In this study, music and poetry were combined to form a client-centered therapeutic approach to group psychotherapy with at-risk youth that encourages connection, communication, and self-expression. This specialized poetry therapy intervention utilizes popular music and creative writing activities to facilitate group discussion about feelings, life experiences, goals, and values. The purpose of this research was to examine the impact of such an intervention on group formation and development, with a specific focus on the development of factors, such as self-disclosure, which contribute to therapeutic change over the course of the intervention. A multiple embedded case study approach was utilized to collect qualitative and quantitative data from multiple data sources. Data was collected via videotaped observation of group sessions, the administration of the Most Important Event questionnaire, document collection, and the administration of the modified Therapeutic Factors Inventory-S. The findings of this research indicate that several factors, including group composition, the activities engaged in during group sessions, and the internalizing or externalizing behavior profiles of group members, influenced the development of self-disclosure in these poetry therapy groups. Additional findings indicate that when all three of the cases are looked at as a whole, self-disclosure is the most frequently referenced factor when the direct responses of group members as collected via the Most Important Event questionnaire are analyzed. However, the results are less clear when the results of the modified Therapeutic Factors Inventory-S were included; these modified TFI-S results varied according to the group from which the data was obtained. The most meaningful finding of this research was that this poetry therapy intervention had a striking impact on engagement and self-disclosure among these three groups of at-risk youth. The evidence gathered via this research indicates that this intervention fostered a group environment in which guarded, difficult to engage at-risk adolescents felt comfortable and connected enough to engage in surprisingly honest and bold self-disclosure.

From its inception in 2001, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has been the subject of much debate among politicians, educators, researchers, and citizens. Much discussion has related to how NCLB affects students and their teachers in the classroom. This study examines NCLBs direct impact on special education teachers in the East Baton Rouge parish school district of Louisiana by measuring different aspects of their satisfaction levels. Overall job satisfaction is measured using the Brayfield-Rothe Job Satisfaction Index (1951). Specific aspects of job satisfaction are measured using an abbreviated form of the Job Diagnostic Survey (Hackman & Oldham, 1975) and the satisfaction portion of a survey employed by Zembylas and Papanastasiou (2005), both slightly tailored to elicit answers pertinent to NCLB. Quantitative and qualitative questions directly related to NCLB are asked to explore the relationship between the legislation and special education, its teachers, and its students.

Child abuse and neglect is a complex, multi-faceted problem that often has lifelong, negative consequences for its victims; most significantly affecting infants, toddlers and pre-school age children. Parenting classes are the most common intervention used by child welfare agencies as a means to prevent repeat maltreatment, yet there is very little research involving these targeted families. Prior research has primarily focused on the prevalence of and risk factors for child maltreatment, with much less attention on specific parenting program outcomes as implemented in a child welfare setting. In 2005, focusing on a more deliberate and systematic approach in the use of parent education as an intervention, Louisianas child welfare agency implemented the Nurturing Parenting Program (NPP, Bavolek, 2005) for parents of infants, toddlers, and pre-school children. An initial evaluation was conducted in partnership with Casey Family Programs in 2008, and this study builds on those early findings by examining the impact of child attendance with their parent at the classes, parenting and childrearing attitudes of caregivers, and safety factors identified prior to a referral for parenting, on post-intervention maltreatment. The results indicated that the extent of child participation did not predict post-intervention maltreatment. Individually, no constructs on the Adult and Adolescent Parenting Inventory-2 (AAPI-2) which measures parenting and child rearing attitudes predicted a greater likelihood of post-maltreatment for participants scoring in the high-risk range; however, the presence of an elevated score on any AAPI-2 construct at pre-test did. Only one of fourteen safety factors, substance abuse, identified during the child protection investigation prior to program participation strongly predicted post-participation maltreatment. Several limitations are discussed such as the use of administrative data for research purposes, and the use of subjective decisions such as the validity finding of child abuse and neglect allegations. In addition, implications for child welfare practice are highlighted, including the significant association between substance abuse and child maltreatment, regardless of a parents participation in parenting classes. This reinforces the idea that parenting classes cannot continue to be used as a catch-all intervention or one that is sufficient to address other personal or environmental problems.

