Social Work Commons^™

The Plurality Of Farmers’ Views On Soil Management Calls For A Policy Mix, Michael Braito, Heidi Leonhardt, Marianne Penker, Elisabeth Schauppenlehner-Kloyber, Georg Thaler, Courtney G. Flint

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

While soil degradation is continuing to threaten the global agricultural production system, a common understanding of how to encourage sustainable soil management is missing. With this study, we aim to provide new insights on targeted policies that address the heterogeneity of farmers. We scrutinized the plurality of views on soil management among arable farmers in the Austrian (and European) policy context. To do so, we applied Q methodology, a method that identifies different perspectives on a topic present in a population and analyzes this subjectivity statistically. We interviewed 34 arable land farmers who varied in their farming backgrounds. The results …

Teachers’ Perspectives On Year Two Implementation Of A Kindergarten Readiness Assessment, Rachel E. Schachter, Erin E. Flynn, Amy R. Napoli, Shayne B. Piasta

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this study we examined teachers’ perspectives regarding the second year of implementing a Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA). Using a mixed-methods approach, we focused on the administration process, the perceived benefits of the assessment, and how teachers used the assessment to inform instruction. We also investigated whether these differed by teacher and district characteristics and how KRA experiences were different in the second year of implementation. Research Findings: Teachers generally did not view the KRA as beneficial for instruction or for students, reporting administration difficulties, inadequate KRA content, and limited utility of KRA data for supporting instruction as ongoing …

Guide Lines Vol. Ii, Issue 5 - July 2020, 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).

What Is The Availability, Accessibility And Scope Of Mental Health Services For College Athletes? Where Do Social Workers Fit In?, James Robinson Ii

School of Social Work Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this research was to explore the availability, accessibility, and scope of mental health services and how social workers impact the mental health care of collegiate student-athletes. This section will interpret findings from the study and focus on availability, access and scope of mental health services and comment on the presence of social work in college athletics. [Excerpt from thesis].

Diversity Training, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What is diversity training?

Diversity training refers to a “distinct set of instructional programs aimed at facilitating positive intergroup interactions, reducing prejudice and discrimination, and enhancing the skills, knowledge, and motivation of participants to interact with diverse others” (Bezrukova, Spell, Perry, & Jehn, 2016, p. 1,228). In the absence of a standard approach, there has been significant variation in the design and context of diversity training.

The following characteristics have been identified as differing across trainings reported in the research literature (Bezrukova et al., 2016):

► Content Focus: Group-specific training focuses on learning about one or more specific groups (e.g., …

State License Renewal Information For Licensed Professional Counselors And Addiction Counselors, Kelley Mccall, Lindsey Manshack

Buder Center for American Indian Studies Research

The purpose of this document is to provide an analysis of continuing education requirements for professional counselors and addiction counselors by state. The chart below shows 1) Profession Title(s), 2) Allowable CE sources, 3) CE Hours/Topic Requirements, 4) Training Type/Delivery Methods, and 5) Renewal Fees.

Please carefully read your state licensure renewal requirements. State laws often change, so please remember it is your responsibility for interpreting your state’s laws, licensure requirements, course relevancy, and all requirements for your state. Note: The CE Allowable Sources section listings are not an exhaustive list. Please consult the state’s licensing board for a complete …

Book Review: Playing Practices In School-Age Childcare By Eva Kane, Gillian Vickers

International Journal of Playwork Practice

No abstract provided.

Exploring College Student Identity Among Young People With Foster Care Histories And Mental Health Challenges, Rebecca Miller, Jennifer E. Blakeslee, Chanel Ison

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Young adults with foster care histories experience unique barriers to success in postsecondary academic settings, including higher rates of mental health challenges. This study reports the perspectives of college students with foster care histories and self-identified mental health concerns (N = 18) about how these factors relate to their post-secondary academic experiences. Study participants describe managing their mental health amid other academic and life stressors, share their perspectives on campus-based support and help-seeking experiences, and highlight the need for acknowledgement of their foster care identities in conjunction with their developing college student identities. Participants make a case for programming to …

Addressing Substance Use Utilizing A Community-Based Program Among Urban Native American Youth Living In Florida, Rose Wimbish-Cirilo, John Lowe, Eugenia Millender, E. Roberto Orellana

