Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Trauma And Resilience Among Migrant Children From Mexico And The Northern Triangle En Route To The United States, Georgina Sanchez Garcia, Mark Lusk, Paula Chavez Santamaria

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Children who are forced to migrate to flee violence, extreme poverty, and natural disasters are exposed to trauma in their countries of origin and on the migrant trail. Forced child migrants from Central America and Mexico who flee to the U.S. border are particularly vulnerable. In this qualitative study, we interviewed 76 migrant children from Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. We listened to their stories and assessed exposure to adverse events, traumatic stress and child resiliency. While children experienced adversity and trauma, they were protected by high levels of resiliency that is grounded in family, faith, courage and camaraderie.

Volume 49, Issue 3 (2022)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

No abstract provided.

Factors Associated With Receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap) Among Newly Resettled Refugees In The United States, Edson Chipalo, Zainab Suntai, Simon Mwima

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In the United States, SNAP was made available to refugees in 1977, and most refugees rely heavily on SNAP to sustain themselves before becoming self-reliant. Knowledge of sociodemographic factors and chronic debilitating conditions related to receiving SNAP benefits among refugees is limited. This study aimed to examine sociodemographic factors and chronic debilitating conditions associated with receiving SNAP benefits among refugees resettled in the United States. This study used a cross-sectional, nationally representative sample (n=6,100) of the refugees who entered the U.S. between 2013 and 2017. The data were obtained from the 2018 Annual Survey of Refugees (ASR) from participants aged …

Digital News Literacy And Social Work: Core Competencies, Cynthia H. Nover

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Digital news refers to online news, television news, and other electronic sources where individuals can gather information about the world around them. As college students increasingly get their news from online sources and comedy television, it is important for students to have appropriate media literacy skills to evaluate content. The relationship between news literacy skills and core competencies of social work education is discussed in this paper, with recommendations for incorporating news literacy in the classroom.

Review Of Inequality, Social Protection And Social Justice By James Midgley, Mark R. Rank

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

No abstract provided.

How Being Aware Of Military Culture Influences Social Work Practice With Female Military Personnel, John Raymond Gonzalez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Active-duty women in the military seek help through the Family Advocacy Program (FAP) on military bases from social workers with a master’s degree in social work (MSW) who are hired by the federal government or by firms that contract with social workers to serve military personnel. Most of those social workers have no military background per se, which brings into question how being aware of the military culture might influence their practice with female military personnel. Grounded in self-awareness theory, which places focus on one's awareness relative to one's culture and environment at any time, the purpose of this action …

Untapped Potential For Child Welfare Administrative Data, Dana Hollinshead

QIC-Takes

Although a lot of data are captured through child welfare management information systems, there is much we still need to learn about the experiences of children and families involved in child protective services, and especially why some fare better than others. This is especially true with respect to dynamics that may influence caseworkers’ decisions, actions, and case outcomes. For example, are there certain caseworkers or service providers who are more effective in engaging families? Is there something about the type or dosage of services that makes a difference? Which workers or supervisory units are more likely to place a child …

Worker Turnover Is A Persistent Child Welfare Challenge--So Is Measuring It, Megan Paul, Courtney Harrison, Jonathan Litt, Michelle Graef

QIC-Takes

Turnover and other workforce challenges for child welfare professionals have been the subject of attention for many years. Consider this statement from a study published by the Children’s Bureau in 1960, “Turnover of staff in social agencies has been a serious concern of agency administrators for at least the past 10 years. Repeatedly, at conferences and in the professional journals, the complaint has been heard that staff turnover (1) handicaps the agency in its efforts to provide effective social services for clients; (2) is costly and unproductively time consuming; and (3) is responsible for the weary cycle of recruitmentemployment-orientation-production-resignation …” …

