Social Work Commons^™

Conceptualizations Of Love In Social Work: A Naturalistic Inquiry, Galen Perkins

Thinking Matters Symposium

Love is recognized as healing, transformative, and emancipatory, and yet, conceptualizations of love are largely absent in social work—a field guided by core principles such as social justice, self-determination, and service. The limited number of studies on love in social work describe love as critical consciousness or a liberatory ethic to be practiced. Primarily participatory in design, these studies speak from the perspective of practitioners. The purpose of this study is to continue inquiring about how love is known among social work practitioners; in particular, we are asking the question, “how do licensed clinical social workers (LCSWs) conceptualize love in …

From The Mouths Of Women: The Life Model Of Homelessness, Janeal M. White

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify commonalities in life events preceding a first episode of homelessness for women living in shelters in Texas. This built on the work of Nooe & Patterson (2010) who identified fourteen factors that contributed to increased risk of homelessness as visualized in the Ecology of Homelessness. While based on existing literature at the time, Nooe & Patterson may not have heard clearly the voices of women with lived experience. The current study sought to explore how these risk factors manifest in the lived experiences of women residing in Texas homeless shelters.

The significance …

Intergroup Dialogue: Affecting Real Change, Lauryn Hulett

Honors Projects

Intergroup Dialogue (IGD) is a course adapted from The University of Michigan. In this Honors Project, a systematic literature review is done from eleven sources in hopes to theorize best practices and areas of improvement amongst applications of Intergroup Dialogue.

Kinship Care Programs: Effective Marketing And Outreach Build With Care And They Will Come!, Rolanda T. Pyle, Hattie L. Lucas, Denyse Variano

GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy

A workshop entitled “Marketing Your RAPP to Effectively Reach Relative Caregivers” was developed and offered at the 2019 Brookdale Foundation Training Conference for professionals who work with kinship caregivers, or “Relatives as Parents Programs” (RAPP). The intention of this interactive brainstorming session was to give individual RAPP programs the opportunity to share and adopt proven effective methods to reach, attract, and enhance their own local or statewide caregiver programs. The attending group was comprised of over 50 individuals who operated RAPP programs that spanned the US. The three workshop facilitators (authors of this brief with 70 collective years of experience) …

Grow National Study Of Grandfamilies During Covid-19: Wave I And Wave Ii Results And Recommendations, Michelle Rosenthal, Kerry Littlewood, Deborah Langosch, Lawrence Cooper, Donna B. Fedus, Amy Devine, Abhishek Pandey

GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted families across the globe. This study highlights how a multidisciplinary workgroup, Grandfamilies Outcome Workgroup (GrOW) operationalized a caregiver-centered data cycle to learn how COVID-19 has impacted grandfamilies across the United States. The National Grandfamilies and COVID-19 Wave I (n=600, June 2020) and Wave II (n=225, July 2021) surveys recruited grandfamilies nationwide through GrOW’s network of kinship community partners. Wave I survey results illuminated that all sources of social support were reduced for grandfamilies during the pandemic, except for online support groups. Wave II provided an opportunity to revise the survey to capture emergent issues relevant …

Exploring Household Food Insecurity And Inter-Generational Self-Help Club Involvement Among Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Due To Hiv/Aids In Vietnam, Lesley M. Harris, Hannah Nguyen, Andrew M. Winters, Gina Rosen, Nguyen D. Thang

GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy

Intergenerational Self-help Clubs (ISHCs), also known as “Empathy Clubs” in Vietnam may aid in improving quality of life and well-being for grandparent-headed households impacted by HIV/AIDS. However, less is known about how club membership impacts household food security. This cross-sectional, mixed methods study examines the differences in household food security and coping responses to food insecurity among 30 grandparents who are raising grandchildren due to HIV/AIDS, 15 who were involved in ISHC groups and 15 who were not involved in ISHC groups, in Hai Phong, Vietnam. In addition to qualitative interviews, all grandparents completed the Household Food Security Insecurity …

Political Attitudes, Outward Aggression, And Self-Directed Violence, Christopher Holloway

Thinking Matters Symposium

Violence has increased at political events and marches in the last several years, particularly during the Trump presidency and marked by the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Research has been conducted on approval of political violence, but little is known about political attitudes and how they relate to the likelihood of engaging in everyday generalized violence. Furthermore, violence against others and violence against the self, such as suicide, are usually treated and studied separately. This study hopes to identify what relationships, if any, exist between political attitudes and violence, both outward and self-directed. Participants (N = 153) completed …

