Does Bullying Victimization In Middle Childhood Influence Adolescent Risk Behaviors: Differences Across Racial/Ethnic Groups?, Shawndaya Sabrina Thrasher

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

Bullying is a public health problem that negatively affects millions of children annually and can have serious, long-lasting effects on victims. Emergent research concludes a higher prevalence of bullying occurs in earlier school years, especially among racial/ethnic minorities. Evidence also suggests that risk behaviors associated with bully victimization may vary by racial/ethnic profile, leading to disproportionate chances of adverse psychosocial and health-related behaviors. Therefore, racial/ethnic minority youth may be more likely to cope with being bullied through risk behaviors (e.g., coping by fighting).

Current investigations of racial/ethnic differences in the bullied-risk relationship examine few risk behaviors (i.e., academic performance and …

"Making It Work": Accommodation And Resistance To Federal Policy In A Homelessness Continuum Of Care, Jennifer M. Frank, Jim Baumohl

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

This is a case study of the development of a rural continuum of care (CoC) program funded by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to create a coherent system of services and planning processes to end homelessness. It concerns how the founding local coalition of agencies managed internal conflicts about HUD’s changing programmatic and administrative requirements from 1994 to 2015. It addresses the coalition’s relationship with HUD, intracoalition conflict between secular and faith-based agencies over federal requirements, and the workarounds developed to keep local divisions over service modalities from harming the larger project. Through this lens, we …

Validation Of The Substance Abuse Scale Of The Personal And Relationships Profile, Kerry Lee, R Anna Hayward, Paul Sacco

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

There have been limited measurement studies of the substance abuse scale of the Personal and Relationships Profile (PRP) and the impact of social desirability on alcohol and drug use reporting. This study aimed to (a) model the factor structure of the eight-item substance abuse scale of the PRP and (b) examine the relationship of substance use factors with sociodemographic variables—race, income, age, marital status—and social desirability on substance use reporting among a sample of low-income fathers. The study included secondary data analysis of 665 fathers, who participated in a fatherhood program between 2011 and 2015. The two-factor model with the …

An Exploratory Study Of The Prosecution Of Fatal Child Maltreatment: Criminal Charges Filed Against Presumed Perpetrators In The United States In 2017, Kerry Lee, Emily M. Douglas

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

In the United States child maltreatment fatalities (CMFs) do not usually meet the standard for manslaughter or murder, resulting in convictions of lesser crimes and little jail time. This exploratory study examined the charges brought against suspected CMF perpetrators in 2017. Univariate and bivariate analyses were conducted using data obtained from the Nexis Uni newspaper database, that has over 40,000 high quality media sources, for the year 2017. We found that the most frequently used charges were endangering the welfare of a child and murder, the former of which was more related to neglect-deaths and the latter to physical abuse-deaths. …

Development Of An Integrated Medical And Behavioral Health Care Model For Children In Foster Care: The Rees-Jones Center For Foster Care Excellence, Kimberly Stone, Sara Moore, Sara Pollard

Integrated, Trauma-Informed Care

Children in foster care are classified as a population with special health care needs. They face multiple adverse childhood experiences and disrupted relationships, yet face barriers accessing consistent, high-quality health care. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends integrated physical and behavioral health care for children in foster care, but little is known about the implementation of integrated care for this population. As a pediatrician, doctor of nursing practice, and psychologist in an academic medical setting, we describe the development and implementation of the Rees-Jones Center for Foster Care Excellence, emphasizing the role of medical and behavioral health providers in promoting …

Oral History With Mr. Charles Evans, Charles Evans, Kenya M. Cistrunk, Brian S. Williams

CAS Publications

Oral History with Mr. Charles 'Lala' Evans recorded at his home in Starkville, Mississippi. Topics covered include Mr. Evans' life and occupations, the Needmore Community, and Urban Renewal Program, businesses, and community ties.

Oral History With Mrs. Elmarie Carr Brooks, Elmarie Carr Brooks, Brian S. Williams

CAS Publications

No abstract provided.