Supervision In A Virtual Workplace, Cynthia F. Parry

QIC-Takes

Some agencies have increased their use of telework due to office closures, a desire to decrease their carbon footprint, or because of the pandemic. This can add stress on supervisors as they have to manage staff virtually. Remote supervision requires changes in communication (both styles and tools) which can result in staff feeling micromanaged or neglected. Navigating these and other issues have been difficult for many child welfare agencies. The QIC-WD sites, like other child welfare agencies around the country, pivoted to virtual supervision quickly due to the pandemic. Most supervisors were unprepared for managing a virtual workforce and are …

Fetishization Of Asian American Women: A Discourse Analysis On The Media Portrayal Of The Victims Of The 2021 Atlanta Spa Shootings, Caitlyn Pham

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Asian American women have an intersectional identity that creates unique experiences, including discrimination and violence with a history of fetishization. In 2021, eight people were shot and killed in three spas in Atlanta, Georgia. Seven of the eight victims were women, six of whom were of Asian descent. While the shooter stated his actions were the results of sex addiction, and not racially motivated, the shootings occurred during a rise in attacks against Asian Americans amid the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic. The Atlanta Spa Shootings provide a unique case where we can apply an intersectional lens to determine how …

The Program To Reduce Implicit Bias In Carroll Hospital Center Using The Implicit Association Test, Katherine E. Traynor

Capstone Showcase

Natural brain processes make all individuals susceptible to unconscious bias; however, stressful, fearful, or anger-evoking situations as well as the negative influence of media and social surroundings increase the risk of holding obstructive bias, and there is a greater risk of being negatively impacted by this phenomenon when belonging to a minority population (Rose & Flores, 2020). As a result, high rates of infant mortality (10.2 deaths per 1,000 live births for the Non-Hispanic Black population compared to 4.1 in the White population) and cardiovascular related diseases (190.0 cases per 1,000 in the Non-Hispanic Black population compared to 161.3 in …

The Souls Of Black Folks In The Twenty-First Century: Self-Efficacy, Grit, And Their Development In Low-Income Urban Black Youth, Amzie Moore

Dissertations

Self-efficacy and grit have shown to be internal resources for African American youth, particularly urban low-income youth living in high crime and high poverty communities. This dissertation is a quasi-experimental, longitudinal, and mix method study, which evaluated a cross-age peer mentoring program. This evaluation was to examine if youth mentors’ attendance in the program for one year predicted increases in their self-efficacy and grit. The results of the study revealed that age significantly interacted with youth attendance, predicting increases in self-efficacy. Findings from the qualitative analyses illustrated that the peer-mentoring program strengthened culturally-relevant self-efficacy and grit among youth mentors.

“An Umbrella For All Things”: Black Daughter's Sexual Decisions And Paternal Engagement, Marquitta S. Dorsey

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

Objective: The purpose of this article is to highlight the value of Black fathers to the sexual decision-making processes among Black adolescent and young adult daughters. Background: Various contextual factors, such as fewer sexual health resources in poorer communities and federal funding cuts to family planning service agencies, ultimately contribute to the sexual health decision-making of adolescent young women and may be linked to sexual health disparities among Black adolescent women. Recent studies have reported the protective nature of a Black father’s engagement to be beneficial to the behavioral outcomes of adolescent daughters. Method: Findings from 17 semistructured interviews conducted …

Strategies To Mitigate The Effects Of Negative Political Rhetoric On Service Providers: A Study In Two Refugee-Serving Organizations, Maria V. Wathen, Charity N. Weishar, Patrick L.F. Decker

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

This paper explores the strategies that staff at two refugee-serving organizations found helpful in mitigating their increased distress from negative political rhetoric aimed at their clients. Results point to the importance of organizational acknowledgement of the distress. Additionally, staff perceived that intentionally focused organizational interventions can mitigate the emotional impacts of negative rhetoric. Finally, strategies employees used to lessen their distress and regain a sense of efficacy included recommitment to the mission, advocacy for refugees among family and friends, strong reliance on religious faith in coping, and an avoidance of the rhetoric by decreasing engagement with news and social media.

