providers that attended the interventions. (Davis, Kaups, Campbell, & Parks, 2000; Haney, Kachur, & Zabar, 2003; McCauley, Jenckes, & McNutt, 2003) In one study that did provide such information, investigators faxed invitations to 1887 physicians, of which only 121 (6%) responded that they were interested despite a $50-$100 incentive to participate in a short on-line program with free Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits (Harris, Kutob, Surprenant, Maiuro, …

Getting Your Money's Worth: What Early Childhood Directors Should Know About Working With Mental Health Professionals, Beth L. Green, Maria C. Everhart, Lynwood Gordon

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

The increasing numbers of young children with challenging behaviors and emotional problems have led many child care providers and early childhood education programs to employ or contract with mental health professionals (Lavigne et al., 1996). Head Start Programs, for example, are required by federal performance standards to utilize services of mental health professionals that are "sufficient" to meet the needs of children and families. However, there has been little research to help program managers make informed choices about who might provide the best services, what services are most important to support staff and families, and how to make the best …

Racial Discrepancies In The Association Between Paternal Vs. Maternal Educational Level And Risk Of Low Birthweight In Washington State, Christina Nicolaidis, Cynthia W. Ko, Somnath Saha, Thomas D. Koepsell

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: The role of paternal factors in determining the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes has received less attention than maternal factors. Similarly, the interaction between the effects of race and socioeconomic status (SES) on pregnancy outcomes is not well known. Our objective was to assess the relative importance of paternal vs. maternal education in relation to risk of low birth weight (LBW) across different racial groups.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective population-based cohort study using Washington state birth certificate data from 1992 to 1996 (n = 264,789). We assessed the associations between maternal or paternal education and LBW, adjusting for …

Supporting Families Of Children With Serious Emotional Or Behavioral Disorders In A 24/7 World, Julie M. Rosenzweig, Eileen M. Brennan, April Burris, Christine Mary Shea

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

PDF version of a presentation given at the Training Institutes on Developing Local Systems of Care for Children and Adolescents with Emotional Disturbances and their Families, San Francisco, CA, June 2004.

Models Of Inclusion In Child Care: Child Care That Works For Children With Emotional And/Or Behavioral Challenges: Family Member Perceptions, Shane Ama, Eileen M. Brennan, Sara Berman, Jennifer R. Bradley

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Although 5-10% of employed parents care for a child with emotional or behavioral challenges (EBCs) (Emlen, 1997), family support resources are notably lacking. A recent focus group study of 41 working parents (Rosenzweig, Brennan, & Ogilvie, 2002) found child care to be particularly difficult to find and maintain for families that included children with EBCs. Participants reported a number of barriers to child care arrangements that could successfully meet their family's needs. First, since few qualified providers had the expertise to meet the needs of children with EBCs, arrangements were difficult to find. A combination of the lack of quality …

Promoting Inclusion In Child Care Centers: Learning From Success, Jennifer R. Bradley, Shane Ama, Maria Gettman, Eileen M. Brennan, Peris W. Kibera

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

The purpose of this article is to share findings from research on nine child care centers that successfully provided child care for children with emotional and behavioral challenges alongside their peers without specific challenges (Brennan, Bradley, Ama, & Cawood, 2003). Following a brief overview of the research study, we focus a lens on the classroom, where staff selected and developed practices that included all children. The lens is then widened to view a broader picture of inclusion, such as the ways that the centers work with families, and the structure and culture of the organizations.

Violence, Mental Health, And Physical Symptoms In An Academic Internal Medicine Practice, Christina Nicolaidis, Maryann Curry, Bentson H. Mcfarland, Martha Gerrity

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

OBJECTIVE: To assess how physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence (IPV), child abuse, and community violence relate to long-term mental and physical problems; to examine the overlap between different forms of violence and the impact of experiencing multiple forms of violence.

DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey.

SETTING: Three general internal medicine practices affiliated with an academic medical center.

PARTICIPANTS: English-speaking women aged 25 to 60.

MEASUREMENTS: Telephone or in-person interview and chart review.

