Work Practice Research Research Articles

“Hope Is Greater than Barriers”: Creating a Pathway of Hope for Low-Income Families in Moving Out of Poverty

ABSTRACT This study explored a strength-based, anti-poverty program called Pathway of Hope (POH) of the Salvation Army based on the data that was collected from 11 focus groups consisting of 30 service users and 32 service providers in 2017. The results of the qualitative content analysis found four main categories for creating a pathway of hope: (a) case manager as a personal coach and spiritual accompanist; (b) goal attainment in the POH process; (c) relationship between hope and barriers; and (d) regional coordinator’s modeling role for case managers. Implications for service delivery in social work practice and future research suggestions are discussed.

Professional Collaboration Networks as a Social Work Research Practice Innovation: Preparing DSW Students for Knowledge Dissemination Roles in a Digital Society

In professional disciplines, gaps often exist between research and practice. This occurs because of a lack of information exchange between stakeholders about various knowledge of problems and solutions. Implementation science offers systematic strategies for addressing gaps. One potential way to close gaps is by using professional collaboration networks (PCNs), which are technology-mediated, user-centered relationship constellations designed to enhance connections and professional opportunities. These participatory networks are goal-specific, extending across disciplinary and international borders. PCN users can keep current on empirical developments, disseminate knowledge, connect to others for collaboration and mentoring, and expand in-person networks. They allow social workers to contribute their unique knowledge of social systems across interdisciplinary contexts and contribute to conversations about social. This article explores the development of PCNs as a tool for social work researchers, practitioners, and students. PCNs in social work education are explored, including relevance to lifelong professional learning and enhancing research impact.

Imperialism through Virtuous Helping: Baldwin’s Innocence and Implications for Clinical Social Work Practice

ABSTRACT Following a scholarly thread in political theory that looks to American literature to deepen understanding of social problems and potential solutions, this paper explores James Baldwin’s conceptualization of racial innocence and the manifestation of the “culture of Whiteness” in social work practice. The paper begins by introducing the complicated history of the social work profession and its, perhaps inadvertent, collusion with structural racism via the promotion of imperialism. Next, is a discussion of contemporary social workers’ potential socialization into the culture of Whiteness, an expression of White supremacy. Third, Baldwin’s conceptualization of innocence is introduced, followed by deliberation of how this conceptualization bolsters an understanding of harmful helping. With this deepened understanding, the paper ends by considering steps towards disruption and interruption of damaging clinical patterns. Implications for social work practice, clinical supervision, and future research are introduced.

Police encounters among a community sample of children and youth accessing mental health services

ABSTRACTGenerally, within the Canadian context, scholarship on police encounters with persons living with mental illness has focused on the experiences of adults and not children and youth. In this article, we present preliminary work of a secondary data analysis of intake statistics collected over a 5-year period (2009–2014) and a thematic content analysis of qualitative intake notes collected over a 2-year period (2009–2011) about police involvement among a community sample of children and youth accessing mental health services. Of 8,920 intakes completed, 1,449 children and youth, birth to 24 years old, had had police involvement at the time of accessing mental health services. Over the 5 years, the average number of young people with police involvement at the time of accessing mental health services was 16%, or one in six children and youth. Analysis of the qualitative intake notes revealed two main reasons for police involvement: (1) support in the home for a distressed child, and (2) concerns about a child’s conduct and behaviors in the community. The implications for social work practice and future research are discussed.

Outsiders and learners: Negotiating meaning in comparative European social work research practice

This paper draws on two experiences of undertaking comparative research in England, Sweden and Italy, and offers a discussion of the kinds of dilemmas raised in relation to language and meaning surfaced by these. Its primary focus is to examine the reflexive construction of meaning, both in relation generally to the workings of an international research team and, more specifically, how such construction of meaning impacts on the process of qualitative interviewing across linguistic and cultural boundaries. The article argues that a culture of reflexive research practice is helpful for approaching national differences, to facilitate understanding in internationally mixed research teams and to support and empower participants in research, in second languages and differing cultures. Overall, the paper attempts to advance some tentative ideas that other international researchers may be able to consider and deploy in relation to their own research ambitions.

