Social Work Commons^™

Social Genomics Of Healthy And Disordered Internet Gaming, Jeffrey G. Snodgrass, Henri J. François Dengah Ii, Michael G. Lacy, Robert J. Else, Evan R. Polzer, Jesusa M. G. Arevalo, Steven W. Cole

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Objectives: To combine social genomics with cultural approaches to expand understandings of the somatic health dynamics of online gaming, including in the controversial nosological construct of internet gaming disorder (IGD).

Methods: In blood samples from 56 U.S. gamers, we examined expression of the conserved transcriptional response to adversity (CTRA), a leukocyte gene expression profile activated by chronic stress. We compared positively engaged and problem gamers, as identified by an ethnographically developed measure, the Positive and Negative Gaming Experiences Scale (PNGE-42), and also by a clinically derived IGD scale (IGDS-SF9).

Results: CTRA profiles showed a clear relationship with PNGE-42, with a …

Msw Interns At Public Libraries: Fostering Collaboration For Change, Sarah C. Johnson

Publications and Research

While the collaborative trend among professional social workers and librarians continues to grow, literature about the utilization of student social workers partnering with libraries is non-existent. Currently 40,000 students are enrolled in M.S.W. programs through the United States and nearly all are required to complete approximately 900 hours "in the field." Such students provide untapped skills, knowledge, and values that can help take diversity in public libraries to the next level.

Intersecting Identities And Resiliency: Sharing Stories Of Student Mothers In Community College, Kamisha Sullivan

National Student Parent Success Symposium: Lifting Generations Together

This presentation will share the stories of 23 student mothers enrolled in two community colleges. In their own words student mothers described their intersecting identities as both invisible and empowering. Findings from the study point to the resiliency of student mothers who utilized personal assets and institutional resources. Recommendations for community colleges include developing a strategic method to gather data to better serve this student population. Further, institutions are encouraged to re-examine child care services and supports on campus.

Kamisha Sullivan- Kamisha recently completed an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from CSU Long Beach. Dr. Sullivan has many years of teaching …

Aloha Fridays With Sp@M: Cultivating Social Capital And Fostering Peer Support Lifting Generations Together, Angie Solomon

National Student Parent Success Symposium: Lifting Generations Together

The University of Hawaii-Mānoa (UHM) is a predominately commuter campus lacking dedicated family friendly spaces for student parents to gather hindering opportunities to connect, foster friendships, and cultivate social capital. Aloha Fridays with the Student Parents At Mānoa (SP@M) program is a successful engagement and retention activity providing student parents a supportive space on campus to engage and foster friendships.

Angelique Kealani Siga SolomonAngie is the coordinator for the Student Parents At Manoa (SP@M) program at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Ms. Solomon is a proud mother of two young toddlers and holds a B.A. from UH-Hilo, in History …

Breaking Away From Poverty- One Kentucky Communities Partnerships, Robyn Moreland, Melissa Gross

National Student Parent Success Symposium: Lifting Generations Together

Barriers to higher education are plentiful for low income single parents. This workshop will explore how one Kentucky community uses partnerships to reduce barriers to education through housing, child care and employment.

Robyn Johnson Moreland- Robyn is the Director of Eastern Kentucky University’s Education Pays Program. Education Pays is a grant funded program through the state of Kentucky’s Cabinet for Health and Families Services that provides TANF recipients with work study placements, career development, academic support and supportive services to help meet personal and professional goals. The program is celebrating the 20th year on the campus of Eastern Kentucky University. …

Buidling A #2gen Approach To State Policy: Georgia's Story, Kristin Bernhard

National Student Parent Success Symposium: Lifting Generations Together

Over the past two years, senior leaders of Georgia's Department of Early Care and Learning, Technical College System, and University System have developed a unique partnership to implement a statewide two-gen approach for state policy to better coordinate service delivery for student parents. This session will explore the tactics, strategies, and approach Georgia's state agency leadership have used to connect child and parent outcomes.

Kristin Bernhard- Kristin is the Deputy Commissioner for System Reform at the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL), the state's stand-alone education agency for children from birth through age five. At DECAL, she leads …

The Life Impact Program: Supporting Student Parents Striving For Success, Natalie Reinbold

National Student Parent Success Symposium: Lifting Generations Together

The innovative, comprehensive Life Impact Program provides substantial social and financial support to low-income student parents at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. Using data from a recent program evaluation, we describe Scholars’ strong academic performance and graduation rates, and, drawing from in-depth interviews, we illustrate the lived experiences of Scholars as they navigate raising children while striving to complete college.

