Social Work Commons^™

Saving Behavior In Response To Motivational Prompts: Evidence From The Refund To Savings Experiment, Clinton Key, Michal Grinstein-Weiss, Jenna Tucker, Krista Holub, Dan Ariely

Center for Social Development Research

Saving Behavior in Response to Motivational Prompts: Evidence From the Refund to Savings Experiment

Account Use And Demand For Tax-Refund Savings Vehicles: Evidence From The Refund To Savings Experiment, Michal Grinstein-Weiss, Jenna Tucker, Clinton Key, Krista Holub, Dan Ariely

Center for Social Development Research

Account Use and Demand for Tax-Refund Savings Vehicles: Evidence From the Refund to Savings Experiment

Implications Of Child Abduction For Human Rights And Child Welfare Systems: A Constructivist Inquiry Of The Lived Experience Of Guatemalan Mothers Publically Reporting Child Abduction For Intercountry Adoption, Carmen Monico

Theses and Dissertations

The Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption was agreed upon in 1993 at the Hague Conference on Private International Law to address growing allegations of abduction, sale, and trafficking of children around the world. The Hague Convention guides countries to attend to the “best interest of the child” in making decisions on intercountry adoptions, and to apply the “principle of subsidiarity,” which calls for the consideration of family and kinship placement and national adoption prior to the consideration of intercountry adoption. This dissertation research focused on the experience of Guatemalan mothers reporting …

Feminist Research Ethics, Informed Consent, And Potential Harms, Melinda Mccormick

The Hilltop Review

Feminist research is fraught with ethical dilemmas, some of which concern informed consent and the possibility of potential harms to respondents. I review several dilemmas addressed in the literature and how feminist researchers resolved the issues. I also look at the National Association of Social Workers‘ Code of Ethics and how the concepts of dual relationships and boundaries in social work practice may offer helpful guidelines to feminist re-searchers.

The Olive Branch Program : A Proposal For Outreach To Survivors Of Trauma Highlighting The Restorative Potential Of Nature-Based Cultural Settings, Mariana I. Swick

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Addresses the long-term implications of sexual assault-related trauma on the lives of women survivors and demonstrates how nature-based cultural institutions can support the needs of this population throughout recovery. The study proposes the adoption of The Olive Branch Program (a hypothetical outreach program) by local nature-based cultural institutions in light of the long term needs of women survivors on various pathways towards recovery. In addition, the study proposes ways for cultural institutions to engage in interdisciplinary collaboration, address issues of accessibility, and offer socially relevant programming.

Lgbt Aging And Elder Care, Brian Diehl

Honors Program Theses and Projects

This project focuses on particular issues faced by elderly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) people. This qualitative study involves interviews with eight gay men, four lesbians and two service providers and seeks to understand the unique challenges confronting aging members of the LGBT community and the quality of training received by caregivers assisting this population. Interview participants included three couples and four single men, and two partnered individuals across Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Analysis of the data indicates that the areas of greatest concern to LGBT elders are social-support networks and broader social change. Individuals interviewed expressed concern about …

The Experiences Of Transgender Students In Massachusetts Colleges And Universities, Kayla M. Spagna

Honors Program Theses and Projects

This research examines the experiences of transgender students attending four-year colleges or universities in Massachusetts. I pursued a series of qualitative interviews to gain a deeper understanding of the resources available to transgender students and to identify potential barriers to full integration on college campuses. Ten transgender students were interviewed; all were between the ages of 18 and 24 years. Data were coded using grounded theory and a constant comparative approach. Themes include: awareness, safety, college and university policies, and support by trans-inclusion through programs and policies. These findings highlight the importance of transgender-specific information and broader education for both …

Ex-Prisoners' Perceptions Of The Availability And Effects Of Services In Correctional Settings, Jenna Houston

Honors Program Theses and Projects

The U.S. system of retributive justice drives punitive measures, rather than interventions that could reduce recidivism. If prisoners’ needs are not met while serving time within the penal system, their chances of re-offending are greater (Baillargeon, 2010). The purpose of this study was to gather information about correctional programming from male ex-prisoners who have been involved in community re-entry services at Span Inc. in Boston, MA. Furthermore, this study also examined whether or not the programming contributed to positive coping skills during their incarceration as well as to their adaptation upon reentering the community. Data was collected by conducting ten …

