Social Work Commons^™

Disability, Gender, And Employment Relationships In Africa: The Case Of Ghana, Augustina Naami

Faculty Work

The exploratory quantitative study sought to develop an understanding about the relationships among disability, gender and employment in Northern Ghana. A total of 110 individuals with disabilities (20–60 years) from various disability groups participated in the study. The results indicate that many persons with disabilities are unemployed, the majority being women. Discrimination is cited as the greatest barrier to the employment of persons with disabilities, particularly women. The majority of persons with disabilities, typically women, live in poverty; given that some are unemployed and those who are employed worked mostly in marginal, seasonal and menial jobs. Persons with disabilities also …

Voices Of Youth, Parents, And Stakeholders: Findings From Case Studies In The Youthsave Project, Li Zou, Sarah Myers Tlapek, Margaret S. Sherraden, John W. Gabbert, Amy Ritterbusch, Ernest Appiah, Dorcas Opai-Tetteh, Githinji Njenga, Joseph Kieyah, Sharad K. Sharma, Jyoti Manandhar, Manik Maharjan

Center for Social Development Research

Voices of Youth, Parents, and Stakeholders: Findings From Case Studies in the YouthSave Project

Aging In Place: Perceptions Of Older Adults On Low Income Housing Waitlists, Angela L. Lavery

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many American older adults with low incomes wait years for affordable housing or housing assistance. Insight is needed on the concerns of older adults who need to move but cannot. In addition, within the study of aging in place, there is a paucity of research regarding older adults with low incomes. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions and experiences of aging in place from the perspective of older adults with low incomes, and to understand the process in making the decision to move to agesegregated housing. The purpose incorporated an examination of potential oppressive factors that …

Learning From Educators Of Color: Licensed But Not Teaching In Oregon’S Public Schools, Ann Curry-Stevens, Analucia Lopezrevoredo

Center to Advance Racial Equity Publications and Reports

While the Minority Teachers Act has long been in existance (since 1991), it has not been enforced. It aims to ensure that the population of teachers represents the diversity of students in Oregon’s public classrooms, but remains far below those target levels. Today in Oregon, 35.5% of students are of color, while only 8.3% of Oregon’s teachers are of color.

Over the last two years, the Oregon Educator Equity Advisory Group (OEEAG) has been generating data to understand this issue and to make recommendations to the legislature to improve the diversity of educators in Oregon’s schools. Part of this investigation …

Feasibility Of Recruiting Peer Educators To Promote Hiv Testing Using Facebook Among Men Who Have Sex With Men In Peru, Luis A. Menacho, Jerome T. Galea, Sean D. Young

Social Work Faculty Publications

Abstract: A peer leader-based intervention using social media can be an effective means to encourage Peruvian gay men to test for HIV. The objective was to explore the feasibility of recruiting and training leaders to deliver a peer intervention via Facebook to promote HIV testing. Training consisted of three sessions focused on HIV epidemiology, consequences of stigma associated with HIV, and ways to use Facebook. We performed pre- and post-training evaluations to assess HIV knowledge and comfort using Facebook. We trained 34 peer leaders. At baseline, the majority of peer leaders were already qualified and knowledgeable about HIV prevention …

Young Children's Ability To Use Two-Dimensional And Three-Dimensional Symbols To Show Placements Of Body Touches And Hidden Objects, Nicole Lytle, Kamala London, Maggie Bruck

Department of Social Work and Child Advocacy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

In two experiments, we investigated 3- to 5-year-old children's ability to use dolls and human figure drawings as symbols to map body touches. In Experiment 1, stickers were placed on different locations of children's bodies, and the children were asked to indicate the locations of the stickers using three different symbols: a doll, a human figure drawing, and the adult researcher. Performance on the tasks increased with age, but many 5-year-olds did not attain perfect performance. Surprisingly, younger children made more errors on the two-dimensional (2D) human figure drawing task compared with the three-dimensional (3D) doll and adult tasks. In …

Reducing Stress And Increasing Hope Among Typhoon Yolanda Survivors, Maria Victoria Del Fierro, Mary Elizabeth Huxster

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Hundreds of thousands of people are affected by natural disasters every year. Many of these people face mental and emotional consequences from the traumatic experience. Research indicates that the aftereffects of such experiences can result in social, familial, and educational impairments in children. The current study tested the efficacy of a brief cognitive behavioral intervention on elementary school aged children intended to alleviate the mental and emotional consequences following a natural disaster. The study applied quantitative methods through pre and post intervention assessments measuring stress and hope. The participants assessed included 18 Filipino children between the ages of 10-12 years, …

Best Practice Interventions For Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: A Survivor's Perspective, Kurt L. Manio