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study was conducted in Florida among two urban Native American youth programs that are sponsored by urban Native American community organizations. Convenience and snowballing were used as a sample recruitment strategy. Assignment to the experimental condition (UTC) and the control condition (SE) was established by randomizing the two community youth program sites to the two conditions. Utilization of a culturally relevant theory, Native-Reliance, guided the intervention approach for the prevention of substance use among urban Native American youth. Results of this study provided evidence that a culturally based intervention was significantly more effective for the reduction of substance use …

Toxic Stress Among Black And African American Oregonians, Roberta Hunte, Margaret J.F. Braun

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Toxic stress is a reaction to ongoing adversity such as abuse, neglect, poverty, racism, discrimination, and exposure to violence; it is powerful enough to change brain chemistry and architecture. Toxic stress and associated changes to the brain can lead to poor health outcomes later in life. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), racism*, and discrimination can trigger toxic stress and have long term consequences for the health of many people, particularly those in the Black and African American community.

The current project examined toxic stress and its impact on the health of Black and African American Oregonians. We looked at two indicators …

Investigating Mentor Commitment In Youth Mentoring Relationships: The Role Of Perceived Program Practices, Alison L. Drew, Thomas E. Keller, Renee Spencer, Carla Herrera

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Highly committed mentors may be less likely to end their mentoring relationships with their mentees. Theory suggests commitment is predicted by relationship satisfaction, investment, and perceptions of available alternatives. Mentoring program practices may influence commitment, but little research has investigated potential mechanisms. Using data from 537 mentors representing 55 mentoring programs, this study examined a theoretical path model in which mentor perceptions of program practices, specifically setting expectations, prematch mentor training, and matching based on mentor preferences, predict mentor satisfaction, investment, perceptions of available alternatives, and ultimately, relationship commitment. As expected, commitment was associated positively with satisfaction and investment and …

Developing A Measure Of Blind Patients' Interactions With Their Healthcare Providers, Nazanin M. Heydarian, Osvaldo F. Morera, Scott D. Frankowski

School of Social Work Faculty Publications

Background: People who are blind (PWB) are often perceived as being incompetent with common tasks and functions. When patients detect that their healthcare providers (HCPs) have negative perceptions of them, they often report less satisfaction with their healthcare and disengage in their own healthcare.

Objective: A scale assessing the experiences of PWB interacting with HCPs was developed and validated across two studies.

Methods: In Study 1, 144 participants completed the scale and provided feedback. In Study 2, 214 participants completed the scale and 4 additional scales to assess construct validity.

Results: An exploratory factor analysis in Study 1 revealed a …

An Exploration Of Adolescent Behaviors Following Permanent Parental Separation, Michelle Marie Geiser

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Adolescent development relies on the integration of experiences to support positive youth outcomes. Supportive environments and social supports reduce dangerous risk-taking behaviors, which threaten healthy development. Findings from previous studies have underscored the critical role of attachment in maladaptive behaviors. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological research study was to explore adolescent perceptions of the experience of permanent separation from parental guardians and the perceived impact on behavior. A key focus was on understand the meaning of parental loss through separation in youth by investigating the lived experiences and perceptions of adolescents in permanent foster care through the Department of …

"We Had To Rely On Each Other": Voices Of Latinx Foster Youth With Experiences In Care With Siblings, Isabella B. Ginsberg

University Honors Theses

Relationships between members of sibling groups have been found to impact well-being for children who enter foster care. Being placed in stranger foster care is often challenging and can be traumatic with children reporting confusion, worry, and loss of identity and sense of belonging. While there is some research that explores the experiences of siblings groups in foster care and others separately that examines Latinx children in foster care, there is very little information that looks into the potentially unique experiences of Latinx individuals who were in care with siblings that also accounts for cultural nuance.