The purpose of this study was to determine if there is an association between the caring attitudes and commitment toward clients of child welfare workers and their clients completion of a parenting education program. This line of inquiry is intended to expand the scope of research on caring attitudes associated with child welfare workers intent to remain employed. A logical extension of identifying characteristics associated with child welfare workforce retention is to determine if those characteristics are also associated with positive client outcomes. Part of the examination of worker caring attitudes involved testing the Child Welfare Inventory (CWI), a modified version of the Revised Human Caring Inventory (RHCI) developed by Ellis, Ellett, and DeWeaver (2007). Associations between caseworker caring attitudes, selected client demographic characteristics, changes in clients parenting attitudes, and selected worker characteristics were also examined. A survey of child welfare employees in Louisiana (n=1,159) resulted in 388 completed surveys, yielding a response rate of 34%. Principal components analysis (PCA) was used to evaluate the factor structure of the CWI. The factor structure differed substantially from the structure of the RHCI on all but one factor. The CWI was identified as having four factors that retained 38 of 44 items on the inventory. All four factors demonstrated moderate to strong internal reliability (Cronbachs alpha 0.75 to 0.89). Logistic regression revealed a significant association between the Professional Responsibility subscale and client completion of a parenting education program. No significant associations were found between caseworker caring attitudes and changes in clients parenting attitudes as measured by the Adult Adolescent Parenting Inventory (AAPI-2), levels of education, income, employment, number of maltreatment investigations or number of valid maltreatment investigations. There was a significant but weak association between the years of experience of child welfare workers and their caring attitudes.

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and the Twelve Steps have been instrumental in the recovery of numerous persons who are alcohol dependent. Altruism has been found to have a positive effect on physical and psychological functioning in diverse populations. A key component of AA is altruistic helping and service to others to recover from alcohol dependency. The current study explores the relationship between altruism and recovery from alcohol dependency. Self-report survey data focusing on altruism, AA altruistic activities, and recovery from alcohol dependence was collected from 92 AA members and analyzed to assess for correlations between altruism and recovery. No statistically significant relationship between altruism and recovery from alcohol dependence emerged. Therefore, altruism should not be utilized as a primary mode of treatment for alcohol dependence until further evidence demonstrates the positive effect of altruism on recovery.

Truancy is a major social problem affecting students, families, schools, and communities in the United States and is associated with low academic achievement, grade retention, and dropout. Truancy is also correlated with other adverse life outcomes including delinquency, substance abuse, and incarceration. Social work best practices literature suggests that truancy interventions should take place before habitual chronic truancy becomes a problem. There are few truancy preventions for elementary-age students that have been empirically assessed. Thus, this study examined the effectiveness of the Truancy Assessment and Service Centers intensive case management intervention for elementary-aged students (N = 700) using a quasi-experimental group design, Regression Discontinuity (RD). This study is the first known application of the RD design for truancy intervention assessment. One year of data previously collected from one urban TASC site in the Deep South was used to investigate whether participation in the truancy case management intervention reduced truancy among participants. Based on a pre-determined cut-off score, approximately half of the sample (n = 331) was assigned to the case management intervention, while the other half received a notification letter and warning. Both groups were monitored for the remainder of the school year. Truancy rates among participants in the control group remained at the pre-intervention levels, while truancy rates among those in the treatment group significantly declined (p < .01). Further, cases in the truancy intervention group that were successfully closed were more likely to show a reduction in truancy than those that were not (p < .001). Moreover, the findings indicated that participants referred to educational and social services were more likely to complete them and were more likely to show positive case outcomes (p. <05). Although the truancy intervention successfully reduced truancy overall, it was less effective with non-White children and with children who had been previously retained. Future resources should be aimed bolstering school social work practice and influencing educational reform at the local, state, and federal levels. Additional well-controlled outcome research is needed to shed light on the components of truancy intervention that are associated with long-term positive outcomes for children.

