Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Using Deep Learning-Based Framework For Child Speech Emotion Recognition, Gerald N. Onwujekwe

Theses and Dissertations

Biological languages of the body through which human emotion can be detected abound including heart rate, facial expressions, movement of the eyelids and dilation of the eyes, body postures, skin conductance, and even the speech we make. Speech emotion recognition research started some three decades ago, and the popular Interspeech Emotion Challenge has helped to propagate this research area. However, most speech recognition research is focused on adults and there is very little research on child speech. This dissertation is a description of the development and evaluation of a child speech emotion recognition framework. The higher-level components of the framework …

Psychological Sense Of Community Among Older Adults In Puerto Rico Two Years After Hurricane María, Thomas D. Buckley

Theses and Dissertations

Hurricane María devastated Puerto Rico in 2017 and resulted in adverse long-term outcomes. Psychological sense of community (PSOC) may serve as a protective factor against the effects of Hurricane María for older adults in Puerto Rico. Using a three-paper format, this dissertation draws on a resilience framework and theories of PSOC and the Ecological Theory of Aging to examine the role of PSOC among older adults in Puerto Rico two years after Hurricane María.

Paper one is a scoping review of the concept of PSOC in research with community dwelling older adults. I begin by presenting findings on study characteristics …

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 …

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 …

Harming The Help-Seeking: Necessity For Assessing Harmful And Biased Attitudes Toward Clients With Substance Use Disorder, Crystal D. Mcdowell, Crystal Dawn Mcdowell

Psychology Doctoral Specialization Projects

Numerous times, as a new clinician, I have witnessed the substance use disorder population referred to as not being dependable, dangerous, burnt out, and even hopeless. Often times I have heard mental health professionals make statements amongst themselves that the client could not be helped, referred to them as a “frequent flyer,” (meant to convey they frequently present for treatment, relapse, and return for treatment), and complain how tax dollars are being wasted to support the client. I felt empathy and a sense of hopelessness for these clients as they were seeking treatment in order to get help and yet …

Book Review: Money Mammoth: Harness The Power Of Financial Psychology To Evolve Your Money Mindset, Avoid Extinction, And Crush Your Financial Goals, Robin Raniero Norris

Journal of Financial Therapy

The book Money Mammoth focuses on one’s beliefs and habits around money. The authors of the book do not provide financial advice, but rather offer more about the general understanding of how you relate to others and the world around you regarding your financial thoughts and behaviors.

The Impact Of U.S. Refugee Policy Change & Political Rhetoric On Nonprofit Service Providers’ Emotional Well-Being, Maria V. Wathen, Patrick L.F. Decker, Charity N. Weishar

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

This study examines how U.S. refugee policy changes from 2014 to 2018 affected the emotional well-being of nonprofit service providers. Elements identified by participants as emotionally significant were funding cuts, the “bans”, the unpredictable nature of policy change, and most impactful, negative political rhetoric. Emotional wellbeing was negatively affected and included an increase in stress, anger, sadness, despair, depression, helplessness, frustration, and caution. Negative impacts were also felt with regard to professional identities and to relationships with family, friends, and strangers. Importantly, impact on emotional wellbeing differed by level of organization at which the participant worked and by organizational characteristics.

Vermont Special Educators’ Perceptions On The Inclusion Of Students With Disabilities In Universal Positive Behavioral Interventions And Supports (Pbis), Cassandra L. Townshend

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

AbstractOver the last 25 years, there has been an increased body of research on best practices to address the social, emotional, and behavioral well-being of all students in schools. Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) has consistently demonstrated effectiveness in attending to all students’ social, emotional, and behavioral wellbeing – including students with disabilities (Simonsen et al., Feb., 2020). Despite PBIS being implemented in over 27,000 schools in the United States (Horner & Sugai, 2015) and in over 50% of schools Vermont, minimal research has been conducted on the experiences of special educators and their perceptions of PBIS practices on …

An Exploration Of Ethically Challenging Situations Experienced By School Psychologists And Related Outcomes Associated With Those Experiences-A Mixed Methods Study, Janice Pietrowicz

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

This mixed-methods study followed an exploratory sequential methodology to study pressures placed upon school psychologists to engage in unethical practices and the outcomes associated with those experiences. The participants, 27 school psychologists from Pennsylvania, completed a questionnaire focused on the pressure to engage in unethical practices and related outcomes. Ten of those participants were selected for an interview that focused on administrative pressure related to the Social Justice Theory. Findings show that pressure to engage in unethical practice continues to be a problem in the field of school psychology and that school psychologists experience repercussions as a result of advocating …