Natalie Reinbold-Natalie has 20+ years experience serving disadvantaged families in the Milwaukee area. She received her undergraduate degree from UW - Milwaukee in Psychology and her Master's degree in Community Counseling from UW - Whitewater. As the Life Coach …

Diapers To Degrees: Higher Education's Contribution To The Imposter Syndrome, Caroline Sanders, Shelley Wilson

National Student Parent Success Symposium: Lifting Generations Together

Panel discussion with audience participation will focus on the barriers student-parents continue to encounter, despite the increasing number of their population, and how the often institutionally imposed imposter syndrome hinders and often discourages access to and success in obtaining a college degree. Participants will be encouraged to share best practices and improvement strategies.

Shelley Wilson Gentile- Shelly is the Program Manager for the Institute for Water and Environmental Resilience at Stetson University in Florida. She has more than 30 years of experience in higher education that includes service to five very different campuses. Her longest tenure was at Eastern Michigan …

Building A Village: Developing A Student Parent Support Program, Amanda Wilcox-Herzig

National Student Parent Success Symposium: Lifting Generations Together

In an effort to provide parents with social support and parenting skills, college students were provided with parenting workshops, a resource library, and online discussions. Initially, these endeavors were grant supported and participation was mandatory. Recently, services have been offered as a voluntary activity. Data from each time period will be compared to demonstrate the importance of funded student participation.

Amanda Wilcox Herzog, Ph.D. has taught at California State University Santa Barbara for the last 16 years. Dr. Wilcox Herzog is a Professor in the Psychology Department, where they offer a BA in Human Development and an MA in Child …

The Two-Generation Classroom: Learning Together In The Gen Ed Core, Autumn Green

National Student Parent Success Symposium: Lifting Generations Together

This workshop presents a new approach to post-secondary pedagogy referred to as, The Two Generation Classroom. The Two-Generation Classroom offers curricula for the general education core that facilitate parent/child inter-generational learning. Using hybrid online/in-person strategies, and a learning-buddy approach to integrated arts teaching/learning activities, the Two-Generation Classroom approach aims to address and reduce inequity in college access and success for student parents, while ensuring academic excellence and rigor.

Dr. Autumn R. Green is Founding Director of the National Center for Student Parent Programs, and is currently transitioning from Endicott College to join Wellesley Centers for Women as a Visiting Scholar …

Linking Molar Organizational Climate And Strategic Implementation Climate To Clinicians’ Use Of Evidence-Based Psychotherapy Techniques: Cross-Sectional And Lagged Analyses From A 2-Year Observational Study, Nathaniel J. Williams, Mark G. Ehrhart, Gregory A. Aarons, Steven C. Marcus, Rinad S. Beidas

Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Behavioral health organizations are characterized by multiple organizational climates, including molar climate, which encompasses clinicians’ shared perceptions of how the work environment impacts their personal well-being, and strategic implementation climate, which includes clinicians’ shared perceptions of the extent to which evidence-based practice implementation is expected, supported, and rewarded by the organization. Theory suggests these climates have joint, cross-level effects on clinicians’ implementation of evidence-based practice and that these effects may be long term (i.e., up to 2 years); however, no empirical studies have tested these relationships. We hypothesize that molar climate moderates implementation climate’s concurrent and long-term relationships with …

Latinas And Sexual Health: Correlates Of Sexual Satisfaction, Christine Marie Velez

Dissertations and Theses

Latinas/os are one of the fastest growing and most heterogeneous minority ethnic groups in the US. One in 5 women in the US are Latina; by 2060, it is projected that Latinas will compose 1/3 of the female population. Latinas continue to experience disparities in sexual and reproductive health outcomes compared to non-Hispanic whites. While factors impacting undesirable consequences of sexual activity for Latinas have been well documented, Latinas' experiences with sexual satisfaction in the broader context of sexual health remains understudied, despite sexual satisfaction having been identified as an integral component of sexual health. A focus on positive sexual …

Role Of Spouse/Partner In Fertility Preservation Decision Making By Young Women With Cancer, Aakrati Mathur

Dissertations and Theses

Partners play a critical role in making decisions about fertility preservation among young patients with cancer, yet little is known about these dyadic decisions when planning cancer treatment. Fertility preservation entails helping cancer patients preserve fertility after cancer treatment. This qualitative study investigated: 1) Heterosexual couples' responses to potential fertility loss; 2) their process in making fertility preservation decisions; 3) their ethical and legal concerns, and 4) recommendations for other couples undergoing similar treatment.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 heterosexual couples whose female partners were diagnosed with cancer and had received fertility preservation consultations within the past 5 years. …

Guide Lines Vol. I, Issue 16 - June 2018, College Of Health And Human Services

GUIDE Lines

Periodic Newsletter of the Governors State University - University of Illinois, Chicago - Disparities Education Cancer research training and education project (The GUIDE Project).