Friends With Benefits Or “Friends” With Deficits? The Meaning And Contexts Of Uncommitted Sexual Relationships Among Mexican American And European American Adolescents, Lela Rankin Williams, Heidi Adams Rueda

Social Work Faculty Publications

Using focus groups, this study sought to understand and compare how Mexican American (n = 41, M = 16.0 years old, SD = .96) and European American (n = 34, M = 16.1 years old, SD = .64) youths conceptualize and experience “friends with benefits” relationships (FWBRs). Contrary to the implied nature of friendship, partners did not show caring and viewed FWBRs as a means to meet sexual needs. The “benefits” of this arrangement included guilt-free pleasure, little responsibility, the freedom to date others, or to remain available for a more desirable partner. The inherent deficits of FWBRs, …

Fidelity And Adaptation Of A Sibling Relationship Intervention For The Prevention Of Antisocial Behavior, Casadi "Khaki" Marino

Student Research Symposium

The Supporting Siblings in Foster Care program (SIBS) utilizes a universal recruitment strategy for a RCT skills training program for siblings in foster care at high risk of poor health, disability, and conduct issues. This poster session will examine the process of program adaptation, review the components of intervention fidelity, and explore the challenges of intervention in the context of foster children's lives. Fidelity of implementation and program adaptation are essential to prevention program design. Program adaptation may be required for cultural fit and ecological factors. Focus group data from a group of intervention staff indicated that changes were made …

Arts For All Experience: Examining The Experiences Of Individuals Who Receive Snap Benefits As They Access Arts Through The Arts For All Program, Michelle Deparrie, Jana L. Meinhold

Student Research Symposium

Status symbols, are behaviors that individuals use to communicate their place in society (Goffman, 1950). A commonly noted status symbol is participation in the high arts. A recent study described types of music in categories ranging from high-brow, to middle-brow, and low-brow. It was found that consumers of music, particularly the high-brow, were motivated to attend concerts for reasons relating to social capital (Roose & Stichele, 2010). Arts for All is a program in Portland Oregon that offers access to high art performances by making five dollar tickets available to those who qualify for SNAP (Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program). The …

Immigration And Farm Labor In The U.S., Philip Martin, Douglas B. Jackson-Smith

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Hired workers comprise 33 percent of people employed on farms but do an estimated 60 percent of the work performed on U.S. farms. Most hired farm workers were born abroad, usually in Mexico, and most are believed not to be authorized to work in the U.S. Changes in Mexico-US migration flows and more restrictive immigration laws and policies have increased the vulnerability of U.S. agriculture to labor supply shocks, which could increase costs and threaten the ability of some farmers to harvest laborintensive crops. Congress is considering major changes in immigration policies. Farm employers want access to a reliable supply …

Game Change: What Have We Learned? Pt. 2, Robert E. Lang, Sonya D. Horsford, Marya L. Shegog, Ramona Denby-Brinson, Fatma Nasoz

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

Share Knowledge. Change Lives. Transform our Community.

Our Mission: The Lincy Institute at UNLV conducts and supports research that focuses on improving Nevada's health, education, and social services.

Our Research Areas: Education, Health, Social Services, Information Technology

Perceived Impact Of Individual Development Account Participation Among Native Hawaiians, David W. Rothwell, Rashida Bhaiji, Anne Blumenthal

Center for Social Development Research

Indigenous peoples face many social development challenges and the lingering effects of colonization. Income transfer, a traditional social welfare approach designed to raise minimum living standards, has had limited beneficial effects on long-term social conditions. As a complement to income transfer, asset-based approaches to social welfare have resulted in positive effects in the short and long terms. Some Indigenous communities are exploring how asset-based interventions might enhance social development (Hicks, Edwards, Dennis, & Finsel, 2005), but only limited and scattered research describes how they experience asset-building programs. This qualitative descriptive study explores the perceived impact of a large Individual Development …

Homelessness: Relationships Between Program Completion At A Transformational Shelter And Mental Illness, Substance Abuse, And Trauma, Richard T. Mccutcheon

Theses & Dissertations

Each and every evening many people do not have a home to return to. Solving the epidemic problem of homelessness is an ongoing pursuit. Analyzing issues related to homelessness will help solve the problem of homelessness for some individuals and families. Data was gathered, prioritized and analyzed to determine correlations and relationships between completion of a transformational shelter’s program and mental illness, substance abuse, and trauma. Demographic variables were assessed as well. A person is more likely to complete the program if they have a substance abuse issue. Females are more likely than males to complete the program. Program completion …

An Examination Of Civic Engagement Behaviors Among Members Of Social And Cultural Fraternities And Sororities, Gary Gribble Wiser Jr.

