Social Work Commons^™

The Assessment And Recognition Of Childhood Abuse Among Former Patton State Hospital Patients By Psychiatric Social Workers, Bonnie A. Criner, Hope M. Young

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Stereotypical Sex-Roles: A Barrier To Success In Addiction Treatment?, Paul Walter Sharpe

Theses Digitization Project

Hypothesis on success in addiction treatment programs as measured by BEM Sex-Role Inventory.

Attachment Of Children In Foster Care, Karen Kritzberger, Dawn Peria

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Focal Point, Volume 08 Number 01, Portland State University. Regional Research Institute

Research and Training Center - Focal Point

The 103rd Congress has set itself an ambitious agenda. Between now and October, five Congressional committees are to report out their versions of health care reform legislation, from which a single piece of legislation must be written and forwarded to President Clinton for his signature.

'Damn It Johnny, Stop!': Real Life 101 Evaluating An Educational Approach To Treating Men Who Batter, Shannon Campbell

Honors Theses, 1963-2015

A feminist Theory is an effective perspective from which to develop programs for treating men who batter. The feminist perspective takes into consideration possible societal, familial, economic, and judicial influences which perpetuate male violence in American society. The feminist analysis of domestic violence contends that violence is a learned behavior. Using a feminist orientation, the St. Cloud (MN) Intervention Project ( SCIP) conducts large group educational programs for male batterers. SCIP was interested in testing their program to determine if it significantly reduced incidents of abuse in the relationships of participants. The partners (N=21) of the participants were given a …

Collaborative Approach To Adoptive Placement Of Infants In Minnesota: An Effectiveness Assessment Of The African American Adoption Project, Helen M. Strother

Theses and Graduate Projects

It is documented that many Blacks are overlooked as viable resources by adoption agencies for the many Block children needing families. The African American Adoption Project (AAAP) worked cooperatively with four private adoption agencies for the adoptive placement of twenty-five Black infants. This research analyzed the impact of AAAP's services to Block infants, birth families, adoptive families and to the four private adoption agencies. Due to the secrecy and confidentiality surrounding the subject of adoption, unobtrusive strategies were developed to analyze AAAP's qualitative impact. This study revealed that through AAAP, on average, Black infants waited much shorter for adoptive homes, …

Parental Child Abduction: Practice Guidelines For Social Workers, Kim Marie Carol Walker

Theses and Graduate Projects

Parental child abduction is a social problem that has an impact on a growing number of families. lt is now likely that social workers will encounter families affected by parental child abduction at some point during the course of their practice. To best serve these families, social workers need to be knowledgeable about parental child abduction and about strategies available to respond to the myriad of related issues. For this thesis, a survey was conducted of thirty-one missing children's agencies across the United States in order to identify agency perceptions of social workers' knowledge about parental child abduction, and social …

The Relationship Between The Evangelical Christian Religion And The Social Work Profession, With Reference To Two Values: The Lnherent Wotrth And Dignity Of The Individual And The Right To Self-Determination, Grace Garcia Wiggen

Theses and Graduate Projects

This study explores the relationship between the Evangelical Christian Religion and the Social Work Profession with reference to two values: The inherent worth and dignity of the individual and the right to self-determination. Interviews with clergy and professional social workers were utilized to provide data toward the definition and operationalization of the two values. lmplications for social work practice are discussed.

The Implementation Of Therapeutic Service Into The Public School System, Nancy Wall

Theses and Graduate Projects

Severely emotionally disturhed (SED) children have significant needs in regards to services which help maintain them in the community. In Lhe past decade the federal governmenE has mandated that coMmunities develop innovative ways to bring effective, individualized services to children in the least restrictive environment through the collaboration of agency services. The implementation of therapeutic services into the public school system, also known as school-based day treatment, has been one response to this mandate. This study will look at the history of treatraent to SED children in several settings, the goals and objectives to bringing day treatment. into a school …

Volunteerism In The California Youth Authority, Diana Romero

Whittier Scholars Program

In March of 1993, I was selected as the first Volunteers In Service To America (VISTA) Volunteer Coordinator at the California Youth Authority Southern Reception Center and Clinic (SRCC). After a long application and interview process, I got started on October 15, 1993. This whole program is new at SRCC, thus, it was very important that I work closely with the administration in order to determine what was to be expected of the VISTA Volunteer. Also, since a Volunteer Program has been in place for the last 10 years, I took advantage of its long list of policies and procedures …

The Effect Of Movie Portrayals Of Therapy And Therapists On College Students' View Of Therapy And Therapists, Karin Perlman

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This study was undertaken to explore the effects of movie portrayals of therapy and therapists on the public's view of therapy and therapists. lt was hypothesized that much of the information that forms individuals' views of therapy comes from the media, specifically the portrayals they see in movies.

