Social Work Commons^™

Compassion Fatigue And Intersectionality In Human Service Practitioners: Latina Low-Wage-Earners Fighting Poverty, Marlo Greponne

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress, and vicarious trauma among professionals are well-documented within clinical settings. Human service practitioners working directly with people experiencing poverty and trauma, hunger, homelessness, victimization, and depression are considered at risk of experiencing compassion fatigue. Latina low-wage-earners may suffer compassion fatigue when handling cases mirroring their personal experiences with poverty. The purpose of this descriptive single case study was to explore marginalized workers’ experiences with compassion fatigue using intersectionality to understand what Latina low-wage-earning human service practitioners’ experiences with compassion fatigue were and what coping strategies they developed while serving people experiencing poverty. An intersectional approach …

Stressors Of Special Education Teachers Working With Autistic Students With Behavioral Challenges, Malisa Anderson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In special education there are disabilities and health concerns teachers have to keep at the forefront when working with autistic students. The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to gain knowledge and understanding regarding special education teachers’ perceptions of the stressors they experience when interacting with students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and who also have behavioral challenges. This study was grounded in transactional theory. Six participants were included, and semi-structured interviews were conducted via social media calls and phone calls. The following themes emerged: Participants believed that autistic students, while having behavior challenges, were capable of calming …

Social Work Practice And Childhood Obesity In Cumberland County In North Carolina, Patience Dione Ngalle

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In 2018, approximately 20% of children aged 5 to 22 years in the United States suffered from childhood obesity, which results in long-term mental health needs. The purpose of this project was to better understand the effective strategies used by clinical social workers in addressing the mental health needs of obese children. Systems theory formed the conceptual framework for this study. The study also included a basic qualitative design. Six clinical social workers from six different practices based in Cumberland County, North Carolina, participated in this study. The results from computer-aided qualitative data analysis of the interview data that followed …

Exploring The Religious Motives Of The Boko Haram Terrorism In Nigeria, Andrew Abah

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Boko Haram (BH) terrorism in Nigeria has persisted for over a decade, and the attacks continue to get more sophisticated, deadly, and well-coordinated with each passing year. Given the sect’s focus on religious institutions, especially churches and mosques considered not to be practicing the kind of Islam the BH expresses, the purpose of this dissertation was to explore the religious motivation that drives their terrorist activities. The primary research question that guided this qualitative study on the religious motivations, reconciliation of activities and beliefs, and perspectives regarding minimizing BH terrorism in Nigeria. The study’s theoretical framework was the frustration-aggression theory …

Early Case Closure Of The Intensive In-Home Program In Arkansas, Nicole Lisko Mccauley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Families First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) passed in February of 2018 at the federal level to preserve families and reduce the number of children entering foster care. The State of Arkansas implemented Intensive In-Home Services (IIHS) in 2019 to support the Families First Prevention Services Act. It was observed that more than half of the closed IIHS cases had closed before a family had the opportunity to successfully complete their treatment goals. This study explored reasons Intensive In-Home Service cases are closing early. A basic qualitative design using semistructured interviews was applied through the purposeful sampling of 7 social workers …

Aging Out Of Foster Care And Support Services, Sandra Ifenyinwa Ogbonna

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Youth aging out of the foster care system face many difficulties in transitioning to adulthood. In this exploratory study, the strategies used by foster care social work case managers to help youth successfully age out of foster care were investigated. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory provided the framework through which the research questions were explored. Eight social work case managers experienced with aging-out foster youth participated in qualitative interviews, in which they were asked to define success for youth who age out of foster care and describe the effectiveness of existing strategies for improving the transition into adulthood among youth emancipated from …

Issues Facing Community-Based Social Workers When Providing Female Offenders With Reunification Services, Karen N. Vertti

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe goal with this action research project was to understand how community-based social workers (CBSWs) could address female offenders’ and their children’s needs while striving to reintegrate them into the community of Central Los Angeles County, California. Postrelease female offenders with children suffer from a variety of issues related to housing, employment, and personal childhood trauma. The trauma exacerbates the risk of revictimization and recidivism. CBSWs play a pivotal role in helping female offenders overcome barriers to successful reentry and reunify with their children. This study incorporated Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory which provided a systems lens to this project. The …