Oral History With Dr. Sylvia Goss & Dr. Willie Goss, Sylvia Goss, Willie Goss, Brian S. Williams, Kenya M. Cistrunk

CAS Publications

The Cultural Research & Engagement Fellows (CREF) Program at Mississippi State University explores the social and cultural dimensions of food systems, food access, land in majority-Black, historically agrarian rural communities by engaging youth at the nexus of food access, farming, and culture. The CREF program is made possible by a grant from the Office of Research & Economic Development (ORED) and the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion (OIDI) at Mississippi State University.

Touring Lala Land With Mr. Charles Evans, Charles Evans, Brian S. Williams, Kenya M. Cistrunk

CAS Publications

Mr. Charles 'Lala' Evans gives CREF a tour of Lala Land. Starkville, Mississippi.

The Cultural Research & Engagement Fellows (CREF) Program at Mississippi State University explores the social and cultural dimensions of food systems, food access, land in majority-Black, historically agrarian rural communities by engaging youth at the nexus of food access, farming, and culture. The CREF program is made possible by a grant from the Office of Research & Economic Development (ORED) and the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion (OIDI) at Mississippi State University.

Oral History With Mr. Thomas D. Coleman, Thomas D. Coleman, Kenya M. Cistrunk, Brian S. Williams

CAS Publications

Oral History with Mr. Thomas D. Coleman recorded at his farm in Louisville, Mississippi.

Hiv/Aids And Substance Use Among Older Adults, Jamerlia E. Wyatt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

HIV/AIDS and substance abuse among older adults is a significant national and worldwide problem. As older HIV-positive adults continue to age, they will have problems with managing their HIV/AIDS, comorbidity disorders, and quality of life, which can lead to substance abuse. The purpose of this descriptive, phenomenological study was to explore the socio-risk behaviors, specific treatment preferences, and daily lived experiences of adults aged 50 years and older living with HIV/AIDS and substance use in a large northeastern urban city. The conceptual framework used to ground this qualitative study was Engel's biopsychosocial model. The purposeful sampling method was used to …

African American Male Exonerees' Reintegrating Into The Spousal/Intimate Partner Role In The Family System, Loretta A. Jackson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Wrongfully convicted individuals are abruptly taken from their traditional roles and positioned in new roles prematurely. Without adequate preparation, exonerees struggle to reintegrate back into roles they once strived in. This study aimed to understand the experiences of African American male exonerees' reintegrating into the spouse/intimate partner role in the family. Schlossberg's transition theory served as the theoretical foundation to examine how exonerees might navigate these stages to promote successful reintegration in society and intimate relationships. The research questions sought to understand how African American male exonerees perceive their transition from an inmate role into an intimate role while trying …

The Role Of Community Belongingness In The Mental Health And Well-Being Of Black Lgbtq Adults, Keith Justin Watts

Theses and Dissertations

The impact of racial and sexual minority stigma, prejudice, and discrimination on the mental health and well-being of Black and LGBTQ individuals, respectively, has been well documented in the literature. Research on these relationships for Black LGBTQ individuals who are multiply marginalized due to their position at the social intersections of gender identity, sexual orientation, and race/ethnicity is less common. Belongingness to identity-based communities can protect against the negative impact of these minority stressors for Black and LGBTQ individuals and aid coping processes. However, Black LGBTQ individuals often experience stigma and discrimination in their racial, sexual, and gender minority communities …

Understanding Awol As A Crisis Response In Out-Of-Home Placement Settings, Stephen James Oby Jr

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Youth elopement from out-of-home placement settings, an act colloquially referred to as AWOL, is a frequent and extremely risky outcome for youth and a key concern for child welfare entities. AWOL is hypothesized here as a maladaptive coping response to the experience of out-of-home placement as a crisis-inducing event. Conceiving of AWOL as a response to a crisis state redefines apparent risk factors as crisis origins and enables an understanding of which youth may experience a removal and out-of-home placement event as crisis inducing. Factors related to AWOL outcomes are embedded within an ecological systems framework and the interactions between …