RESULTS: One hundred seventy-four women completed interviews. A majority of participants experienced more than one form of violence. In separate multivariate analyses, each form of violence was associated with …

Pedagogy For The Economically Privileged: “Tuning In” To The Privileged Learner, Ann Curry-Stevens

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Today’s activists are challenged by the sheer scope of losses by social movements. We have lost most significant battles and have moved into a defensive position struggling to retain earlier gains in social policy. The gap between rich and poor continues to widen, and it is clear that we need new allies in the struggles for justice. The middle class has been eyed as potential allies, with the hope that in bringing their resources, information, and power to bear, progressive social change will result. This paper draws from dissertation research on a pedagogy for the privileged: research that involves transformative …

Intimate Partner Abuse Could We Have Known? A Qualitative Analysis Of Data From Women Who Survived An Attempted Homicide By An Intimate Partner, Christina Nicolaidis, Maryann Curry, Yvonne Ulrich, Phyllis Sharps, Judith Mcfarlane, Doris Campbell, Faye Gary, Kathryn Laughon, Nancy Glass, Jacquelyn Campbell

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

OBJECTIVE: To examine in-depth the lives of women whose partners attempted to kill them, and to identify patterns that may aid in the clinician’s ability to predict, prevent, or counsel about femicide or attempted femicide. DESIGN: Qualitative analysis of 30 in-depth interviews. SETTING: Six U.S. cities. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty women, aged 17–54 years, who survived an attempted homicide by an intimate partner. RESULTS: All but 2 of the participants had previously experienced physical violence, controlling behavior, or both from the partner who attempted to kill them. The intensity of the violence, control, and threats varied greatly, as did the number of …

Setting The Pace: Model Inclusive Child Care Centers Serving Families Of Children With Emotional Or Behavioral Challenges, Eileen M. Brennan, Jennifer R. Bradley, Shane Ama, Natalie Diane Cawood

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Approximately 10% of American children experience an emotional or behavioral disorder that causes some level of impairment in their development, learning, or functioning in daily life, and the numbers of those affected appear to be growing (U.S. Public Health Service, 2000). With the entry of many family caregivers into the workforce, increasing numbers of children with these challenges are enrolling in child care settings that offer services to infants, toddlers, young children, or school aged youth (Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000). Child care settings can provide a unique opportunity to address the needs of children with emotional or behavioral challenges and …

The Voices Of Survivors Documentary Using Patient Narrative To Educate Physicians About Domestic Violence, Christina Nicolaidis

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article describes a method of developing physician education materials using analysis of domestic violence patient experiences and patients' descriptions of their experiences. The process began with interviews of 21 domestic violence survivors, focusing on what they wanted to teach physicians. Qualitative analysis of these interviews identified 4 main themes regarding what survivors wanted physicians to understand about life in an abusive relationship: that domestic violence is universal, that it is more than just physical assaults, that it is all about power and control, and that it affects the entire family. Because what survivors wanted from physicians differed depending on …

In Thought, Word, And Deed: Suicidal Behaviors Of Adjudicated Youth, Kevin Corcoran, Thomas Crofoot Graham

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study examines suicide ideation, plans, and attempts by youth in two juvenile justice settings: incarcerated youth (n=83) and youth with community service sentences (n=144). The incarcerated sample reported 51% suicide ideation while the community sample reported 22%. For both samples, suicide contemplators were quite likely (60-70%) to have a suicide plan, while about 35% reported a suicide attempt in the past 12 months. Contemplators were distinguishable from noncontemplators on scores for external problems of delinquency and aggression, internal problems of anxiety, depression, withdrawal and somatic complaints, general depression, and general health status. The results have implications for assessment, triage, …

Inclusive Child Care: Challenges And Strategies, Eileen M. Brennan, Elizabeth Haran Caplan, Shane Ama, Jennifer R. Bradley, Olivia Warfield

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Responding to the need for research regarding models of inclusion in child care, the Research and Training Center on Family Support and Children's Mental Health is in the process of conducting a series of studies aimed at guiding the design and implementation of inclusive child care policies and programs. In the course of previous research studies, our research team found that there did exist quality programs and family care arrangements that successfully included children with emotional or behavioral challenges in child care settings (Brennan, Rosenzweig, Ogilvie, Wuest, & Ward, 2001). Our goal was to learn more about the provider and …

Models Of Inclusion: Standing At The Cross Roads. Building Inclusive Child Care Through Child Care Development Funds, Eileen M. Brennan, Shane Ama, Elizabeth Haran Caplan, Olivia Warfield, Sherry Archer