The Texas Community-Engagement Research Alliance Against Covid-19 In Disproportionately Affected Communities (Tx Ceal) Consortium, Rebecca A. Seguin-Fowler, Chris Amos, Bettina M. Beech, Robert L. Ferrer, Lorna Mcneill, Jasmine J. Opusunju, Emily Spence, Erika L. Thompson, Luis R. Torres-Hostos, Jamboor K. Vishwanatha

School of Social Work Faculty Publications

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic requires urgent implementation of effective community-engaged strategies to enhance education, awareness, and inclusion of underserved communities in prevention, mitigation, and treatment efforts. The Texas Community-Engagement Alliance Consortium was established with support from the United States’ National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct community-engaged projects in selected geographic locations with a high proportion of medically underserved minority groups with a disproportionate burden of COVID-19 disease and hospitalizations. The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of the Consortium. The Consortium organized seven projects with focused activities to address COVID-19 clinical and vaccine trials …

Stress And Social Support Of Foster Parents During Covid-19, Carlie Mcniff

21st Annual Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2022)

Foster parents provide crucial care to hundreds of thousands of children in the U.S., and with their role comes a variety of challenges. They face a great amount of stress which is why the turnover rate is high, and there is a critical need for more foster parents. Uncertainty is a large component of the foster care system, and the COVID-19 pandemic heightened this. It is unknown how stress that foster parents have experienced during this time was affected, and this study seeks to explore that. Additionally, this study focuses on types and sources of social support of foster parents …

Social Support And Change In Empathy In Undergraduate Pre-Health Students, Merrik Campagna

21st Annual Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2022)

Many medical education studies show that medical students often lose empathy throughout their time in medical school, but thus far we do not know whether these trends have their roots in earlier educational experiences. This research begins to fill this gap, exploring whether indications of these changes in empathy start in undergraduate programs. This is important because patients who feel more empathy from their doctors tend to listen to and trust their doctors more. If we can better understand what factors lead to a loss of empathy we can adjust programs to help negate this effect. Our data comes from …

The Crown Act, Carrington Aytes

[Archive] Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

Abstract

Communities of color within the state of Tennessee, based on the physical and cultural characteristics of hair texture and styling, have and are continuing to face injustices pertaining to the deprivation of opportunities within academic, recreational, and employment spaces. These instances of hair discrimination disproportionately impact Black individuals and other populations of color of whom come into contact with racial biases and prejudices due to a genetically predetermined factor. To combat these issues, bills HB0204 and SB0136 were proposed in January 2021 within the Tennessee General Assembly, and as introduced would establish the CROWN Act, or Create a Respectful …

Measuring, Reporting And Communicating Volunteer Impact, Lisa Cheney-Resch

School of Professional and Continuing Studies Nonprofit Studies Capstone Projects

This study seeks a more comprehensive understanding of the importance of volunteer impact reporting. Volunteers serve as an essential and inspirational resource to nonprofits. They also assist organizations in a variety of ways that touch lives, build philanthropy and help to sustain a legacy. So, how can nonprofits recognize the value of a volunteer program? This study will examine existing literature’s best practices and methods of reporting volunteer impact, the challenges facing impact reporting and the benefits obtained when an organization communicates to all stakeholders about volunteer impact. Specifically, the study interviews local healthcare nonprofit volunteer directors to ascertain how …

Same-Gender Pathways To Parenthood, Sydney T. Inger

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

LGBTQ+ individuals and couples who want children negotiate systemic inequalities in the United States of America. This literature review surveys America’s confusing legal map and the gaps in its enduring scholarly theories. The paper then examines the challenges that LGBTQ+ individuals and couples confront in working through the common pathways—same-gender adoption and fostering, in vitro fertilization, and surrogacy—to become parents. Dispersing information on the pathways will be a positive step towards breaking down the inequities for those in the LGBTQ+ community who want to start a family.