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to explore methods of intervention for domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST). Due to the secretive nature of the DMST industry, victims are not only difficult to identify, but are also difficult to gain access to in order to provide effective intervention. This study seeks to overcome these barriers by gaining the perspectives of DMST survivors. This study has a qualitative design, in which 8 survivors of DMST, who are now adults, were interviewed to determine appropriate methods of intervention for child welfare social workers. In doing so, intervention was broken down into three categories; …

Alcohol Use And The Older Adult: Addressing Older Adults’ Perceptions, Megan R. Grisso

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

In order to create more efficient, useful alcohol treatment and intervention methods tailored specifically for the older population, it is important to understand the reasons that older adults perceive that they consume alcohol. For this reason, this study explored older adults’ perceptions regarding why they use alcohol. Older adults, age 60 and older, were surveyed through questionnaires completed at senior community centers within San Bernardino County. This was a mixed method design that used qualitative and quantitative analysis for the purpose of exploring the most frequently reported reasons for why older adults use alcohol. The main finding of the study …

Social Workers' Attitudes Towards Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual And Transgender Adoptions, Christina Nicole Kemper, Natalie Jazmin Reynaga

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study explores the attitudes of social workers in relation to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) adoptions. Race, gender, generation, position and prior LGBT training are factors that can positively or negatively impact social workers’ biases towards LGBT adoptions. Researchers contacted adoption agencies whom agreed to partake in the 26-question survey, including eight demographic questions and an 18 item scale. The current study used an adapted version of the Attitude Toward Gay Men and Lesbians as Adoptive Parent Scale (APS) (α = .95). There were 28 survey respondents, however two surveys were discontinued due to incomplete informed consents. A …

Behavioral Health Professional’S Perceptions Of Early Co-Occurring Disorder Recovery And Smoking Cessation Appropriateness, Paul Terrazas

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Early stages of the co-occurring, mental health and substance use disorder (MH-SUD) recovery process present various social and physical challenges to the recovering person, including habitual cigarette smoking. Presenting smoking cessation to a person with a co-occurring disorder could also depend on behavioral health professional’s perceptions of implementing supplemental services in early recovery. Behavioral health professionals also face the challenge of assessing people’s motivation to quit smoking. Data was collected through an online survey that shaped this quantitative, cross-sectional study focused on understanding perceptions of smoking cessation in early MH-SUD recovery. The study’s data highlighted that the participants (N = …

Community Attitudes Toward Early-Release Offenders Under Ab 109, Mari Lily Herrera, Matthew Erik Mcgiffen

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine community attitudes towards ex-offenders released in San Bernardino under AB 109 on subjects that would likely impact the ex-offender reintegration process. Past research has shown that a community’s willingness to employ and offer social support to ex-offenders has a substantial impact on their probability of re-offense. This study focused on individuals whose roles in the community give them greater influence over ex-offenders. A total of 11 community members participated in this qualitative study. Of the 11 respondents, 4 were employers, 4 were social service workers, and 3 were community center workers. Respondents …

Knowledge And Use Of Family Planning Services By Extended Foster Care Clients, Ashley M. Diaz, Melodie Anne Chronister

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

There has been extensive, mostly negative research on the outcomes of foster care youth. Due to the abundance of this research, Extended Foster Care (EFC) was created to help to provide additional resources and support to young adults in foster care until age 21. This is a fairly new program, therefore little research has been completed. One of the negative outcomes of foster youth is the high pregnancy and parenting rates. The purpose of this study is to be able to understand the knowledge and use of family planning services among the young adults participating in EFC. Understanding this information …

Substance Abuse Among The Elderly: What Works In Treatment, Sophia Morelli

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Social workers are trained during the course of their education to work with the elderly and to understand the various dynamics of aging. These professionals also receive education on substance abuse and how to assess clients as well as link them to appropriate supportive services. How can social workers be more inclined to effectively treat the elderly substance abuser? What are, if any, special considerations a social worker should be aware of when working with the geriatric population? What treatment modalities seem to be more effective with the elderly client? This study utilized a qualitative analysis consisting of interviews with …

Caregivers’ Emotional Experiences Regarding Their Adolescent’S Substance Abuse Problem, Cindy Reyes, Brenda Jane Duchene

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The primary aim of this investigation was to explore caregivers’ emotional experiences regarding their adolescent with substance abuse problems. These researchers systematically examined the literature on caregiver stress and found a large body of studies on caregivers of persons with mental illness, severe medical problems including cancer, HIV/AIDS, and developmental disabilities. Yet, an absence of research was found on caregivers including parents of adolescents with drug and/or alcohol problems. Based on the findings on investigations with other types of caregivers, these researchers expected caregivers of adolescent substance abusers to report high levels of emotional and psychological distress. Like caregivers of …