The Impact Of Family Dynamics And Treatment Times For Adhd Children, Margaret Wilson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a serious mental health condition that affects many of children. Studies show that 42-77% of children with ADHD may not be receiving treatment. Factors such as parent ethnicity, race, preference for treatment, socioeconomics, and child gender have been studied but do not account for the high numbers of untreated children. Differences between parents has been shown to effect ADHD treatment, the potential effects of family dynamics, children living in single or dual parent families, on ADHD treatment has not been studied. This secondary analysis finds there is a relationship between family dynamics, with the …

The Exploration Of Clinical Supervision For Substance Abuse Social Workers In Bermuda, Steva Aria Bean

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As specialists who bridge the gap between the social work and substance abuse treatment fields, substance abuse social workers are expected to develop themselves as social workers by designation, substance abuse counselors by occupation, and deliver competent therapeutic services that align both professions seamlessly. As documented in the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics, their support in achieving this feat is clinical supervision. Despite this documentation, a review of the social work literature revealed an absence of information on clinical supervision between the social work and substance abuse fields, their supervisory alliance, and outcomes. Accordingly, this project was …

Burnout Among Child Protective Services Social Workers In Georgia, Lakeita Arrington-Judkins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

CPS (child protective services) social workers are critical to the social service community. Due to the responsibilities of this role, CPS social workers encounter multiple stressors and high demands in the workplace. Burnout is prominent in the social service profession, specifically among CPS social workers. This qualitative action research study was conducted to explore CPS social workers’ experiences of burnout and organizational issues related to those burnout experiences. Maslach’s multidimensional theory on burnout was the theoretical framework. Data collection involved individual interviews facilitated online. The sample consisted of 8 experienced CPS social workers from the Georgia Department of Human Services. …

Psychological Coercion Among Trafficked Sex Workers: A Grounded Study Approach, Rebecca Ann Laurento

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractMillions of individuals have become involved in human sex trafficking (HST) each year. This study involved an exploration of how these individuals became victims to psychological coercion and their experiences with HST. The purpose of this qualitative grounded theory study was to add to the current literature and provide a foundation for future researchers. Given the lack of literature on this topic, professional practitioners may not understand this problem or know how to support these victims of HST. The gap in literature this study addressed pertained to the processes and dynamics of psychological coercion for individuals involved with HST. Oppression …

Homeless Shelter Social Workers’ Lived Experiences As Providers For Older Schizophrenic Women, Joan Marcy Spencer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The costs of social change efforts addressing homelessness among mentally ill individuals has increased in the United States over the past 40 years. Social workers face challenges with developing or executing individualized housing and mental health plans for older homeless women with schizophrenia. The purpose of this study was to examine the lived experiences among homeless shelter social workers who help women with schizophrenia during housing and mental health support implementation. This transcendental phenomenological study was anchored with Husserl’s theoretical context of human perceptions of reality within previous subjective experiences. The research question was: When implementing mental health and housing …

The Systemic Experiences Of Social Workers In An Inpatient, State Psychiatric Hospital, Kesia Gwaltney

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The National Alliance on Mental Illness surmised that 1 in 25 (9.8 million) adults in the United States are diagnosed with a serious mental illness annually. Of the 9.8 million people diagnosed, approximately 63% of them are psychiatrically hospitalized with repeat hospitalizations within 1 year of discharge. Social workers play a vital role in the treatment modalities of the patients they serve in the psychiatric hospital; however, there is no research that examined the professional systemic experiences of social workers in state, inpatient psychiatric hospitals and how these experiences may affect treatment outcomes of patients as it relates to frequent …

Exploring Formerly Incarcerated African American Males' Relationship With Their Children, Najjiyya Christine Arnold

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore formerly incarcerated African American fathers’ perceptions on reestablishing relationships with their children. Prior to this study, little or no research had been conducted to examine how formerly incarcerated parents build relationships with their children. Data were collected through one-to-one, semi-structured interviews with 11 African American fathers 18 years and older who were formerly incarcerated and had one or more children under the age of 18 years while incarcerated. The theoretical frameworks for this study included Attachment Theory and African American Male Theory. These data were analyzed using the thematic analysis …

Health Literacy And Discharge Planning In Social Work Practice, Michele Munzner

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Low health literacy is a public health crisis, currently, there is limited research on social worker engagement with the low health literate patient. The research questions for this study examined health literacy knowledge in medical social workers and how their MSW curricula built their knowledge of health literacy. It also explored challenges that arise when discharge planning for patients with low health literacy. It also asked what social workers can do to aid patients with limited health literacy during the discharge planning process. This basic qualitative research study used criterion sampling and was informed by the socioecological model. Data collection …