Implications Of Self-Care For Clinical Social Workers, Katelyn Costa, Joelle Cote-Powell

Thinking Matters Symposium

Recent research has shed light on the impacts of burnout on mental health practitioners and the benefits of self-care practices both in their workplace and personal lives. The research question guiding this study is as follows: What might be the effects of self-care on social work professional practitioners’ well-being? Clinical social workers in Cumberland County, Maine, were surveyed to assess the current level of self-care and the effects this has on clinical social workers and their clients. The research hypothesizes the need for a stronger emphasis on self-care among clinical social workers. An increased focus on self-care in social work …

Veterinary End-Of-Life Care And Euthanasia In The Age Of Covid-19: A Qualitative Study Of Provider Perspectives, Elizabeth Chalmers, River Hodgdon

Thinking Matters Symposium

Veterinary staff experience job-specific psychological stress from both providing medical care to pets and supporting pet-owner clients through end-of-life care and the euthanasia process. COVID-19 has impacted the provision of veterinary care and substantially affected communication between providers and pet owners. This phenomenological research project explores the experiences of veterinary staff who provide end-of-life care and perform euthanasia during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our research question is, what is the lived experience of veterinary staff who provide end-of-life care and perform euthanasia in the age of COVID-19? Participants for this qualitative study were recruited and interviewed using criterion sampling from four …

The Transmission Of Intergenerational Trauma: Conversations With Mental Health Professionals, Donnielle Woods Msw Candidate, Kayla Horner Msw Candidate, Adam Quinn Ph. D., Msw

Thinking Matters Symposium

Intergenerational trauma refers to the impact a traumatic experience has on subsequent generations that were not directly exposed to the original traumatic event. Existing research has shown that trauma affects subsequent generations biologically, culturally, and emotionally. The current study explored the question: To what extent, if any, does intergenerational trauma affect and transmit among African and Middle Eastern American subgroups living in Portland, Maine? This qualitative study utilized a phenomenological approach. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with staff employed at local agencies who work directly with African and Middle Eastern migrant families. We hypothesized that intergenerational trauma is being transmitted …

Substance Use And Misuse Among Lgbtqi+ Adolescents, Delaney Dow, Katherine Buzzell

Thinking Matters Symposium

Prior research suggests that LGBTQI+ adolescents use substances earlier and at higher rates than their heterosexual, cisgender peers. The research question for this study is “to what degree, if any, does substance use and misuse affect LGBTQI+ adolescents?” The existing data was extracted from the Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey. In particular, the authors focused on survey data from Maine high schools, consisting of adolescents in grades 9 through 12. Through the analysis of this survey data, the authors expect to confirm that substance use and misuse occur at higher rates among LGBTQI+ adolescents. The authors’ findings will contribute to …

Targeting The Needs Of Aging Lgbtq+: Addressing Barriers To Healthcare Access, Susan Wiley, Danielle Lachance

Thinking Matters Symposium

This research project aims to gather further insight of challenges aging LGBTQ+ individuals face while accessing healthcare; specifically nursing care facilities in the state of Maine. This is an exploratory pilot study that used mixed methods of quantitative survey questions and included open-ended questions. The researchers used a nonrandom, purposive sampling of LGBTQ+ individuals aged 65+ who are accessing residential nursing care, nursing care facility staff members, and family members of LGBTQ+ actively or previously in residential care facilities. For the purpose of this research project “healthcare services'' will refer specifically to residential nursing care facilities. Prior research indicates aging …

Creating A Virtual Reality Experience In Service To A Non-Profit Agency, Frank Deese, Susan Lakin, Isabelle Anderson

Frameless

In the summer of 2018, RIT Professors Susan Lakin and Frank Deese discussed with the principal officers of the Society for the Protection and Care of Children (SPCC) in Rochester how the new technology of Virtual Reality might be used to not only impart information to viewers, but generate empathy for those receiving services from the organization as well as those performing those services. Their ultimate goal was to create an experience that could be viewed with VR headsets at fundraising events and on a website using low-cost Google Cardboard.

Protocol For An Ehub As An Systemic Intervention For Homeless Shelter Staff And Resident Psychosocial And Behavioral Needs, Celeste Sangiorgio, Cory Crane, Cassandra Berbery, Caroline Easton

Frameless

This paper includes a proposal and outline for a one- stop, web-based eHub for homeless shelter workers and residents. The shelter eHub is proposed as a one-stop portal for staff and resident skills acquisition, shelter and community resources, and rehearsal of coping skills. The theoretical and empirical support for eHub contents is reviewed, as well as the structure for evidence-based psychological skills building and gamified and virtual skills rehearsal components.