Virtual Mentorship Network To Address The Rural Shortage Of Mental Health Providers, Heidi Keeler, Tara Sjuts, Kosuke Niitsu, Shinobu Watanabe-Galloway, Paul Force-Emery Mackie, Howard Liu

Social Work Department Publications

Introduction: The process of identifying effective responses to the challenges of placing and retaining a rural behavioral health workforce remains elusive. The Virtual Mentorship Network was developed to test the feasibility of using distance technology to connect rural students interested in mental health careers with mentors.

Methods: In Year 1, college and high school students were virtually mentored using a near-peer approach both live and asynchronously as a cohort over 7 months. In Year 2, college students only were virtually intensely mentored live over 1 month. High school students were asynchronously provided with informational videos produced by mentors. Program benefits …

Exploratory Study Of The Use Of Community Treatment Orders With Clients Of An Ontario Act Team, Magnus Mfoafo-M'Carthy, Cara Grosset, Carol A. Stalker, Irene Dullaart, Linda Mccoll Dr.

Lyle S. Hallman Social Work Faculty Publications

Community Treatment Orders (CTOs) have raised questions about coercion, lack of autonomy, and effectiveness in reducing hospitalizations and improving service users’ quality of life. This study examined the experiences of clients and clinicians when CTOs are used in combination with Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) in a recovery oriented approach. Eleven clients who were or had previously been on a CTO and eight ACT clinicians were interviewed. Although most clients had negative feelings about CTOs, some acknowledged their lives had improved. Clinicians reported that the decision to employ a CTO is sometimes debated within the team but they agreed that combining …

Building An Evidence-Based, Holistic Approach For Moving Integrated Employment Forward, John Butterworth, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, Jason Billehus, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

No abstract provided.

Using A Light Touch: Engaging Families Using Facebook Messenger, John Kramer, John Shepard, Jennifer Bose, Jennifer Sullivan Sulewski, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

Research shows that families are essential in the employment process for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Frequently, however, messages they receive about employment are conflicting and can vary between service systems, often due to a lack of coordination across these systems. These conflicting messages can frustrate families and negatively affect their employment expectations and their efforts to support employment outcomes. The present study examines how a well-planned and individualized engagement strategy could improve families’ expectations about employment for their family member with IDD, and how those improved expectations impact the employment planning process. This pilot focused on engaging …

Using Data To Ignite And Sustain Employment Systems Change, Jean Winsor, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

No abstract provided.

Filipino Service Care Providers' Experience Of Compassion Fatigue While Working In Residential Care Facilities, Leizel Cerezo-Pann

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to explore Filipino service care providers’ experience of compassion fatigue. Compassion fatigue is a common experience among health care professionals and can contribute to feelings of hopelessness and adverse behaviors in caring for patients. In California, there are a large number of Filipinos who are employed as care providers for older adults; however, there is limited research available regarding Filipino workers in the United States. This study took on a qualitative design that utilized face-to-face interviews to gain more insight into Filipino service care providers’ experience of compassion fatigue in relation to their employment. …

Refund To Savings 2015-2016: Field Experiments To Promote Tax-Time Saving In Low- And Moderate-Income Households, Stephen P. Roll, Genevieve Davison, Michal Grinstein-Weiss, Mathieu R. Despard, Sam Bufe

Center for Social Development Research

This report covers the design and impacts of the R2S experiments in the 2015 and 2016 tax seasons (which include the 2014 and 2015 tax years), and also includes results from a 6-month follow-up survey conducted in 2015 to assess how the impacts of R2S interventions persist over time. These interventions reached a large number of tax filers in both of these years; 646,116 in 2015 and 284,125 in 2016.

Cold Genocide: Falun Gong In China, Maria Cheung, Torsten Trey, David Matas, Richard An

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

The article explores patterns of a cold genocide in the eradication campaign against Falun Gong. Falun Gong is a spiritual practice that has been targeted for eradication by the Chinese regime since 1999. In comparison to the documented cases of genocide, the genocide of Falun Gong stands out as anomalous because it is virtually ignored. The article seeks to elucidate the multi-faceted nature of this concealed genocide from an interdisciplinary perspective encompassing social work, medicine and law, In particular, the article demonstrates that the eradication campaign against Falun Gong is distinguishable as a cold genocide as it is: (1) multi-dimensional …

The Effectiveness Of Domestic Violence Trainings On Helping Professionals, Paula Virginia Preciado Romero

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This research project examined the effect of domestic violence trainings on helping professionals. This research project sought out to measure differences in pre-test and post-test scores from study participants to assess the participants’ beliefs and knowledge regarding the dynamics of domestic violence.