Black Women Social Workers : A Qualitative Exploration Of Stress And Coping, Collina D. Cooke

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Black women social workers (BWSW) represent essential workforce members. They are burdened by overlapping expectations associated with their multiple marginalized and unique identities. Their definitions of stress and creation of strategies to deal with highly stressful situations have been absent from the research literature, leaving intervention strategies to support highly stressed BWSW unknown. This study was developed to explore stress perceptions and holistic manifestations of stress. A primary focus was to highlight the coping responses used by BWSW to decrease stress levels. In addition, the researcher sought to investigate various ways organizations have created stressful situations for BWSW and identify …

From Tajikistan To Russia And Back: Understanding Changes In Gender Relations Through The Lived Experiences Of Tajik Migrant Workers In Russia, Tahmina Shokirova

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation is the story of Tajik migrant workers who have lived and worked in Russia. It examines how gender relations of power change in the context of labour migration through the lived experiences of the migrants. The study asks the overarching research question: How do gender relations change in the context of Tajik labour migration to Russia? Following the social constructionist epistemology, gender is framed through the lens of post-structural, intersectional, and transnational feminist theories. The study employs a conceptual framework that integrates the following into a coherent whole: feminist theories of gender relations, the general context of international …

Faith-Inspired Praxis Of Love, Monica Chi

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The motivations of people of faith in the helping field are often misunderstood. In social work, while there has been a growing interest in making space for integrating the clients’ spirituality and practice (Canda & Furman, 2010; Hodge, 2013), the role of the practitioners’ faith in practice has not received much attention. To this effect, there is a lack of conceptual framework that describes their aspirations in helping and caring and what such practice looks like in everyday reality.

This dissertation presents a two-part study each culminating in two different developments. First, in light of a missing conceptual framework, I …

“Accept The Idea That Neurodiverse Kids Exist”: Dyslexic Narratives And Neurodiversity Paradigm Visions, Monica Van Schaik

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The neurodiversity paradigm has received support from many autistic self-advocates and scholars. Although definitions of neurodiversity are always framed to include dyslexia, research into the neurodiversity paradigm that seeks the perspectives of dyslexic people is limited. This qualitative study sought to fill this gap by asking 12 self-identified dyslexic adults how they imagined their life stories would change within a neurodiversity paradigm. A narrative inquiry methodology was combined with the guiding principles of participatory action research and dyslexic methodology. Dyslexic ways of knowing were engaged and illuminated in the research design, writing process and findings. Emergent themes revealed participants’ lived …

Relational Engagement At The Intersection Of Personal And Professional Identities: A Phenomenological Exploration Of The Experience Of Christian Therapists, Aaron Smith

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Though Christian spirituality and therapeutic relationships are unique subjects, commonly found throughout literature pertaining to each topic is an emphasis on how people ought to approach and participate in relationship with one another. In other words, each subject represents a unique tradition of relational engagement. For therapists who practice Christian spirituality, it is possible, if not likely, that both traditions impact how they go about engaging with clients. Despite this, there is a lack of material exploring the experience of relational engagement when these traditions intersect. For this reason, I set out to explore what this experience is like for …

Stories From The Rainbow Road: 2slgbtqia+ Identified Youth And Service Provider Experiences Of Mental Health Service Delivery In The Province Of Newfoundland And Labrador, Kathleen De Jong

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

ABSTRACT

Stories from the Rainbow Road: 2SLGBTQIA+ Identified Youth and Service Provider Experiences of Mental Health Service Delivery in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador

The purpose of this research project was to understand how publicly funded mental health service provision to 2SLGBTQIA+ identified youth in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) is influenced by cis and heteronormativity. In a review of the associated literature, there is a notable focus on the barriers to mental health services experienced by queer and trans youth in general; however, there is very little information about the actual service delivery experiences of those …