Social Work Commons^™

Review Of Becoming Bureaucrats: Socialization At The Front Lines Of Government Service. Zachary W. Oberfield. Reviewed By Edward U. Murphy, Edward U. Murphy

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Zachary W. Oberfield, Becoming Bureaucrats: Socialization at the Front Lines of Government Service. (2014). University of Pennsylvania Press. $59.95 (hardcover), 236 pages.

Review Of Some Men: Feminist Allies And The Movement To End Violence Against Women. Michael A. Messner, Max A. Greenberg, And Tal Peretz Reviewed By Deborah Mullin, Deborah Mullin

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Michael A. Messner, Max A. Greenberg, & Tal Peretz, Some Men: Feminist Allies and the Movement to End Violence Against Women. Oxford University Press (2015), 256 pages, $24.95 (paperback).

Peer Mentoring In Child Welfare: A Motivational Framework, Anna Rockhill, Carrie Furrer, Thuan Duong

Center for Improvement of Child and Family Services Publications

Peer mentoring interventions for parents with substance use disorders who are involved with the child welfare system are relatively new, complex, individualized interventions and thus need to be understood both in regard to program efficacy and the processes of how they work. This qualitative study of the experiences of parents involved in a parent mentoring program suggested that certain practices helped motivate parents to think and act in ways that supported their goals and child welfare case plans. The three key mentoring practices that emerged were building caring relationships, pro- viding guidance, and putting parents in charge. These practices promoted …

Family Connections Oregon, Center For Improvement Of Child And Family Services

Child Welfare

The State of Oregon was an early implementer of family-centered practices to improve child welfare outcomes by effectively engaging families so that children avoid placement or spend less time in care. Despite this promising history, statewide availability of such practices had not yet been attained. With the support of the Family Connections Grant, Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS) partnered with the Child Welfare Partnership at Portland State University’s (PSU) School of Social Work to address this need.

Family Connections Research, Oregon Child Welfare Partnership, Katharine Cahn

Child Welfare

Family Connections Oregon (FCO) was a three-year demonstration project funded by the Children’s Bureau in which a co-located coordinator provided a package of services - intensive family finding and engagement, family group conferencing, and follow-up - within the first 60 days of a child’s out-of-home placement. These practices are continuing in Oregon through a IV-E waiver demonstration project called Leveraging Intensive Family Engagement (LIFE).

Disaggregating Student Outcomes By Race And Income: Educational Equity In Oregon, Anne Sinkey, Ann Curry-Stevens

Center to Advance Racial Equity Publications and Reports

This research seeks to answer an emerging question in public school debates: whether race is just a proxy for income when it comes to disparities in educational outcomes among Oregon’s K-12 students. This research set out to respond to this question, and draws from public school data records to answer the question. We investigated student test scores across three different environments: elementary schools, middle schools and high schools. We also investigated student graduation rates from high school. The pattern of findings is absolutely clear: regardless of the site or type of disparities, when we compare how low-income students fare, all …

Challenges Of Child Trauma On Adoptive Families' Social And Emotional System, Jacqueline Yvonne Ford

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Adoption-focused psychoeducation is deemed essential in maintaining the permanency of traumatized children within a new family unit. However, adoptive parents of traumatized children struggle to find training to address their unique concerns. Guided by the lens of psychodynamic theory, the purpose of this study was to investigate the challenges faced by adoptive families of traumatized children. Special focus was placed on the social and emotional relationships of the adoptive parents of traumatized children, to identify the realistic expectations towards attachment from the families' perspectives. Fifteen families were randomly selected to participate in this study from a group of 30 parents …

Borderline Personality Disorder: The Frequency Of Disclosure And The Choice To Disclose, Laci Marie Rumpza

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The goals of this study were threefold: (1) to identify what percentage of psychologists and clinical social workers disclose the diagnostic label BPD to their patients, (2) to identify factors that influence disclosure, and (3) to gather data about the choice to disclose or not to disclose. The MUM effect was used as the theoretical framework. A sequential explanatory mixed methods design including an online survey was used during the first phase. A total of 125 psychologists and 45 social workers participated in the Phase 1 of the study. The majority of participants stated that they either always or usually …

