Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations Copyright (c) 2013 Boise State University All rights reserved. http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/socialwork_facpubs Recent documents in Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations en-us Mon, 20 May 2013 13:10:53 PDT 3600 Testing the “Learning Journey” of MSW Students in a Rural Program http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/socialwork_facpubs/31 http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/socialwork_facpubs/31 Fri, 03 May 2013 10:19:51 PDT Using a quasi-experimental one-group, pretest–posttest design with non-random convenience sampling, the researchers assessed 61 advanced standing MSW students who matriculated at a rural intermountain Northwest school of social work. Changes in students' knowledge and attitudes toward lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people were measured using subscales of the LGB-KASH scale and include knowledge of LGB history, religious conflict, internalized affirmation of LGB people and issues, hatred and violence toward LGB people, and knowledge and attitudes toward extension and exclusion of civil rights for LGB people. Completion of required, highly experiential bridge course content regarding LGB history and experience appears to be significant in reducing religious conflict, increasing knowledge of LGB issues, and enhancing internalized affirmation of LGB individuals.

]]> Misty L. Wall et al. Financial Capability Among Survivors of Domestic Violence http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/socialwork_facpubs/30 http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/socialwork_facpubs/30 Tue, 26 Feb 2013 11:27:59 PST Cynthia K. Sanders Better Together: Expanding Rural Partnerships to Support Families http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/socialwork_facpubs/29 http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/socialwork_facpubs/29 Wed, 19 Dec 2012 14:54:10 PST Chronic shortages of health, social service, and mental health professionals in rural areas necessitate creative partnerships in support of families. Cooperative extension professionals in Family and Consumer Sciences and community health nurses are introduced as trusted professionals in rural communities who can bring critical skills to human services teams. Multidisciplinary prevention programs offer particularly good contexts for county extension educators and community health nurses to work in collaboration with social workers. The case of grandparents raising grandchildren illustrates the critical roles that can be filled by professionals in these two fields to extend the reach of family support programs.

]]> Harriet Shaklee et al. Choosing a Survey Sample When Data on the Population are Limited: A Method Using Global Positioning Systems and Aerial and Satellite Photographs http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/socialwork_facpubs/28 http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/socialwork_facpubs/28 Wed, 05 Dec 2012 13:39:14 PST Background: Various methods have been proposed for sampling when data on the population are limited. However, these methods are often biased. We propose a new method to draw a population sample using Global Positioning Systems and aerial or satellite photographs.

Results: We randomly sampled Global Positioning System locations in designated areas. A circle was drawn around each location with radius representing 20 m. Buildings in the circle were identified from satellite photographs; one was randomly chosen. Interviewers selected one household from the building, and interviews were conducted with eligible household members.

Conclusions: Participants had known selection probabilities, allowing proper estimation of parameters of interest and their variances. The approach was made possible by recent technological developments and access to satellite photographs.

]]> Harry S. Shannon et al. Outcomes of a Telehealth Intervention for Homebound Older Adults with Heart or Chronic Respiratory Failure: A Randomized Controlled Trial http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/socialwork_facpubs/27 http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/socialwork_facpubs/27 Tue, 06 Mar 2012 12:05:24 PST Purpose: Telehealth care is emerging as a viable intervention model to treat complex chronic conditions, such as heart failure (HF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and to engage older adults in self-care disease management. Design and Methods:  We report on a randomized controlled trial examining the impact of a multifaceted telehealth intervention on health, mental health, and service utilization outcomes among homebound medically ill older adults diagnosed with HF or COPD. Random effects regression modeling was used, and we hypothesized that older adults in the telehealth intervention (n = 51) would receive significantly better quality of care resulting in improved scores in health-related quality of life, mental health, and satisfaction with care at 3 months follow-up as compared with controls (n = 51) and service utilization outcomes at 12 months follow-up. Results:  At follow-up, the telehealth intervention group reported greater increases in general health and social functioning, and improved in depression symptom scores as compared with usual care plus education group. The control group had significantly more visits to the emergency department than the telehealth group. There was an observed trend toward fewer hospital days for telehealth participants, but it did not reach significance at 12 months. Implications: Telehealth may be an efficient and effective method of systematically delivering integrated care in the home health sector. The use of telehealth technology may benefit homebound older adults who have difficulty accessing care due to disability, transportation, or isolation.

