Social Work Commons^™

Thinking Outside The Girl Box: Teaming Up With Resilient Youth In Appalachia, Rolanda L. Ward

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

The fortitude of an isolated community is lived through the words of the writers. While Spatig and Amerikaner sought to examine the cultural norms and experiences of girls in a community not on the radar of most, they were surprised to find themselves a part of the story. Their struggle with this unexpected development, ultimately leads the reader to the conclusion that community work is not only transformative for the youth who are served, but also the professionals who serve them, and the researchers who seek to work in partnership to record their journey. This text challenges social science researchers …

Rural Social Work And Environmental Justice, Pamela C. Twiss

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

While social work education and literature includes a growing body of work focused on environmental justice and the role of social work in addressing environmental injustices, limited attention has been paid to the disproportionate impact of these issues in rural areas. Many rural places can be more accurately described as rural-industrial in character. They produce the world’s food through highly mechanized agro-businesses, its timber, and much of its fossil fuels through large mining and drilling operations, each presenting threats to the surrounding environment and local peoples. This work describes environmental issues and injustices common to select large-scale rural industries, discusses …

Voices From The ‘Holler’: Implementation And Analysis Of An Advanced Advocacy Practice Course In Rural Appalachia, Leah Hamilton, Rachel L. Wright, Kellie Reed-Ashcraft

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

The availability of quality macro education is a critical determinant to policy engagement among social workers, especially for those in geographically isolated areas. This mixed methods, pilot study compares self-assessed CSWE policy competencies of graduating MSW students who completed an Advanced Advocacy Practice course with a comparison group. Student course reflections were also analyzed for common themes. Results indicate that students who completed the course rated themselves higher across policy competencies than graduating MSW students who had not completed the course. They were also more likely to see policy advocacy as a “primary skill” for social workers. Qualitative analysis suggests …

Recollections And Voices: An Appalachian Community Revisited, Kristina M. Hash, Christine E. Rittenour, Catherine Gouge, Tamba M'Bayo, Lori Hostuttler, Tyler Redding

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Scott’s Run has a rich history as a tight-knit, coal-built community in the heart of rural Appalachia. To learn more about the lives of the community members during the Depression Era, an interdisciplinary research team from five departments at a major university in the state conducted an oral history project focused on historical photos of the community. Individuals who grew up in the area reviewed photographs taken early in the 20^th century and provided information and shared stories related to the time and place of the images for context. The interviews uncovered key themes that told a much more …

Great Sexpectations: Analyzing The Influence Of Expectation And Desire On Sexual Behaviors Performed In Hookups, Mariel Boyle

Research Days Posters 2016-2019

Sexual acts performed in college hookups are determined by a variety of factors. A significant problem is that culturally driven taboos cloud open communication during hookups leading to unexpressed expectations. These unexpressed expectations play a large role in sexual decision-making. Ideally, hookup partners would only engage in acts they desire, but culturally driven expectations are powerful forces, and may lead to the performance of less-preferred acts. Norm driven expectations develop into persistent sexual scripts that young adults follow closely. Moreover, the influence of expectations may be gendered due to sex role traditionality. Implications for hookup behavior are discussed.

Building The Case For Culturally Specific P-3 Strategies In Oregon: Listening To Voices From The Field, Callie H. Lambarth, Amanda Cross-Hemmer, Lorelei Mitchell, Beth L. Green, Kate Normand

Early Childhood

Oregon’s early learning and K-12 systems require transformative changes to address racial disparities in school readiness and success. Prenatal-through-Grade-3 (P-3) initiatives are an innovative way to align, strengthen and expand supports for this goal.

Culturally specific organizations (CSOs) are uniquely poised and expertly prepared to meet the needs of communities of color while helping Oregon achieve its goals for reducing disparities in kinder­garten readiness and other educational outcomes.

The proposed Early Childhood Equity Fund, which is included in the governor’s recommended 2019 budget, would move Oregon closer to eliminating the opportunity gap in kindergarten readiness and school success by investing …

Ua61/5/1 Health & Human Services Social Work Publications, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Publications created by and about the Social Work department.

Promoting Environmental Justice Research And Practice For Social Workers In A Rural State: Methodology And Findings Of A Pilot Qualitative Study, Monika Leininger, Kirsten Havig

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Environmental justice work is an emerging field of practice that recognizes the interrelationship between social, economic, racial, gender, and environmental injustice and the impact social workers can have for policy and practice. Despite inclusion of environmental justice knowledge and practice as critical elements of ethical social work, little research exists on the topic in the professional knowledge base. Additionally, little research exists to date that specifically examines environmental justice knowledge and practice in a rural area. This pilot study examines awareness and knowledge of environmental justice issues and practice amongst licensed social workers in a rural western state using focus …

Food Pantries And Stigma: Users’ Concerns And Public Support, Peter A. Kindle, Mckayla Foust-Newton, Marissa Reis, Margaret Gell

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

This study compares the perception of stigma measured as social distance between users (n = 40) and non-users (n = 202) of local food pantries in the Upper Midwest. Utilizing the concept of social distance to measure social disapproval and stigma with a new Food Pantry Stigma Scale, these nonprobability results indicated that users’ perception of stigma was significantly higher than the non-using public (Cohen’s d = 1.56). These findings suggest that public support for need-based use of local food pantries in the Upper Midwest is substantially higher than those facing food insecurity anticipate.