This study used a …

Addressing Barriers To Primary Care Access For Latinos In The U.S.: An Agent-Based Model, Hyunsung Oh, Mai P. Trinh, Cindy Vang, David Becerra

Management Faculty Publications

Objective: Disparities in access to primary health care have led to health disadvantages among Latinos and other non-White racial groups. To better identify and understand which policies are most likely to improve health care for Latinos, we examined differences in access to primary care between Latinos with proficient English language skills and Latinos with limited English proficiency (LEP) and estimated the extent of access to primary care providers (PCPs) among Latinos in the U.S. Method: We used agent-based modeling techniques to estimate the effects of English proficiency, insurance coverage, Latinos with LEP seeking care from English-speaking PCPs, distance to PCP, …

What We Know About Pandemics And The Stress They Cause, Anita Barbee

Other QIC-WD Products

Pandemics are not new, but they significantly impact how we work, socialize, and manage our health. This can be especially difficult for those in the helping professions for whom face-to-face contact and travel are part of their daily routine. This blog post explains what a pandemic is and the stress that it causes. What is a Pandemic? When the spread of a disease escalates, it can become a pandemic, affecting a wide geographical area and a significant portion of the population. Pandemics are marked by uncertainty, confusion, and a sense of urgency which may be exacerbated by the inundation of …

Managing Stress While Working From Home During The Pandemic: Strategies For Self-Care, Andrew Winters

Other QIC-WD Products

Stress is often driven by feeling a lack of control over things you once had control over. This lack of control can create feelings of anxiety, depression, and even anger. This blog post highlights some elements of self-care that can help you stay present and regain a sense of control where you can. Manage your newsfeed How much information are you consuming about the pandemic? Too much news can add to your stress. Try to minimize your consumption of news about the outbreak to once a day, preferably in print format (e.g. magazines, newspapers) and limit your exposure to media …

Accountable Policing: Policies To Advance The Personal Safety Of Black Boys And Young Men, Robert Motley

Center for Social Development Research

The policies and practices that perpetuate the continual, unjust murder of Black males by the nation’s law-enforcement professionals have gone unchanged for far too long. This Brief Report from HomeGrown StL provides local, state, and federal policymakers with concrete, evidence-based policy recommendations for building an equitable, transparent, and accountable public-safety approach that will serve and protect all.

Social Work And The Future Of Policing: Key Points For Changes In Policy And Practice, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

High-profile police violence and killings have prompted struggles to reconceptualize public order, safety and justice. As reform proposals emerge, this brief proposes key elements for new approach to public safety: an expanded professional partnership between police and social workers.

The Role Of An Educational Intervention In Addressing Parent Spectator Behaviors In Louisiana Youth Sports, Jerry F. Reynolds Ii

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Contemporary youth sports environments present significant psychosocial challenges to the family system. Among the greatest challenges to address are spectator behaviors of parents, which in the public eye has deteriorated and is out of control. Spectator behaviors and their impact upon the sports environment and family system is the topic of investigation in this study. Within the state of Louisiana, the advent of Act 355 extends the consequences of parent behavior and presents challenges to families, referees, and sports organizations. To better understand how legislation impacts parent perceptions of their spectator behaviors, the author examined spectator behaviors parents are observing, …

Mindfulness, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness is described as “paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally” (Kabat-Zinn, 1994, p. 22). Instead of being on autopilot and reacting in reflexive and mindless ways, perhaps with a focus on the past or the future, it is about being fully aware of and present in the moments of our lives. The nonjudgmental aspect is about not leaping to “likes and dislikes, opinions and prejudices, projections and expectations” (Kabat-Zinn, 1994, p. 23) and instead observing without evaluating. Mindfulness is considered both a trait and a state. Trait mindfulness refers …

The Trauma Of Head Injury

DePaul Magazine

Thanks to the vision and leadership of Vincent de Paul Professor of Biological Sciences Dorothy Kozlowski, who has teamed with scientists and researchers across the country, DePaul is playing an instrumental role in advancing our understanding of the speci­fic causes and e‑ffects of traumatic brain injury (TBI). In collaboration with colleagues at DePaul partner institution Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, Kozlowski developed a novel animal model to study the connection between repeat concussions and long-term health problems. Some of the research includes looking at learning and memory on the cellular level for those with Alzheimer’s and TBI, and …

Examining The Narratives Of Military Sexual Trauma Survivors, Maria Carolina GonzáLez-Prats

Dissertations and Theses

Background: The return of military sexual trauma (MST) to the national spotlight has been fueled by a combination of continued reports of sexual assaults across the various military branches, increased visibility of sexual abuse scandals in the media, and mounting calls for accountability from veteran advocacy groups and legislators. Although there have been numerous reforms implemented by the military, there still exists a significant gap between the military's official efforts and the reality of the survivors' experiences. Consequently, more research is needed to understand how survivors perceive the military's efforts, how these efforts affect their experiences, and how future …