]]> Zvi D. Gellis et al. Learning from Vertical NORCs: Challenges and Recommendations for Horizontal NORCs http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/socialwork_facpubs/26 http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/socialwork_facpubs/26 Thu, 03 Nov 2011 16:53:15 PDT Maximizing quality of life for older adults poses challenges for formal service providers. One strategy to identify and address factors influencing physical and mental health and to promote autonomy of community-dwelling older people is through a naturally occurring retirement community (NORC), a community development model of formal and informal home and community-based support. This descriptive article provides a review of the literature relevant to the NORC concept and a comparison of the dimensions of structure, design and location, management, cost and affordability, and socialization between vertical NORCs (high-rise apartments) in major metropolitan cities and horizontal NORCs in small cities and suburban and rural communities. Implications and suggestions for horizontal NORCs are discussed.

]]> Laura Bronstein et al. Outcomes Assessment: Collaboration Between Schools of Social Work http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/socialwork_facpubs/25 http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/socialwork_facpubs/25 Wed, 02 Nov 2011 13:03:04 PDT Assessment of social work programs at the University of North Dakota (UND) and Colorado State University (CSU) is a unique and collaborative venture. The two schools of social work have sought to test a model of program monitoring developed by one and enhanced by the other. This cooperative approach to program assessment has provide to be a boon to both programs.

An internal evaluation perspective is the basis for the approach used by UND and CSU. It represents a value principle that assessment should focus on curriculum content, the student learning process, and the usefulness of that learning content and experience beyond the university environment. We believe that students are the primary consumers of the educational "product" and that, logically, they are among those best suited to evaluate its success or failure. The internal evaluation perspective is more concerned with the actual impact of the educational process on the student.

]]> Roy Rodenhiser et al. Assessment of Social Work Program Objectives: The Baccalaureate Educational Assessment Project http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/socialwork_facpubs/24 http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/socialwork_facpubs/24 Wed, 02 Nov 2011 13:01:35 PDT This article describes the use of the Baccalaureate Educational Assessment Project (BEAP) to assist programs and faculty in meeting the challenging tasks of assessing program outcomes. The BEAP is a package of evaluation instruments that help social work programs assess student outcomes, as required by Council on Social Work Education accreditation standards. The article discusses the evolution of the BEAP model and considers its relevance in helping social work programs assess student outcomes. An overview of some of the data available to programs is provided along with a description of how these may be used for program assessment. The article concludes by describing how programs can become involved in using the BEAP and discussing future considerations.

]]> Roy Rodenhiser et al. Responding to the 2008 EPAS: Baccalaureate Education Assessment Direct and Indirect Measurement http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/socialwork_facpubs/23 http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/socialwork_facpubs/23 Wed, 02 Nov 2011 12:53:47 PDT To meet accreditation requirements, many programs have used indirect measurements focused on student perceptions, which are sufficient to meet current Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS) requirements. This article assists programs with measurement of the ten 2008 EPAS competencies by presenting two new instruments that measure implicit and explicit curriculum and compliment the already-existing Baccalaureate Educational Assessment Package (BEAP) instrument set. The Foundation Curriculum Assessment Instrument provides a direct pre–post measurement of how well a program's curriculum prepares students for practice. The Field/Practicum Placement Assessment Instrument focuses on the measurement of field education competencies. As demonstrated in a matrix, the BEAP instruments provide measures of all 41 competencies and the knowledge, values, and skills that help define them.