The research project gathered quantitative data from a convenience sample of 28 helping professionals who participated in a domestic violence training. A series of paired samples t-test were conducted to assess differences in the pre-test and post-test scores to determine if our hypothesis was confirmed. Key findings from this study revealed that the domestic violence training was quite …

Social Work Services: How Can Social Workers Improve The Healthcare Experience For People Who Are Homeless?, Mckinsey Kemp

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This research project focuses on how social workers can improve the healthcare experience for people who are homeless. The twelve participants in this study were recruited from a homeless shelter located in Southern California. Data was collected for this study using qualitative methods by means of interviews. Interviews were conducted in person, audio recorded, and then transcribed for data analysis. Findings from this study indicated that the concepts of time, perception of needs being met, service connection, staff interaction, social work intervention, and potential social work intervention were all connected to whether participants viewed their healthcare visit as a negative …

Perceptions Of Service Related Trauma In Female Service Members, Reservists, And Veterans, Sara Cathryn Klepps

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to explore female service members, reservists, and veterans feelings regarding service related trauma and what they want clinicians to know regarding treatment. This was a qualitative study that used a snowball sample to interview seven women; data collected was transcribed from recordings, analyzed, and categorized into themes. Qualitative themes included vulnerability, connection to clinician, and mental health stigma. Potential changes endorsed included understanding gender roles, clinician’s ability to build better therapeutic relationships, and decreasing mental health stigma. Limitations included not being able to generalize the study as service members, reservists, and veterans were …

Mental Health Treatment For The Elderly Community In A Central California Region, John Lewis Klevins Mr.

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

There is a national, state and local concern that focuses upon the rapid growth of our elder population as well as those within the cohort that suffer with mental illness. However, other than the numerous Alzheimer’s related headlines, there is little national or state consideration being given to non-dementia-related elder mental illnesses. The lack of existing mental health service programs to assist the elderly community merits attention. The Constructionist paradigm was the basis for this study, due to its reliance upon recognized leaders in the field engaging in an interactive group process. These leaders included politicians, governmental agencies, non-profit organizations, …

Impact Of Compassion Fatigue And Emotional Intelligence On The Quality Of Care In Skilled Nursing Facilities, John Simon Pangilinan

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Staff in skilled nursing facilities (SNF) can experience physical and emotional strain via caregiving. The purpose of this study was to educate staff on the harm of compassion fatigue and a lack of emotional intelligence and provide steps that can be taken by administration to improve the quality of care provided. It was hypothesized for staff that having low compassion fatigue and high emotional intelligence would result in a higher quality of care. The study design utilized a quantitative approach and a purposive sample from a SNF. Participants were provided with The Professional Quality of Life 5 Scale (ProQoL 5), …

School-Based Mental Health Care Program Evaluation, Adriana Torres

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study aimed to determine if the Department of Behavioral and Mental Health at a local school district is improving the academic outcomes of the students it provides services to. The purpose was to evaluate its effectiveness in order to improve and expand services. This is important since schools have become a primary setting to address the mental health needs of children and youth. The research design consisted of a quantitative, one-group pretest-posttest as students’ outcomes were assessed before and after treatment. The data was analyzed using a paired samples t-test. The findings from this study demonstrated no statistical significance …

The Place Of Spirituality In Social Work: Practitioners’ Personal Views And Beliefs, Alexis Garcia-Irons

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

The integration of spirituality in Social Work is on the rise, but due to the lack of literature on spiritually-involved interventions and applicable integration of spirituality into ones practice, literature suggests social workers do not feel competent or confident in this area of practice. This study explores the attitudes and beliefs of social workers in San Bernardino County towards spirituality in their own practice and social work overall. The data is collected through audio recording individual interviews with each participant, which are then transcribed into transcripts. The transcripts are coded for themes and commonalities among the participants. Results lay …

The Impact Of Mental Health Issues On Academic Achievement In High School Students, Patricia Lea Sutherland

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

An adolescent’s time in school is not merely academic; they are developing socially, physically, and emotionally. Prior research has demonstrated a correlation between a student’s poor academic performance and his/her need for emotional and mental health support. This research project sought to answer the following research questions: 1) Do mental health services in a high school setting help facilitate students’ academic achievement? and 2) Does a focus on mental health issues improve overall health and well-being in high school students? Participants for this study are 10 staff members (including teachers, administrators, counselors, and others) of a high school in San …