A Tale Of Two Cultures: A Qualitative Narrative Of Nigerian Immigrant Parenting In The United States, Chinwe Onwujuba

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Current demographic estimates indicate that the foreign-born population makes up about 13% (40 million) of the total U.S. population. This number consists of immigrants from all over the world, with a larger majority originating from Latin America and Asia. Research in the area of immigrant adaptation is robust and compelling; however, it is replete with studies on immigrants from the cultural regions identified above, and not as much on other regions with relatively less numerical representation, specifically Africa. From this region, Nigerian individuals and families make up a larger portion of this immigrant group. This study employs a qualitative research …

Adoption And The Use Of Self-Disclosure : A Qualitative Inquiry Of The Clincial Professional, Heather L. Smith-Jackson

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

One of the intentional purposes of this study was to expand upon the limited research that is offered from a clinical perspective regarding self disclosure, but with a concentration on adopted mental health professionals. This study: explored the nature of therapeutic relationship, investigated continued controversial topic of self disclosure and explored specifically adoption identity formation and self disclosure grounded in social constructivism.

Twelve female participants who identified as mental health professionals completed in person interviews. The goal was to recruit 16 participants evenly divided between clinicians who were adopted and non adopted. However because of limitations, the sample consisted of …

Art As A Clinical Tool In The Treatment Of Complex Ptsd : A Theoretical Study, Emma T. Brenner-Malin

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This theoretical thesis explores how art-making can be used as a clinical tool in social worker’s psychodynamic treatment of complex post-traumatic stress disorder. A theoretical thesis was chosen in order to address the gap in the social work literature discussing the integration of creative action into trauma-informed care. D.W. Winnicott’s object relations theory and Trauma-informed art therapy theory are the two theoretical lenses applied and discussed. A review of the literature indicates that art created during therapy can function as a transitional object, facilitating the client’s ability to learn how to regulate their affect, recall dissociated affect and memories, bolster …

Stress, Anxiety Symptomology, And The Need For Student Support Services For University Freshmen Of First-Generation Status, Low-Ses Backgrounds, And Those Registered With Disabilities, Kelly Dale Allison

LSU Master's Theses

Three populations of concern for professional social workers in higher educational settings include first-generation college students (FGCSs), students from low socio-economic (low-SES) backgrounds, and students with disabilities. As the national demand for degrees in higher education rises both socially and economically, the push for young adults’ postsecondary success becomes increasingly crucial. In college and university settings, a significant portion of students may be classified as FGCSs, low-SES, or may be registered with a disability. Examining these vulnerable populations within higher education settings, particularly regarding stress and anxiety symptomology, can help social workers recognize the social, developmental, and academic inhibitions that …

Survivors Of Individuals Who Completed Suicide: The Influence Of Time Since The Loss, Alexis M. Rabalais

LSU Master's Theses

This cross sectional study explores associations between elapsed time since the loss and outcomes of prominent feelings and self-regard among 187 help-seeking survivors bereaved by suicide. Chi-square tests were conducted to examine the aforementioned relationships. In examining suicide survivors’ most prominent feelings over time, this study found mixed results in early bereavement. This study showed that at 25 to 59 months elapsed time since the loss both scared and happiness were significant for suicide survivors. No significance was found before 25 to 59 months, suggesting a change in suicide survivors’ prominent feelings following two years elapsed time since the loss. …

Exploring The Predictors Of Psychological Distress In Children Following The Gulf Coast Hurricanes Of 2005, Jonathan Scott Brothers

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this study is to investigate the predictors of psychological distress in children following the Gulf Coast hurricanes of 2005. Previous literature has suggested that children that experience natural disasters, such as hurricanes, may face the same psychological dangers as children that experience other types of traumatic experiences. Thus, it is expected that children that were exposed to various stressors throughout the occurrence of the hurricanes will display more symptoms of psychological distress in the aftermath of the storms. In this study, 614 caregivers of children of ages 1 to 9 years old were sampled in a cross-sectional …

"The Most Badass Thing I'Ve Ever Done" : Experiences Of Transgender And Gender Non-Conforming Birth Parents, Lauren Ambrosini

