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Journal Articles
Chapter 1. An Introduction to Social Problems, Social Welfare Organizations, and the Profession of Social Work
Research on Social Work Practice
Risler, E., Lowe, L. A., & Nackerud, L.
The components of the working definition's constellation that makes up social work practice are examined. This article suggests that the working definition, as stated, is not appropriate today. It is suggested that it is not the knowledge and methods of social work practice but the values and purpose underlying social work that define it. It is emphasized that the definition of social work should be inclusive of different attitudes and opinions, yet limited, avoiding the incorporation of other problem issues. Furthermore, it is suggested that the definition, if inclusively stated, can remain constant through time and environment. It is also suggested that alternatives have been offered that may be more appropriate in the current environment of global awareness and sensitivity. More inclusive statements, although allowing for growth and change in the profession, do not necessitate change in the definition itself.
Questions that apply to this article:
- Describe the six values that Bartlett's definition of
social work addresses.
- What are some of the issues with Bartlett's definition
of social work? What revisions would you make to
Bartlett's definition?
- According to this article, what are "values based on"?
Journal of Social Work
Staniforth, B., Fouche, C., & O'Brien, M.
Summary: Members of the Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers (ANZASW) were asked to provide their definition of social work. Over 300 responses were analysed thematically in order to determine if practitioner views corresponded to recent shifts in social work education and theory which emphasized the importance of social change, strengths based perspectives and the importance of local and indigenous contexts.
Findings:The findings demonstrate that while there was some recognition of social change and strengths-based perspectives in the definitions of social work provided, that those working in the field remain focused on 'helping individuals, families and groups' engage in change. Respondents did not, for the most part, acknowledge local or indigenous perspectives in their definitions.
Applications: Results from this study may be useful for social work professional organizations, and social work educators, students and future researchers who are interested in the definition of social work and its scopes of practice.
Questions that apply to this article:
- How do definitions of social work vary?
- Compare and contrast the Reflexive-therapeutic
views, the Socialist-collectivist view, and the
Individualist-reformist view.
- Describe the community/counseling split in the
social work field. Why has this caused increasing
Qualitative Social Work
Wilks, T.
Values play an important role in the construction of social workers' professional identities. However current accounts of social work ethics can have difficulty in providing an account of social work values in practice that incorporates the complexity and reflexive nature of much value talk in social care. Direct research in this area has been very limited. Where it has been carried out quantitative research using vignettes has been an important approach. Vignettes have many advantages when used to examine ethical dilemmas. Their increasing use in qualitative research offers new possibilities in exploring values that might generate more complex and sophisticated understandings of social work ethics.
Questions that apply to this article:
- In the past, descriptive accounts of social work
values have been largely non-research based. Why
is this an issue?
- Describe the process of using vignettes when
researching social work values.
- What has been regarded as key in understanding
social work ethics?
Chapter 2. A Brief History of Social Work: From the English Poor Laws to the Progressive Policies of President Barack Obama
History of Psychiatry
Scull, A.
This paper examines the impact of World War II and its aftermath on the mental health sector, and traces the resulting transformations in US psychiatry and psychology. Focusing on the years between 1940 and 1970, it analyses the growing federal role in funding training and research in the mental health sector, the dominance of psychoanalysis within psychiatry in these years, and the parallel changes that occurred in both academic and clinical psychology.
Questions that apply to this article:
- Describe the impact of World War II on the mental
health sector in the United States.
- When was the National Institute of Health
implemented? Describe how it has changed
throughout the past 80 years.
- What were some of the earlier treatments of
individuals who were mentally ill?
- How did the "incidence of psychiatric breakdown"
differ in World War II when compared to World War I?
Knight, L. W.
Abstract: In writing a half-life biography of Jane Addams, the author faced the difficult decision of choosing a point of view from which to interpret her life. She knew that somehow she would have to find a way to be wiser than Jane Addams—at least the adult Jane Addams—and she was not sure, given the narrowness of her life when compared to hers, that she could. Eventually, however, the author realized she could compare Addams to herself. By 1899, when the biography ends, after 10 years at Hull House, Addams's ideas about the morality of the labor movement, the adaptability of social ethics to their times, and about her own class's presumed superiority to working class people had changed from what she had believed in 1889. Addams's continuing determination to face her own moral confusions and revise her ideas shaped her life and offers an example from which many can learn.
Questions that apply to this article:
- Discuss how Jane Addams' ideas changed during her
first 10 years on Halsted Street.
- What does Knight describe as some of Addams'
experiences at the Hull House?
- What does Addams' say about changing one's mind
about an ethical belief?
Educational Policy
Price, H. E.
Before revising the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation under the new administration, policy makers need to be informed as to whether or not the NCLB labeling formula adequately distinguishes good-quality schools from poor-quality schools. This study tests this question, using rich descriptive data for Milwaukee's urban school district (MPS). Alternative indicators of school quality, the NCLB subgroup test failure measure and a standardized testing proficiency measure, are used as comparison measures to illustrate the discrimination embedded in the current formula used by the Department of Education.
Questions that apply to this article:
- How has the No Child Left Behind legislation affected
primary and secondary level students?
- Describe internal and external influences on school
- How do both of internal and external factors affect
educational outcomes?
Chapter 3. The Social Work process
Journal of Social Work
Mullen, E. J., & Shuluk, J.
Summary: This article explores the general outcomes of social work interventions as reported in journal review articles that have examined that question since 1990.
Findings: There is now a large body of evidence supporting the effectiveness of a wide range of social work interventions with a wide range of social problems and populations. It is reasonable to conclude that approximately two-thirds of clients served by social workers benefit in measurable ways. These positive outcomes remain, even after controlling for publication and investigator bias. The reviews examined in this article also suggest that theoretical orientation does not account for differential outcomes, however, differential intervention outcomes have been found when contrasting alternate interventions and specifying target problem or condition.
Applications: What are currently needed are studies and systematic reviews that contrast credible, alternative intervention options under highly specific conditions. Using comparative effectiveness strategies, specification of differential effectiveness should now be a focus of research to answer questions such as what intervention, under what circumstances, for what problem, under what conditions, in what population, has what effect and at what cost. Evidence-based practice will be strengthened and enriched to the extent such systematic reviews become available. Additionally, findings are sufficiently encouraging to recommend that promising social work interventions with specific social problems and specific populations be more carefully studied with particular attention to questions of cost-effectiveness since few studies have used designs or measures that examine cost-effectiveness or cost–benefit questions.
Questions that apply to this article:
- When were the first studies designed to evaluate
social work outcomes?
- Describe the relationship between positive results in
social work outcome studies and investigator bias.
- Describe the relationship between positive results in
social work outcome studies and publication bias.
Research on Social Work Practice
Mullen, E. J., Bledsoe, S. E., & Bellamy, J. L.
Recently, social work has been influenced by new forms of practice that hold promise for bringing practice and research together to strengthen the scientific knowledge base supporting social work intervention. The most recent new practice framework is evidence-based practice. However, although evidence-based practice has many qualities that might attract social workers to adopt it, use in practice is limited. Accordingly, attention is being given to determine effective strategies for the dissemination, adoption, and implementation of evidence-based practice. This article examines the implementation literature, describes alternative strategies for implementation of evidence-based practice in social work, describes an implementation study to illustrate concepts discussed, and specifies needed research.
Questions that apply to this article:
- Describe the gap that exists between research and
direct practice in the social work field.
- What is an evidence based practice and why were
these types of practices developed?
- Describe the complimentary relationship between
evidence based practices and evidence based
- What is the top-down strategy?
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
Hodges, S. D., Kiel, K. J., Kramer, A. D. I., Veach, D., & Villanueva, R.
This study examined how having had a similar experience to a target person's experience affected three facets of empathy: empathic concern, empathic accuracy, and perceived empathy. Women who had never been mothers, who were pregnant with their first child, or who had just given birth to their first child (20 in each group) served as perceivers, watching videotapes of new-mother targets (N = 20) and providing measures of emotional and cognitive empathy. When perceivers had experienced the same life events as the targets, they expressed greater empathic concern and reported greater understanding of targets. However, experience had a much smaller effect on empathic accuracy, limited to comparisons between new-mother and never-pregnant perceivers and only for accuracy at guessing stereotypic attitudes, not individual thoughts. Perceived empathy, in contrast, appeared to be influenced by targets' knowledge of whether perceivers had experienced similar events.
Questions that apply to this article:
- Where have the most extensive empirical
investigations of experience's effect on empathy
come from?
- What were the results of these empirical
- Compare and contrast "everyday empathy" and
"clinical empathy".
Chapter 4. Professional Social Work Practice: The Sophisticated Generalist
International Social Work
Guo, W., & Tsui, M.
Many practice models in social work focus primarily on the concepts associated with resilience. By contrast, resistance and rebellion, important strategies of the disadvantaged, are often neglected by social workers in developed countries. The authors seek to reconstruct and revitalize the strengths perspective by constructing a framework that includes theories of reflective practice.
Questions that apply to this article:
- How has clinical social work practice changed since
the 1990's?
- Describe the strengths-based model.
- Discuss the three levels of structure that Bourdieu
argues that every field has.