Is There A Difference Between Democrat And Republican States In The Number Of Female Students Who Experienced Cyberbullying?, Wayne Davis

Lincoln Memorial University Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

In the United States, cyberbullying has become a major public health concern. Because there is a difference between the Democrat Party and the Republican Party on their philosophies involving laws and government interventions related to the control of electronic communications, it is important to know if there is a difference between political partisanship and cyberbullying. Data were collected in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017 using a three-stage cluster sample design, which produced a nationally representative sample of students in grades 9–12 who attended public and private schools. Initially, this study employed Poisson regression, which is a parametric statistic, in an …

White Supremacy Culture And Capitalism As Co-Dependent Systems Of Oppression, Allegra Kistler Ellis

Honors Theses

This thesis seeks to discuss questions surrounding the intricacies and intertwining narratives of white supremacy culture and capitalism, and other systems of oppression that they fuel. For my research, I intentionally used anecdotes, essays, poems, books, and social media posts by primarily queer, trans, Black and Indigenous women and femmes. In doing so, I delve into the inherent relationship between whiteness, white exploitative institutions, and power. I discuss the history of the two systems of oppression in the United States through analyzing pillars and characteristics of white supremacy culture and capitalism, western colonized science and research, sexism, white feminism, fatphobia, …

Review Of Healing In Action: Adventure-Based Counseling With Therapy Groups, Maria Wathen

Social Work: School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Other Works

No abstract provided.

Art Adherence Among Men Who Have Sex With Men Living With Hiv: Key Challenges And Opportunities, Dexter R. Voisin

Faculty Scholarship

Purpose of Review: In the USA, gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) are disproportionately affected by HIV. High levels of adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) can dramatically improve outcomes for persons living with HIV and reduce the risk of HIV transmission to others. Yet, there are numerous individual, social, and structural barriers to optimal ART adherence. Many of these factors disproportionately impact Black MSM and may contribute to their poorer rates of ART adherence. This review synthesizes the key challenges and intervention opportunities to improve ART adherence among MSM in the USA. Recent Findings: Key …

Employment Interviews, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What are employment interviews?

Employment interviews are defined as “a personally interactive process of one or more people asking questions orally to another person and evaluating the answers for the purpose of determining the qualifications of that person in order to make employment decisions” (Levashina, Hartwell, Morgeson, & Campion, 2014, p. 243). Interviews are often loosely described as being either structured or unstructured, varying in the extent to which interviewers have freedom and flexibility in carrying out the interview (Huffcutt & Arthur, 1994). Within this broad dichotomy, there are many structural aspects on which interviews can differ (Campion, Palmer, & …

Review Of For The Sake Of A Child: Love, Safety, And Abuse In Our Plain Communities—Allen Hoover And Jeanette Harder, Trudy Metzger

Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies

For generations, a silent cry has arisen from within “my people,” the Conservative Anabaptist (CA) community, among whom I grew up: Who will listen, among us, to the cries and plight of abuse victims? Whether due to sexual abuse, neglect, emotional abuse, or other failures to protect, victims have long been voiceless. Long, they have gone seemingly unnoticed. In For the Sake of a Child: Love, Safety, and Abuse in Our Plain Communities, Allen Hoover and Dr. Jeanette Harder answer this question with: We have heard. We will respond. [First paragraph]

Social Saints In The City: Race, Space, And Religion In Chicago Women's Settlement Work, 1890-1935, Johanna Katherine Murphy

Dissertations and Theses

Many scholars on the settlement movement have mentioned Hull-House's interactions with the Catholic Church and/or the surrounding immigrant communities, but have failed to fully examine the dynamic between Hull-House women, Catholic laywomen who took up settlement work, and the various Catholic immigrant groups of Chicago. This research seeks to place these relationships within the context of space -- meaning physical space in the neighborhood, access to spaces, and space as influence. This lens acts as a thread connecting the tangled and fluctuating dynamics of race, ethnicity, religion, and gender surrounding the settlement house movement.

Hull-House residents and Catholic laywomen contended …