Social Work Commons^™

The Two Types Of Society: Computationally Revealing Recurrent Social Formations And Their Evolutionary Trajectories, Lux Miranda, Jacob Freeman

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Comparative social science has a long history of attempts to classify societies and cultures in terms of shared characteristics. However, only recently has it become feasible to conduct quantitative analysis of large historical datasets to mathematically approach the study of social complexity and classify shared societal characteristics. Such methods have the potential to identify recurrent social formations in human societies and contribute to social evolutionary theory. However, in order to achieve this potential, repeated studies are needed to assess the robustness of results to changing methods and data sets. Using an improved derivative of the Seshat: Global History Databank, …

Organizational Risk In Multi-Sector Health Partnerships: A Case Study Of Oregon's Accountable Health Communities, Shauna Jean Nicole Petchel

Dissertations and Theses

The literature on collective action has documented that the perception of organizational risk -- both the uncertainty of potential outcomes and the meaning attached to them -- is an important factor in whether and how organizations engage in cross-sector collaborations. Yet there are few examples to date that document how health and social service leaders perceive organizational risks in cross-sector health partnerships focused on social determinants of health, or how their perceptions influence organizational commitment and willingness to engage in these partnerships over time.

This research aimed to fill this gap through a mixed methods case study of health and …

Social Justice: A Catholic Autistic Perspective, Rebecca Schneider

Honors Projects

This is a collection of short stories about social injustices impacting the autistic community and how Catholic Social Teaching supports a more just approach. It is written from an autistic perspective and informed by the stories of people who are actually autistic. Each story is followed by an analysis that explains the choices made, which are backed by both research and the experiences of the autistic writer and the autistic community. This collection also includes information on how justice can be attained on the individual level by allies and on the institutional level by organizations.

Bridging The Generation Gap In The Lgbt+ Community Through Advocacy, Melanie Moore

Honors Projects

HEALTH is a program designed to meet the needs of LGBT+ older adults by connecting them with volunteers of LGBT+ nonprofit organizations. Through HEALTH, LGBT+ youth and older adults can form connections that can extend beyond the structure of the program. By connecting younger volunteers with older adults, HEALTH can help grow the social capital of the LGBT+ community. Fostering friendly relationships between people of all ages can influence the progress of LGBT+ rights moving forward by combining the experience of the elders with the technological and social capabilities of the youth.

Spatial Analyses Of Temporary Assistance For Needy Families: Its Responsiveness To Labor Market Performance And Policies During The 2008 Recession, Vicky Albert, Jaewon Lim

Social Work Faculty Research

The major economic downturn of the Great Recession led many families with children to depend on cash assistance from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. In order to capture TANF caseload growth rates relative to their labor market performance, we developed a responsiveness index which revealed that many of the western and midwestern states were quite responsive to the recession. Using Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA) tools, we found the presence of strong spatial clusters in unemployment rate and in TANF maximum aid. Several states in the western region were surrounded by neighboring states with higher growth in …

Comparative Analysis Of State Policies For Former Foster Youth, Erin A. Watkins

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

This research is a comparative analysis of state policies aiding former foster youth in their transition into adulthood. This research looks at policies in the areas of housing, education, and employment. The objective of this research is to see what state policies are effective in aiding their former foster youth in their transition into adulthood. Effectiveness is evaluated by the National Youth in Transition Database data and Annie E. Casey Foundation data, looking specifically at rates of homelessness, rates of enrollment or attendance in school, and rates of part-time or full-time employment. Results found that the three states analyzed (Illinois, …

“[Don’T] Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor...” A Study On The Trump Administration’S Unprecedented Reforms To The U.S. Refugee Admissions Program And Their Implications, Savannah Day

Honors Theses

From 2017 to 2020, the Trump administration cut United States refugee admissions tenfold. These reforms come unprecedented to the 40-year-old resettlement program (USRAP). By critically reviewing literature on this topic as well as conducting eight original interviews with five national nonprofits contracted by the Department of State to do refugee resettlement casework, this study sought to identify the implications of the Trump administration’s reforms to the program. Once implications were identified, I used the applied frameworks of program model as well as Michael Worth’s sociological and political science theories of American nonprofit-government relations to better inform and guide the study. …

Foster A Better Future: A Comparative Analysis Of Foster Care Programs For Transition-Age Foster Youth And A Recommendation For The State Of Mississippi, Caroline Glaze

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to find and evaluate different programs aimed at

supporting older youth in foster care. This population of youth could be those in

high school and extends to youth who have aged out of the foster care system.

