Social Work Commons^™

Political Partisanship And Male High School Students Who Carry Handguns, John Page, Wayne L. Davis

Lincoln Memorial University Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

Handguns play a significant role in criminal activity. About 66% of all murders and 40% of robberies involve firearms. Because there are about than 470 residents for each full-time police officer in America, the police cannot effectively protect individual citizens. According to the differential association theory, criminality is a product of shared values, motives, drives, rationalizations, and attitudes that can be influenced by perceptions of the legal code. Democrats and Republicans have different views on reducing social harm via gun-control legal codes, and each political party creates its own unique ambience. Indeed, because each political party believes that its gun-control …

Addressing Work-Related Traumatic Stress Nebraska - Resiliency Reminders Guidebook, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

This guide is intended for child welfare professionals implementing a workforce effort to address secondary traumatic stress (STS). It was developed as part of CFS Strong, a joint effort of the Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QIC-WD) and the Nebraska Department of Human Services’ Department of Children and Family Services (CFS), to address the cumulative effects of STS that is part of the day-to-day work of the child welfare workforce. CFS Strong included: (1) an adaptation of Resilience Alliance (RA) to teach skills and strategies to manage STS and build team cohesion, (2) Restoring Resiliency Response (RRR) to allow …

Book Review: Assessing Culturally Informed Parenting In Social Work, Christine M. Bishop

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Exploring The Relationship Between Adverse Childhood Experiences And Paternal Warmth: Does Racial Identity Moderate This Relationship And Does Depression, Anxiety, And Physical Health Mediate This Relationship?, Stephanie Rachel Speer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: Childhood trauma has a direct impact on parenting. Parents with a history of adverse childhood experiences are more likely to struggle with mental illness in adulthood and have children at an augmented risk for behavioral health issues. However, most of this work has focused on mothers, and few studies have explored how adverse childhood experiences influence paternal warmth and father involvement. Research on fathering has identified personal (e.g., age, race, income, parental stress, depression, and anxiety) and social (e.g., residential and relationship status, co-parenting) predictors of paternal warmth and father involvement. While poor physical health may influence parenting behaviors, …

Swk 340: Exercise 5. Abstract For The Research Proposal, Erin Stevenson

SWK 340: Social Work Research Methods OER Collection

Purpose: This assignment focuses on writing a succinct abstract for a research proposal.

Designed around the open access textbook Scientific Inquiry in Social Work, by Dr. Matthew DeCarlo

Political Partisanship And Female High School Students Who Physically Fight On Campus, Chance Honeycutt, Wayne L. Davis

Lincoln Memorial University Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

Democrats and Republicans have different platforms on how to modify the social learning environment. According to the social learning theory, people learn to be aggressive through their life experiences. These experiences include personally observing the behaviors of others and modeling them. Personal behaviors are a product of learning the norms, values, and behaviors of society. Indeed, learning is a by-product of the interaction with others and is influenced by perceptions of the legal code. Because people experience culture conflict when they are exposed to different and opposing attitudes of acceptable behaviors, and because Democrats and Republicans have different attitudes toward …

Coping Strategies Used By Christian Social Workers To Manage Their Mental Health Amidst Covid-19, Kallie Bakker, Lexy Krogman, Rachel De Haan

Student Projects

A grounded theory model of qualitative research was used in order to create a theory for the ways in which Christian social workers coped with the effects of job stress and compassion fatigue during the global Covid-19 pandemic. The participants were six female social workers from Northwest Iowa who worked in direct care with clients. From the participants’ stories emerged a fluent framework for how the social workers were coping within the time of the Covid-19 pandemic. Researchers found that the participants’ coping strategies fell within the realm of five categories: faith, physical activity, distractions, support systems, and boundaries, all …

Human (In)Security And Psychological Well-Being In Palestinian Children Living Amidst Military Violence: A Qualitative Participatory Research Using Interactive Maps, Guido Veronese, Frederica Cavazzoni, Alec Fiorini, Hala Shoman, Cindy A. Sousa

Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research Faculty Research and Scholarship

Background

Research has widely evidenced the effects of war and political violence on the functioning of children, with a great accord in diagnosing children's psychological burdens related to their exposure to violence. Yet, within this literature, the influence of the chronic sense of insecurity on their psychological functioning during and after hostilities remains unexplored.