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Counseling Students' Attitudes And Beliefs Toward Lgbtq Individuals And Relationships Between Psychosocial Factors, Samantha Mcharg

HIM 1990-2015

Attitudes and beliefs influence how counselors practice. This study explored four psychosocial factors and their correlation to the attitudes of graduate counseling students' (N = 28) toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning (LGBTQ) individuals. The four main psychosocial factors that were identified in previous research include knowledge level, religiosity, political affiliation, and previous experience with LGBTQ individuals. The hypothesis of this study was there are relationships between attitudes toward LGBTQ individuals and the aforementioned psychosocial factors. Students were invited to participate through emails sent by the Director of the Counseling Education program. The survey used to collect …

Social Work Students' Comfort With Gay And Lesbian Families, Jennifer Ackerman

HIM 1990-2015

Despite recent advancements in legislation and policies regarding gay and lesbian Americans, negative attitudes and perceptions toward this population still exist. Anecdotal information from social work classroom interactions suggests that biases against gays and lesbian families may exist among those being trained as helping professionals. This study examined social work student comfort with gay and lesbian families. The researcher used an exploratory-descriptive research design, with a sample of 85 Bachelors level social work students (BSW) and Masters level social work students (MSW) who completed the 52 item online questionnaire related to gay and lesbian parenting. The findings from the research …

Medicalization Of Mental Disorders: 1970- To The Present, W. Joseph Wyatt

Psychology Faculty Research

A thirty-five year escalation of emphasis on biological causation has rendered, for many, medications as the treatment of choice for mental disorders. Non-drug treatment may be cast aside, as a result.

The Exploration Into Achieving One Women’S ‘Freedom Of Voice’ As Relevant To Domestic Abuse Through The Sciences Of Creativity, Kathysue Dorey

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

This master’s project explores one woman’s journey in applied creativity and how learning behaviors and skills became the impetus for her life’s work with domestic abuse survivors. It is from this journey, that a groundbreaking Global Longitudinal Empirical Study with sustainable arm was developed.

This Empirical research is the Freedom Impact Study with Freedom Model that was founded on the Emotional Quotient Inventory 2.0 psychometric measure, the Applied Creativity sciences, and the self-defense training system Pure Krav Maga™. Its sustainable arm is Freedom Global, a 10-day intensive training program for women from other countries to be trained in applied creativity …

Examination Of The Role Of Implicit Clinical Judgments During The Mental Health Intake, Ora Nakash, Margarita Alegría

School for Social Work: Faculty Publications

We examined the characteristics of therapists' implicit clinical judgments during the mental health intake. Following the intake sessions with new clients, we conducted 129 semistructured interviews with 47 therapists. We found that 82% of therapists and 75% of interviews included reference to implicit clinical judgments. Therapists referred to these judgments as a cognitive process that relied on knowledge acquired through past clinical experiences and was primarily based on nonverbal cues and affective communication. Therapists used implicit processes when evaluating how to facilitate a good working alliance, what diagnostic information to collect, and how to decide on a diagnosis. The majority …

Online Mental Health Information Seeking In Young Adults With Mental Health Challenges, L. Kris Gowen

Regional Research Institute for Human Services

Barriers such as stigmatization and access to health care may lead young adults with mental health conditions (YAMHC) to try to find alternatives to more traditional means of obtaining care. One possible alternative is to seek information online. The purpose of this article is to better understand how YAMHC use the Internet to access information about mental health, and the challenges they face when trying to access that information. Semistructured focus groups were conducted to investigate how YAMHC use the Internet for information and support regarding their mental health. Three major themes about mental health information seeking emerged from the …

2012 Oregon Crime Victims’ Needs Assessment Final Report, Deborah Elliott, Karen Cellarius, Tara Horn

Regional Research Institute for Human Services

On behalf of the Crime Victims’ Services Division of the Oregon Department of Justice, the Portland State University Regional Research Institute for Human Services conducted an eighteen-month needs assessment of the current state of crime victim services and crime victims’ needs in Oregon. This 2012 study was a ten-year follow-up of the 2002 statewide crime victims’ needs assessment conducted by RRI for CVSD’s predecessor, the DOJ Crime Victims’ Assistance Section. The 2012 statewide needs assessment was conducted from July 2011 through December 2012 with the primary objectives of: (1) Reviewing changes in the field of crime victim services since the …