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

The passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990 has produced a growing recognition that children with disabilities have the same rights as other children to participate in community-based child care settings (Whitney, Grozinsky, & Poppe, 1999). But even a legal mandate is not sufficient to guarantee access to realistic and suitable child care options for every family, particularly those having children with emotional or behavioral disorders (National Child Care Information Center [NCCIC], 1997). The presentation addressed governmental policy and planning efforts to include children with emotional or behavioral challenges in settings with typically developing children. Particularly, presenters …

Review Of "They Still Pick Me Up When I Fall: The Role Of Caring In Youth Development And Community Life." By Diana Mendley Rauner, Thomas E. Keller

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

A review of the book "They Still Pick Me Up When I Fall: The Role of Caring in Youth Development and Community," by Diana Mendley Rauner is presented.

Early Childhood Transitions, Constance Lehman, Eileen M. Brennan, Barbara J. Friesen

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

In order to provide the best opportunities for children with special emotional needs and behavioral challenges to successfully adjust to kindergarten, professionals and family members need models of support that address policies, staff and family training and partnerships, and individual child-focused services. Moreover, transition must be conceptualized as a process that occurs over time, not as a short term move from one environment to the next. In this article, we discuss a conceptual framework for transition support models for young children with disabilities and their families. We then highlight important transition components identified in the literature and those included in …

Parent Dilemmas And Solutions: Perspectives On Work-Family Fit, Eileen M. Brennan, Julie M. Rosenzweig, Alice Myrth Ogilvie, Ann Ward

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Support for Working Caregivers Project is designed to study the ways in which employed parents whose children have emotional or behavioral disorders fit their work and family responsibilities together. To that end, project investigators have developed a research model of work-family fit by means of an exhaustive literature review of over 350 articles and books on work and family, the secondary data analysis of the North Carolina Family Caregiver Survey (Brennan & Poertner, 1997), and a focus group study with 41 employed parents of children with emotional or behavioral disorders (Rosenzweig, Brennan, & Ogilvie, 1998). The work-family fit research …

Developmental Trajectories Of Disruptive Behavior Problems In Preschool Children Of Adolescent Mothers, Susan J. Spieker, Nancy C. Larson, Steven M. Lewis, Thomas E. Keller, Lewayne D. Gilchrist

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Using hierarchical linear (HLM), we analyzed individual developmental trajectories of disruptive behavior problems between ages 3.5 to 6.0 years for 183 children of adolescent mothers. We examined how the level of problem behavior (intercept) and the rate of change over time (slope) are influenced by child's sex, mother's depression/anxiety symptoms, and mother's use of negative control for regulating child behavior. On average, disruptive behavior decreased from age 3.5 to 6.0. Child sex and maternal depression/anxiety related to the level of behavior problems but not to the rate of change. Boys and children of more depressed/ anxious mothers exhibited higher levels …

Finding A Fit Between Work And Family Life: Support For Working Caregivers, Eileen M. Brennan, Julie M. Rosenzweig, Alice Myrth Ogilvie

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article examines the ways in which families with employed caregivers and children with emotional and behavioral disorders manage to meet the demands of employment and family responsibilities. Finding a fit between the demands of work and family life is a struggle for every employed mother and father. For parents whose children have emotional, behavioral, or mental disorders, meeting this challenge can prove extremely stressful, particularly since supportive services are notably lacking. There has been little research on the perceptions of employed parents of children with mental health concerns about the ways in which work and family responsibilities can fit …

Toward A Model Of Work And Family Balance: How Families With Children Having Serious Emotional Disorders Manage Caregiving And Worklife, Julie M. Rosenzweig, Alice Myrth Ogilvie, Eileen M. Brennan

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Employed parents of children with serious emotional disorders must manage the competing demands of home and job. Although every situation is unique, all parents cope daily with the interface between employment and home. As the number of single employed mothers and dual-worker households has increased, so has the research on work and family. A review of this literature offers an examination of the different ways work and family relate within the busy lives of employed parents. Three primary models emerge from the review that describe experiences of mothers and fathers challenged by meeting both the needs of family members and …

Balancing The Demands Of Employment And Family Life: Results Of The Family Caregiving Survey, Eileen M. Brennan, John Poertner