- What is "reflection-in-action" and how does it apply
to social work?
Research on Social Work Practice
Kim, J. S.
Objective: A meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT). Method: Hierarchical linear modeling software was used to synthesize the primary studies to calculate an overall effect size estimate and test for between-study variability. Results: Solution-focused brief therapy demonstrated small but positive treatment effects favoring SFBT group on the outcome measures (d = 0.13 to 0.26). Only the magnitude of the effect for internalizing behavior problems was statistically significant at the p < .05 level, thereby indicating that the treatment effect for SFBT group is different than the control group. Conclusions: This study allows social workers interested in solution-focused brief therapy to examine the empirical evidence quickly and with more definitive information.
Questions that apply to this article:
- How and when did Solution Focused Brief Therapy
- Describe the availability of research on Solution
Focused Brief Therapy.
- What did the results of this meta-analysis find
regarding the effectiveness of Solution Focused
Brief Therapy?
- Why have practitioners from all disciplines
embraced Solution Focused Brief Therapy?
Home Health Care Management Practice
Dyeson, T. B.
This article provides a brief history of the development of social work as a profession including professional training, educational accreditation, and state licensing for professional practice. This brief history is followed by a description of the varying state licensing laws and their implications for social work practice in home health.
Questions that apply to this article:
- When was the first social work class offered at
Columbus University, marking the beginning of the
social work field?
- Describe the growth of the social work profession
throughout the 20th century.
- What are the requirements of social work certification
and licensure? What are some of the additional
credentials social workers can receive?
Chapter 5. Social Work Education
Research on Social Work Practice
Zeira, A., & Schiff, M.
This study monitors group supervision for students' field training in a Bachelor's Degree in Social Work (BSW) program and compares it with the experience of the students receiving the traditional individual supervision. The experimental group supervision model is implemented in two consecutive years. Students' experiences are compared at three points in time: before pilot study began; at the end of the 1st year of the pilot study; and at the end of the 2nd year. Findings indicate that in most areas, and at all points in time, students receiving group supervision do not differ from their colleagues in the traditional individual supervision group. However, students receiving group supervision are less satisfied at all points in time with various aspects of the supervision they receive. These findings generally broaden our understanding of group supervision in social work field training and provide evidence to support future decisions on the nature of supervision in fieldwork training in BSW programs.
Questions that apply to this article:
- Compare and contrast one-to-one and group
supervision. What are the benefits and negatives
of both?
- Describe the Jerusalem Structure of group
- Discuss the results of this study. What implications
does this study have on both group and individual supervision?
Research on Social Work Practice
Woody, J. D., D'Souza, H. J., Dartman, R.
Objective: A questionnaire to examine efforts toward the teaching of empirically supported interventions (ESI) was mailed to the 165 deans and directors of Council on Social Work Education-accredited Master's in social work (MSW) programs; 66 (40%) responded. Method: Questions included program characteristics and items assessing both faculty and official program positions on ESI, which were summed to provide scores as an index of commitment to ESI. Results: Informal faculty commitment to teaching ESI was significantly higher than official program commitment, and offering more clinical practice courses was associated with greater program commitment. Factor analysis extracted two components from program emphasis on theoretical models in the overall practice curriculum: (a) experiential and (b) behavioral/systems; correlation of factor scores for these two components, as yielded from regression, with commitment scores, showed that the behavioral/systems component was significantly associated with greater faculty and program commitment. Conclusion: Study limitations are discussed and recommendations address how the findings apply to social work educators and innovations for promoting empirical practice in the MSW curriculum.
Questions that apply to this article:
- Compare and contrast empirically supported
interventions, empirically supported treatments, and
evidence-based practice.
- What were the findings regarding whether Master's
in Social Work (MSW) programs teach ESI as part of
the practice curriculum?
- What are the leading psychology experts three
different views on Evidence Based Practice?
Research on Social Work Practice
Khiduka, S.
After summarizing the recent initiatives and recommendations about doctoral education by the American Association of Universities and the Woodrow Wilson Fellowship Foundation, this article reviews selected trends in doctoral education in social work. It recommends five foci for further emphasis: promoting interdisciplinary preparation; strengthening the quality of faculty; balancing rigorous research with effective teaching; developing postdoctoral education in institutions with the infrastructure to do so; and fashioning an institutional culture that is hospitable to excellence in social work education.
Questions that apply to this article:
- Discuss some of the recent trends in higher
- What are the three general trends specific to social
work education?
- Discuss the quality of faculty and competence in
research and teaching in social work.
Chapter 6. The Importance of Critical Thinking and Research in Social Work Practice
Matthewman, S., & Hoey, D.
Some things never made it into the 21st century. Postmodern social theory seems to be one of them. In this article we ask the all important questions: what was it and what happened to it? We argue that postmodernism existed in the plural and in many of its forms as proxy. Postmodernism was always a term of convenience for critics, and paradoxically it is they who elevated a disparate group of thinkers into a coherent intellectual project. That is not to deny the existence of either a postmodern moment or of useful theoretical legacies from this purported project. Irrespective of where the criticisms of postmodernism came from, its shared intention was the defense of perceived challenges to assured knowledge.
Questions that apply to this article:
- What is Postmodernism and when was this theory
- When did the Postmodern moment "collapse" and
what as Sokal's role?
- Describe Postmodernism's role in the 21st century.
Acta Sociologica
Phillips, D. L.
This paper is concerned with examining closely Kuhn's notion of paradigm, as expressed in the first edition of his book and in more recent writings. The implications of the paradigm notion for two different forms of falsification are considered, and it is argued that both Popper's and Lakatos' versions of falsification are subject to similar criticisms. Paradigms and falsification are then briefly considered in terms of their relevance for sociology. Finally, it is argued that sociologists must turn their attention to a serious consideration of the importance of language in the practice of science
Questions that apply to this article:
- What is "sophisticated falsification" and how does
it differ from falsification?
- Describe Kuhn's notion of paradigm.
- Who is Lakatos and describe his debate with Kuhn.
Teaching Sociology
Buechler, S.
Critical thinking is often presented as a generic technique. This article develops an alternative that links critique more closely to the sociological perspective. I suggest three answers to the above question: that the sociological perspective is critical for comprehending complex issues, that all sociology is implicitly critical by virtue of its debunking tendency, and that some sociology is explicitly critical by virtue of value commitments that lead to a critique of domination. The article identifies some basic themes of what it means to think sociologically, discusses sociology's "double critique" in more detail, illustrates the critical potential of scientific, humanistic and critical approaches to sociology, and explores some implications of this approach for how we teach sociology. It concludes by suggesting that the goal of fostering critical thinking in our students might better be met by returning to the critical roots of our own discipline.
Questions that apply to this article:
- What does this author believe is critical about
- Compare and contrast the micro and macro levels
of society.
- Describe scientific sociology, humanistic sociology,
and critical sociology.
Chapter 7. The Economically and Socially Disadvantaged: Professional Social Work in the Public and Private Social Welfare Systems
Environment and Urbanization
Minujin, A., Delamonica, E., Davidziuk, A., & Gonzalez, E. D.
This paper presents and discusses different concepts of child poverty, alternative definitions of children living in poverty, and measurement efforts in this regard. It addresses such questions as: who are the children living in poverty? Is the issue of children living in poverty recognized by and incorporated into anti-poverty strategies? Have governments, civil society organizations and international organizations identified and adopted policies to reduce child poverty? And is the situation of girls living in poverty taken into account? Several organizations have recently adopted human rights-based approaches to defining children living in poverty, and these definitions are included here. In general, however, the assessment finds that there is a lack of consideration of children's issues in the debate on poverty. The lack of visibility has negative implications for anti-poverty strategies, which seldom consider that children and their rights are central to their design and implementation. In this paper, we argue that the lack of conceptualization and debate on the specificities of child poverty has enormous consequences for policy and, vice versa, that the income generation and sectoral focus of poverty reduction policies discourages a holistic response to children and families.
Questions that apply to this article:
- How does child poverty differ from adult poverty?
- Explain the difference between the use of the absolute poverty line in the United States and relative poverty measures used in other countries.
- According to this article, what is the issue of children
living in poverty recognized by and incorporated into
anti-poverty strategies?
International Social Work
Jordan, B.
This article analyses the position of social work in relation to world poverty by examining the implications of the integration of the world economy (globalization) for the organization and practice of the profession.
Questions that apply to this article:
- What are China's two different approaches to human development?
- Describe the Social Capital theory.
- What do the authors mean when they state that
"social work should be more educative and
Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly
Reingold, D. A., & Liu, H. K.
This article explores why people are poor and on welfare, according to social service agency directors who administer programs that serve current and former welfare recipients. Based on data from 295 local social service agency directors in Indiana, 75% of respondents believe educational and labor market barriers are important causes of longterm poverty and welfare, 44% believe cultural transmission or learned lifestyles are causes, 23% believe poor attitudes and work ethics as well as laziness or lack of motivation among the poor are causes, and 8% believe government assistance causes dependency among recipients and makes them poor. Evidence suggests that agency directors who believe that poor attitudes and behavior of the poor primarily cause poverty and welfare are more likely to be in organizations that did not ration services since welfare reform or engage in political activities designed to support these changes. In contrast, agency directors who maintain educational and labor market barriers as primary causes of poverty and welfare are more likely to be in organizations that have adopted new programs and developed collaborative strategies with other organizations since welfare reform.
