Human Behavior In The Social Environment Research Articles

Infusing Opioid Addiction into the BSW Curriculum: A Teaching Note

ABSTRACT Opioid addiction is a widespread problem that social workers will undoubtedly face in practice. Curricular infusion is an approach that has gained recognition in social work education for integrating critical, contemporary topics into courses. This paper details a project that infused opioid addiction in baccalaureate of social work (BSW) courses, including human behavior in the social environment (HBSE), policy, and research. When implemented and evaluated, this effort was found to be beneficial to student learning and has implications for integrating this and other contemporary issues into the curriculum.

Teaching Note—Speed Dating With Older Adults: Reducing Ageism in Social Work Students

ABSTRACT Through an experiential learning project, social work students were able to examine ageist ideas of older adults and appreciate that, regardless of age, all humans need companionship. These insights allowed students to examine their ageist ideas and values toward older adults toward positive change. Engagement across micro, mezzo, and macro practices increased student interest in working with older adults in field education placement and future workplace. The results were advantageous for both students and older adults. This article discusses the development and implementation of two speed-dating events for older adults by social work students in a Human Behavior in the Social Environment II course, the benefits to students and participants, and the lessons learned through the evaluation process.

Integrating Smart Decarceration Content Across Social Work Curricula

ABSTRACT Given tremendous negative societal effects of mass incarceration, the social work profession’s investment in the Grand Challenge to Promote Smart Decarceration, and the call for criminal justice transformation, educational content that prepares social work students to engage in smart decarceration efforts is essential. This article presents strategies for integrating content on smart decarceration into courses across the social work curriculum, including human behavior in the social environment, practice, policy, research, and field education. Suggestions are included that address competencies on ethics, diversity, and justice. Rationale is provided for an integrated curricular approach and guiding principles are put forward. Equipping social work educators to prepare graduates to participate in smart decarceration efforts benefits the individuals and communities that the profession serves.

COVID-19 and Nutrition: The Need for Initiatives to Promote Healthy Eating and Prevent Obesity in Childhood.

COVID-19 and Nutrition: The Need for Initiatives to Promote Healthy Eating and Prevent Obesity in Childhood.

Book Review of Development on Purpose: Faith & Human Behavior in the Social Environment

Book Review of Development on Purpose: Faith & Human Behavior in the Social Environment

Dimensions of altruism behaviors among Americans in the general social survey

ABSTRACT Altruism as a value and behavior describes actions that express selfless concern for others, empathy, and a consideration for the need of others. Altruism behaviors may be considered as primal in the evolution of approaches to social welfare. At a time of heightened disparities in meeting welfare needs, there is a call for individuals to lift up the other for the collective good, charity beginning with one. Using data from the General Social Survey, this study conducted a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to examine the factorial structure of altruism behaviors guided by the empathy theory of altruism. Results from the analysis highlight the distribution and frequency of altruism behaviors in the sample. In addition, two primary dimensions of altruism –personally-directed and institutionally-channeled derived from the analysis. Findings from this analysis provide significant pointers for education, group processes and empowering individuals, and communities to extend the agency of human behavior in the social environment to address barriers to economic and social wellbeing.

Thinking and Thinking About Thinking: A Qualitative Study of Learning in a Process-Centric Teaching Model

ABSTRACTIn the 21st-century sociotechnical context where humans are steeped in information, approaches to social work education that foster students’ capacities to critically consume and be well poised to reflexively apply information are critical. This article presents findings from a qualitative study designed to deepen understanding of social work students’ thinking, thinking about thinking, and changes that emerged through a process-centric approach to human behavior in the social environment. Data were gathered from 52 students and analyzed thematically using a constructionist-informed grounded theory framework. An overarching theme of deepening empathic awareness emerged, with three nested subthemes, capturing shifts in thinking. This article offers a conceptual framework that emerged from the data that can inform the development of process-centric approaches to social work education and future research.

Including Adverse Childhood Experiences Content in the HBSE Course for BSW Students

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) negatively affect biopsychosocial development and functioning across the lifespan. Social workers in generalist practice are likely to serve individuals with a history of childhood adversity. Currently, there is no standard requirement for the topic of ACEs to be addressed in baccalaureate social work education. Our teaching note addresses this gap in the curriculum by establishing a need for baccalaureate social work students to receive trauma-specific education early in their academic careers. Human Behavior in the Social Environment is proposed as a course in which this content can be easily incorporated. Recommendations for future directions are provided.