Enhancing Evidence-Based Tobacco Treatment Services For Clients With Mental Illnesses, Janet Otachi

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

Tobacco users with mental illnesses (MI) have continued to experience disparate rates of tobacco use, related illnesses and mortality. Despite higher rates of tobacco use among clients with MI, few providers in mental health settings deliver evidence based tobacco treatment. If tobacco use is not addressed, clients with MI will continue to experience disproportionate rates of tobacco use and related burden. Utilizing the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this study examined factors associated with provider intentions to deliver tobacco treatment, and their tobacco treatment delivery practices. Based on the main constructs of the TPB, providers’ attitudes about tobacco treatment delivery, …

Research To Consider While Effectively Re-Designing Child Welfare Services, Richard P. Barth, Jill Duerr Berrick, Antonio R. Garcia, Brett Drake, Melissa Jonson-Reid, John Gyourko, Johanna K. P. Greeson

Department of Social Work - Faculty Scholarship

An intense appetite for reforming and transforming child welfare services in the United States is yielding many new initiatives. Vulnerable children and families who become involved with child welfare clearly deserve higher quality and more effective services. New policies, programs, and practices should be built on sound evidence. Reforms based on misunderstandings about what the current data show may ultimately harm families. This review highlights 10 commonly held misconceptions which we assert are inconsistent with the best available contemporary evidence. Implications for better alignment of evidence and reform are discussed.

“One Hundred And Ninety-Four Got Licensed By Monday”: Application Of Design Thinking For Foster Care Innovation And Transformation In Rhode Island, Johanna K. P. Greeson, John Gyourko, Andrew J. Ortiz, Durell Coleman, Sixto Cancel

Department of Social Work - Faculty Scholarship

The American child welfare system is in crisis. Given its history, the beleaguered state of the system evokes little surprise. There is an urgent need for new and creative approaches to problem-solving and transformation in child welfare. Design Thinking, a change management framework that prioritizes deep empathy for end user needs is one such approach, holding promise for helping child welfare systems transform to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Like many states, Rhode Island has long struggled to effectively recruit, license, and retain an adequate pool of resource families. From 2012 to 2017, Rhode Island saw a 12% …

“Child Witches”: Sexual Exploitation And Abuse Of Homeless Girls In South-Southern Nigeria, Chima Agazue

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Sexual exploitation and abuse of girls is one of the endemic social problems in Nigeria. Although this problem has attracted much research attention in recent times, some newly emerged factors contributing to the problem have been mostly ignored. This study explored how the abandonment of children following their stigmatization as witches contributes to sexual exploitation and abuse of the girls in the Akwa Ibom and Cross River states of Nigeria. The study was based on the qualitative research paradigm. Data was collected via semi-structured interviews of three senior staff members of the Child’s Rights and Rehabilitation Network (CRARN)—a children’s charity …

The Use Of Technology For Mental Wellbeing In The Era Of Covid-19, Adam Fakhri

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Prevalence of mental health issues has increased during the time of COVID-19. There are many contributing factors to consider, the main one reported has been social isolation due to quarantine precautions. Members of the community have spent extended periods of time at home and away from their loved ones during this pandemic. Many patients have reported many life events occurring including deaths in the family without the ability to even mourn with their family members. This has taken a toll on the community, especially in Vergennes where this small tight knit community that has relied on its tight social bonds …

The Rise In Use Of Emotional Support Animals By College Students: The Impact Of Parenting Styles, Misty G. Smith, Samantha Ballard, Jill Willis

Georgia Journal of College Student Affairs

As the generational context of higher education shifts, a rise of Emotional Support Animals (ESA) and mental health concerns are present for students on college campuses. While previous studies have aimed to address the relevancy and controversy of ESAs in higher education as well as their effectiveness in supporting individuals, less research has explored underlying factors that contribute to the use of an ESA. The purpose of this study was to explore the parenting behaviors of parents/caregivers of students with ESAs in comparison to parents/caregivers of students without ESAs. An embedded mixed methods design was used. Participants completed the Parenting …

[Withdrawn], Social Policy Institute, Washington University In St. Louis

Social Policy Institute Research

This paper was withdrawn per the request of the authors, May 23, 2024.