]]> Tobi DeLong Hamilton et al. Facilitating Savings and Asset Ownership among Domestic Violence Survivors http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/socialwork_facpubs/22 http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/socialwork_facpubs/22 Wed, 26 Oct 2011 15:36:38 PDT Cynthia K. Sanders Savings Outcomes of an IDA Program for Survivors of Domestic Violence http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/socialwork_facpubs/21 http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/socialwork_facpubs/21 Wed, 26 Oct 2011 13:25:10 PDT This report examines account monitoring data on outcomes of an IDA program for survivors of domestic violence. This study examines saving rates, withdrawals, and purchases made among 125 women who participated in the IDA program. Approximately two-thirds of women reached their savings goal and 76% made at least one matched withdrawal purchase. On average, women saved $87 per month while living on modest incomes (most women lived at or below 150% of poverty). These savings outcomes demonstrate that women impacted by intimate partner violence are capable of successfully saving in an IDA program when given the opportunity. Findings regarding factors associated with savings outcomes are limited given the sample size; however, education emerged as a positive factor in improving women's savings outcomes.

]]> Cynthia K. Sanders Economic Education for Battered Women: An Evaluation of Outcomes http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/socialwork_facpubs/20 http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/socialwork_facpubs/20 Wed, 26 Oct 2011 13:17:33 PDT

Economic education programs that are intended to improve financial literacy have gained significant attention in recent years as one strategy for promoting social and economic development, especially among poor and disadvantaged groups. The aims of such programs are to increase awareness of financial choices, opportunities, and consequences. The role that poverty and financial matters play in intimate partner violence has also received increasing attention among advocates for victims of domestic violence. This study examined the financial literacy outcomes of an economic education program that was created specifically for battered women using a quasi-experimental design. The findings indicate limited gains in financial knowledge and significant improvements in financial self-efficacy and highlight the need for further research.

]]> Cynthia K. Sanders et al. The Ownership Society and Women: Exploring Female Householders’ Ability to Accumulate Assets http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/socialwork_facpubs/19 http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/socialwork_facpubs/19 Wed, 26 Oct 2011 13:06:52 PDT Wealth indicators have not been widely examined in studies of women’s economic well-being and little attention has been paid to assets within female-headed households, specifically. Using SIPP data this study examined factors associated with asset accumulation of female householders. Differences between households with and without children and with and without other adults present in the household were emphasized. Findings indicated the presence of children consistently reduced the likelihood of owning assets but had little impact on equity values when women owned assets. The effect of multiple adults within the household varied depending on the asset held.

]]> Cynthia K. Sanders et al. Codependent Attitude and Behavior: Moderators of Psychological Distress in Adult-Offspring of Families with Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) Problems http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/socialwork_facpubs/17 http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/socialwork_facpubs/17 Tue, 25 Oct 2011 15:29:26 PDT This study explored a model of codependent attitude and behavior as moderators of the relationship between AOD problems in the family of origin (AODF) and offspring self-reports of psychological distress in a counterbalanced multiple-treatment experiment with a small heterogeneous sample of adult males and females. Three-directional hypotheses suggested by the literature were tested. Codependent attitude and behavior buffered Somatization, as predicted by the model, but exacerbated Anxiety, Hostility, and Paranoid-Ideation. Our findings suggest that codependent attitude and behavior may be adaptations that protect AODF offspring from somatic distress, not the broadband expressions of offspring neuroticism reported in the literature. Owing to the small size and self-selection of our volunteer sample, replications with larger samples are called for.