Questions that apply to this article:
- What are the local human services organization's
roles in assisting the homeless population?
- What did this study find regarding directors of
social service agencies views on what causes
poverty and welfare receipt?
- How do directors of social services beliefs about
poverty shape patterns of organizational change?
Chapter 8. Children in Difficulty: The Child Welfare System and Professional Social Work With Abused, Neglected, and Emotionally Troubled Children and Their Families
Child Maltreatment
Fluke, J., Edwards, M., Bussey, M., Wells, S., & Johnson, W.
Statewide implementation of a child safety assessment protocol by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) in 1995 is assessed to determine its impact on near-term recurrence of child maltreatment. Literature on the use of risk and safety assessment as a decision-making tool supports the DCFS's approach. The literature on the use of recurrence as a summative measure for evaluation is described. Survival analysis is used with an administrative data set of 400,000 children reported to DCFS between October 1994 and November 1997. An ex-post facto design tests the hypothesis that the use of the protocol cannot be ruled out as an explanation for the observed decline in recurrence following implementation. Several alternative hypotheses are tested: change in use of protective custody, other concurrent changes in state policy, and the concurrent experience of other states. The impact of the protocol to reduce recurrence was not ruled out.
Questions that apply to this article:
- Describe the Child Endangerment Risk Assessment
- Discuss the results of Inkeles and Halfon's study.
- Discuss the trends regarding reduction in recurrence.
Journal of Interpersonal Violence
Tajima, E. A.
This secondary analysis of the 1985 National Family Violence Survey sought to improve understanding of child abuse in the context of wife abuse by comparing risk factors for physical child abuse, verbal abuse, and physical punishment in homes with and without wife abuse. Interaction effects between wife abuse and various parent, child, and family risk factors were examined. For physical and verbal child abuse, several differences in risk factors were found, and interaction effects were significant. No interaction effects were found for the physical punishment model. In homes with wife abuse, adolescents were at particular risk of physical abuse, and alcohol abuse was an especially strong predictor of verbal child abuse. The intergenerational transmission of violence was more important in explaining physical child abuse in homes without wife abuse. This research points to global risk factors for physical punishment and specific risk factors for physical abuse and verbal abuse.
Questions that apply to this article:
- What are the components of the ecological model of
violence against children?
- What are the individual characteristics and
environmental conditions that may increase the risk
for violence against children?
- Are children at more risk of being abused in a home
where domestic violence is present? Why or why
Child Maltreatment
Hawkins, A. O., Danielson, C. K., de Arellano, M. A., Hanson, R. F., Ruggiero, K. J., Smith, D. W., Saunders, B. E., & Kilpatrick, D. G.
Limited research has examined whether similar patterns in injurious spanking and other forms of child physical abuse (CPA) exist across specific ethnic/racial groups. The authors examined and compared differences in the lifetime prevalence of injurious spanking and CPA in two national samples of adolescents across ethnic/racial groups and over time. Participants were 4,023 youth (12–17 years) and 3,614 youth (12–17 years) who participated in the 1995 National Survey of Adolescents (NSA) and 2005 National Survey of Adolescents–Replication (NSA-R), respectively. Adolescents, who were identified through random digit dial procedures, completed a telephone interview assessment. Results indicated significant ethnic/racial variation across groups in reports of injurious spanking in the NSA and the NSA-R samples; however, significant differences were not observed within groups between the two samples over time. Ethnic/racial differences also were found between groups in reports of CPA in the NSA-R sample. Limitations and future directions of this research are discussed.
Questions that apply to this article:
- Name a few of the reasons for the decline in child
physical abuse seen over the past 10 years.
- Describe how child physical abuse varies by
- Is the decline in overall child physical abuse since
1992 equal among all ethnic/racial groups? If not,
which ethnic/racial group(s) has not seen a
significant decline in child physical abuse?
Chapter 9. The Education System in America and the Role of School Social Workers
American Educational Research Journal
Rumberger, R. W., & Palardy, G. J.
This study investigated the relationships among several different indicators of high school performance: test scores, dropout rates, transfer rates, and attrition rates. Hierarchical linear models were used to analyze panel data from a sample of 14,199 students who took part in the National Education Longitudinal Survey of 1988. The results generally support the notion of an alternative as opposed to a common view of school effectiveness: Schools that are effective in promoting student learning (growth in achievement) are not necessarily effective in reducing dropout or transfer rates. In fact, after control for student inputs, high schools exhibit relatively little variability in dropout rates but considerable variation in transfer rates. In addition, characteristics of schools that contributed to performance in one area often did not contribute to performance in another. Given these findings, the authors suggest that, along with test scores, dropout and transfer rates should be used to judge school performance.
Questions that apply to this article:
- How do structural characteristics, such as school
location, correlate with school performance? Is
research on structural characteristics consistent
or conflicting?
- What implications does this study have on education
- According to the results of this study, do children in
small or large schools have higher levels of academic achievement?
Violence Abuse
Greene, M. B.
This article offers a framework for understanding and responding to school-based aggression and violence. The term school violence is defined, epidemiological data are summarized, a typology of violence reduction strategies is presented, and procedures to effectively implement evidence-based programs are discussed. Although many evidence-based violence prevention programs are now available to schools, much work remains in three critical areas. First, additional research is needed to evaluate the impact of security strategies, peer-led programs, and threat assessment and crisis response initiatives. More generally, multi-level evaluations of integrated arrays of school-based violence prevention strategies need to be undertaken. Second, effective and realistic school-based assessment strategies need to be established to identify and address organizational barriers to the selection and adoption of an integrated and comprehensive array of targeted evidence-based violence prevention strategies in schools. And third, realistic guidelines through which schools can effectively monitor and implement evidence-based programs need to be developed.
Questions that apply to this article:
- What is "interpersonal" or "direct" violence?
- What has research indicated throughout the past
10 years regarding school violence prevention
- Describe peer-led programs and how they can help
decrease school violence.
Theoretical Criminology
Klein, J.
This article shows how 'normalized masculinity' and its effects are operative but invisible in public discussions of targeted violence against girls. In school shootings, dating violence and sexual harassment, boys assaulted girls who rejected them or otherwise caused the boys gender distress. Against this backdrop, the analysis situates recent school shootings, dating violence and sexual harassment on a continuum of unrecognized violence against young girls. Through a media analysis of 13 United States school shootings that took place between 1996 and 2002, it shows how gender played a significant influencing role. It then puts forward a framework for efforts to prevent violence rooted in damaging masculinity ideologies.
Questions that apply to this article:
- Why does this researcher state that significance of
gender in school violence generated so little
- Describe the profile of girls who have been recently
targeted in "rampages".
- Compare and contrast the theories of masculinity.
Chapter 10. Troubled Families: The Social Welfare Safety Net and Professional Social Work With Families Experiencing Financial, Emotional, and Social Difficulties
Journal of Interpersonal Violence
Malley-Morrison, K., & Hines, D. A.
Since the 1970s, researchers and public health and/or social policy communities have devoted increasing attention to family violence. Although officially reported crime figures for family violence appear to be declining, rates continue to be high in broadly defined racial and/or ethnic minority groups. More careful assessments of the potential role of race/ethnicity in family violence, and similarities and differences occurring across and within groups categorized based on race/ethnicity, are essential if adequate interventions are to be developed and utilized. This article provides suggestions on conducting better studies on family violence in the United States, particularly with respect to issues of race/ethnicity. The authors begin by considering conceptions and definitions of race/ethnicity and providing a broad definition of family violence. They then suggest issues for consideration at each stage of the research process, from reviewing previous research, to making methodological decisions, selecting samples, choosing measures, and analyzing and interpreting findings.
Questions that apply to this article:
- Define the term "family violence".
- Compare and contrast the terms "race" and
- Is there a difference in family violence rates between
White families and racial/ethnic minorities? If so,
what are these?
The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and
Social Science
McLanahan, S.
In 1965, Daniel Patrick Moynihan warned that nonmarital childbearing and marital dissolution were undermining the progress of African Americans. The author argues that what Moynihan identified as a race specific problem in the 1960s has now become a class based phenomena as well. Using data from a new birth cohort study, the author shows that unmarried parents come from much more disadvantaged populations than married parents. The author further argues that nonmarital childbearing reproduces class and racial disparities through its association with partnership instability and multipartnered fertility. These processes increase maternal stress and mental health problems, reduce the quality of mothers' parenting, reduce paternal investments, and ultimately lead to poor outcomes in children. Finally, by spreading fathers' contributions across multiple households, partnership instability and multipartnered fertility undermine the importance of individual fathers' contributions of time and money, which is likely to affect the future marriage expectations of both sons and daughters.
Questions that apply to this article:
- Describe the Fragile Families and Child Well Being
- How many unmarried parents are married five years
after the birth of their child? Does this vary by
- Describe the general pattern of biological father's
Time & Society
Kremer-Sadlik, T., & Paugh, A. L.