Older Lesbian Adults’ Psychological Well-Being: The Significance of Pets

There is an urgent need to understand more about how social support affects the mental health of older lesbian adults, who have been underrepresented in research to date and who bear a disproportionately high rate of psychological distress. A robust, yet controversial, body of literature suggests that pets are associated with human psychological well-being, and this is especially true for older adults. Through semistructured interviews, this qualitative study explored the perceived impact of companion animals on the psychological well-being of older lesbian adults. The present study advances the literature by identifying two intertwined aspects of human-animal interaction—framed as love and caregiving—that have potential implications for four specific dimensions of psychological well-being among a sample of 12 older lesbian adults. This article also identifies ways in which having an animal can be difficult, and concludes with implications for social work practice and future research.

Service Infrastructures: A call for ethnography of heterogeneity

This paper investigates the notion of heterogeneity, inspired by Latour's work on Actor Network Theory, as a lens for understanding daily work practices in a large service delivery organization. To this end, we present and discuss the findings from an ongoing research where we unpacked how system‐administrators manage and negotiate incident resolution requests as part of service delivery practices. In particular, we looked into how performance metrics, such as, service level agreements (SLAs), mediated those practices. This paper contributes to the studies of infrastructure and explores the critical synergy between quantitative and qualitative methods in support of large‐scale work practice research.

Contexts of Practice and Their Impact on Social Work: A Comparative Analysis of the Context of Geography and Culture

Social work has long struggled to adapt its knowledge base to meet the distinct needs of the communities in which it is practiced. Typically, these communities are defined culturally, ethnically, racially, geographically, or in other diverse ways. But much of this scholarship occurs in silos, and common themes across practice with otherwise diverse communities may be neglected. As a corrective, this article offers a comparative analysis of two sets of interview data collected from social workers practicing in one of two geographically and ethnically different parts of North America: the first in Canada's geographic north, and the second cohort practicing with Muslim communities in New York City's five boroughs. Comparative analysis of findings shows a surprising number of common themes, particularly in how social workers adapt theory and practice to meet the needs of their communities: identifying client needs, termination, incidental encounters, social crossovers, and “gold fish bowl” scenarios, The conclusion considers the impact on social work education, training, practice, and future research.

Working with Children and Families Who Have Survived Natural Disasters: Exploring Substance Abuse and Other Risk Factors

Holleran Steiker: The relationship between trauma and substance abuse has long been established in social work practice and related research (Goeders, 2003). According to experts in the area of pos...

Latino Child Welfare: Parents' Weil-Being at the Time of Entry

This study examines community environment, social support networks, and other factors that impact the physical and mental health of Latino parents involved with the public child welfare system. Secondary data analyses were completed using data from the National Survey on Child and Adolescent Well-Being. The results reveal differences in parents' social support structure (i.e., number of individuals providing support) and perceptions of community environment safety by immigration status. There were differences in satisfaction with social support by Latino origin. Regression analyses indicate that household income, age, and social support structure predict parents' health. Implications for social work practice, policy, and future research are discussed.

Coping Resources among Southeast Asian-American Adolescents

This study examines the relationships of gender and ethnic differences in the experiences of stressful life events, coping-specific responses, and self-reported depression. Seventy high-school aged respondents, 40 boys and 30 girls, responded to a self-reported questionnaire that asked questions on the perceived distress of related life events (i.e., person, family, peer, acculturation events), coping-specific responses, and depression. The findings provide important data on gender and ethnic variations in the ways Southeast Asian-American adolescents deal with life stress and depression. These findings have important implications for social work practice and future research on the psychosocial adjustment with both immigrant and ethnic children and adolescents.

Service Utilization Patterns Among Adolescent Mothers Residing in Three-Generational Households

ABSTRACT This qualitative study used in-depth interviews to better understand the social service experiences and identified needs of 26 demographically diverse adolescent mothers and their mothers, who resided together in three-generational households. Most dyads accessed community services, particularly parenting and emotional supports, financial and material assistance, and medical care, and desired short-term assistance related to their circumstances and newly expanded families, rather than long-term support. The most commonly identified barrier to service utilization involved income eligibility guidelines. In light of welfare reform policies and the current economic climate, this research underscores the need for transitional supports for families, including assistance with basic needs. In terms of implications for social work practice and future research, adolescent mothers may need formal supports as they pursue independence after they leave their mothers’ care. Future research could further explore, within other communities and longitudinally, whether these preliminary trends hold true.

The Use of Information Technology to Enhance the Quality of Teaching and Learning in Social Work Practicum: An Example from the City University of Hong Kong

SUMMARY One of the thorny issues in social work practicum training is how to maintain fairness in assessment. To address this issue, a grade moderation system was set up. Digital practicum portfolios and on-line assessment were used through the Web CT platform. Two amendments were made: (1) password control to protect access rights and privacy; (2) assessment data transfer through Common Gateway Interface (CGI) to conduct automatic descriptive statistical analysis for monitoring possible deviations from the grading standard. A feedback system was built to enhance the quality of teaching using students' survey data. To promote the quality of learning in this individualized teaching mode, the Social Work Practice Teaching, Learning, and Research site was constructed.