Through the evaluation of the selected programs based on a set of characteristics,

the study provides a policy recommendation for the state of Mississippi to begin to

better the lives of Mississippi foster youth. The methodology of this study is

qualitative and literature-based. Data was gathered from websites and other

published articles of the selected programs and …

Mississippi Immigration Raids: Implications For Social Workers, Amy Chance

Honors Theses

As immigration becomes a primary focus in legislation, social workers face the challenge of how to best serve their immigrant clients despite tough enforcement policies. Mass worksite raids have become a common tactic in the endeavor to limit undocumented immigration. However, there is much evidence showing that immigration raids can have a detrimental effect on individuals and communities. The purpose of this study was to compare the impacts of the most recent immigration raids in five cities throughout Mississippi in order to develop implications for social work practice. Interviews were conducted with key community organizers following the August raids. The …

Correlation Between Victim-Blaming Attitudes And Victim Gender In Non-Sexual Crime Scenarios, Caroline Whitlow

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

Sex crime victims often experience victim-blaming from third parties. Literature does not discuss whether this pattern comes from gender bias or stigma surrounding certain types of crime. This mixed methods study assesses correlation between gender of non-sexual crime victims and third-party blame assignment. Quantitative research found higher levels of blame towards male victims, with a t-statistic of 5.865. Qualitative research found gendered perceptions of responsibility that invoke female victims’ sex and instruct women to adjust lifestyle choices. Social work practitioners can use this data to improve practice with crime victims and encourage dialogues surrounding victim-blaming in education and practice.

People's Resource Center And Food Insecurity, Jaclyn Logan

COD Library Student Research and Award Symposium

The People’s Resource Center addresses both food insecurity and poverty. The PRC has a long history of serving those in need since 1975. They have a multitude of programs including a food pantry and a clothes pantry. It is through our services that those experiencing food insecurity and poverty can get their necessities, even without having as much money.

Faculty Sponsor: Lisa Higgins

Where Are The African American Males In The Social Work Program, Nicole Arkadie

University Diversity Committee records

This poster presentation discusses the lack of African American males in the social work program at California State University of San Bernardino. It highlights the problem across all the CSU Institutions of significant decrease in Freshman enrollment of African American Males compared to the number of students who were admitted.

Teaching Intersectionality To Improve Msw Students’ Understanding Of Oppression And Privilege., James D. Simon, Rigaud Joseph

University Diversity Committee records

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Grant Abstract

Teaching Intersectionality to Improve MSW Students’ Understanding of Oppression and Privilege.

Background and Purpose:

There are growing calls to understand how clients’ multiple intersecting identities result in compounded disadvantage, which leads to disparate and disproportionate outcomes (CSWE, 2008; Ortega & Faller, 2011; Nadan, Spilsbury, & Korbin, 2015; NASW, 2015). Although social work students are required to learn about intersectionality (NASW, 2015), there is some evidence that blind spots remain with respect to the relationship between intersectionality, oppression, and privilege (Bronstein, Berman-Rossi, & Winfield, 2002; Bubar, Cespedes, & Bundy-Fazioli, 2016). In response, this project attempted …

The Academic Success And Beyond-Academic Wellbeing Of High Functioning Autistic Boys: A Policy-Professional Care-School-Parent Ecological Perspective, Evelyn Sauceda

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

High Functioning Autistic (HFA) boys have significant social, emotional, and cognitive difficulties and unique cognitive abilities that require special support from stakeholders in their ecology (policy makers, care providers, schools, and parents). The quality of such support and its ecological integration are of poor quality. The purpose of this study was to report on the perceptions of parents of HFA boys about their children’s academic and beyond-academic experiences as understood within a policy-care provider-school-parent ecological framework. This study contributes to the limited ecological literature on the topic. This exploratory, qualitative, phenomenological, non-experimental, and cross-sectional research study used a non-probability, purposive, …

"We Are Forgotten." Framing Disaster Via Twitter In The Aftermath Of Hurricane Maria: Implications For Social Work Policy Practice, Barbe A. Fogarty