Aggressive behavior is a common symptom of mid- to late-stage Alzheimers disease, causing unique challenges for caregivers and healthcare professionals. In previous research, aggressive behavior related to dementia was linked to higher caregiver distress and burden. The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of an aggressive behavior subscale of the Revised Memory and Behavior Problem Checklist (RMBPC) among Alzheimers disease caregivers. The subscale measures the frequency of aggressive behavior and the caregivers reaction. The sample consisted of 419 caregivers reporting some frequency of aggressive behavior by the care recipient. Exploratory factor analysis was favorable. Convergent validity for the aggressive behavior subscale was established through its correlations with caregiver burden, caregiver coping style, and caregiver resilience. The association of these factors was theoretically demonstrated through the Pearlin Stress Process Model. In the current study, aggressive behavior was shown to be associated with a significant increase in caregiver burden and the use of emotion- and avoidance-focused coping techniques, and significant decrease in caregiver resilience. The scale was shown to be reliable, with significant inter-item correlations. The results concluded an aggressive behavior subscale of the RMBPC is a valid and reliable measure for Alzheimers disease caregivers.

The purpose of the current exploratory-descriptive retrospective study was to examine the demographic, school-related, and psychosocial risk factors among at-risk elementary school children (N = 12644) assessed at low and high levels of risk for continuing truancy. The sample was enrolled in 16 statewide program sites of a community-based truancy prevention program in Louisiana, which provided a letter and attendance monitoring for low-risk participants and intensive case management for high-risk participants. Intercorrelations among risk factors and referred services and on-time grade attainment were assessed for a subsample of the high-risk children (n = 6088). Binary logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine which correlates among the demographic, school-related, and psychosocial risk factors and services best predicted on-time grade level at 3 years out among a subsample of the high-risk children (n = 2864). Model fit to the data was modest. Findings showed that race and grade at program admission were significantly associated with on-time grade attainment at 3 years out. African-American participants were less likely to be on time for grade than participants not of African-American ethnicity. Participants in kindergarten were less likely to be on time than children in higher grades of elementary school. Children assessed as unmotivated by their teachers were less likely to be on time for grade at 3 years out than children who were not assessed as unmotivated. Other findings showed that participants who completed educational services were less likely to be on time for their grade than participants who did not receive educational services. Implications for social work practice, education, and research are discussed.

Effective teenage pregnancy prevention is a topic of debate in current literature. Religiosity is frequently examined in the research, and studies typically assess associations between behavior patterns and level of religiosity. Feminist ideology is another theme found in the teenage pregnancy prevention literature that mainly examines how feminist perspectives contribute to effective prevention approaches. The current study examined the interrelationships among religiosity, feminist ideology and attitudes toward teenage pregnancy prevention. A self-report survey instrument was used to collect data from 69 MSW students, a sample surveyed for the first with the current study. A significant positive correlation was found between level of religiosity and a preference for abstinence-only sex education. Additionally, a significant positive correlation was found between feminist ideology and a preference for comprehensive sex education. Knowledge of condoms and oral contraceptives was high among participants overall. Results suggest that the religiosity and feminist ideology of MSW students influences attitudes towards sex education. However, knowledge of condoms and contraceptives does not appear to be influenced by religiosity and feminist ideology.

Kinship caregiving as a paradigm in the United States (US) is historically linked to slavery subcultural practices. Over time, dominant US systems have vacillated in demonstrating formal acknowledgement of kinship as an acceptable family unit and in availing resources to support kinship caregiving. The patterns and practices of these variations pertaining to kinship caregiving as a paradigm has received little attention despite documentation of its increased utilization in public child welfare and welfare systems. This exploratory case study responds to the paucity of knowledge regarding the systemic shifts towards the kinship caregiving paradigm and the perspectives of kinship caregivers who interface with public child welfare and welfare systems during their relative caring episodes. Critical theory is used to explore the impact of privilege and oppression as relates to the variations of the paradigm over time within these systems, as well as to the kinship families interactions with the child welfare and welfare systems. Kinship caregivers recommendations for child welfare and welfare systems improvements are also included in this study. Information gained from this study may assist policy makers, trainers, educators, and practitioners involved in child welfare and welfare agencies enhance these systems towards policies and practices that are culturally responsive and improve services to sustain kinship families.