American popular and academic discourses suggest that 'quality time' – conceived as unstressed, uninterrupted special time with children – is important for family well-being. However, such discourses often engender stress and guilt among working parents, who have difficulty finding time for 'quality time'. This article explores the concept of 'quality time' in academic and popular literature (such as websites) and then draws on interviews and ethnographic video recordings of 32 dual-earner, two-parent American families to explore both perceived and lived experiences of family time. It proposes that everyday activities (like household chores or running errands) may afford families quality moments, unplanned, unstructured instances of social interaction that serve the important relationship-building functions that parents seek from 'quality time'.
Questions that apply to this article:
- Compare and contrast the concept of family that
existed prior to industrialization and the
contemporary nuclear family.
- How has family "quality time" changed throughout
the past 40 years?
- Discuss the results of this research. Who from the
family typically participates in quality time? Who
values quality time the most?
Chapter 11. Problems in the Workplace: Work-Related Helping Organizations and the Role of Industrial Social Work
Group and Organizational Management
Hetty van Emmerik, I. J., Euwema, M. C., & Bakker, A. B.
Based on the perspective of the psychological contract, this study among 2,782 constabulary officers tested the hypothesis that threats of workplace violence lead to reduced job investments (i.e., affective organizational commitment and dedication). Multilevel analyses showed negative relationships between threats of workplace violence (individually experienced and as expressed in an unsafe climate) and job investments. Peer support was related to more job investments and buffered an unsafe climate, that is, the negative relationship between an unsafe climate and reduced job investments was stronger for employees with low levels of peer support. Experiencing an unsafe climate at the aggregate level by the cumulative experience of threat by employees can perhaps be thought of as facing a common enemy, and it has been shown that this has consequences for employees' attitudes that can be buffered by peer support.
Questions that apply to this article:
- Describe the psychological contract breach model.
- Discuss the relationship between peer support
and violence in the workplace.
- Compare and contrast individual-level effects,
unit-level effects, and buffering effects
Human Relations
Lin, X., & Leung, K.
A three-wave longitudinal design was used to examine the causal effects of two coping strategies in the context of prolonged unemployment, namely job search and distancing (i.e. emotional detachment from unemployment), on mental health and the duration of these effects. Two situational appraisals, namely economic hardship and unemployment negativity (i.e. perceived negativity of unemployment life) were found to influence both coping strategies and mental health. We confirmed that the negative effect of job search on mental health was primarily owing to the two situational appraisals, especially unemployment negativity. In contrast, the positive effect of distancing on mental health was significant, even after the situational appraisals were taken into account. In addition, the positive effect of distancing on mental health lasted longer than the negative effect of job search.
Questions that apply to this article:
- Describe the Transactional Model of Stress and
- Compare and contrast problem focused coping
strategies and emotion focused coping strategies.
- What is the detrimental effect of searching for a job
on mental health commonly attributed to?
The Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion
of Health
Fleming, P, & Harvey, H. D.
The creation of health promoting workplaces is a key development in contemporary workplace health. This paper focuses on the issue of workplace violence and the efforts which must be made to address its prevention and to deal with its consequences as a contribution towards developing a health promoting workplace. A critical overview of the issue as it is currently addressed in the international literature is a precursor to the formulation of an inclusive definition of workplace violence. This forms the basis for a framework for the development and implementation of workplace violence policies. The framework takes account of needs assessment, policy formulation in terms of prevention, incident management and reporting, and post-incident support strategies. The needs for effective education and training and good internal and external communications are also explored. The paper concludes by highlighting the necessity for workplaces to take seriously the need for a coherent and well-planned workplace violence strategy
Questions that apply to this article:
- According to the article, where is work-related
violence reported?
- Is there a clear, concise definition of work-related
violence? If so, what is it?
- Describe the occurrence of work-related violence.
Chapter 12. Problems of Crime and Violence: The Legal System and the Role of Forensic Social Work in Work With Juveniles
Child Maltreatment
Lansford, J. E., Miller-Johnson, S., Berlin, L. J., Dodge, K. A., Bates, J. E., & Pettit, G. S.
In this prospective longitudinal study of 574 children followed from age 5 to age 21, the authors examine the links between early physical abuse and violent delinquency and other socially relevant outcomes during late adolescence or early adulthood and the extent to which the child's race and gender moderate these links. Analyses of covariance indicated that individuals who had been physically abused in the first 5 years of life were at greater risk for being arrested as juveniles for violent, nonviolent, and status offenses. Moreover, physically abused youth were less likely to have graduated from high school and more likely to have been fired in the past year, to have been a teen parent, and to have been pregnant or impregnated someone in the past year while not married. These effects were more pronounced for African American than for European American youth and somewhat more pronounced for females than for males.
Questions that apply to this article:
- What is the link between early physical abuse and
later aggression and delinquency?
- What is the link between early physical abuse and
later social and psychological issues?
- What future research needs to be completed in order
to better understand the link between early physical
abuse and issues later in life?
Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice
Green, A. E., Gesten, E. L., Greenwald, M. A., Salcedo, O.
This study examined the ability of early risk factors to predict delinquency referrals. Significant risk factors included externalizing behaviors, prenatal smoking, parent marital status, and mother's education. Students with three or more risk factors had eight times the number of delinquency referrals than those with no identified risk factors.
Questions that apply to this article:
- Briefly describe demographic, birth related,
behavioral, and academic risk factors for juvenile
- What type of intervention programs are the best
methods to decrease rates of delinquency and why?
- What are the implications of children who have eight
or more risk factors?
Feminist Criminology
Belknap, J., & Holsinger, K.
Traditional delinquency theories typically exclude girls and examine economic marginalization as the primary risk factor for boys. More recent mainstream theories expand the childhood strains associated with delinquency but fail to account for the link between childhood abuses and subsequent offending reported in the feminist pathways studies of girls and women. In addition, policies since the 1990s request the development of "gender-specific services" for delinquent girls without examining how the risks are gendered. This study of 444 incarcerated youths' self-reports indicates the contribution of feminist pathways to better understand the risks associated with and improve the responses to girls' and boys' delinquency by examining demographic, abuse, family, school and peer, and self-esteem variables.
Questions that apply to this article:
- How do the Feminist Pathways and Cycle of
Violence Perspectives differ from the General Strain
Theory or Life-Course Perspective?
- What may explain why adolescent females
greater depression, more suicide attempts, and a
decrease in self-concept, whereas boys report
improved self-concept and self-esteem throughout adolescence?
- How are these findings important for the prevention
of and responses to delinquency?
Chapter 13. The Graying of America: Helping Organizations With Older Adults and the Role of Social Workers in Gerontology
Research on Social Work Practice
McCallion, P., Toseland, R. W., & Diehl, M.
This article provides a review of the empirical literature on social work practice with the family caregivers of frail older adults, focusing on the evidence in support of a variety of short- and long-term interventions. Practical applications for direct practice are described, along with suggestions for future research in this area.
Questions that apply to this article:
- Discuss some of the problems associated with
- How can social workers help caregivers meet care
receivers' needs? How can social workers help
caregivers meet their own needs?
- What is the projected growth of the geriatric
population by 2030?
International Social Work
Crampton, A.
Living into older ages is changing from an exceptional to an expected part of the life course experience worldwide. Improvement in health and longevity across the lifespan also brings challenges for social work practice. At the same time, these changes are part of population aging trends that are not universal or inevitable. In addition, population aging discourse often reduces the complex dynamics of population aging to a problematic rise in older adults characterized as unproductive and dependent. Social workers can challenge the ageist construction of older adults by using our contextualized knowledge of how people age in their social environments.
Questions that apply to this article:
- How has life expectancy changed throughout the
past 100 years?
- What are the implications of population aging for
social work practice with older adults?
- What is a population pyramid and how is it useful in
tracking aging?
The Macarthur Foundation Research Network on an
Aging Society
In "Facts and Fictions About an Aging America" (Contexts, Fall 2009), our research group unpacked a series of widely held, inter–related misconceptions about our aging population and outlined the broad societal implications of the realities. With the realities articulated and myths exposed, we can start to explore how policy–makers can effectively invest across the life course to create a successful aging society. We call for a new approach to aging–one that involves not only new policies, but also new ways to think about aging in America. Both our reframing and subsequent policy proposals will increase the likelihood that the United States, as it ages, will become a more productive and equitable society.
Questions that apply to this article:
- Describe some of the societal benefits of aging.
- What types of policies need to be developed in order
to address the challenges of the graying of America?
- Compare and contrast spillover and crossover effects.
Chapter 14. Serious Emotional Problems and Mental Illness: Helping Organizations and the Role of Clinical Social Work
Child Maltreatment
Turner, H. A., Finkelhor, D., & Ormrod, R.
The current study examines the effects of child internalizing and externalizing symptoms on increases in victimization over a 1-year period. Using longitudinal data from the Developmental Victimization Survey (DVS), analyses are based on a national probability sample of 1,467 children aged 2–17. Results indicate that children with high levels of co-occurring internalizing and externalizing symptoms were particularly likely to experience increased exposure to several forms of victimization, including peer victimization, maltreatment, and sexual victimization, controlling for earlier victimization and adversity. The relationship of symptoms to victimization exposure differed across developmental stage. Elementary school-age children with high levels of symptoms were especially vulnerable to victimization by peers, whereas distressed youth in early adolescence were particularly vulnerable to sexual victimization. Mental health problems in childhood and adolescence appear to represent important risk factors for increased victimization. Future interventions might consider targeting youth with co-occurring internalizing and externalizing symptoms during especially vulnerable developmental stages.
