Social Work Commons^™

Implementing Pbis In A Rural Junior High School: Reducing Negative Behaviors And Gaining Future Teacher Buy-In, Kelly T. Vourlos

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) improves student outcomes including higher graduation rates, improved classroom behaviors and management, less discipline referrals, increased student engagement, improved academic performance, increased faculty retention, and an overall better school experience for staff and students. Staff buy-in can be difficult to obtain, but is critically important for school-wide success of PBIS. The purpose of this project was to investigate if a short-term exposure to PBIS-like intervention would change buy-in for junior high school teachers in Belle Plaine School District and evaluate their opinions about PBIS, along with comparing student incident reports before and throughout the …

Dsm-Iv-Tr/Dsm-5, An Evidence-Based Comparative Analysis With Focus On The Cultural Context Of Mental Health Illness Of: Bipolar Disorders, Depression, Autism Disorders, Anxiety And Adhd., Claudia Zendejas-Finley

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The DSM-5 presents many changes in the criteria and categories used in the clinical diagnosis of clients. In addition, the proposed changes within the DSM-5 also attempts to address some of the concerns regarding the lack of a contextual assessment process regarding the role of culture within the lives of clients (Warren, 2013). This research aims to create a comparison between the DSM-IV-TR and the DSM-5 of some of the most common diagnosis used by Family Service Rochester including: bipolar disorder, depression, autism disorder, anxiety and ADHD. In addition, this project also intends to develop a comprehensive cultural analysis of …

Weathering The Storm: Botswana's Culture Of Care, Lengwe-Katembula Mwansa, Gloria Jacques

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Botswana, a semi-desert southern African state ranked among the poorest in the world in the 1960s and 1970s, has emerged as an upper middle income country in the new millennium and a beacon of democracy and good governance on the continent and in the world. Since the discovery of diamonds, Botswana has prudently utilized the ensuing wealth to improve the lives of her citizens. Through a succession of National Development Plans the state has provided social services that have addressed many of the needs of the population. This trend has continued into the challenging era of the world economic crisis …

Review: Group Work With Adolescents: Principles And Practice (3rd Edition), Brian L. Kelly

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

No abstract provided.

“IʼM A Leader Of All Of Them To Tell The Truth”: Participatory Action Principles For Uplifting Social Work Research Partnersʼ Identities, Katherine Mccrea

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

Identity, understood from many vantage points, is continually evolving based on relationship experiences, including those relationships established in social and behavioral research. Whether rendered anonymous in large quantitatively-studied samples, or intimately known in qualitative studies, those contributing to science in a role termed “subject” receive, through the research, definitions of their identities. Because those identities are part of published social research, identities created in the research process become part of the public discourse about persons in the “subjects’” situations, and also influence policies that in turn influence persons’ lives. For their part, the identities of social and behavioral researchers also …

Philosophical Approaches To Qualitative Research, Julia Pryce, Renée Spencer, Jill Walsh

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

This chapter reviews some of the major overarching philosophical approaches to qualitative inquiry and includes some historical background for each. Taking a “big picture” view, the chapter discusses post-positivism, constructivism, critical theory, feminism, and queer theory and offers a brief history of these approaches; considers the ontological, epistemological, and axiological assumptions on which they rest; and details some of their distinguishing features. In the last section, attention is turned to the future, identifying three overarching, interrelated, and contested issues with which the field is being confronted and will be compelled to address as it moves forward:retaining the rich diversity that …

Learning Communities: Through The Lens Of A Groupworker, Shirley Simon, Sarah Hessenauer

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

Learning communities are becoming increasingly common as a means of assisting incoming students with their transition to college. They have been shown to improve student retention, academic performance, and student-faculty relationships. Learning communities are prime examples of group work in action, and can provide opportunities for educators to teach and model social group work concepts and principles. This paper 1) defines and describes learning communities, 2) discusses the theoretical basis for the application of group work principles to the learning community experience, and 3) describes and assesses three years of experience with the application of group work principles in social …

Local Nonprofit Welfare Provision: The United States And Russia, Maria V. Wathen, Scott W. Allard

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

Provision of antipoverty and other social services by nonstate organizations is growing in importance in both the United States and the Russian Federation. The history of such provision in the United States may offer insights for the emerging system of nonstate provision in Russia. To illuminate these points, we provide historical overviews of both contexts and then we examine data from two surveys of social service organizations in the United States: the Multi-City Survey of Social Service Providers and the Rural Survey of Social Service Providers.

We find that nonstate actors strengthen social capital in poor neighborhoods and often link …

Consequences And Peer Influence As Proximal And Contextual Factors In Alcohol Consumption, Shweta Singh, Susan Grossman, Diane C. Asaro

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

The present study examines the role of positive and negative consequences and peer influence as proximal and contextual variables that influence drinking in college students. Data from a sample of 1482 students who completed the CORE survey in 2006 and 2007 were utilized to test three models predicting the likelihood of alcohol use in the 30 days prior to survey completion. The final model reflected the best fit of the data and indicated that both positive and negative consequences were positively associated with a greater likelihood of drinking while freshman standing and being a racial and ethnic minority were negatively …

Clients’ Hope Arises From Social Workers’ Compassion: Young Clients’ Perspectives On Surmounting The Obstacles Of Disadvantage, Deanna D’Amico Guthrie, Victoria Smith Ellison, King Sami, Katherine Tyson Mccrea