Mindful Awareness Training: A Pilot Study Integrating Mindfulness Practices Into A Rural Jail-Based Substance Abuse Program, John Paulson, Veronica Huggins, Douglas A. Gentile

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Mindfulness practices are now utilized in a variety of behavioral healthcare settings, including the criminal justice system. This article summarizes the findings of a pilot project incorporating mindfulness practices into a jail-based substance abuse program in a rural county jail. Participants that engaged in a psychoeducational mindfulness group that utilized practices adapted from the Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention (MBRP) curriculum had improved scores on measures of mindfulness, self-compassion, and quality of life. A mediated path model suggested that the length of time participants were involved in the group and their estimated amount of mindfulness practice outside the group was related to …

The Impact Of Prescription Pain Reliever Misuse And Heroin Use On Morbidity And Mortality By Level Of Urbanicity: 2002-2014, M. Fe Caces, Peter J. Delany, Michael A. Cala

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Non-medical use of prescription pain relievers (PPRs), heroin, and more recently fentanyl, continue to have major public health consequences in the United States. This article analyzes trends in PPR and heroin use, emergency department and hospital stays, substance use treatment services, and mortality to assess the relative impact of the opioid crisis on rural versus more urbanized counties in the United States. Our findings suggest that while more urbanized counties have had greater increases in opioid use, rural and less urbanized counties tended to be more negatively impacted than larger and non-rural counties. Disparities in service availability highlight the need …

Rural Social Work In Scotland, Colin Turbett

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

The idea that social work in rural areas in Scotland might best be based on different approaches to those used in urban areas (where the vast majority of the population live) has received scant attention in recent years. There is a dearth of research on which to plan services that fit with such a notion. However, given the Scottish Government’s emphasis on community engagement, this is of interest. This Insight looks at the particularities of the rural context, the policy framework, and goes on to describe approaches that can be used to help social workers living and working in rural …

Contemporary Mental Health Care In Rural Areas: Challenges And Strategies, Whitney Cassity-Caywood

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Mental health care and illness prevention present distinct challenges in rural areas with limited resources. This paper examines rural-specific mental health care concerns and uses a public health prevention model to discuss the most current and prolific strategies to address these issues. The unique role of the social work profession in implementing these strategies is highlighted.

Women Ascending To Leadership Positions In Rural Nonprofit Organizations, Jose Carbajal, Kristin Bailey-Wallace, Bonita B. Sharma, Tiffany Bice-Wigington, Wilma Cordova, Shanta Scott, Aparecida De Fatima Cordeiro Dutra

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

This study investigates women’s experiences as they ascended to leadership roles in nonprofit organizations in rural communities, primarily in East Texas. The aim of this study is to understand the lived experiences of women in top management as they ascend into leadership positions, as the characteristics and experiences of effective leaders in rural nonprofits may differ from those of urban nonprofit agencies. There is limited research regarding women’s leadership experiences in rural nonprofit organizations. Using a phenomenological inquiry approach, we interviewed 32 women currently serving in leadership roles in rural nonprofit organizations. The research question guiding this phenomenological study was: …

Sexual Assault & Alcohol Consumption In First- And Non-First-Generation College Students, Claire Luce, Laura E. T. Swan, Danielle M. Dick, Karen Chartier

Social Work Publications

Studies show the connection between experiences of sexual assault and increased alcohol consumption, but there is limited research about how sexual assault affects alcohol use in sub-populations, such as first-generation college students, who experience significant stress but often have limited resources devoted to meeting their needs. We hypothesize that: (1) college students who report experiencing recent sexual assault will report consuming more alcohol than students who do not report sexual assault; and (2) college-generation status will have a moderating effect on this relationship. Data were from a longitudinal study on substance use and behavioral health by students at a large, …

Stories Of Children, Youth, And Families’ Adaptation To Community Living In The First Year After Involvement With Children’S Residential Mental Health Programs, Karen M. Frensch, Gary Cameron

Partnerships for Children and Families Project

Twenty-two youth between the ages of 14 and 18 years old who were involved with residential programs from participating children’s mental health organizations in Southern Ontario, Canada during 2015 to 2017 participated in a study of adaptation to community living in the first year following program exit. Youth, parents, child welfare workers, and mental health workers took part in qualitative interviews up to three times during the study period. Interview comments were used to construct a narrative or “story” of the year following program exit that integrated multiple informants’ perspectives of how each youth was functioning within that timeframe. Stories …

A Qualitative Study Of Reflective Supervision From The Supervisee Perspective: An Ecological View, Carla Caringi Barron

Wayne State University Dissertations

The infant mental health (IMH) field has identified reflective supervision (RS) as a clinically-supported, best-practice supervisory strategy to support professionals working with high-risk infants and their families, yet there is a paucity of empirical evidence to corroborate this view. This dissertation used a qualitative, cross-sectional, grounded theory design to investigate supervisee perspectives of RS. Semi-structured focus groups and individual interviews with 50 IMH professionals who were receiving reflective supervision were collected and analyzed with the goal of developing a deeper understanding of how supervisees operationalized RS and whether and how it impacted outcomes. Supervisees described essential components of RS as …

Providing Occupational Therapy To Those Who Are Homeless: A Beneficial Support, Francesca Petracco

Petersheim Academic Exposition

No abstract provided.

Domestic Violence: The Financial Implications Of Abuse, Yenny Masmela

Petersheim Academic Exposition

No abstract provided.

Poverty's Impact On Education, Lauren Magnus

Petersheim Academic Exposition

No abstract provided.