La Invisibilización De Los Aportes De Las Mujeres Viejas En La Ciudad De Bogotá: Una Mirada A La Luz De Sus Trayectorias Vitales, Maria Paula Pulido Orduz

Trabajo Social

El presente trabajo es el resultado de la investigación “La invisibilización de los aportes de las mujeres viejas en la ciudad de Bogotá: una mirada a la luz de sus trayectorias vitales”. El cual, se realizó con el ánimo de comprender los modos en cómo se han invisibilizado los aportes de las mujeres viejas durante sus trayectorias vitales en la ciudad de Bogotá, con el fin de hacer visible la invisibilidad como producto de una fuerza patriarcal que ha limitado históricamente su participación en escenarios tanto laborales, educativos, políticos y culturales. El presente estudio se orientó a recuperar las agencias …

Are Hispanics Less Likely To Receive Vocational Rehabilitation Services?, Alberto Migliore, John Shepard

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

In the US, 16% of people with cognitive disabilities self-report to be of Hispanic ethnicity (US Census Bureau, FY 2020). However, among people with intellectual disabilities who received vocational rehabilitation services, only 11% (-5%) are Hispanic (N = 32,823, RSA911, FY2020).

The Relationship Between Adverse Childhood Experiences (Aces) And Substance Use: A Review Of The Literature, Alexandra Scott

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are potentially traumatic events that happen in a child’s life. These experiences can cause multiple negative outcomes for the child even into their adult life. In the United States, roughly one in ten children have experienced three or more ACEs, and nearly half of all children in the United States have experienced at least one ACE. These problems can be physical, mental, personal and social. Of these outcomes, the individual could develop alcoholism or addiction to substances. Substance abuse is the overindulgence or dependence on substances that are addictive, mainly drugs or alcohol. The relevance substance …

Puerto Ricans And Asthma: Looking Through The Lens Of Historical Trauma, Lisa Colón

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study utilized an explorative phenomenological qualitative design to begin understanding the many ways Puerto Ricans experience asthma. Further is sought to understand the asthma experience broadly and within the context of the hurricanes that devastated Puerto Rico in 2017 including the governments’ responses to that devastation. Another core goal of this study was the conceptual and empirical application of the theoretical framework of historical trauma to Puerto Ricans. I conducted 12 semi structured interviews with collaborators who expressed a range of asthma experiences. My collaborators represented a mixture of those who lived through the hurricanes in Puerto Rico and …

Understanding And Supporting Asian American Youth’S Mental Health Within Cultural And Family Contexts, In Young Park

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mental health problems are a major health issue among East Asian American (EAA) youth. Although previous research has explored the risk and protective factors associated with mental health problems of EAA youth, many studies have employed Eurocentric perspectives, thereby excluding their unique cultural backgrounds, beliefs, and values. To better understand mental health needs and support these youth, further research that identifies different factors associated with mental health problems in their cultural context and assesses evidence-supported and culturally responsive interventions is needed.

This three-manuscript dissertation is presented in three papers. The first manuscript presents an integrative conceptual framework that uses two …

The Examination And Evaluation Of The Public Foster Care System's Attachment-Based Intervention And Trainings For Foster Parents In The West North Division Of The Midwestern States, Brooke T. Crowell

MSU Graduate Theses

The effectiveness of many foster parent training curricula in the United States foster care system is basically unknown (Adkins et al., 2018). Furthermore, there is little to no research that indicate when and how attachment-focused interventions and trainings are being implemented in the United States. Thus, the initial purpose of this study was to examine and evaluate interventions and trainings pertaining to attachment that exist throughout the United States public foster care system. As this study progressed however, the purpose shifted to answering this question: How is the Midwest foster care system training staff and foster parents on issues of …

Making The Most Of Program Evaluation Data: Understanding Human Services Professionals’ Well-Being Through Qualitative Secondary Analysis, Elizabeth Ann Deaton Wacker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Qualitative secondary analysis (QSA) allows researchers to explore new research questions and ensure that participants’ voices are heard to the greatest extent possible, without the burdens of additional data collection. However, this approach is rarely used outside of the health sciences, and little guidance exists in the literature about how to conduct QSA. This study is a secondary analysis of qualitative program evaluation data related to the well-being of human services professionals from two fields: child welfare and early care and education (ECE). It explores these professionals’ well-being, as well as the methodological issues of how well-being has been addressed …