Methods

The present study aimed at exploring interrelated relationships between the perceived insecurity and the children's psychological well-being and their adjustment to trauma. Based on drawings and walk-along interviews with 75 Palestinian children, residents of both the West Bank and Gaza Strip, we offer an analysis …

Adverse Childhood Experiences (Aces), Excessive Alcohol Use And Intimate Partner Violence (Ipv) Perpetration Among Black Men: A Latent Class Analysis, Kerry Lee, Paul Sacco, Charlotte Lyn Bright

Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research Faculty Research and Scholarship

Background

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been linked to subsequent intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration and alcohol use. Although higher rates of ACEs are found in racial/ethnic minority populations, there is a paucity of research examining ACEs patterns and risk for IPV perpetration and excessive alcohol use among Black men.

Objective

To identify homogeneous subgroups based on ACEs among Black men using latent class analysis and assessing risk for later IPV perpetration and excessive alcohol consumption in adulthood.

Methods

Using a sample of Black men (n = 2306) from Wave 2 of the National Epidemiologic Survey of Alcohol and …

The Effects Of Aces Score On Academic Achievement, Maya Hall, Dawson Jacobsma, Brittney Sween, Valerie Stokes

Student Projects

The researchers conducted a qualitative study using the phenomenological approach to understand the way Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) influence a college student's academic achievement. Data was collected through an online survey in which 77 students responded. Thereafter, researchers interviewed five college students who surveyed for an ACE score of four or higher. From the analysis, 6 themes related to ACE score and academic achievement were found: 1) Lack of Academic Motivation (Focus, Attendance, Work Quality, and Prioritizing), 2) Poor Time Management, 3) Negative Perception of Self, 4) See the world differently, 5) Empathetic Learners, 6) Career Choices. The researchers concluded …

Domestic Violence And Sex Trafficking Among Adult And Minor Females, Rachel De Haan, Kallie Bakker, Brittney Sween

Student Projects

The organizers of this event recognized a need within their community to begin to understand that domestic violence and human trafficking are present and that they can do something to help. They began by gathering current information about what these two phenomena are, how they can be prevented, and how we can help when they return to society. The organizers then got to work by partnering with agencies in the community that specialize in working with individuals impacted by human trafficking and domestic violence and from there, prepared a community event.

Barriers To Implementation Of A Technology-Based Mental Health Intervention In A Rural Setting, Becky F. Antle, Lesley M. Harris, Jesse H. Wright, Tracy D. Eells, Amy Cappiccie, Sara M. Williams, Rebecca Katz, Ashley Logsdon, Jesse Owen

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

This study utilized qualitative focus groups with rural health providers and patients to explore barriers to implementation of a technology-based mental health intervention for the treatment of depression in a primary care setting. A randomized controlled trial (RCT) was implemented in both urban and rural primary care practices to test the feasibility and effectiveness of computerized cognitive behavioral therapy (CCBT) for depression. Early implementation identified lower rates of willingness to participate in the intervention by rural patients. Subsequently, focus groups were conducted with rural providers and patients to explore barriers to participation and strategies to overcome these barriers in future …

Exploring Regional Differences In Social Work Pedagogy: Attitudes Toward Poverty, Michael L. Burford, Peter A. Kindle, Laura Brierton Granruth, Elena Delavega, David H. Johnson, Susan Peterson, Mary Caplan

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

This study explores regional differences in student learning outcomes from pre and post-test surveys of undergraduate and first year graduate social work students (N = 373) enrolled in a social welfare policy class at six different CSWE accredited institutions. As expected, overall results showed a shift in student attitudes away from a personal deficiency explanation for poverty, a decline in stigmatization of poverty, and toward a more structural explanation for the causes of poverty, but significant differences were reported by geographical region. Future research should explore the instructor, pedagogical, and geographical factors that may help of hinder attitudinal preparation …

Is There A Difference Between Democrat And Republican States In The Percentage Of Male High School Students Who Have Ever Used Marijuana?, Jordan Caldwell, Wayne L. Davis

Lincoln Memorial University Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

There are opposing viewpoints on whether marijuana should be legalized. Democrats and Republicans have different attitudes toward the drug. Democrats believe marijuana should be legalized for medical patients, if it is prescribed by a physician and is needed to reduce severe pain. In addition, Democrats believe that the war on recreational marijuana has been a waste of time and government resources. Many Democrats are in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana because it is considered normal by social standards. Republicans, on the other hand, oppose legalizing medical marijuana because they believe other drugs can be prescribed by physicians to reduce pain …