]]> Daniel Harkness et al. Social Work: A Challenging Profession http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/socialwork_facpubs/16 http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/socialwork_facpubs/16 Fri, 23 Sep 2011 14:27:28 PDT Daniel Harkness et al. Testing Interactional Social Work Theory http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/socialwork_facpubs/15 http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/socialwork_facpubs/15 Fri, 23 Sep 2011 14:23:28 PDT This investigation used multiple regression in a cross-lagged panel analysis to test Interactional Social Work (ISW) theory in a challenging replication. ISW is a causal model of change which asserts that workers' practice skills help create positive working relationships, which are the medium through which workers influence practice outcomes. The empirical support for ISW theory comes from research using cross-sectional designs. This replication used a longitudinal design to expose Interactional Social Work theory to causal tests of association, temporal order, and independence. The replication varied the focus of social work supervision governing supervised practice with 161 clients in a community mental health setting, and examined the causal order among skills and relationships of supervised practice and client outcomes over time. The findings support, alter, and introduce links in the chain of Interactional Social Work theory.

]]> Daniel Harkness The Development, Reliability, and Validity of a Clinical Rating Scale for Codependency http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/socialwork_facpubs/14 http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/socialwork_facpubs/14 Fri, 23 Sep 2011 14:19:49 PDT This investigation examined the reliability and validity if a rating scale for codependency in substance abuse treatment. The investigators developed an example-anchored rating scale to operationalize codependency as substance abuse counselors construe it in practice, and recruited 27 counselors for a counterbalanced multiple-treatment experiment. Counselors were randomly assigned to one of four continuing education workshops for rating-scale training, and asked to evaluate codependency in five videotaped cases. Semistructured case interviews were videotaped with a male and a female from five adult populations to vary the gender and codependency of cases: (1) outpatients in treatment for addiction, (2) outpatient spouses, (3) members of Codependents Anonymous, (4) United State Bureau of Land Management smoke jumpers, and (5) college students majoring in business or economics. To control for gender effects, one workshop presented male cases, one workshop presented female cases, and two workshops presented cases of both genders. To control for order of effect, the assignment of videotapes to workshops was randomized to counterbalance the order in which counselors viewed them. The findings suggest that the rating scale yields reliable and valid evaluations of codependency without appreciable gender bias.

]]> Daniel Harkness et al. The Social Construction of Co-Dependency in the Treatment of Substance Abuse http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/socialwork_facpubs/13 http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/socialwork_facpubs/13 Fri, 23 Sep 2011 13:56:04 PDT Co-dependency has become an important concept in the treatment of substance abuse, yet there is still disagreement about what it means. The meaning of co-dependency is important because it shapes public perceptions of helping behavior and affects the treatment that persons with addictions receive. However, some observers have criticized co-dependency, arguing that the concept is gender-biased, denigrates women, and blames innocent victims of substance abuse. This investigation examined the social construction of co-dependency in the treatment of substance abuse by asking substance-abuse counselors three questions: (a) what do they mean by co-dependency, (b) to what extent does co-dependency mean women, and (c) to what extent do they agree. The findings suggest that co-dependency is a reliable social construction that substance-abuse counselors use to describe persons of both genders.

]]> Daniel Harkness et al. Testing Cermak's Hypothesis: Is Dissociation the Mediating Variable that Links Substance Abuse in the Family of Origin with Offspring Codependency? http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/socialwork_facpubs/12 http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/socialwork_facpubs/12 Fri, 23 Sep 2011 13:51:19 PDT This is a pilot study of substance abuse in the family of origin and its relation to offspring dissociation and offspring codependency. Cermak contends that substance abuse in the family of origin exposes offspring to trauma, that exposure to trauma in the family of origin engenders offspring dissociation, and that dissociation is the process underlying offspring codependency. Assuming that substance abuse in the family of origin exposes offspring to trauma, this experiment tested the hypothesis that dissociation mediates the relationship between substance abuse in the family of origin and offspring codependency. Although it was found that substance abuse in the family of origin, offspring dissociation, and offspring codependency were associated, no support was found for the prediction that dissociation mediates the relationship between substance abuse in the family of origin and offspring codependency. Replications are called for.

]]> Daniel Harkness Educating and Credentialing Social Workers http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/socialwork_facpubs/11 http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/socialwork_facpubs/11 Fri, 23 Sep 2011 13:46:58 PDT Diana M. DiNitto et al.