Gendered Racial Microaggressions Scale: Measurement Invariance Across Sexual Orientation, Sara Matsuzaka, Laura Jamison, Lanice R. Avery, Karen M. Schmidt, Alexis G. Stanton, Katrina Debnam

Department of Social Work and Child Advocacy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Gendered racial microaggressions are often assessed using the Gendered Racial Microaggressions Scale. Despite its use with mixed samples of heterosexual and sexual minority Black women, this instrument has yet to be evaluated for its measurement invariance across sexual orientation. This study evaluated the measurement invariance of the Gendered Racial Microaggressions Scale across sexual orientation (heterosexual [n=1,147] versus lesbian, gay, or bisexual [LGB], n=359) in a sample of 1,506 Black cisgender women ages 18–30 years old. The Gendered Racial Microaggressions Scale’s four-factor structure, including Beauty and Sexual Objectification, Silenced and Marginalized, Strong Black Woman, and Angry Black Woman, was replicated with …

Online Victimization, Womanism, And Body Esteem Among Young Black Women.: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach, Sara Matsuzaka, Lanice R. Avery, Alexis G. Stanton

Department of Social Work and Child Advocacy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Digital media use represents a central part of young adults’ daily life, within which social interactions increasingly center on visual content. While visual content, such as representations of self, may facilitate positive social interactivity, it may also increase susceptibility to harmful social interactions, such as appearance-related online victimization. Black women’s bodies are often the target of gendered racial microaggressions and sexual victimization which can contribute to body image concerns. Still, the online victimization–body esteem link among Black women remains unexamined. This study used structural equation modeling to examine the associations between four categories of online victimization (i.e., general online victimization, …

Black Women’S Experiences Of Gendered Racial Sexual Objectification, Body Image, And Depressive Symptoms, Alexis G. Stanton, Lanice R. Avery, Sara Matsuzaka, Sarah Espinel

Department of Social Work and Child Advocacy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Black women navigate unique sexual objectification experiences and concerns about their bodies as a consequence of the race- and gender-based marginalization that they face. However, less is known about the influence of gendered racial sexual objectification experiences on Black women’s mental health (i.e., depressive symptoms) or the contributions of key body image indicators (i.e., body surveillance and current-ideal body image discrepancy) that reflect Black women’s engagement in monitoring and managing their bodies. We surveyed 1595 Black women to test our hypotheses that experiences of gendered racial sexual objectification (i.e., frequency and stress appraisal) would be positively associated with depressive symptoms …

The Untended Garden: How Adoptees Navigate Relationships With First Family Members, Dawn Michele Mccormick Tracz

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This research explores how people who were adopted over the age of 6 years old in open adoption arrangements navigate ongoing relationships with first family members. It explores perceptions of how a connection with both adoptive and first family members impacts self-concept. Using an interpretivist-constructivist lens, the narratives of four women are presented and analyzed. In addition to qualitative interviews, each participant was invited to create images that represented relationships with significant family members. The narratives are re-presented in detail adhering closely to the teller’s organization and emphases. In the analysis, themes related to relationships with first family members and …

Virtual Versus Face-To-Face Cognitive Behavioral Treatment Of Depression: Meta-Analytic Test Of A Noninferiority Hypothesis And Men’S Mental Health Inequities, Carly M. Charron, Kevin M. Gorey

Social Work Publications

Global rates of depression have increased significantly since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is unclear how the recent shift of many mental health services to virtual platforms has impacted service users, especially for the male population which are significantly more likely to complete suicide than women. This paper presents the findings of a rapid meta-analytic research synthesis of 17 randomized controlled trials on the relative efficacy of virtual versus traditional face-to-face cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in mitigating symptoms of depression. Participants’ aggregated depression scores were compared upon completion of the therapy (posttest) and longest follow-up measurement. The results …