Social Workers' Perceptions Of Exercise In Treating Chronic Mental Illnesses: Action Research, Carlene Battiste-Downie

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Social Workers' Perceptions of Exercise in Treating Chronic Mental Illnesses: Action Research

by

Carlene Battiste-Downie

MSW, Fordham University, 2000

BS, Oneonta State University, 1993

DSW Research Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Social Work

Walden University

July 2020

Though social workers are an integral part of the mental health profession, there is a fundamental gap in the clinical mental health social workers' practice. This gap is a lack of physical exercise as part of the routine regimen in treating clients suffering from chronic mental illnesses such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, …

The Long-Term Biopsychosocial Effects Of Children Reared In Blended Families, Kerene T. Brown

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Family dynamics have experienced an immense transformation in the last 4 decades. Children are less likely to live in a 2-parent household with parents that are both biologically related to them due to various factors. Blended families (especially the children) face many adversities during the initial stages of formation and rarely receive specialized intervention when compared to nuclear families. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to understand the long-term biopsychosocial effects experienced by young adults who lived in a blended family household. In addition, what services or interventions were offered to newly established blended family systems were also …

Rural Teacher Perceptions Of Trauma On Youth, Tracey Faye Whetstone

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study was an exploration of teacher experiences and perceptions in working with trauma-exposed students in a rural school district and what is needed to best support student academic and psychosocial success. The substantial long-term effects of trauma exposure cause many children to face behavioral and academic challenges in school, yet teachers are often unaware or untrained concerning trauma-informed care. There is little research regarding how teacher experiences with trauma-exposed students are perceived. This study explored teacher insight with rural trauma-exposed youth in terms of awareness and how they narrate these experiences in response to trauma-related issues. Grounded in trauma …

Funding Impacts On Existing Social Workers Providing Services To African American Battered Women, Dalicia Victorica Watson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Social workers who work in domestic violence shelters have many different impacts that can affect their ability to provide services to battered women. Research is lacking on how funding impacts the abilities of existing social workers to provide services to African American battered women who are at domestic violence shelters in Columbia, South Carolina. The purpose of this study was to examine how a lack of funding impacts the abilities of existing social workers who work at domestic violence shelters to provide services to African American battered women. Conflict theory was used to gain an understanding of how funding issues …

Social Work Supervisors As Gatekeepers, Camielle Call

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

Supervision in social work is a long-held tradition chiefly regarding completing required supervisory hours for clinical licensing by state licensing boards. Social work supervision is a process wherein supervisors provide oversight to new social workers through supporting, managing, developing, and evaluating their work. The purpose of this qualitative study was to gain an understanding of how supervision is conducted and how social work supervisors view their position as gatekeepers to the profession. Using an interpretivism framework, in the context of the vital nature of supervision, symbolic interactionism was used to look at the reactions of social work supervisors and …

Court Intervention And Recurrence Of Child Maltreatment, Steven Wayne Luke

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem of child maltreatment recurrence is both complex and pervasive, affecting nearly every nationality and culture worldwide. The current body of research consistently contains reports of a gap due to the lack of input from the families served that may be resolved through the application of intergroup contact theory. The purpose of this study was to determine if the presence of an attorney representing parents in child maltreatment intervention predicted lower recurrence in child maltreatment as opposed to when those attorneys are absent from the process. While much of the practice of social work is based on ecological systems …

Difficulties Social Workers Face When Working With Youth Exposed To Technology Without Parental Supervision, Dorothy Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There has been a significant increase in behavioral issues in the home and school environments of youth ages 13-17 years in the state of Georgia who have constant access to technology through internet-connected devices over the past years. Due to constant evolution and advancements of technology, mental health professionals are now noticing that when youth are overly consumed with technology, it tends to correlate with problematic behaviors. The social work practice problem and purpose is understanding the difficulties social workers face when working with youth exposed to technology without parental supervision. This study is important within the context of clinical …

The Lived Experiences Of Rural Clinical Social Workers In North Carolina, Sarah Horne