The God Of Death Takes Half Of Our Children: Health Of Women And Children In The Sundarbans Islands, Bipasha Biswas

Social Work Faculty Publications

Grassroots level health care workers provided insights into rural women's health concerns at a program development workshop held at Sundarban Islands in West Bengal, India. This report describes these narratives and identifies strategies for potential intervention plans. The narratives suggest layers of disenfranchisement compounded by gender inequality and geographic instability.

Veterans' Perceptions Of Reintegration Challenges And Their Most Valuable Social Supports, Leslie Briggle

HIM 1990-2015

With an increasing number of veterans returning to civilian life after deployment in combat, it is important to analyze what challenges they face during reintegration, what resources assist them with coping with these challenges, and which of these resources they perceive as the most helpful. The literature indicates that the most common challenges faced by returning veterans are employment difficulties, family readjustment problems and mental health issues which are shown to be positively affected by the presence of social support networks (Burnell, Coleman, & Hunt, 2009). There exists a gap, however in the research regarding the extent to which each …

Lgbt Affirming Environments In Hospice Care Settings, Maria Gore

HIM 1990-2015

The documented experiences and perceptions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) patients receiving hospice or palliative care gives merit to the need for the implementation of LGBT affirming environments in hospice care settings. The guidelines for creating these affirming environments are described in this paper. Applying the Donabedian (1988) model of structure, process, and outcome this thesis project analyzes identified interventions relevant to the implementation of LGBT affirming environments in hospice care settings. Utilizing a formal PICO questioning method, a search strategy was devised and studies were identified based on established criteria. The results suggest that there is a …

Trauma-Focused Models For Caregivers: A Systematic Review Of Empirical Research, Wesley Paul

HIM 1990-2015

Child and Adolescent caregivers are rarely the focus of research and/or trauma-focused or informed models when working with traumatized children (Baynard, Englund, & Rozelle, 2001; Chapman, Dube, & Anda, 2007). It has been shown that use of caregivers in the treatment of children who have suffered trauma can have a significant impact on not only the child, but also reduce the trauma symptoms of the caregivers themselves (Cohen, Mannarino, & Staron, 2006). The purpose of this study is to critically review the empirical research of trauma-focused and trauma-informed trainings and treatment models for children who have suffered some form of …

The Relationship Between Consumer Debt And Mental Health, Jennifer Simmons

HIM 1990-2015

Consumer debt is a growing phenomenon in the US and throughout the world. The beginning of the 21st century has been defined by such an incredible growth in consumer debt that American families have increased their debt relative to personal income four times faster than in the 1990s. Since the Federal Reserve began measuring the amount of American consumer debt and consumer income in the 1980s, consumer debt never exceeded consumer income until 2004 when it reached 104.8% of income. In the last two decades, researchers have observed a significant correlation between debt and mental health. The purpose of this …

Contextual Effects On Student Academic Achievement : A Multilevel Analysis., Shawnise Martin Miller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Approximately 1 million young people annually who should do not graduate from high school, positioning them on a downward trajectory of a lifetime of lower income and limited opportunities. The effects of low education ranges from micro-level consequences, such as unemployment and health, to mezzo-level consequences, such as neighborhood crime and poverty rates, to macro-level consequences, such as increased costs in government assistance and policy implications. Data from the 2011 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimate dataset and from the Jefferson County Public School (JCPS) Division of Data Management, Planning, and Program Evaluation were used to examine environmental factors that …

Educational Experiences Of Emancipated Foster Youth: An Exploratory Study, Cynthia Joyce Stunkard

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The data obtained in this qualitative study focused on the educational experiences of youth formerly in foster care after graduation from high school from the viewpoint of the youth. Data were gathered from interviews from 10 participants. Themes included: (a) How do youth emancipated from foster care perceive their educational experiences? (b) What could teachers have done differently to assist the foster youth when he/she first arrived in the classroom or when he/she was moving to another placement? (c) What did teacher do to help the foster youth feel welcomed and part of the classroom community?

Interviews were conducted and …