Social Work Doctoral Dissertations

This work presents a comprehensive study of the disaster discourses generated by key social media user groups in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. Hurricane Maria, the third most destructive hurricane in American history, resulted in billions of dollars in damage and the loss of nearly 3,000 lives. Disasters result in widespread geophysical impacts as well as social, political, and economic upheavals for individuals, families, communities, and nation-states in the storm’s wake. The discourses that emerge on social media are significant in how they frame public narratives in the aftermath of disaster. The social construction of disaster points …

The Perceived Impact Of Basic Need Insecurity On Social Work Student Success, Amy B. Downes

Social Work Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore the lived experiences of undergraduate social work students who self-identify with struggling to meet their basic needs. Through individual in-depth semi-structured interviews coupled with photo-elicitation, several important considerations for social work educators and leaders emerged including: how undergraduate social work students define success; academic, social and financial barriers to learning; work-school balance; strategies for coping; messages for social work faculty and college/university administrators about their experience; adverse childhood events; and, the role of the academic advisor. The findings of this study can be utilized to help inform social work faculty …

Navigating "Technoference" In The Family System, Kathlynn Sergent

Educational Specialist, 2020-current

This integrative literature review explores the increase of technology use in families, with a focus on how technology is disrupting in-person social interactions within the family system. Many studies have been conducted on how technology impacts a couple’s romantic relationship, and only a few have examined the relationship between the parent and child. This review is one of the first to examine how technology may affect the entire family unit from before children to raising adolescents. Each section of the family unit is examined, beginning with before children, followed by the early bonding and attachment associated with infant/childhood, and then …

The Shape Of Trafficking, Abigail Shifley

Honors Projects

“Much of the popular writing on human trafficking has been anecdotal or sensationalistic, and most scholarly publications are either general overviews of the problem or critiques of the literature” (Weitzer 2014).

A 2017 report estimated 24.9 million people were victims of human trafficking globally. Of those 24.9 million, 71% are women and girls and 25% are under the age of 18. Research on human trafficking is limited, and training is lacking within organizations essential to the fight against human trafficking. Additionally, members of the public are typically ignorant of the true nature of human trafficking, which is multifaceted and much …

What Makes Inclusion Work: An Autoethnography On Coordinating An Inclusive Youth Advocacy Program, Megan Price

University Honors Theses

In this autoethnographic thesis, I analyze my observations as the co-coordinator of an inclusive youth advocacy program (YAP) to detail what made inclusion successful, and what was ineffective. I had the unique position of facilitating conversations and workshops around social justice issues and how to advocate using self-expression and art. In this thesis, I will reflect on the Inclusive Education Conference (IEC) in Spring of 2019, and the Summer Summit in the summer of 2019, both in Portland, Oregon. At the IEC some of the observations noted as harmful to inclusion included: people wanting to silence the youth, inclusion being …

Humor, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What is humor?

There are numerous definitions of humor in the research literature, with significant variety among them. A relatively simple definition of humor is something that is said or done to elicit levity or laughter (Dubinsky, Yammarino, & Jolson, 1995). Examples of the more complex aspects of other definitions of humor include expression, recognition, or appreciation of it; the purpose, nature, or target of it; and attitudes toward it. One way of summarizing some of the different perspectives is to define humor as being either (a) positive or negative and (b) directed inward or outward (Martin, Puhlik-Doris, Larsen, Gray, …

Experiences Of Transgender Adults Navigating Healthcare Access In Massachusetts, Nic Tompkins-Hughes

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Recent research studies regarding Transgender individuals’ experiences of discrimination in health care settings strongly recommend the value of qualitative data, and the need for research into how transgender patients find, obtain, and access medical care, preventatively and as needed. However, despite calls for qualitative data, limited qualitative studies have focused on medical access and experiences of transgender patients as of 2019. This exploratory qualitative study utilized semi-structured qualitative interviews conducted between May 27^th, 2019 through August 10^th, 2019 to ask about the experiences of transgender individuals as it pertains to accessing health care services in Massachusetts. …

Diversity And Social Justice In The Massachusetts Classroom: Teachers Implementation And Students Reflections, Josephine Ciatto

Honors Program Theses and Projects

As public school classrooms have become increasingly diverse and complex, the curriculummust reflect this to prepare students for their futures. When shaping the curriculum that ourstudents receive, it is important to ensure a well rounded, multicultural education even if theclassroom itself does not reflect a diverse community. This qualitative and quantitative, mixedmethod research study looked at the Massachusetts state guidelines concerning diversityeducation and compared it to what teachers say they are implementing in the classroom as wellas with what students say they learned. This mixed method design includes teacher surveys (n=78), teacher interviews (n=4), and student surveys (n=289). The student …