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Rural clinical social workers face unique challenges when providing services to members of rural communities. To face these challenges and deliver culturally competent services, clinical social workers in rural communities must be specifically prepared for rural clinical social work. This study addressed issues of preparedness for rural clinical social work centered around rural clinical social work supervision in the context of the systems theory. The phenomenological design allowed for the exploration of the lived experiences of rural clinical social workers. Study participants who volunteered for study after being contacted via information provided to the North Carolina Social Work Board were …

Exploring How Clinical Social Workers Screen Women For Adhd, Beth A. Walters

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Women with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are often overlooked in clinical mental health settings. If social workers do not screen their female clients for ADHD, then the theory of distributive justice inherent in the National Association of Social Worker’s code of ethics would suggest the women they see in clinical mental health settings are not receiving the services they need and deserve. Yet, little is known concerning how clinical social workers screen adult female clients for ADHD. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how licensed independent clinical social workers in Massachusetts screen for ADHD in the women they …

Resources Needed By Transitional Participants For Independent Living, Odell Jonathan Cole

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A lack of resources for youth making the transition from foster care into independent living is a significant issue in the United States. However, this lack of resources may be overcome through successful career pathway programs. The purpose of this case study was to explore which career pathway strategies are useful for an organization attempting to help young people make a transition into independence. During the developmental planning stage of the program, plans were put in place for a program to help young people find guidance in a career field as they learn to live on their own and become …

Role Of Social Workers In Psychiatric Patient-Centered Care With U.S. Veterans, Alesia Michelle Noce-Owen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Social workers play an important role in the implementation of patient-centered care (PCC) within an interdisciplinary treatment team in an inpatient psychiatric unit. The PCC approach can become overwhelming and stressful for interdisciplinary team members because the definition of PCC varies across disciplines. The purpose of this qualitative action research study was to explore social workers’ perceptions of their role within an interdisciplinary team, including barriers to social work inclusion and PCC. Ecological systems theory provided the framework for the study. Interview data were collected from 2 focus groups containing a total of 10 purposively selected social workers. A grounded …

Effects Of Intimate Partner Violence On Academic Motivation Among Emerging Adult Women, Cristela Maria Thorne Mitchell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

For women who are victims of intimate partner violence (IPV), one avenue to gaining independence from their partners is enhanced employment opportunities from obtaining a college degree. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between IPV and academic motivation among emerging adult women, and whether depressive symptoms mediate the relationship. Bandura's social learning theory, Deci and Ryan's theory of self-determination, and Seligman's theory of learned helplessness were the theoretical frameworks of the study. The study sample consisted of 225 women 19-29 years of age who were enrolled in higher education and who had experienced violence from an …

Unsheltered Homelessness On Oahu, Hawaii, Erik Gray

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

According to a recent national estimate of homelessness in the United States, between 2016 and 2017, the number of people experiencing homelessness increased by 0.7 %. This study was focused on the issue of unsheltered homelessness in the context of Oahu, Hawaii. There is a gap within the available scholarly literature that directly addresses the unsheltered homeless populations and why it is that they are unsheltered rather than living in a shelter or utilizing other transitional services. Using the generic qualitative approach and a purposive sampling method, 12 service provider professionals who work directly with the unsheltered homeless on the …

Parental Perceptions Of Family Communication Within The Context Of Modern Technology, Litermin Joseph

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The increasing dependence or reliance on the usage of technology to connect with each other is influencing family communication today. Face-to-face family communication is becoming more and more devalued. Considering the value of family communication, parents should play the most important role of sustaining it to enhance family relationship. Using the family systems theory as a foundation, the purpose of this generic qualitative study was to understand parental experiences concerning family communication within the context of modern technology. This study used purposeful sampling and semi-structured interviews from 7 U.S. citizens, men and women aged 30-55, from St Lucie County, Florida. …

Adult Attachment Functioning Of Former Foster Youth Initially Placed In Early Adolescence, Adrienne Miller

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Child attachment has been an area of study among scholars for several decades; however, early adolescent attachment is a specific age period that few scholars have examined, especially pertaining to child welfare where placement is a necessary but forced attachment disruption. The purpose of this nonexperimental study was to examine the likelihood of early adolescent attachment during initial placement and to explore the frequencies of this population securely attaching postplacement based on the added variables of placement setting (foster home/kinship home/group home/institution) and sibling accessibility. Attachment theory was the lens through which to analyze the 83 results received via anonymous …