How Connected Is Parenting Stress And Child Adaptability Through Child Prosocial Talk?, Lindsey Powell

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Previous research demonstrates parenting stress can affect mental health outcomes of children who are exposed to a traumatic event. Child adaptability can significantly affect how a child responds to traumatic events. Thus, it is important to identify factors associated with child adaptability, since such factors could serve as important targets in trauma treatment. Interventions (e.g., Parent-Child Interaction Therapy [PCIT]) have been created for families to learn skills to treat children with disruptive behavior problems. These behavior problems contribute to child maltreatment and trauma. The current study seeks to examine whether parenting stress predicts child adaptability and if this relationship is …

Resentenced And Released: Re-Entry Needs Following Release From Juvenile Life Without Parole, Daphne M. Brydon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Over 2,100 individuals serving juvenile life without paroles (JLWOP) sentences in the U.S. became eligible for resentencing following the 2016 Montgomery v. Louisiana Supreme Court ruling. Michigan housed an estimated 370 juvenile lifers at that time, the second largest JLWOP community in the country and has since resentenced and released approximately 120 juvenile lifers. Folx released from prison encounter many barriers to successful re-entry. Barriers are often amplified for those incarcerated as adolescents. Further, services are de-prioritized for folx serving JLWOP sentences, which can be especially damaging for this community whose life experiences are marked by high rates of trauma, …

Grow Your Own: Educating Social Workers In Rural And Frontier Areas To Address The Behavioral Health Workforce Crisis, Michelle M. Levy, Christina D. Boyd

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Workforce shortages in behavioral health are a longstanding reality in most rural areas. Given the increasing impact of mental health and substance abuse in rural communities, it is critical to seek solutions to address the inadequate number of behavioral health professions in these areas. This paper focuses on a university’s efforts to prepare and support master’s level social workers for practice in their rural and frontier communities to address behavioral health workforce shortages.

Attuning To Need: Reconceptualizing “Help” In Poor Rural Areas, Jennifer M. Frank, Laura Brierton Granruth, Brittany Leffler, Rachel Preibisch, Dawn Watson, Heather Girvin, Mary Glazier

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Social isolation is closely linked to overall health and well-being and is a serious concern for those in rural areas. Our research seeks insights into the needs experienced in poor rural areas by utilizing letter writing between students and community agency participants as a research methodology. In the letters, we observed that community participants relied upon friend and family style relationships and even viewed their agency relationships as such. This suggests that transforming "professional helping relationships" into alliances that are less impersonal might be in order. Such relationships and connections seemed conducive to the development of empowering self-efficacy. This finding …

Operationalizing A New Method For Defining And Scaling Social Innovations Using Tiny Home Communities As A Case Study, Jennifer H. Wilson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Social innovations are new approaches to addressing unmet need. In an increasingly globalized and interconnected world, social innovations propagate rapidly in response to the dynamic conditions of our modern world. An example of an emergent social innovation, tiny home communities are gaining traction as a more economically, socially, and environmentally favorable response to homelessness and inadequacies in the current shelter and housing system. The use of tiny homes communities (that is, intentional clusters of small-scale structures) as an innovative response to homelessness is relatively new. As such, there is limited empirical evidence on the topic. Lack of research and defined …

Listening To Transgender Patients And Their Providers In Non-Metropolitan Spaces: Needs, Gaps, And Patient-Provider Discrepancies, Michelle Teti, Loren Bauerband, Tyler Myroniuk, Erica Koegler

Social Work Faculty Works

Trans and gender non-conforming (TGNC) patients need better care; providers need TGNC focused medical trainings. TGNC health conferences can help, yet these events occur mostly in urban centers. Meanwhile, patients in non-metropolitan areas often face significant discrimination and notably poor access to TGNC care. This study explores the ongoing needs of TGNC patients and their providers following a one-day TGNC health conference in a small town in the American Midwest. Exploratory semi-structured interviews were used to gather in-depth information from TGNC conference attendees (N = 25). Theme analysis methods were used to identify areas of need for future trainings. Providers …

On The Cover Artist’S Statement For Living Outside The Binary

The Graduate Review

No abstract provided.

Food Insecurity Among Those Living With Mental Illness In Massachusetts

The Graduate Review

No abstract provided.