Evaluation Of Interventions Used In The Treatment Of Veterans With Co-Occurring Disorders, Kelly F. Simon, Meghan M. Frawley

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study was a qualitative assessment of the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions used in the treatment of co-occurring disorders, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and substance abuse. The qualitative assessment was an interview with a number of open ended questions and scales for the respondents to report preference. Interviews were conducted through the Wounded Warriors Project. Participants were males between the ages of 18 and 40, and were of multiple ethnicities. The interview questions primarily addressed whether or not the respondents received services and which services they felt were most beneficial. The interviews were anonymous and confidential, in the interest of …

Social Service Professionals Perspectives On Assessing Abuse Among The Developmentally Disabled, Shelita D. Majied

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

There are substantial amounts of research on risk factors that contribute to abuse among adults with developmental disabilities. There are also studies that explore preventative measures and safety factors to help reduce abuse among the population. These relevant studies and research has examined the relationship between developmental disabilities, types of abuse, risk factors, effectiveness of risk assessments, and prevention. The main purpose of this study is to explore the problem of high abuse rates amongst this population and discuss social service professional’s perspective on the current preventative measures used to protect adults with developmental disabilities from abuse. For this quantitative …

Hispanics' Under-Utilization Of Hospice Care Services, Ian M. Montoya

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this project was to learn about Hispanics’ utilization of hospice care and to increase knowledge about under-utilization of hospice services by the Hispanic community. Research in hospice services indicates that the Hispanic community underutilizes end-of-life resources when compared to their majority counterparts, European Americans. Research that has controlled for variables such as socio-demographic characteristics, medical history, prognosis, and access to health care demonstrate Hispanics significantly under-utilizing hospice services. This project was conducted within Southern California in the cities of Riverside and Anaheim which are predominantly Hispanic communities. A quantitative design was used to explore the perspectives of …

Beliefs Among Licensed Clinical Social Workers About Assessing Parents Abused As Children, Emma Celina Duarte

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Child abuse is a pressing national issue that affects thousands of children every year in the United States. The lifelong implications of child abuse been well documented in the literature, which identifies psychopathology, interpersonal violence and suicide risk, and substance abuse as a prominent triad of the negative sequelae of child abuse. Parents abused as children represent a subgroup that introduces additional domains of clinical interest and unique needs, including parenting stress and perceived parenting competence. These complex clusters of needs are clinically significant, and the beliefs licensed clinical social workers (LCSWs) hold about parents abused as children can significantly …

The Importance Of Social Support For Newly Emancipated Foster Youth, Valentina Vela

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The Child Welfare system is widely known as the macro system responsible for ensuring the safety of children within particular parameters, which, in some cases, results in the removal of these individuals from their family of origin. Research has explored the short- and long-term effects of this disruption in hopes of improving the ability of services to effectively prevent negative effects. Despite improvements on a macro and micro level, foster youth continue to be unprepared for the transition out of the foster care system, resulting in negative outcomes. According to research, the newly developed theory of emerging adulthood may have …

Compassion Fatigue, Burnout, And Self-Care: What Social Work Students Need To Know, Larry William Smith

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This thesis attempted to examine the impact of self-care, compassion fatigue and burnout on social work students. This was achieved through the use of a Demographic Survey, the Self-Care Assessment, the Professional Quality of Life-IV (ProQOL-IV) survey, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS). A total of three research questions were examined statistically, that included: the most common methods of self-care employed, the overall levels of compassion fatigue, and the overall levels of burnout. Title 4e was also taken into consideration when developing and designing the questions and summary recommendations. Questionnaires were sent out electronically, with an actual …

Impact Of A Natural Disaster On The Mental Health Of A Rural Maya Community In The Philippines, Kaneez Batool

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to examine the impact of a natural disaster on the mental health of a rural Maya community in the Philippines. Specifically, the study assessed how an individual’s housing conditions, the household size, and general utilities can have an impact on a person’s mental health.