Examining Relationships Between Early Childcare Teachers' Adult Attachment Orientations And Quality Of Interaction In The Infant Classroom, Alexandra Morris Benoit

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Over the past several decades, women have entered the workforce in increasing numbers. This has led to the majority of infants and young children being cared for outside of the home by extra-familial caregivers. Research has shown the benefits that quality childcare can have on the developmental trajectories of children, as well as the detrimental effects that can be seen when children experience low quality care. Further, children are particularly vulnerable in the first year of life when they are establishing attachment bonds with their primary caregivers. With the long hours that many spend in the care of childcare workers, …

Guide Lines Vol. Ii, Issue 3 - May 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).

State-Community System Of Care Development: An Exploratory Longitudinal Review, Isaac Karikari, Betty Walton, Christine Marie Bishop, Stephanie Moynihan, Pinkie Evans

Faculty Publications

The system of care (SOC) philosophy evolved into a framework to support access to effective behavioral health services for children. This study explored the use of the System of Care Implementation Survey (SOCIS) to monitor SOC development during one Midwestern state’s federal planning and expansion grants. Utilizing a translational framework, results showed that despite fluctuations in SOC factor implementation over time, state and local SOCs had mid-level development. Further, inferential analysis of select factors indicated that outreach and access to services and the skilled provider network were significantly worse over time. Significant improvement in the treatment quality was documented but …

Exploring The Lived Experiences Of Rwandan Refugees Resettled In The Usa: A Descriptive Phenomenology Study, Betty Chelangat Tonui

Social Work Dissertations - Archive

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences associated with (genocide, migration, resettlement) and socio/cultural factors that influenced Rwandan refugees’ mental health in the United States (U.S.). In 2018, there were more than 25 million refugees displaced around the world, and more than 50,000 refugees were admitted to the United States in 2017 (UNHCR, 2019). Studies have shown that refugees are more likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety than the general population (Bogic et al., 2015; Goodkind et al., 2017). Despite the prevalence of mental health concerns amongst refugees, minimal information …

Environmental Social Work In The Disciplinary Literature, 1991–2015, Amy Krings, Bryan G. Victor, John Mathias, Brian E. Perron

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

Despite increasing acknowledgment that the social work profession must address environmental concerns, relatively little is known about the state of scholarship on environmental social work. This study provides a scientometric summary of peer-reviewed articles (N=497) pertaining to environmental topics in social work journals between 1991 and 2015. We find that theoretical and empirical scholarship on environmental social work is growing, though this growth remains limited to specific geographical regions and topics. We note the need to clarify the relationship between environmental social work as a theoretical paradigm and as a research topic.

Maternal Mental Health And Keetoowah Women: Past, Present And Future, December Maxwell

Social Work Dissertations - Archive

American Indian/Native American (AI/NA) women experience postpartum depression (PPD) at a disproportionate rate compared to the rest of the United States population. Despite this known prevalence, little research exists exploring essential factors related to postpartum depression among them. Specifically, the experiences of AI/NA women during the postpartum period pertaining to their culture, birthing and mothering expectations, self-sufficiency, and transportation barriers, and trauma (personal and historical). This dissertation research uses the theory of becoming a mother, historical trauma framework, and reproductive justice framework as they all relate to both personal and historical trauma of AI/NA women and offer an innovative approach …

Engagement And Retention In Depression Treatment Among Hispanics In An Integrated Health Care Intervention: A Mixed Methods Analysis, Brittany Hernandez Eghaneyan

Social Work Dissertations - Archive

Disparities in the underutilization of mental health services remain prominent among Hispanics in the United States. While integrated health care models can contribute to the elimination of mental health care disparities experienced by Hispanics, more research on how patient-level factors impact engagement and retention within these models is needed. The current study was a secondary data analysis informed by an integrative framework based on Andersen’s Behavioral Model of Health Service Use (1968) to examine what factors are associated with Hispanics’ depression treatment engagement and retention in an integrated health care intervention that took place in a community clinic. Utilizing a …

Photovoice To Improve Postsecondary Success Among Foster Care Emerging Adults, Dana Hill

Social Work Theses - Archive

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