The Influence Of Intersecting Identities On Chronic Stress In College Students, Heather E. Meyer

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This study explores the influence of chronic stress in college students. It focuses on the broader chronic stressors that college students experience related to physical and mental health, financial health and wellbeing, and presence of social supports, then addresses the more specific chronic stressors related to intersecting identities of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation. This phenomenon is analyzed under the theoretical frameworks of social determinants of health, intersectionality, and systems theory. An online survey with both open and closed-ended questions was conducted with undergraduate social work students from the Bachelors of Social Work program at the University of Central …

Oral History With Ms. Paulette Ferguson, Paulette Ferguson, Brian S. Williams, Kenya M. Cistrunk

CAS Publications

Oral History interview with Ms. Paulette Ferguson conducted at Mississippi State University on October 17, 2021 as part of the Cultural Research & Engagement Fellows (CREF) Program. Topics include Ms. Ferguson's childhood in Eupora, Mississippi; her parents and family; gardening, cooking, and foraging; her time working and living in St. Louis, Missouri; her move back to Mississippi; and her current role as the Chair of the United Community Agriculture Cooperative Food Policy Council.

Experiences And Challenges In Single Fatherhood: A Literature Review On Single, Custodial Fathers, Emily N. Janikowski

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Households led by single, custodial fathers (SCFs) are increasing in the United States, so the need for further research into this population is critical. To best serve this population, it is important for social work professionals to understand the challenges facing these families, their unique experiences, and the best practices. For this purpose, 33 academic journal articles about SCFs were reviewed and the following seven areas were discussed: (1) fatherhood experiences, (2) overall challenges for SCFs, (3) overall perception of SCFs, (4) economic impact, (5) deviance of youth, (6) academic achievement of the children of SCFs, and (7) applicable interventions. …

Transitioning From Foster Care To Adulthood: Supporting Adolescents And Young Adults, The Rees-Jones Center For Foster Care Excellence

White Papers and Policy Briefs

Children involved in foster care have significant trauma histories and have often experienced substantial neglect and/or abuse. Such adverse childhood experiences can lead to cumulative toxic stress, which if not buffered by support and a consistent adult caregiver, can negatively impact physical, mental and socio-emotional development. Such experiences can also result in a lack of trust in adults and systems of care, which can further reduce sources of support for children in foster care.

For questions about this publication or others, please email [email protected]

childrens.com/fostercare

Chapter 15: Family Caregiving, Anna Hammersmith

Books and Contributions to Books

The United States’ aging population has led to a greater need for caregivers. This responsibility often falls to family members. Social workers can support family caregivers, but mindfulness about group and individual differences is crucial. Understanding diverse needs of family caregivers and recipients will help social workers effectively implement interventions.

Investigating The Needs Of Homeless Individuals Living In Transitional Housing, Tonya Hambrick-Mcclain

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Homeless individuals are a disadvantaged and vulnerable population. Some of the issues contributing to homelessness are mental illness, medical problems, substance abuse, domestic violence, and lack of education and affordable housing. Homelessness continues to be a major social issue in the United States, and it profoundly affects individuals ages 25–35 years old. There is limited research identifying the needs of homeless individuals between the ages of 25 and 35 who live in transitional housing in the Chicago area. The purpose of this generic qualitative research study was to explore how homeless individuals ages 25-35 years old describe their lived experiences …

Service Providers' Perceptions Of Stigma And Its Impact On Mental Health Services, Arthur Gabriel Montes

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Stigma is one of the most significant barriers to access and utilization of mental health services in the United States. Delays in receiving mental health services significantly contribute to health disparities and poor health outcomes. Social workers play an integral part in implementing best practices within health care settings and reducing health inequities impacting vulnerable populations. The purpose of this qualitative action research study was to explore social work service providers perceptions' toward stigma and how it affects mental health services among patients in California's Medicaid program. Stigma theory was applied to gain an understanding of how stigma interacts and …

Mental Health Disparities In Social Work Practice Of Minority Youth Offenders, Beverly Ann Rivera

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractA large number of minority youths placed in the juvenile justice system across the United States have mental health disorders. Most of these youths do not receive mental health services or support within the system, which increases risk factors such as undiagnosed and untreated mental illness and adverse outcomes such as recidivism. This action research sought to uncover whether mental health disparities in social work practice in the juvenile justice system were due to race and ethnicity and asked social workers to recommend strategies to improve mental health availability, access, and provision. Participants in the study were social workers who …