Research article available at Jabbari, J., Jackson, J., Roll, S., & Grinstein-Weiss, M. (2024). Pinching Pennies or Money to Burn? The Role of Grit in Financial Behaviors. Social Psychology, 55(2). https://econtent.hogrefe.com/doi/abs/10.1027/1864-9335/a000545?journalCode=zsp

Adapting Problem Management Plus For Implementation: Lessons Learned From Public Sector Settings Across Rwanda, Peru, Mexico And Malawi, Sarah F. Coleman, Hildegarde Mukasakindi, Alexandra L. Rose, Jerome T. Galea, Beatha Nyirandagijimana, Janvier Hakizimana, Robert Bienvenue, Priya Kundu, Eugenie Uwimana, Anathalie Uwamwezi, Carmen Contreras, Fátima G. Rodriguez-Cuevas, Jimena Maza, Todd Ruderman, Emilia Connolly, Mark Chalamanda, Waste Kayira, Kingsley Kazoole, Ksakrad K. Kelly, Jesse H. Wilson, Amruta A. Houde, Elizabeth B. Magill, Giuseppe J. Raviola, Stephanie L. Smith

Social Work Faculty Publications

Problem Management Plus (PM+) is a low-intensity psychological intervention developed by the World Health Organization that can be delivered by nonspecialists to address common mental health conditions in people affected by adversity. Emerging evidence demonstrates the efficacy of PM+ across a range of settings. However, the published literature rarely documents the adaptation processes for psychological interventions to context or culture, including curriculum or implementation adaptations. Practical guidance for adapting PM+ to context while maintaining fidelity to core psychological elements is essential for mental health implementers to enable replication and scale. This paper describes the process of contextually adapting PM+ for …

Public Library-Based Social Work Field Placements: Guidance For Public Libraries Planning To Become A Social Work Practicum Site, Elizabeth A. Wahler, Jacob D. Ressler, Sarah C. Johnson, Colleen Rortvedt, Tasha Saecker, John Helling, Michael A. Williams, Danielle Hoover

Publications and Research

Public libraries are increasingly faced with patron psychosocial needs, including mental health problems, substance use, homelessness, or poverty-related needs. Since library staff are often not trained to address these needs, many are choosing to host on-site social work practicum students to provide information and referrals for patrons presenting with psychosocial needs. However, little existing guidance is available about initiating a social work practicum placement, which can leave libraries unprepared and often “reinventing the wheel”. This manuscript provides guidance on the steps that should be considered by libraries intending to host their first social work practicum student.

Narratives In Sex Offender Management Laws: How Stories About A Label Shape Policymaking, Mauricio P. Yabar

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Serious scholarly inquiry regarding the role of social constructions and narratives in sex offender management laws is relatively a new undertaking. In the last two decades, a myriad of studies exploring the negative effects of Sex Offender Registration and Notification (SORN) policies were added to the literature, a trend that appears to be slowing down today. The purpose of this paper is to recommend the integration of the narrative policy framework (NPF) with Schneider and Ingram’s (1993) theory of social construction of target populations in the analysis of SORN policies. The author provides a critical review of SORN policies while …

Family Preservation Strategies: Regendering Labor In Mixed-Status Marriage After Co-Deportation, April M. Schueths, Nathan Palmer

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Harsh U.S. deportation policies disproportionately target Latin American immigrant working-class men and subsequently divide families. The unique experiences of co-deported mixed-status couples are missing from the deportation literature—that is, U.S. citizens, primarily women, who live outside of the United States with their deported Latin American immigrant spouses (what we call co-deportation) rather than living separately. Using hegemonic masculinity, this research qualitatively analyzes the experiences of eleven mixed-status couples internationally co-deported. Findings suggest couples' gender dynamics shift paid and unpaid labor to sustain family life living as co-deportees. Co-deported couples are a testament to how adaptable heterosexual gender dynamics can be, …

Review Of Sex-Positive Social Work By S. J. Dodd, Melinda M. Mccormick

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

No abstract provided.

Social Work And Diverse Models Of Public Safety: Advocating With And On Behalf Of African American Communities, David R. Hodge, Stephanie Clintonia Boddie

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

George Floyd’s death sparked an intense national debate about policing practices. In social work, the discussion has generally focused on whether the profession should partner with, or shun, law enforcement. While affirming the need for structural change, this paper suggests a different approach; that social workers should advocate with and on behalf of African American communities to implement a public safety model that reflects their preferences. After discussing how practitioners can facilitate structural reform in this arena, five alternative models of public safety are reviewed to familiarize readers with options that may have some degree of currency with African Americans: …

The Interlinkage Between Blood Plasma Donation And Poverty In The United States, Analidis Ochoa, H. Luke Shaefer, Andrew Grogan-Kaylor