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

While social workers strive to build disadvantaged African American youths’ resilience by improving services, rarely are those youths’ perspectives included in research. In a previous evaluation of an after-school program, disadvantaged African American youths prioritized instructors’ compassion and said compassion engendered hope. This study explores their connection between compassion and hope more deeply. Focusing on Snyder’s hope theory, this study examines the connection between compassion and hope as individual traits (using standardized scales) and as relational, action-based experiences (using qualitative analysis of interview data). Instructor actions that youths identified as compassionate and as engendering hope were encouragement, problem solving, responsive …

The Role Of Spirituality/Religion As A Coping Mechanism During Treatment For Disordered Eating, David Franczyk

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of spirituality/religion used as a coping mechanism during treatment for disordered eating. Given the mixed outcome results of current therapeutic and pharmacological treatment methods for disordered eating, it is important to investigate other factors which may influence the treatment process. This study evaluated the role of spirituality/religion used as a coping mechanism among 61 patients who were admitted into an eating disorder treatment program and then discharged over a period of 15 months. In this quantitative study, the Brief RCOPE measure was self-administered at admission to determine the levels of …

Distributive Justice And Equity In Grading: A New Instructor’S Reflections, Molly Malany Sayre

Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work Faculty Publications

The author reflects upon early teaching experiences to identify a conflict between minimal distributive justice, or the distribution of goods that ensures all individuals have an acceptable level of that good (Deutsch, 1985), and grading of students’ assignments. Instead of addressing the unequal distribution of college preparedness among her students, the author’s grading reflected and potentially reinforced educational, racial, and economic inequalities. In agreement with Anastas (2010), an ethic of social justice is recommended for use in social work education. Social work educators can provide greater access to resources (e.g., the instructor’s time) for students experiencing disadvantages that affect their …

Obtaining Genuine Family Involvement: Unpacking The System Of Care Values And Principles, Deborah A. Cohen

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

Despite the federal government’s $1.5 billion investment between 1993 and 2010 to fund 164 separate community-based systems of care, there has been an extremely limited attempt to measure the impact of system of care. The impetus for this research is the struggle for how the value based concept of system of care is communicated within a community. While child mental health services researchers have published a number of randomized control trials to explore individual level supports for youth served in a system of care community, researchers have struggled to devise a way to measure system of care philosophy diffusion.

While …

Conceptualizing Social Determinants Of Maternal And Infant Health Disparities, Susanne Klawetter

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Research demonstrates that women and children within marginalized ethnic and racial groups and those living in poverty experience disparate health outcomes. These disparities have immediate and long-term consequences. Exploring two theories used to examine social determinants of health— life course perspective and historical trauma response, this article will explain the major premises of each, provide application examples, compare and examine utility for practice, and highlight areas for future research. A theoretical critique will be included, as well as insight into how these theories together might address gaps as an approach to maternal and infant health research and practice.

Sibley County Children’S Collaborative – Supporting Child Welfare Through Collaboration, Jade Blekestad-Kral

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The Sibley County Children’s Collaborative meets the definition as a collaborative “organizational and interorganizational structure(s) where resources, power, and authority are shared and where people are brought together to achieve common goals that could not be accomplished by a single individual or organization independently” (Daka-Mulwanda, Thornburg, Filbert, & Klein, 1995, p. 219). Its functioning depends on members working together, sharing their time, skills, resources and the common goal of providing community support for children and families in Sibley County. However, effective collaboration does not come easily. In fact much of the literature regarding collaboration suggests that while collaboration is the …

A Systematic Review Of Neurofeedback Training To Treat Adhd In Children And Adolescents: A Child Welfare Perspective, Chad Ellis

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

A systematic literature review was completed on the impact that childhood ADHD has on children and families,from a child welfare perspective. The potential risks and benefits of two different treatment approaches (pharmacological and neurofeedback) were compared along with a cost analysis. The significance of this project is that it will aid in the advocacy efforts for the continued allocation of funding towards the neurofeedback program within Olmsted County’s Youth Behavioral Health Unit.

Usage Of The Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (Audit) With Hospital Inpatients, Jeni Kolstad

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This project investigated whether the AUDIT was being used as the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends within Mayo Clinic Health System – Mankato (MCHS). The goals of the study were to describe the Chemical Dependency (CD) process and to determine the role of the AUDIT in the CD consult and assessment process. Recommendations were made to enhance the process of identifying, assessing, and intervening with patients with alcohol use problems.

The Changes In Major Diagnoses From Dsm Iv-Tr To Dsm 5: How To Talk To Clients About Changes In Their Diagnosis, Abigail Malterer

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

• Outline and present the changes in diagnostic criteria and diagnoses between the DSM IV-TR and the DSM 5.
• Discuss how to talk to and work with clients if their diagnosis has changed or been removed.
• Upon early research, it appears that there is little literature that focuses on how staff can talk to clients about diagnosis changes or elimination.
• Learn more about changes and talking to clients
• Present this information to staff so they have an awareness of this when the changes are made in October of 2015 and the DSM 5 is to be fully implemented.

School Social Work As An Intervention In A Rural Setting Iv Classroom Serving Students With Behavioral Needs, Melissa Pletcher

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of the project was to review the evidence-based literature to determine how to best support the academic and other needs of students with EBD in a school-based setting and to determine the role that support service professionals, particularly school social workers, play in providing such evidence-based supports and services.

An In-Depth Look At Filial Play Therapy, Sam Tumberg

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This project explores the various aspects that make up the filial play therapy model. Filial play therapy is an evidenced-based intervention that has been proven to work with a variety of different populations and can be applied in a variety of different settings. The purpose of this project is to give the Vision therapists at Headway a practical toolkit that can be applied in their therapeutic practice. The therapeutic toolkit contains practical therapeutic skills and techniques that can easily be applied within the Vision program.