A Role For Community-Level Socioeconomic Indicators In Targeting Tuberculosis Screening Interventions, Meredith B. Brooks, Helen E. Jenkins, Daniela Puma, Christine Tzelios, Ana Karina Millones, Judith Jimenez, Jerome T. Galea, Leonid Lecca, Mercedes C. Becerra, Salmaan Keshavjee, Courtney M. Yuen

Social Work Faculty Publications

Tuberculosis screening programs commonly target areas with high case notification rates. However, this may exacerbate disparities by excluding areas that already face barriers to accessing diagnostic services. We compared historic case notification rates, demographic, and socioeconomic indicators as predictors of neighborhood-level tuberculosis screening yield during a mobile screening program in 74 neighborhoods in Lima, Peru. We used logistic regression and Classification and Regression Tree (CART) analysis to identify predictors of screening yield. During February 7, 2019–February 6, 2020, the program screened 29,619 people and diagnosed 147 tuberculosis cases. Historic case notification rate was not associated with screening yield in any …

Geographic Accessibility To Health Facilities Predicts Uptake Of Community-Based Tuberculosis Screening In An Urban Setting, Helen E. Jenkins, Sally Ayuk, Daniela Puma, Meredith B. Brooks, Ana Karina Millones, Judith Jimenez, Leonid Lecca, Jerome T. Galea, Mercedes Becerra, Salmaan Keshavjee, Courtney M. Yuen

Social Work Faculty Publications

Objectives: Annually, more than 30% of individuals with tuberculosis (TB) remain undiagnosed. We aimed to assess whether geographic accessibility measures can identify neighborhoods that would benefit from TB screening services targeted toward closing the diagnosis gap.

Methods: We used data from a community-based mobile TB screening program in Carabayllo district, Lima, Peru. We constructed four accessibility measures from the geographic center of neighborhoods to health facilities. We used logistic regression to assess the association between these measures and screening uptake in one's residential neighborhood versus elsewhere, with quasi-information criterion values to assess the association.

Results: We analyzed the screening locations …

Attitudes Toward Payment For Research Participation: Results From A U.S. Survey Of People Living With Hiv, Andrea N. Polonijo, Karine Dubé, Jerome T. Galea, Karah Yeona Greene, Jeff Taylor, Christopher Christensen, Brandon Brown

Social Work Faculty Publications

Little is known about how payment affects individuals' decisions to participate in HIV research. Using data from a U.S. survey of people living with HIV (N = 292), we examined potential research participants’ attitudes toward payment, perceived study risk based on payment amount, and preferred payment forms, and how these factors vary by sociodemographic characteristics. Most respondents agreed people should be paid for HIV research participation (96%) and said payment would shape their research participation decisions (80%). Men, less formally educated individuals, and members of some minoritized racial-ethnic groups were less likely to be willing to participate in research …

Feasibility Of A School-Based Mental Health Program Implementation To Improve The Status Of Depression And Quality Of Life Of Mothers Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders In Urban Bangladesh: Menthol Study, Aliya Naheed, Saimul Islam, Meredith B. Brooks, Mary C. Smith Fawzi, Mir Nabila Ashraf, Helal Uddin Ahmed, M. M. Jalal Uddin, Kamrun Nahar Koly, Jerome T. Galea, Shaheen Akhter, Charles Nelson, Saima Wazed Hossain, Kerim M. Munir

Social Work Faculty Publications

Background: We assessed the feasibility of implementing psychological counseling services (PCS) for mothers of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) integrated within special education settings in urban Bangladesh. Method: In two special education schools for ASD in Dhaka City, trained female psychologists screened mothers using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). PCS was administered to all the mothers irrespective of a diagnosis of depression. Mothers with a PHQ-9 score >4 who met criteria for a major depressive episode (MDE) based on the DSM-IV Structured Interview Axis I Disorders (SCID-I) were also administered skill-building training through monthly home visits to support ASD …