Environmental Concern and Personal Health Behaviors in Women

Effective efforts to shift attitudes and behaviors impacting the health of the ecological environment may be found to be similar to those efforts that are effective for changing personal health behaviors. This investigation examines the relationship between environmental attitudes and self-care behaviors in a sample of twenty-seven women in their forties. Environmental concern, as measured by an updated version of Weigel and Weigel's (1978) Environmental Concern Scale, was significantly correlated with self-reported personal health care behaviors as measured by a new self-report Health Questionnaire. Implications for social work practice and future research are discussed.

The role of cognitive control in mediating the effect of stressful circumstances among Korean immigrants.

The study reported in this article investigated relationships among stressful circumstances, cognitive control (the individual's perception of control over life), and distress among Korean immigrants in the United States. Specifically, it was hypothesized that cognitive control mediated the effect of exposure to stressful circumstances on distress. A total of 159 Korean immigrants participated in the study. The result of the study provided strong support for the role of cognitive control in mediating the relationship between stressful circumstances and distress. The detrimental effect of exposure to stressful circumstances on distress was weakened by cognitive control. Implications for social work practice and future research are discussed.

From vocational to knowledge-based education - an account of Swedish social work education

This article outlines the historical trajectory of Swedish social work education. Important stages and developmental changes in educational programs are described. As well overall structure of Swedish social work education and training is presented. A number of important issues not only specific to Swedish circumstances but also pertinent to social work education around the world are described and their role is analysed. More specifically, the author focuses on issues of social work as a research discipline, identity of the social work discipline, cleavage and relationship between social work research and social work practice. Social work education, social work practice and social work research are seen in a holistic perspective. The author describes and argues that Swedish social work education has gone from being a non-academic vocational training program to a knowledge-based package of academic discipline.

Psychological and spiritual growth in women living with HIV.

Women living with HIV and AIDS face tremendous obstacles to wellness, yet many find ways to use their experience of HIV as a vehicle for psychological and spiritual growth. A qualitative study was conducted to better understand this process. Thirty-four women living with various stages of HIV were interviewed. Five components were found to be important in their psychological and spiritual growth: reckoning with death, life affirmation, creation of meaning, self-affirmation, and redefining relationships. Implications for social work practice and future research are discussed.

Age, Gender and Health Among African Americans

ABSTRACT Public policy and epidemiological studies have not adequately addressed age and gender differences on important health dimensions among African Americans. The purpose of this study was to examine gender and health among five age groups of African Americans. A sample of 1,174 respondents age 24 to 85 was selected from the 1986 Americans' Changing Lives (ACL) Study. Regression analysis was performed using a hierarchical model to examine age and gender on five dimensions of health: functional health, chronic conditions, satisfaction with health, self-ratings of health, and activities of daily living (ADL) limitations controlling for age, education, income, and marital status among five age groups of African Americans. Results revealed that in the 24-39 age group, men had fewer chronic conditions and less ADL limitations, yet rated their health poorer than their female counterparts. In the 75 and over age group men had better functional health yet were less satisfied with their health than women. Control variables were significantly related to objective and subjective dimensions of health especially among the younger age groups. Overall, gender differences persist mainly among the youngest and oldest age groups despite variations in the above demographic variables. Implications for social work practice and future research are discussed.

African Americans and multicultural interventions

This paper presents a Multicultural Communication Process Model for increasing multicultural competence. Incorporating social work values and practice theory, research findings, and principles of communication theory, the model defines a specific process for intervention with and by African Americans. The process is twofold. First, the practitioner uses the components of the model to guide his own individualized study and growth in multicultural knowledge. Second, the practitioner uses the model to intervene actively or supervise intervention in a multicultural context. The model's eight components are presented followed by case vignettes which vividly describe how the model is applied in a number of practice settings.

The impact of inner‐city life on adolescent development implications for social work

Abstract This paper examines how the unique dilemmas of inner‐city life (substandard housing, inferior schools, and deteriorating neighborhoods) affect the socioemotional development of adolescents. Those protective factors within individuals or their environments that either promote successful development or buffer them from the risk factors that might otherwise compromise development are described. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of this information for social work practice and future research initiatives.