Questions that apply to this article:
- Why are children with mental health issues at a
higher risk for victimization?
- What is the difference between internalizing and
externalizing problems?
- Describe a "bully-victim". Do "bully victims" have a
greater chance of developing mental health issues?
Why or why not?
Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders
Lourie, I. S., & Hernandez, M.
This country has never had a formalized child mental health policy, if one uses the definition of child mental health policy as the existence of governmental commitment to ensure the availability of appropriate mental health services to children (birth-21 years) and their families. Over the past century, the field of children's mental health has borrowed policy from child welfare, juvenile justice, special education, and adult mental health, but attempts to form a comprehensive policy have been inadequate in scope and follow-through. The latest attempts at the creation of such a policy through the managed behavioral healthcare revolution and the federal government's Child and Adolescent Service System Program and Child Mental Health Services Initiative have been no more successful than past efforts in creating meaningful policy. Until a comprehensive policy is forged, children's mental health services will remain informal, incomplete, and piecemeal, making it difficult for children with mental health problems and their families to receive appropriate services.
Questions that apply to this article:
- Describe the impetus and purpose of the Community
Mental Health Movement.
- How did the implementation of Medicaid affect
mental health care? What issues continue to exist
with Medicaid today?
- How has managed care affected the treatment of
child mental health issues? What are some of the
positives and negatives of managed care?
Research on Social Work Practice
Rullo, D.
The profession of social work has changed considerably over the past 100 years, allowing for a specialization in direct clinical practice. Clinical social workers are well-trained professionals treating individuals and families to meet their needs, influencing a positive change in society.
Questions that apply to this article:
- Describe the work of a clinical social worker.
- What is the role of the National Association of Social
Workers for the social work profession?
- Describe how the area of social work in clinical
practice has developed throughout the past 100
Chapter 15. Health Problems, Disabilities, Death and Dying, and Access to Care: The Many Helping
Roles of Medical
Social Workers
International Social Work
Holloway, M.
Dying in old age has become the majority dying of the developed world, yet older people are routinely denied palliative care, their dying characterized by failure to facilitate choice and recognize their needs. Social workers in all settings should embrace their contribution to quality end-of-life care for older people.
Questions that apply to this article:
- How does the increasing life expectancy challenge
social work's traditional conceptualization of work
with older people?
- Why have there been minimal development of
intervention models based on an understanding of
cumulative losses experienced in old age?
- What is social works' role in advance care planning
and preferred place of care?
Medical Care Research and Review
Coburn, A. F., McBride, T. D., & Ziller, E. C.
Despite the potential for the State Children's Health Insurance Program to improve the health care coverage of rural children, the expansion of public health insurance to children in rural areas may be hampered by a lack of understanding about the patterns of insurance coverage they experience. This study uses the Census Bureau's 1993-1996 panel of the Survey of Income and Program Participation to evaluate differences in the duration of, and in their entry into and exit from, uninsured spells. While the average duration of newspells was shorter for rural children and most regained coverage quickly, rural children were also more likely than urban children to experience protracted spells of uninsurance. Moreover, rural children were more likely than urban children to move between public and private coverage. These findings have important implications for designing insurance expansion programs and outreach strategies to effectively enroll and retain rural children.
Questions that apply to this article:
- Describe the State Children's Health Insurance
Program and its affect on children living in rural
- Do rural children have different patterns of
insurance coverage and spells of uninsurance?
- What barriers exist in the implementation of
S-CHIP in rural areas?
Journal of Family Nursing
Olsen, S. F., Marshall, E. S., Mandleco, B. L., Allred, K. W., Dyches, T. T., & Sansom, N.
The purpose of this study was to examine how support and communication are related to hardiness in families who have young children with disabilities. A sample of 108 parents (54 couples) of preschool-age children with disabilities completed the measures. Among demographic variables, family income was positively correlated with family hardiness. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed perceived family support as a predictor of family hardiness for both parents. Incendiary communication was negatively related to family hardiness for mothers, whereas income was positively associated with fathers' assessments of hardiness. Results provide family nurses with a foundation for exploring constructs important to help families with children with disabilities.
Questions that apply to this article:
- Describe the components of family hardiness,
support, and communication.
- According to the results of this research, how
does family support affect hardiness?
- How does family support and communication affect
families with children who have disabilities?
Do these variables affect mothers and fathers
Chapter 16. A Society With Serious Substance Abuse Problems: The Helping Organizations and the Role of Social Workers in Treating and Preventing Alcohol and Drug Abuse
Journal of Learning Disabilities
Weinberg, N. Z.
Reviews research on risk factors for adolescent substance use disorders (SUD) and discusses possible relationships between SUDs and learning disabilities (LD). Individual level factors (genetic, biologic, other familial, and psychiatric) emerge as very important in the risk equation, as well as the interaction between individual risk and environmental conditions. Commonalities between SUD risk and LD include prenatal substance exposure, family history of SUD, conduct disorder, social skills deficits, and academic failure; however, further research is needed to establish whether individuals with LD face a specific risk for SUDs, and if so, what the nature of that risk might be.
Questions that apply to this article:
- What are the differences in the risk factors for
substance use and the risk factors for
substance abuse and dependence?
- List and discuss the environmental risk factors for
adolescent substance use and abuse.
- List and discuss the protective factors that limit or
reduce adolescent substance use and abuse.
Youth and Society
Muck, R., Zempolich, K. A., Titus, J. C., Fishman, M., Godley, M. D., & Schwebel, R.
Recent reports describe alarming trends of adolescent drug use and a lack of treatment for substance use disorder symptoms. Early efforts in adolescent treatment relied on adult models that may not have considered the unique needs of adolescents. Recently, there has been an increased emphasis in developing intervention models designed specifically for adolescents. This article provides descriptions of current approaches to adolescent substance abuse treatment and summaries of research assessing the effectiveness of these models.
Questions that apply to this article:
- Compare and contrast the 12-step treatment
approach, the behavioral treatment approach,
the family based treatment approach, and the
therapeutic community treatment approach.
- How are adolescent substance abusers different
from adult substance abusers?
- What key factors may hinder adolescents in
seeking treatment for their substance abuse
The Journal of School Nursing
Peterson, J.
Substance use is a major cause of adolescent morbidity and mortality. By age 14, 70% of adolescents have consumed alcohol and half of 12th graders report having used marijuana. The purpose of this study was to increase the understanding of parent and adolescent perceptions regarding adolescent use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs (ATOD) to enhance the development of effective prevention programs. Six adolescent focus groups and one parent focus group participated. Results were derived following elicitation of adolescents' and parents' beliefs regarding adolescent ATOD use and current prevention programs. Findings indicate that current prevention programs are ineffective; ATOD use is normalized by schools, community, and family; positive adult role models deter use; and programs should involve youth, parents, schools, and community. Focus group discussions can strengthen the development of tailored ATOD prevention programs. School nurses can foster collaboration between families, schools, and communities to reduce adolescent substance use.
Questions that apply to this article:
- What implications does the decline of adolescent
marijuana use have on adolescent use of other
- Previous research indicates that adolescent
substance use prevention programs may be most
effective when designed to meet the needs of a
specific community. What implications does this have
for the development or revision of policy?
- What is "generational forgetting" and what
implications does it have on adolescent substance
Chapter 17. Immigration: Xenophobia, the Organizations Helping New Immigrants, and Social Work's Role in Smoothing Transitions to the United States
Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences
Cowan, G., Martinez, L., & Mendiola, S.
The correlates of attitudes toward illegal immigrants and responses to the well-publicized beatings of two illegal immigrants by sheriff's deputies in California were examined. In a sample of 140 university and community college students, humanitarian-egalitarian and individualistic values, stereotyping of illegal immigrants, and attitudes toward legal Mexican Americans as a measure of racism served as predictors. All the predictors, with the exception of individualistic values, were significant predictors of both anti-illegal immigrant attitudes and responses to the beatings. These findings suggest that negative stereotypes about illegal immigrants, racism toward Latinos, and a relative lack of humanitarian values are significant correlates of negative attitudes toward illegal immigrants, and that these same variables are important in explaining responses to a public event that centered around illegal immigrants.
Questions that apply to this article:
- How many illegal immigrants reside in California?
How many enter the state each year?
- What are negative attitudes toward illegal
immigrantsrelated to?
- How do negative attitudes toward illegal immigrants
vary by ethnicity and race?
Research on Social Work Practice
Jani, J. S., Ortiz, L., & Aranda, M. P.
Objective: This article is a review of outcome studies focusing on three social work fields of service—health, substance abuse, and mental health—in which Latinos were significantly represented in the sample and interventions developed to attend to cultural factors. Method: Data were collected from a search of several English language social science indexes to identify experimental or quasi-experimental studies published between 1999 and 2005 focusing on measuring the effect of cultural adaptations of interventions with Latino populations. Results: Twenty-three studies were located and reviewed. Findings are discussed in this article. Conclusions: Most studies with positive outcomes for Latinos used some culturally tailored variation of cognitive theory in the therapeutic intervention. The authors advocate for a mixed methods approach to future studies of Latinos.