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

To most people, the ability to carry and bear children is one that is inextricably linked with femininity and womanhood. However, some individuals who gestate and give birth to a child do not identify as women or as feminine. At the forefront of disentangling these two concepts from pregnancy and birth are gender non-conforming individuals, including masculine identified women, transgender men, and folks who identify as outside the gender binary of man/woman, who have chosen to carry and bear children. Beyond the narratives of a few well known transmen (e.g., Thomas Beatie) and masculine-of-center lesbians (e.g., A.K. Summers) who have …

Over Her Shoulder: What Are Women’S Relationship Perceptions When There Has Been Lived Experience Of Domestic Violence Within That Relationship?, Amy Hannan

Theses : Honours

Research into the social phenomena of domestic violence is a relatively new area of exploration. The focus for domestic violence researchers has been across a broad range of topics with a key theme being the reasons that women stay or leave the relationship. The study described in this thesis engaged with women in discussions regarding their perception of their relationship when there had been experiences of domestic violence. The methodology included the use of a focus group with three women from the South West of Western Australia.

The focus group consisted of both individual and group sessions. For the focus …

Mental Health In Diabetes Prevention And Intevention Programs In American Indian/Alaska Native Communities, Wynette Whitegoat, Jeremy Vu, Kellie Thompson, Jennifer Gallagher

Buder Center for American Indian Studies Research

American Indian and Alaska Natives youth and adults experience higher rates of type 2 diabetes and mental health problems than the general United States population. Few studies have explored the relationship other than detail the two issues independently. The present review aims to identify programs that seek to prevent/treat type 2 diabetes and mental health disorders in the American Indian and Alaska Native population. Available programs were reviewed for AI/AN adults and youth who suffer with both. As part of the review process, databases were searched for peer reviewed published studies. It was found that very few programs effectively incorporate …

Social Impact, Edward F. Lawler, Neil Schoenherr, Patricia Anagos, Mary Ellen Benson, Donna Brodsky, Timothy Poor, Katie Rice-Guter, Rick Skwiot, Rachel Smidt, Toky Branding + Design, Michael Austin

Social Impact Publication

No abstract provided.

Social Impact: North Carolina Students Apply Fcab Knowledge, Melody Brackett

Social Impact Publication

The students have really enjoyed learning the FCAB curriculum because it both applies to their own personal lives and helps prepare them to work with their clients when they get in the field.

Bullying Of Disabled And Non-Disabled High School Students: A Comparison Using The Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey, Sarah Guckenburg

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

No abstract provided.

Juveniles Who Commit Sexual Offenses, Jennifer R. Arthur

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

No abstract provided.

Judges’ Perceptions Of The Nebraska Casa Program, A. C. West, J. L. O'Gara, Jeanette Harder

Social Work Faculty Publications

This article discusses judges’ perceptions of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) programs in the rural state of Nebraska, as reported in two online surveys. The goal of CASA is “to train and support volunteers in advocating for safe and permanent homes for abused and neglected children” (CASA for Children, 2013). One survey investigated the opinions of judges presiding in Nebraska counties that did not yet have a local CASA program; another was administered to judges in counties that did have a CASA program. Data from both surveys were analyzed separately and then compared to provide information regarding judges’ satisfaction with …

Citations And Convictions: One Community’S Coordinated Response To Intimate Partner Violence & Efforts Toward Offender Accountability, Kerry Beldin, Allison Lauritsen, Henry J. D'Souza, Bob Moyer

Social Work Faculty Publications

In 1996, a coordinated community response (CCR) was formally established in a mid-sized Midwestern city to improve the criminal justice response to intimate partner violence (IPV). Data for this study included all IPV-related incidents to which the local police department responded since the establishment of the CCR for a fourteen year period. Effective CCRs provide for IPV offender accountability through citation and prosecution of IPV-related crimes. Concerns about demographic variables affecting citation and prosecution rates have been identified in the literature. Compared to national statistics, gender differences were consistent but higher citation and conviction rates were identified in this community. …

Where Have We Been And Where Are We Going? A Conceptual Framework For Child Advocacy, Michele Cascardi, Cathy Brown, Svetlana Shpiegel, Ariel Alvarez