Revisiting the biological perspective in the use of biopsychosocial assessments in social work

ABSTRACTThe call for increased attention to the biopsychosocial perspective in social work practice is now decades old in the USA. And yet the challenge of teaching and learning from this perspective for those with limited background in biology calls for more inter-disciplinary examples to assist students with the process of engaging in theory-informed practice. In addition to identifying the key elements of human biology, this review of the literature focuses on four examples of client behaviors that receive little or no attention in most current textbooks on the inter-disciplinary nature of human behavior in the social environment; namely, the psychobiology of sleep, the sociobiology of eating, the neurobiology of post-partum depression, and the behavioral endocrinology of menopause. This review concludes with implications for practice.

Examining the Usefulness of Student-Produced PSAs to Learn Advocacy in a Human Behavior and the Social Environment Course

ABSTRACTAdvocacy is a complex set of applications that applies knowledge of human behavior in the social environment to promote the rights of others. The purpose of this study was to explore the usefulness of student-created public service announcements (PSAs) to help BSW students learn cause-based advocacy. Our results suggest that assigning a PSA project supports competencies in cause-based advocacy, professional identity development social work, critical thinking, engagement with research-informed practice, and capacity to respond to contexts.

Teaching Note—Student-Produced Public Service Announcements: A Project to Promote Active Learning in an Undergraduate HBSE Class

ABSTRACTStudent-produced videos are assignments that can increase students’ understanding of course content. This teaching note describes how an undergraduate Human Behavior in the Social Environment I course used student-produced public service announcement videos to develop an understanding of the different life stages in humans. The advantages and disadvantages of such a project are described.

Innovative Experiential Learning Activities in Aging: The Experiences of Four BEL Projects

ABSTRACTThe BSW Experiential Learning (BEL) Program aims to infuse intergenerational content into the curriculum and recruit students to the field of social work by implementing face-to-face learning opportunities with older adults. This article discusses and compares the experiences of 4 diverse BEL projects that implemented gero-experiential learning activities into 1 or more of the BSW curriculum areas: introduction/social work practice, social welfare policy, human behavior in the social environment, social work research, and field practicum. “Three keys to success” are offered as ways in which gero-experiential activities may be successfully implemented by other programs.

Leaders from the forefront: Using research to guide practice

This special issue of the Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment is a compilation of reviews of the literature produced by the first cohort of graduates from the University of Tennesse...

Teaching and incorporating practice models in a human behavior in the social environment (HBSE) course

ABSTRACTHuman behavior and the social environment (HBSE) instructors do not systematically or routinely teach and incorporate practice models in their course. In this article, social work educators describe an approach to teaching and incorporating practice models in a HBSE course using a five-step adapted, modified version of Mosey’s extrapolation method for teaching master level social work students to evaluate and apply practice models. The authors use the Balanced and Restorative Justice (BARJ) model as an illustration to help social work students develop critically reflective approaches to evaluating and applying practice models. The techniques and guidelines outlined in this article could be applied to other practice models and used by social work educators and students interested in other fields of practice.

Application of Attachment Theory in Clinical Social Work.

This article proposes the use of attachment theory in clinical social work practice. This theory is very appropriate in this context because of its fit with social work concepts of person-in-situation, the significance of developmental history in the emergence of psychosocial problems, and the content of human behavior in the social environment. A literature review supports the significance of the theory. Included are ideas about how attachment styles and working models may be used in assessment and treatment to help clients achieve a secure attachment style.

Exploring Ethical Issues in Different Practice Fields

"Exploring Ethical Issues in Different Practice Fields." Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 25(7), p. 713

Contemporary Substance Use Research

"Contemporary Substance Use Research." Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 25(4), p. 287

Teaching Note—An Exploration of Team-Based Learning and Social Work Education: A Natural Fit

The literature on team-based learning (TBL) as a pedagogical methodology in social work education is limited; however, TBL, which was developed as a model for business, has been successfully used as a teaching methodology in nursing, business, engineering, medical school, and many other disciplines in academia. This project examines the use of TBL in a Human Behavior in the Social Environment (HBSE) class and how a convenience sample (n = 44) of undergraduate students responds to this method of learning. The project addresses the implications for this pedagogical style as an innovative way for teaching the social work curriculum and preparing a future generation of social workers to be productive members of work-related and professional groups.

Introduction: Social and Behavioral Health in the Military

This special edition of the Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment presents a wide-range of articles that collectively illuminate the many challenges that have confronted our service m...

Cultivating Curiosity: Integrating Hybrid Teaching in Courses in Human Behavior in the Social Environment

This study illustrates an experience of implementing a hybrid model for teaching human behavior in the social environment in an urban university setting. Developing a hybrid model in a BSW program arose out of a desire to reach students in a different way. Designed to promote curiosity and active learning, this particular hybrid model has students engage in weekly online activities between their weekly on-ground classes. This article reviews key pedagogical concerns and presents preliminary findings, including student feedback, instructor observations, and strategies for faculty interested in developing such courses.