To explore to what extent subjects felt their impressions of therapy and therapists were informed by movies and by other sources, volunteers were enlisted to fill out questionnaires. The questionnaire asked subjects to identify and then describe the sources of information that they felt have formed their understanding of therapy and therapists. …

Using Literature To Teach Critical Thinking To Social Work Students, Noer Linda O'Connor

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

A Study Of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Among Resettled And Refugee Cambodians, Jolene Malinee Aitken

Master's Theses

Problem

With the onset of the Cambodian holocaust, as well as over 40 years of continual war in Cambodia, the Khmer people have been subjected to an existence of prolonged exposure to disaster, contributing to the alarming prevalence of the mental health disorder of post-traumatic stress among Cambodians today. Post-traumatic stress disorder is the debilitating syndrome described as the development of characteristic symptoms following a psychologically traumatic event that is generally outside the range of usual human experience (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 3rd edition revised, [DSM-III-R], 1987). The purpose of this study was to examine the existence …

Contributions To The Resilience Of Foster Care Graduates, Susan Esther Silva-Wayne

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation reports on a study undertaken to learn, from young adults doing well in the community after being graduate from lengthy periods of out-of-home-care, what these veterans named as contributions of the system to their resilience. In-depth interviews with nineteen successful long-term child welfare graduates have produced over five hundred pages of transcribed interview data, which has been coded, analyzed and the findings from which are presented in this report. The findings are necessarily based on a specific definition of “successful” employed in conceptualizing the project and gathering the sample which, although it attempts to minimize class bias nonetheless …

Human Services: Australian Explorations, David Wiles

Research outputs pre 2011

Human services is an emergent field of study and work in Australia. Its definition is difficult, needing ongoing theoretical and empirical clarification. Despite the contemporary decline of the Australian welfare state; human services has emerged in cultural congruence with historic Australian notions of a 'fair go', of social equity, and of social egalitarianism. Human services constitutes a nascent profession, which - in the main - helps people with problems including mostly members of the social 'underclass'. Human services draws upon a variety of models, but the generic 'problem-solving' methodology applies across all of its fields of service. Thus human service …

The Relationship Between Task Performance And Perceived Quality Of Life Of Families With Adopted Special-Needs Children, Bibhuti Kumar Sar

Theses and Dissertations

A correlational approach was utilized in this study to investigate the relationship between adoption related task performance and perceived quality of life of families with an adopted special-needs child. Additionally, a set of contextual variables suggested by the literature to influence family functioning with an adopted special-needs child were also studied. Purposive and availability sampling approaches were employed to identify the sample of special-needs adoptive families (N = 289) to whom a survey questionnaire was sent. Both mothers and fathers were asked to complete the Survey.

Eighty-six mothers and 53 fathers completed and returned the survey questionnaire ( N: 91 …

Engaging Denial Through Spirituality: An Ethnographic Study Of Caregivers Of The Elderly And Implications For Pastoral Care, Ian Elliott Gartshore

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The paper examines a number of studies conducted on caregivers of the institutionalized elderly, including a large qualitative research project conducted by the author and a hospital administrator. Finding that many professional caregivers of the aged continue to deny their own aging and death to some degree, this paper seeks to chart the relationship between such denial and spiritual wholeness. The facets of denial, both positive and negative, are examined in the light of the dual nature of spirituality. Midlife is viewed as being the crucial time for growth and well-being for oneself and for the wider community, including the …

Hearing Metaphor: A Study Of Clients' Use Of Language In A Family Therapy Situation, Christopher Allen Whynot

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Metaphor is defined as a central function of language by which different realms of experience are conjoined and which operates at the nexus of internal and social processes. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used in an exploratory study of metaphor use by families in therapy. Significant differences were found in quantity of metaphor use along gender and generational axes. Content analysis also identified some suggestive differences with respect to issues of agency and imagery along lines of gender and parenting status. Categories nominated from the identified metaphors are also suggestive of the differential dilemmas faced by the clients. The study …

The Young Adult Substance Abuse Clinic. A Program Evaluation: Process And Immediate Output, Kimberly Calderwood

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

ln this program evaluation, I present the demographic characteristics and underlying problems of YASAC’s clientele. The clients’ level of satisfaction regarding the services provided is also examined. A comparison of the results with YASAC's implementation objectives as well as its current goals and objectives helps to determine some of the clinic’s strengths and weaknesses. An extensive literature review provides the basis for six hypotheses used to address the following three questions: (1) whether clients involved with probation and parole differ from other clients in terms of successful completion of the program, (2) whether clients’ attitudes toward their alcohol and drug …

Southeast Asian Refugees In Canada: Gender Differences In Adaptation And Mental Health, Roger Gary Edwards

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis involves secondary analysis of epidemiological data concerning a large cohort of Southeast Asian refugees resettled in British Columbia, Canada, who were surveyed three times over a ten year period. Male-female differences in the mental health impact of adaptational demands, such as the acquisition of host language skills and securing employment were the focus for the thesis. The psychometric properties of the mental health scales used in the study demonstrated high internal consistencies and construct validity in both male and female samples. There was evidence to suggest that the external validity of the study was somewhat compromised by the …

Canadian Social Work Education From The Standpoint Of Gay Men, Brian Joseph O'Neill

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This study explores issues related to same-gender sexual orientation in social work education from the standpoint of gay men. The literature suggests that the effectiveness of social services is limited by social workers’ lack of knowledge and sensitivity regarding same-gender sexual orientation. This problem is significant because at least 10% of the population are sexually attracted to members of their own gender and because clients from this segment of the population may have service needs different than those of heterosexuals, particularly related to societal discrimination based on sexual orientation. The purpose of this inquiry is to identify changes needed in …

Boards Of Directors Of Social Service Agencies In A Government Planning System, David Clarence Este

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In theory, boards of directors of nonprofit organizations are thought to be instrumental in their agency’s effective functioning, and the available professional literature supports this perception. The board’s supposed duties are usually listed for members and others in the form of impressively-worded declarations of intent. Board members are expected to help formulate the organization’s mission statement, and provide a sense of direction. In an effort to ensure that their organization fulfills its mandate, board members are also expected to perform an array of internal and external functions designed to optimize the agency’s operation. This study presents the results of interviews …

The Implications Of Caring For Sexually Abused Girls: The Foster Parents' Perspective, Tracy A. Swan

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

No abstract provided.