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In 2019, plasma centers in the United States received a record 53.5 million blood donations, roughly triple that collected during the Great Recession. Recent ethnographic research and journalistic accounts connect plasma sales and poverty, an association that would carry important public health implications given the vulnerability of disadvantaged populations. This study is the first to examine a range of socioeconomic characteristics of communities where commercial plasma centers situate. We geocode locations of all U.S. commercial plasma centers and merge with census tract demographic data from the American Community Survey. Findings indicate greater odds that plasma centers will locate in urban …

Bridging The Gaps: Literacy, Media Literacy Education, And Critical Digital Social Work, Gianna Cappello

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Drawing from literacy studies and research in media literacy education, this article contends that a series of conceptual gaps need to be bridged in order to have a better understanding of how these traditions can contribute to redefining the field of digital social work. The field of digital social work should move towards a more critical-oriented dimension so that digital media and the internet should not simply be considered (as it is often the case), as mere tools to improve the professionality of social workers, but rather as life environments and systems of representation shaping individuals’ identities and social relationships.

Political Efficacy In Social Workers Before And After 2016, Shannon R. Lane, Katharine M. Hill, Kathryn S. Krase, Tanya Rhodes Smith

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Since 2016, members of communities traditionally prevented or discouraged from electoral politics have challenged barriers to political power. Social work’s current research base about political action reflects the pre- 2016 political landscape. Survey data collected between 2015 and 2019 examines ways social workers’ political engagement and efficacy reacted to this political environment. We examined political efficacy of social workers and students before and after 2016 to compare their internal efficacy (sense of one’s own power in the political system) and external efficacy (sense of the system’s responsiveness). Political engagement and individual measures of political efficacy increased among certain demographic groups; …

Journal Of Sociology And Social Welfare Vol. 48, No. 4

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

No abstract provided.

Addressing The Needs Of African American Grandparents: An Intersectionality Perspective, Dorothy Smith-Ruiz, Kendra Jason

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study seeks to demonstrate the intersecting structural and compounding challenges African American custodial grandparents experience collectively, rather than as separate non-competing factors, which has been modeled in prior studies. Using a mixed-method research design, the study explored the challenges faced by African American and white custodial grandparents. These challenges included difficulties attaining different types of support, respite care, and programs for teens and special needs grandchildren. Results showed that caregiving challenges among African Americans were more pervasive than their White counterparts. These findings have significant implications for the development of intervention programs for custodial African American grandmothers and their …

Parental Financial Assistance To Young Adult Children And The Black-White Wealth Gap, Yunju Nam, Darrick Hamilton, Christopher Famighetti

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

We examine the roles of parental financial assistance to young adult children for college, homeownership, and “other reasons” in explaining the Black-White wealth gap. Using Panel Study of Income Dynamics data, we run Blinder-Oaxaca decompositions. Results show that the socioeconomic position of Black parents, not their proclivity to give, explains lower receipt of parental assistance for Black adult children—especially in the form of assistance for college and homeownership, which in turn, translates into the intergenerational reproduction of the racial wealth gap. Accordingly, policies should focus on equalizing resource endowments for adult children across racial lines. The findings support a structural/stratification …

Impact Of 9/11-Induced Adverse Experiences On The Mental Health Of Latino Americans And The Role Of Religious Service Attendance, Soyoung Kwon, Yongsok Kim, Jiyoung Moon Dr.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Much research has documented the mental health consequences of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001; however, little is known about how the 9/11 attacks affect the mental health of Latino Americans. This study uses a nationally representative sample of Latino Americans (N = 2,346) from the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS) to examine the relationships between 9/11-induced negative life experiences and mental disorders. The former includes losing a job, reducing family income, feeling less safe and secure, discrimination, loss of optimism, and inability to cope with things. For the latter, mental disorders may exhibit as psychological distress, …

Compassion Fatigue And Intersectionality In Human Service Practitioners: Latina Low-Wage-Earners Fighting Poverty, Marlo Greponne

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress, and vicarious trauma among professionals are well-documented within clinical settings. Human service practitioners working directly with people experiencing poverty and trauma, hunger, homelessness, victimization, and depression are considered at risk of experiencing compassion fatigue. Latina low-wage-earners may suffer compassion fatigue when handling cases mirroring their personal experiences with poverty. The purpose of this descriptive single case study was to explore marginalized workers’ experiences with compassion fatigue using intersectionality to understand what Latina low-wage-earning human service practitioners’ experiences with compassion fatigue were and what coping strategies they developed while serving people experiencing poverty. An intersectional approach …