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

The primary goal of this article is to chart the development of child advocacy as an interdisciplinary field of study and conclude with a conceptual framework for research and higher education in child advocacy. Historically, child advocacy has justifiably focused on protection needs. Values and assumptions about children's best interest have also governed child advocacy, in part because evidence to inform decisions was lacking and in part because of its history as an activist movement. Against this historical backdrop, we describe contemporary trends in child advocacy that reconcile children's protection with their inherent rights to personhood. We rely on the …

Navigating A Paradoxical Identity : The Experiences Of Mixed Race Individuals Who Are Perceived As White, Marcella Emily Galvez Wagner

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This qualitative exploratory study examines the experiences of mixed race individuals who are perceived as White by others based on physical appearance. Literature on the mixed race population has only more recently focused on the phenomenon of racial misrecognition, or the incongruence between racial identity and racial perception by others. This study seeks to advance this literature by exploring the experiences of individuals who have a particular form of racial misrecognition where they hold a non-dominant racial identity and yet are perceived as White by others. The study explored racial identity, racial markers, disclosure and passing, family context, experiences of …

Everyday Racial Interactions For Whites And College Students Of Color, Leslie H. Picca

Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work Faculty Publications

While in the recent past overtly racist comments were tolerated and expected, now social pressures exist to avoid such racist statements (Feagin, 2006). However, subtle measures and tests in psychology and social psychology suggest a nonracist mask is covering an intact racist core, and that whites regularly underestimate the extent of their prejudice (Bonilla-Silva & Forman, 2000; Kawakami, Dunn, Karmali, & Dovidio, 2009). There is much social science literature on modern racism or colorblind racism: negative racial attitudes that haven't disappeared, they've just gone underground (Bonilla-Silva, 2006; Carr, 1997; Dovidio & Gaertner, 1991). Specifically, many argue that racism is hidden, …

“Rip It!”: A Juxtapositional And Critical Discourse Analysis Of Gender Violence In 3 Tyler Perry Films, Avina Ross

Graduate Research Posters

This qualitative study uses juxtapositional, intersectional and critical discourse analyses as one composite framework to assess Black female victimness and matriarchy in three Tyler Perry films. Findings exposed a transitional archetype model consisting of 5 domains (Victim, Bitterfruit, Matriarch, Forgiver and Princess) whereby victimized characters are portrayed using racist and sexist stereotypes. Additionally, rich juxtapositions in the films with regard to Black female victimness and matriarchy were also revealed. These juxtapositions play out in the transitional archetype model and reiterate a harmful racist gendered stereotype: strong, Black women (matriarchs) are not and cannot, by way of their strength, aggressiveness and …

"I See Their Purpose": Looking At The Role Of Family Advocates In Partnering With Families And Advocating For Children In Guatemala City, Sierra K. Leonard

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

The purpose of this study was to get an in-depth, complete picture of a social worker and child/family advocate in Guatemala City, Guatemala. The intent was to study the participant’s work and responsibilities in order to examine how she processed and completed her dual role as social worker/advocate and mother to a group of children in a children’s home. A focus on responsibility, the effect of her dual role, and the influence of her personal and religious convictions emerged throughout the study. The participant’s unique position in a dual role offered insight into the various aspects of advocacy and intervention …

Investing In The Civic Economy: Social Capital And Choice Neighborhoods, Mary Ellen Brown

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Concentrated poverty in inner-city neighborhoods in the United States generates social disorganization and isolation, limiting residents’ access to opportunities for upward mobility. Place-based concentration effects can be detrimental to individual health outcomes and overall community health. Communities require assets and resources across multiple types of capital, and in particular social capital, in order to foster a thriving civic economy. The purpose of this research was to provide a foundation through the study of social capital for pursuing strategic actions to foster a thriving civic economy for residents in a low-wealth neighborhood in Shreveport, Louisiana, that was also the focus of …

Stigma Towards Hiv Positive People In The El Paso Community, Evdokia Romanova

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Stigma and discrimination towards individuals living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a serious issue. The stigma experienced by people with HIV relates to how the virus has been primary associated with so-called deviant behaviors (e.g. promiscuity and homosexuality). Stigma may isolate infected individuals from society and create barriers when accessing medical care and seeking social support. Conducted in El Paso, Texas, this study aims to better understand the issue of stigma through the life stories of individuals living with HIV and to test an exploratory model of a community-based intervention for fighting self-stigma. This research project is divided into …