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article describes patterns of work and family balance that were examined for employed parents who give family care to children with serious emotional disorders. A secondary analysis of data from the Family Caregiver Survey was performed for a subsample of 184 caregivers employed outside the home or having a partner employed full time. Families having different work structures (patterns of part- or full-time employment and of parenting arrangements) reported significantly different levels of job stress, pleasure in work and intimate relationships, work used as coping, and satisfaction handling home responsibilities. Although reported child behaviors were significantly related to stress …

Women, Welfare, And Work, Norman L. Wyers, Portland State University School Of Social Work

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

There are many popular misconceptions about people on welfare. This study challenges these myths with empirical findings, confirming the results of earlier studies. Four misconceptions contradicted by the findings of this study are as follows:

1. MYTH: She Doesn’t Want to Work
2. MYTH: Welfare Breeds Welfare
3. MYTH: She Rides the Gravy Train
4. MYTH: She Finds Life is Easy on Welfare

Reaganism And The Poor Family: Life On Afdc After The Budget Cuts, Norman L. Wyers, Robert C. Holloway

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Recent changes in federal and state welfare policies have had negative consequences for public welfare recipients. This paper summarizes a study which focused on the impact of these policy changes on the AFDC population in the most populous region of Oregon. Of particular importance are the changes in income levels, employment, and social service utilization of recipients. Personal reactions of recipients are also reviewed, as are expectations for the future. The differential economic impact of the policy changes on various categories of recipients is stressed.

Testimony Provided Before The Joint Ways And Means Subcommittee, Human Resources Committee, House Of Representatives, Oregon State Legislature, Norman L. Wyers

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt:
My name is Norman Wyers. I am an Associate Professor, with a specialty in income maintenance from Columbia University, at the School of Social Work, Portland State University. I would like to talk with you today about the formulation of well-articulated welfare policy, in this case policy which would more effectively link social services with income maintenance. I am using this particular piece of welfare policy for illustrative reasons but also because it is badly needed.

Administrative Thinking On Youth And Youth Programs, Norman L. Wyers, John F. Longres

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Administrators have a lot of influence over the nature of youth programs. Because of this, their thinking on the causes of delinquency, the nature of ideal youth programs, and the role of youth workers were tapped. In the past, people in the field of delinquency have been accused of assuming an individual, personal problem or deficiency point of view. This study of administrators in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area suggests that, while some evidence for a more social structural understanding exists, in general the individual problem perspective prevails. An explanation for the persistence of a personal problem perspective is advanced …

Wages, Welfare, Or What? [Statement Of Norman L. Wyers] - Salem, Or, Norman L. Wyers

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

In his testimony to joint hearings before a task force of the welfare reform subcommittee of the US House of Representatives held on November 9, 1977, in Salem, Oregon, as part of a proposed welfare reform bill, H.R. 9030, Professor Norman L. Wyers shared the diverse opinions of participants of Oregon town hall meetings on economic security, entitlement, eligibility and responsibility. The public opinion survey findings revealed Oregonians' support for humanitarian policies, universal benefits, and a focus on job creation over training. Wyers urged policymakers to consider the liberal attitudes uncovered in the survey, emphasizing the need for a steady …

Wages, Welfare, Or What? [Statement Of Norman L. Wyers] - Washington D.C., Norman L. Wyers

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Professor Norman L. Wyers, representing participants of Oregon town hall meetings and the Oregon Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, addressed the joint hearings before a task force of the welfare reform subcommittee of the US House of Representatives in Washington, D.D. In his testimony on welfare reform philosophy, Wyers emphasizes Oregonians' strong support for government-sponsored employment (68%) over income maintenance and preference for job development (42%) as a primary strategy. Surprisingly, 56% favor universal benefits, challenging assumptions about selective programs. Wyers warns against work relief proposals in H.R. 9030, citing historical failures. According to the town meeting …

Shame And Public Dependency: A Literature Review, Norman L. Wyers

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

All research related to under-utilization of income maintenance programs as well as to their impact on recipients has discovered the presence of stigma. A survey of the pertinent literature points out that much is known about stigmatization but that social welfare has been slow to incorporate this knowledge in any attempt to reduce the destructive effect of stigma on program users. Both liberal and radical reform measures are proposed as remedies.