Questions that apply to this article:
- By the year 2050, what percentage of the population
is predicted to be composed of the Latino population?
What implications does this have on the social work profession?
- How can social workers prepare themselves to work
with individuals of the Latino population?.
- Discuss what interventions have been effective in
treating mental health issues in the Latino population.
Home Health Care Management Practice
Dow, H. D.
This article addresses the stressors immigrants and refugees face upon coming to the United States. The importance of an in-depth assessment of the reasons for leaving their homelands and immigrating to a new country, premigration, and migration histories, as well as postmigration losses and psychological distress, have been emphasized. The article also highlights the concept that not all immigrants have the same migration experience or face the same degree of obstacles and challenges upon arrival.
Questions that apply to this article:
- Compare and contrast the refugee versus the
immigrant experience.
- Discuss the link between racism and stereotyping
and psychological stress.
- How do immigrant's family dynamics change? What
implications does this have on the social work
Chapter 18. Natural Disasters, Terrorism, and Random Violence: Helping Organizations and the Role of Social Work in Treating Victims in Crisis
Qualitative Health Research
Spoont, M. R., Sayer, N., Friedmann-Sanchez, G., Parker, L. T., Murdoch, M.,& Chiros, C.
Despite the ongoing debate about its legitimacy as a diagnostic entity, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) continues to be the prevailing model for posttrauma suffering in Western societies. In this article, we examine how U.S. veterans came to conceptualize their posttrauma suffering as reflecting the mental disorder of PTSD. We describe the criteria veterans used to evaluate the potential clinical importance of their posttrauma reactions, and the process by which they came to label these reactions as PTSD. Difficulties that veterans experienced in evaluating their posttrauma reactions and in labeling them as PTSD mirror issues that have been raised about the diagnosis of PTSD in the professional literature.
Questions that apply to this article:
- What is the probability that someone will develop
PTSD after a traumatic exposure?
- What are the symptoms that indicate an individual
has PTSD?
- What population does PTSD most effect?
Berg, S. H.
This article discusses the feminist response to the diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is used to identify and treat the psychological symptoms of women who have been sexually and physically abused. Feminist reaction to PTSD is often contentious and appears to divide along political lines, roughly conceptualized as liberal, radical, and socialist. The author reviews the theoretical stances of these factions in regard to gender issues, politics, and psychology and considers their responses (actual or probable) to the PTSD diagnosis.
Questions that apply to this article:
- Why was the PTSD diagnosis originally formulated?
- Compare and contrast Liberal Feminism, Radical
Feminism, and Socialist Feminism.
- In your opinion, is PTSD an appropriate diagnosis
for survivors of abuse?
Behavior Modification
Coffey, S. F., Schumacher, J. A., Brimo, M. L., & Brady, K. T.
Epidemiological research indicates that there is substantial comorbidity between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorder (SUD). Moreover, there is growing evidence that having a comorbid PTSD diagnosis is associated with greater substance use problem severity and poorer outcomes from SUD treatment. In an attempt to improve the treatment outcome for individuals with PTSD-SUD, recently developed treatments combine exposure therapy for PTSD with an empirically supported treatment for SUD. This article describes one of the treatments and discusses treatment modifications that have been incorporated when translating this research-based therapy to practice in an inner-city community mental health center.
Questions that apply to this article:
- Describe prolonged exposure and its effect on
treating PTSD
- What is the link between substance use disorders
and PTSD?
- What clients may not be appropriate for
exposure-based treatments for PTSD?
Chapter 19. International Social Problems: The Helping Organizations and the Roles of International Social Workers
The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and
Social Science
Flowers, R. B.
The twenty-first century brings with it some of the dark realities of the last century with respect to the commercial sexual exploitation of children. Worldwide, untold numbers of children are being systematically deprived of their human rights, dignity, and childhood through child prostitution, child pornography, and other sexploitation. Many of these children are routinely subjected to rape, beatings, displacement, drug addiction, psychological abuse, and other trauma, including exposure to the AIDS virus and a life with no future. This study examines the current state of international trafficking of children and other child sexual exploitation. Child sex tourism plays a major role in the child sex trade as prostituted youths are routinely lured or abducted into sexual slavery and sex-for-profit. Other prostitution-involved girls and boys are at the whim of pimps, pornographers, and other sexual exploiters. The global exploitation of children continues to plague society, in spite of international efforts to combat the proliferation of the child sex trade industry. Organizations such as ECPAT remain committed to addressing the central issues pertaining to the prostituting and sexual exploitation of children.
Questions that apply to this article:
- Describe the problem of global sexploitation and
include examples for multiple countries.
- What does the United Nations describe as the child
sex tourism industry?
- What are a few of the consequences of child sexual exploitation?
Index on Censorship
De Waal, A.
If we accept Colin Powell's assurance that genocide has been committed in Sudan's Darfur region, then don't we have a legal obligation to do something about it-or is this about something else altogether.
Questions that apply to this article:
- Describe the law that resulted from the 1948
Genocide Convention.
- Discuss the issue of genocide in Darfur. What does
this article identify as the intent of the perpetrators?
- What is the United States role in the prevention of
genocide in Darfur?
International Social Work
Jordan, B.
This article analyses the position of social work in relation to world poverty by examining the implications of the integration of the world economy (globalization) for the organization and practice of the profession.
Questions that apply to this article:
- What is social capital theory?
- How has social work been transformed by
international charities, civil-society organizations,
and faith groups?
- Describe a few of the organizations who are fighting
world poverty.
Chapter 20. Medical, Social, and Emotional Problems in the Military: The Veterans Administration and Military Social Work
International Social Work
Daley, J. G.
Social work has a long tradition of service to the military in many countries. How it has developed in each country is unique to the historical development of the military and the country's social work educational infrastructure. This article describes the growing interest in international social work, what military social work practice is and how it has evolved in several countries; outlines a new model for cross-national comparison of military social work evolution; and highlights current trends and future directions for international military social work.
Questions that apply to this article:
- What are the international core requirements for
military social work?
- Describe the role of the Red Cross role in enlisting
army social workers in the United States.
- Compare and contrast the role of military social
workers in the United States, Finland, South Africa,
and China.
The Family Journal
Weiss, E. L., Coll, J. E., Gerbauer, J., Smiley, K., & Carillo, E.
In recent decades, it has become evident among mental health practitioners that the military is a unique culture that is comprised of distinct ethics, core values, codes of conduct, and strict hierarchical roles. In light of the war in Afghanistan and the war in Iraq, veterans and their families are seeking mental health services due to a variety of psychosocial issues; however, mental health practitioners are lacking military-specific knowledge in understanding individuals within the military subculture. In addition, they are ill-equipped with interventions aimed at supporting the military family. Historically, the genogram has been an effective tool in delineating intergenerational family patterns that influence the functioning of the presenting client and his or her family. Therefore, this article proposes a military-specific genogram as an assessment and treatment instrument for the social worker to use with the client and his or her family to provide a comprehensive understanding of the military service member and his or her family. The application of the military genogram will be conducted in this article to demonstrate its utility and value. Furthermore, the genogram will encompass a solution-focused approach that promotes a strengths-based and resiliency perspective to be used with service members and their families.
Questions that apply to this article:
- What is a genogram and what is it used for?
- Compare and contrast the Cultural and Spiritual
Genogram, Occupational and Academic Genogram,
and Trauma Related Genograms.
- How do you think you can use genograms when
working with military families?
Armed Forces & Society
Dimiceli, E. E., Steinhardt, M. A., & Smith, S. E.
A survey of military wives (N = 77) identifies their most stressful experiences, self-appraised control over these stressors, and coping strategies used. The authors examine two competing hypotheses: the goodness-of-fit hypothesis that the effects of problem-focused coping (PFC) and emotion-focused coping (EFC) strategies on distress are moderated by the appraised controllability of the stressor, and the main-effects hypothesis that PFC strategies are more effective than EFC strategies in reducing distress regardless of appraisal of controllability. Wives identified deployment of soldiers as their most stressful experience, and reported using PFC strategies more frequently than EFC strategies. EFC strategies were predictive of greater physical symptoms of illness, while PFC strategies were related to reduced physical symptoms of illness only when military wives' perceived control of the situation was low. PFC strategies and controllability were significantly related to decreased depressive symptoms; EFC was marginally related to increased depressive symptoms, lending greater support to the main-effects hypothesis.
Questions that apply to this article:
- Describe a few of the stressful situations
experienced by wives of deployed military
- According to this article, what coping strategies do
military wives use to deal with these stressful
- What is the relationship between stress experienced
by military wives and physical and mental health
Chapter 21. The Problems Faced by Diverse Populations: The Helping Organizations and Culturally Sensitive Social Work Practice
The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and
Social Science
Warren, P. Y., & Farrell, A.