The study used a quantitative survey design with self-administered questionnaires. Center for Disease Control and Prevention Modified Community Assessment survey was used for this research investigation. A total of 84 participants completed the survey. Participants were asked of their perceptions regarding the habitability of their own homes, the safety of …

Custodial Grandmothers Raising Children With Disabilities And The Stressors They Face, Kanika Oni Kisero

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Stressors that custodial grandmothers face while raising children with disabilities can be more overwhelming compared to stressors experienced by grandmothers of non-disabled children. Strategies and various supports were looked into in order to determine how custodial grandmothers practice self-care so they may experience positive mental health outcomes. A purposive sample of custodial grandmothers was surveyed and the results obtained provided some support on how self-care is and is not practiced in order to manage stress. This study resulted in non-significant findings, which did not support the hypotheses. Additional analysis was used to gauge levels of stress, but could not …

Preserving, Interpreting, And Displaying Mental Health History: Establishing The Patton State Hospital Museum And Archive, Shannon Rene Long

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

There are few museums in the western half of the United States that provide an opportunity to educate the public about the history of mental health care. Recently, a mental health museum and archive of artifacts, photographs, and documents was established on the grounds of Patton State Hospital in Highland, California. The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the establishment of this museum and archive and to provide an account of the 125 year history of Patton State Hospital. Understanding the history of Patton provides an opportunity to understand the history of mental health care in the United …

The Impact Of Social Support On The Length Of Homelessness, Carmen T. Macias

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Homelessness is a multifaceted social problem that affects thousands of people every single day throughout the United States. In recent years, research has begun to look at the impact of social support on the lives of those that are homeless. To further explore this topic, this study examines the impact of social support on the length of time someone is homeless, in search of notable correlations. This study was completed using a quantitative research approach and a sample of 54 homeless individuals. Participants were recruited from two leading homeless service agencies in the City of Riverside and asked to complete …

Impact Of Stranger Violence And Intimate Partner Violence On The Grades Of American Indian/Alaska Native Undergraduate College Students, David A. Patterson-Silver Wolf, Jacob Perkins, Carol Van Zile-Tamsen

Center for Social Development Research

Stranger and intimate partner violence are pervasive public health problems that have a range of negative effects, with exceptionally high prevalence among ethno–racial minority youth. This study assesses the prevalence of these types of violence among American Indian/Alaska (AI/AN) students and examines the impact of victimization on academic performance AI/AN and non-AI/AN student populations using self-reported college health survey data. Results found that students who identified fully or partially as AI/AN reported markedly higher rates of all types of violence/abuse than did other students, and students who had experienced violence/abuse had lower GPAs those who had not. The interaction effect …

Overcoming Barriers To Mental Health Service Utilization Among Justice Involved Youth, Susan Y. Vanallen

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to identify the barriers to and facilitators of mental health services utilization among youth in the justice setting, and to explore ways to overcome these barriers and expand these facilitators. This qualitative study utilized focus groups as a means to extract themes among the perceptions of social workers on this topic. Results were transcribed to written form. Qualitative analysis procedures were followed to identify and label themes. A total of 473 statements are organized into 26 major themes with 18 sub‑themes. Suggestions for change under the agency/organizational category of domain three received the most …

Program Participation And Experiences In Young Adults Currently Or Formerly Receiving Foster Care Services, Chelle J. Stokes, Stephanie Carolina Montes

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study examines whether participation in Extended Foster Care (EFC) or the Aftercare Program increase perceptions of independence in former and current foster dependents ages eighteen and older. Foster youth have historically experienced worse outcomes than the general population after reaching age 18. This study surveyed 72 young adults, 36 were in Extended Foster Care (EFC) and 36 were in the Aftercare Program in San Bernardino County. The areas examined were demographics, health care, employment, transportation, education, housing, mental health, pregnancy/parenting status, social support, services received in Independent Living Program (ILP), EFC, and/or the Aftercare Program and the young adults’ …

Beliefs About Children Who Have Been Incarcerated: What Do Parents Know?, Aryriana Alexander

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between traditional African-American American parenting and the overrepresentation of African-Americans in America’s jails and prisons. This qualitative study utilized semi-structured interviews of twelve parents who have had a child incarcerated in their adult life to gather data. Study participants were asked their experiences with several traditional happenings, supported by research, in some traditional African-American households. Topics discussed included religion, spanking, and single parenthood. The study found that many of the traditional happenings of African-American parenting occurred within the homes of parents with children who were incarcerated, which supports previous research. …

Journey To Self-Sufficiency: An Analysis Of Motivation Level And Employment Hope Of Affordable Housing Residents, Erica R. Youngblood

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The Pilot Work Requirement (PWR) for the Housing Authority of San Bernardino is a mandated welfare to work program that was implemented with the goal of promoting self-sufficiency of its residents. Self-sufficiency is both economic and psychological. Participants in welfare-to-work programs view self-sufficiency as a process which includes empowerment, autonomy and confidence and not attainable without motivation. This study measured participant motivation in relation to the PWR program and how it correlates psychological self-sufficiency. The findings of this study suggest that PWR participants have accepted the mandate and have integrated the values of work, education and volunteerism, as their own. …