Racial profiling describes the practice of targeting or stopping an individual based primarily on his or her race rather than any individualized suspicion. Such profiling came under considerable public scrutiny beginning in the 1990s when the media drew substantial attention to racial profiling in traffic stops. This study examines whether the heightened public scrutiny generated by the media as well as legislative and organizational changes that ensued changed police officers' patterns of searches among black and white drivers. Using traffic stop data from Rhode Island between 2001 and 2005, the results demonstrate that racial disparities in searches are significantly reduced when news media coverage is putting more pronounced pressure on police organizations and police departments to make changes in leadership. These findings suggest that public scrutiny through the media and administrative commitment to fairness may be important first steps in reducing biased behavior in traffic stop enforcement.
Questions that apply to this article:
- According to this article, what is racial profiling?
- Discuss the legislative mandates regarding racial
- Describe police bias and its role in racial profiling.
Specifically, discuss the incident that occurred in
Rhode Island.
Adam, B. D.
A series of contemporary theories that have been used to explain homophobia are assessed. Structural, feminist, comparative, gender panic, queer, and socio-historical theories rely on the premises of a diverse set of scholarly disciplines, and in turn, generate their own objects of analysis, whether 'homophobia','heterosexism', or 'heteronormativity'. While the current flourishing of gay and lesbian studies has generated important insights into the workings of homophobia, analyses have also tended to be limited and fragmentary. This paper suggests a study of homophobic projects that combines theoretical tools able to recognize experience, discourse, structure, and history.
Questions that apply to this article:
- What is homophobia? Discuss it's connection to
- Compare and contrast Feminist and Comparative
- What are the Gender Panic Theories and how do
they explain homophobia?
Trauma Violence Abuse
McPhail, B. A.
Currently, hate crimes and hate crime policy are receiving increased public and scholarly attention. Much of the attention has been focused on crimes committed out of bias toward a victim's membership in a group based on race, religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity/national origin. However, more recently, gender has been included as a status category, often causing heated debate. This article looks at the history of the initial exclusion, then inclusion, of gender in the hate crime domain. The reasons for the uneasy fit of gender as a status category are recounted, as well as arguments both for and against inclusion of gender within the hate crime model. The problem of gender essentialism is examined, which results in the marginalization of the multiple category statuses of many women. The article concludes with implications for research, policy, and practice.
Questions that apply to this article:
- Discuss the policy history of gender and hate crimes.
- Why is the term "hate crime" a misnomer?
- Explain why gender does not fit easily within a
hate crime paradigm. What categories do fit into
a hate crime paradigm?
Chapter 22. The Role of Social Work and Social Welfare Organizations in Developing Healthy Community Life: Building Better Communities Through Community Organizing
Health Education & Behavior
Flynn, B. C., Ray, D. W., & Rider, M. S.
The Healthy Cities process uses action research to empower communities to take action for health. Five concepts that link community empowerment and action research are: focus on community, citizen participation, information and problem solving, sharing of power, and quality of life. Two city examples from Healthy Cities Indiana, a pilot program of CITYNET Healthy Cities, provide illustrations of these concepts. The dynamics of community participation in action research and the successes and barriers to community participation are presented. Outcomes that empowered the community are suggested: the extent to which Healthy City projects are initiated, their progress monitored, continued action in health supported, resources obtained, and policies promoted that contribute equity in health.
Questions that apply to this article:
- What is the Healthy Cities process? What type of
research does this process utilize?
- How have Healthy City Committees affected quality
of life in a variety of communities?
- What are some of the barriers to grassroots
participation such as Healthy Cities?
Environment and Urbanization
Stephens, C.
This paper suggests that governments and international agencies must address the large and often growing levels of inequality within most cities if health is to be improved and poverty reduced. It describes the social and health implications of inequalities within cities and discusses why descriptions of the physical symptoms of poverty (and their health implications) are more common than analyses of the structural systems which produce and perpetuate poverty. It also describes the health problems from which low-income groups in urban areas suffer more than richer groups including those that are not linked to poor sanitary conditions and those that are more linked to relative poverty (and thus the level of inequality) than to absolute poverty.
Questions that apply to this article:
- What are the health and social implications of
inequalities within cities?
- Compare and contrast inequality and inequity.
- What health problems do low-income groups in
urban areas suffer more than richer groups?
International Regional Science Review
Frank, L. D., & Engelke, P.
While considerable attention has been paid to the public-health-related impacts of air pollution, relatively little research has been done to understand how other aspects of the built environment impact health. Americans are increasingly sedentary; erstwhile the rate of increase in obesity is alarming. New research suggests that increased auto dependence, and limited opportunities to walk for utilitarian purposes, has contributed to this emerging obesity epidemic. Within sociodemographic strata, land use patterns and transportation investments collectively shape the desire to walk, drive, or to travel via other means. Mixed use and more compact community designs show significant promise for the promotion of physical activity and the reduction of regional air pollution levels. Opportunities exist to increase physical activity and improve regional air quality through more compact development. However, increased compactness, or density, often exacerbates traffic congestion and can increase exposure of harmful emissions within central areas. Therefore, strategies to reduce localized air pollution in existing and developing centers are required to enable larger health benefits from smart growth to be realized.
Questions that apply to this article:
- How have the ways in which cities are designed
and constructed impacted public health?
- What is the surgeon general's minimum
requirement for physical activity?
- Discuss the Clean Air Act and its impact on air
quality and health.
Chapter 23. The Impact of Religion and Spirituality on the Social and Emotional Lives of Americans: Religiously Affiliated Social Service Institutions and the Role of Social Work
Journal of Aging and Health
Benjamins, M. R.
Objectives: Religion significantly influences a variety of health outcomes, especially among the elderly. Few studies have examined how the relationship may differ by age within this age group. It is possible that increasing levels of religiosity within the elderly, or other age-related differences, may strengthen the influence of religion on functional limitations. Method: This study used the Assets and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old Survey, a nationally representative, longitudinal data set, to estimate the effects of religious attendance and salience on functional ability. Results: More frequent attendance is associated with fewer functional limitations, whereas higher levels of salience are associated with more limitations. No significant age interactions were found. Discussion: Attendance and salience predict the number of functional limitations in the elderly but in different directions. These effects tend to be stable within the elderly population, indicating that further age divisions may not be necessary when examining this relationship in future studies.
Questions that apply to this article:
- Approximately how many studies have focused on
the relationship between religion and physical and
mental health?
- Why is it important to examine age-related
differences in the relationship between religion
and health?
- Describe the findings of this study.
Research on Aging
Marks, L., Nesteruk, O., Swanson, M., Garrison, B., & Davis, T.
Hummer, Rogers, Nam, and Ellison found a 13.7-year advantage in longevity for African Americans who attend worship services more than once a week compared with those who never attend. This article subsequently responds to the question, Why do highly religious African Americans live significantly longer? A purposive sample of highly religious, African American adults were interviewed using an in-depth, qualitative approach to examine the religion-health-longevity interface. Six themes relating to the research question are reported: active faith involvement and the aged, avoiding negative coping, evading violence, the absence of hope, social support, and the power of prayer. The six themes are discussed in detail, and directions for future research are recommended.
Questions that apply to this article:
- Discuss the link between health and religiosity in
African Americans.
- Compare and contrast the religious habits of
African Americans and Whites.
- How does health, longevity, and African American
faith community involvement correlate?
Current Directions in Psychological Science
Seybold, K. S., & Hill, P. C.
An increased interest in the effects of religion and spirituality on health is apparent in the psychological and medical literature. Although religion in particular was thought, in the past, to have a predominantly negative influence on health, recent research suggests this relationship is more complex. This article reviews the literature on the impact of religion and spirituality on physical and mental health, concluding that the influence is largely beneficial. Mechanisms for the positive effect of religion and spirituality are proposed.
Questions that apply to this article:
- According to this article, what are a few of the
helpful and harmful effects of religion?
- How do you believe mental and physical health
professionals be encouraged to consider a patient's
religion or spirituality when taking a health history?
- Compare and contrast spirituality and religion.
Chapter 24. Achieving Social Justice Through Organizational Change: Social Work Administration, Social Justice, and the Public Social Service System
Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly
Austin, M. J.
The implementation of welfare reform in the United States provides another opportunity to assess the relationship between nonprofits and public social service agencies. The primary goal of this analysis is to identify the major forces affecting the county social services agencies as they sought to implement welfare reform and how these forces can affect the agency's relationship with community-based nonprofit service providers. The internal and external dimensions of the organizational change process are assessed in terms of the central concepts of devolution, privatization, and community building.
Questions that apply to this article:
- How has the management of publicly funded social
services evolved during the past 50 years in the
United States?
- How has the management of publicly funded social
services evolved during the past 50 years in the
United States?
- Describe the impact of welfare reform in the
United States.
Journal of Social Work
Tsui, M., & Cheung, F. C. H.
Summary: This article examines the nature of social work administration, including the core concepts, context and content as well as the ways it differs from business administration. Findings: The challenges faced by not-for-profit human service organizations in the changing world also were identified. The authors advocated that commercial values and social values should not be confused. Social work is profoundly influenced by the values of our society. Social work administrators must recognize their work is motivated and shaped by social values. Applications: Recommendations for teaching, researching, and practicing social work administration are also suggested.
Questions that apply to this article:
- What are the characteristics of social work
- Describe the differences between social work
administration and business administration.
- Discuss a few of the challenges faced by social
work administration.
Journal of Social Work
Maynard, B. R.
Summary: Evidence-based practice (EBP) has been gaining acceptance and momentum in the social services professions. As evidence related to specific programs and interventions mount, social service practitioners and organizations around the world have increasingly begun to implement evidence-based programs as a strategy for creating better outcomes for children, families, and adults. Unfortunately, the science of evaluating efficacious and effective programs and interventions has far outpaced the science of implementing them. A gap exists between what we know works and being able to utilize what works in practice. This article will examine the challenges facing social service organizations in implementing evidence-based programs and explore an organizational theory to address those challenges. Findings: The implementation of EBPs has proven to be a complex and challenging process, with organizational factors coming to the forefront as important in bridging the gap between science and service. The complexity of translating what we know from research into practice requires an organizing theory to help guide implementation efforts in the context of an organization.
Applications : This article proposes the use of a theoretical framework, the learning organization, by social service organizations. By transforming social service organizations into learning organizations, social service organizations will be able to more effectively meet the challenges of implementing evidence-based programs and function as a bridge, rather than a barrier, between science and service.
Questions that apply to this article:
- What types of challenges does evidence-based
practice pose for social service organizations?
- Why does a gap exist between what we know
works and utilizing what works in practice?
- Describe the stages and multilevel influences of implementation of evidence-based practice.
Chapter 25. Achieving Social Justice Through Social
Policy Initiatives
State Politics & Policy Quarterly
Gainsborough, J. F.
In order to understand what factors drive child welfare policymaking, this research analyzes data on spending and legislation from the U.S. states over a three-year period. The key independent variables are scandal, litigation, federal oversight, and local discretion. While states that experience a scandal or a lawsuit do not increase their spending levels over previous years, they do enact more child welfare legislation. This raises the possibility that states engage in symbolic rather than substantive responses to child welfare crises. The administrative structure of the child welfare system also affects state policymaking.
Questions that apply to this article:
- How does child welfare policy resemble traditional
welfare policy? How does it differ?
- How do child welfare scandals affect policymaking?
- Discuss the role of federalism on the operation of
the child welfare system.
Block, F., Korteweg, A. C., Woodward, K., Schiller, Z., & Mazid, I.
Why does the world's wealthiest country let so many languish in grinding poverty? And why is the situation getting worse, not better?
Questions that apply to this article:
- According to the article, what are the two key
dynamics that lead to a "compassion gap"?
- How did the implementation of TANF in 1996
affect people who are impoverished?
- What are some programs and policies that could
be implemented to reverse the "compassion gap"?
Research on Social Work Practice
Littell, J. H., & Shlonsky, A.
Drawing on the authors' experience in the international Campbell Collaboration, this essay presents a principled and pragmatic approach to evidence-informed decisions about child welfare. This approach takes into account the growing body of empirical evidence on the reliability and validity of various methods of research synthesis. It also considers wide variations in the cultural, economic, and political contexts in which policy and practice decisions are made—and the contexts in which children live and die. This essay illustrates the use of Campbell and Cochrane systematic reviews to inform child welfare decisions in the diverse contexts that exist around the globe.
Questions that apply to this article:
- How are child welfare policies typically shaped in
the United States? How does this differ in other
- What is the criteria that most programs must meet
in order to be deemed effective? What is wrong
with these standards?
- What do policymakers need in order to make
well-informed decisions?
Chapter 26. Potential Social Problems in the 21st Century and the Future Directions for Social Welfare and Social Work
Research on Social Work Practice
Sowers, K. M., & Ellis, R. A.
In considering the future of the social work profession, three influences must clearly be considered: increasing cultural diversity, expanding technological development, and managed care. Although the profession of social work has responded successfully to many challenges in the years since its inception, it has faced perhaps no greater challenges than these. As the diversity of the population of the United States increases, social workers must respond with flexibility and openness. As the already burgeoning field of electronic technology continues to enhance information storage and processing, communication, and perhaps even therapeutic processes, social workers must be willing to learn, adapt, and implement.
Questions that apply to this article:
- Discuss the effects of increasing diversity on the
social work profession.
- Discuss the effects of advancing technology on the
social work profession.
- Discuss the effects of managed care on the social
work profession.
Research on Social Work Practice
Cnaan, R. A., & Kang, C.
Social work and social services are known to be beneficial to society, but to date no systematic valuation of their contribution has been attempted. The aim of this article is to advance our ability to quantify both the known direct benefits and some of the positive externalities of social work. The authors make the case of why valuation is important for social work and social services. Relying on the rich literature on valuation, the authors provide a review of key valuation methods. The authors then demonstrate how social work and social services can apply each method to assess the value of their contribution to society. The authors conclude with a call for further refinements of social work valuation.
Questions that apply to this article:
- What is valuation and how would it be beneficial to
the social work profession in the future?
- Compare and contrast the seven valuation methods.
- How can valuation methods be applied to social
work and social services?
Rank, M. R.
Few Americans see poverty as a normal state of affairs. Yet most will experience poverty and will use welfare at some point in their lives. How can this be, and how does (or should) it change the way we look at poverty in the United States?
Questions that apply to this article:
- How many Americans have experienced poverty by
the age of 75?
- Why is the risk of poverty in the United States
so high?
- How can the poverty paradigm be changed in order
to reduce poverty in the future?


text:
BeingGirl Points - Major Bragging Rights
Eating Disorders
« Back to Articles
Added August 01, 2013
What is bulimia?
Bulimia is an eating disorder in which a person eats huge amounts of food and then "purges" by forcing him/herself to vomit, abusing laxatives or diuretics, having enemas, or exercising obsessively to lose the excess calories from the food. Eating disorder bulimia has really serious health risks, and a lot of bulimics also become anorexic.
What is anorexia?
Anorexia or anorexia nervosa (ann-or-EX-ee-ah ner-VOH-sah) is a dangerous condition in which a person eats such a small amount of food that she/he could actually starve to death. Anorexia usually starts around puberty, and usually involves extreme weight loss.
People who are anorexic may look in a mirror and see themselves as fat even if they are very underweight for their height.
What is a migraine?
A migraine is a severe headache usually on one side on the head that is accompanied by an upset stomach or sensitivity to light or sound. Doctors don't know exactly what causes migraines, but they seem to be caused by changes in blood flow to the brain. Common triggers that can lead to a migraine include food, light, stress, sleep changes, caffeine, nicotine, and medication. Although migraines can affect anyone, 75% of migraine sufferers are women.
Over-the-counter headache medicines can be effective for mild-to-moderate migraines. Doctors can prescribe stronger medicines for severe problems.
Why do people fart?
A fart (flatulence) happens when your body gets rid of excess gas or air through the rectum. Gas builds up from the action of bacteria on undigested food, and air is swallowed while eating.
While everyone has to fart, it can be somewhat controlled. Eat slower so you swallow less air. Don't chew gum, which makes you swallow air. Cut down on sodas that produce gas. Substitute another high-fiber food for major gas creators like beans or corn. Exercise also helps.
Find out about eating disorder bulimia with helpful information and advice at BeingGirl.com.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Got a minute?
Got a minute?
Remember that scene in The Graduate, when a friend of Benjamin's parents advises him to go into plastics? Probably good advice, in 1967 -- but completely the wrong tip to give that particular person at that point in his life. Likewise, we've found that a lot of the worst career advice stems from this disconnect between the giver and the receiver.
(Photo Credit: Stuart Miles/freedigitalphotos.net)
1. You can be anyone you want to be.
Wrong: you can only ever be yourself. Benjamin can't make himself into a person who wants to work in plastics. You can't make yourself into an NFL linebacker if you're never played a sport, are 40 years old, and weigh 110 pounds.
"Here's what we really should be saying: You can't be anyone you want to be, but you can be more of who you already are," writes Hiranya Fernando at Business Insider. "All of us are born with specific talents and gifts. We have certain natural inclinations and capacities. Over time, we add to these with learned skills and experiences. The sum total of this package is what makes you unique and what will allow you to make unique contributions to this world. This is what you have going for you -- not being anyone you want to be, but developing who you already are."
2. You're good at X, so you should be Y.
If that were true, more people would still be doing the first career they embarked on after school. Just because you're good at one thing, doesn't mean you should choose the career people generally associate with that skill. You need to love your job, in order to really succeed at it. Just having a knack isn't good enough.
3. Major in whatever you want, and figure it out later.
One of Alison Green's readers at Ask a Manager says:
"What was helpful when I was having panic attacks at 18, wasn't so helpful when I was having panic attacks about what I;d do post-graduation at age 21. So then I went to grad school because it seemed like the safe, familiar choice, for a major that (turns out) needs a doctorate to do anything with it. And I don't want a doctorate. Plus, I took out student loans that I'll be paying back till my yet-to-be-born kids go to college. (I fully recognize these are my own choices; just wish someone had slapped me upside the head and said, 'No!')."
Bottom line: don't choose a major because it's safe, but don't just pursue your hobbies at the university level -- unless you can figure out a way to use them to chart a career path that won't require you to get additional degrees you don't want.
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