Death penalty cases are truly the most unique cases in the criminal justice system. Much research has been done showing that the death qualification process venripersons must undergo results in jurors un-empathetic to the kind of information used to mitigate the death penalty, as well as creating a jury that is more susceptible to pretrial publicity. This study reviews this research and analyzes the content of a New Orleans newspapers coverage of three incidents resulting in capital trials. It was found that, similar to a study done in California that was the model for this studys content analysis, the newspaper relied heavily on law enforcement, prosecutors and prosecutorial lay witnesses, and emphasized details used to seek a guilty verdict and to seek the death penalty. Implications of these findings on capital defense teams were discussed.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to explore whether or not mothers attitudes, as expressed verbally in a group setting, were associated with the attachment style of the child and the insightfulness of the mother. The Circle of Security (CoS) was used as a 27 week group intervention for mothers who had become clients of a child welfare agency. Pre- and post test ratings were obtained for childrens attachment security and mothers insightful understanding of their children, using the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) and the Insightfulness Assessment (IA), respectively. This study created scales for both Warmth/Empathy and Concern/Worry to rate attitudes of the mothers toward their children as expressed in group sessions over the course of the intervention. This study used a multiple case study design (n=8). Both qualitative and quantitative data were analyzed. There did appear to be an association between mothers attitudes, attachment security and insightfulness. However, many limitations were noted, principally due to the small sample size.

The purpose of this cross-sectional experimental study was to examine the effects of Reiki on risk level for secondary traumatic stress (STS) among mental health professionals, such as, social workers and licensed professional counselor (LPCs). The sample (N=67) was mostly composed of master social work students (MSW) (61%) from the School of Social Work at Louisiana State University (LSU), professionals social workers (34%), and LPCs (5%). Study participants were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups: Reiki, placebo or control group. Dependent variables measured at pretest and posttest were: risk level for STS, anxiety, depression, somatic symptoms, anger and hopelessness. Multivariate analysis of variance was conducted to determine if there was a difference between treatment groups. No significant difference was found between the Reiki, placebo or control groups on any of the variables measured. Implications for the social work profession are discussed.

Informal caregivers provide a substantial amount of emotional, financial, physical, and social support to their loved ones with Alzheimers disease. Alzheimers caregivers often report immense levels of burden, which are associated with the demands of their caregiving duties. Caregivers mediate this burden through various means of coping, including spiritual support. Individuals who successfully manage the negative stressors related to Alzheimers caregiving are often highly resilient. The purpose of this study was to re-evaluate the psychometric properties of the Spiritual Support Scale among a sample of Alzheimers caregivers. The Spiritual Support Scale was initially utilized to measure spiritual coping among a sample of graduate and undergraduate students, after the September 11th terrorist attacks. The current study examined the efficacy of the Spiritual Support Scale among a sample of 691 Alzheimers caregivers in south Louisiana. The study confirmed previously reported calculations of the scales reliability by calculating Cronbachs alpha and Guttmans split-half coefficient. The study also established the validity of the Spiritual Support Scale by comparing the measure to theoretically linked constructs, coping and resilience. Confirmatory factor analysis identified a single factor of the Spiritual Support Scale on which all items of the scale loaded. The study concluded the Spiritual Support Scale has sound psychometric properties.

Previous research studies found differences in social welfare policy implementation based on the racial and ethnical differences of clients, workers, and managers. The public perception of welfare recipients being content with living on government money and unmotivated to become self-sufficient is a central theme throughout American culture. The current study examined whether parish-level managers personal beliefs about their clients are associated with their tolerance of frontline staffs discretionary practices. Additionally, the author examined the role that the race of managers plays in the personal beliefs they hold about their clients as well as their tolerance of frontline discretion. This study used cross sectional research with secondary data from an internet survey. No statistically significant relationships between negative stereotypes, discretion tolerance, and race were found. However, this study revealed that the majority of parish-level managers within the Louisiana STEP program partially blame clients for their lack of success within the program despite managers admission that STEP participants lacked sufficient education and transportation needed to succeed within the program. The current study also revealed that large variations, not intended in a centralized system, exist among Louisiana parishes in terms of STEP policy implementation regarding discretion.

The purpose of this study is to identify the effect of spiritual support on Alzheimers caregivers perceived burden. This study will examine the relationship between spiritual support and burden among Alzheimers caregivers. The collection of data was accomplished by a packet of surveys mailed to Alzheimers caregivers. For this study the population is separated and difficult to survey as a whole, therefore, a smaller cluster sample is surveyed from a specific organization. The global score of the burden measure is negatively correlated with the global score of the Spiritual Support Scale. In this study, spiritual support is not the sole reason for perceived burden to be low; rather, spiritual support causes a more positive outlook on the burden, triggering the caregivers to report lower levels of perceived burden. A social worker must be confident in the knowledge of supports used by clients and how to accommodate each client in achieving the ability to cope with stress when caring for a loved one with Alzheimers disease.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between three coping strategiesemotion-focused, task-focused, and avoidance-focusedand the perceived burden among Louisiana Alzheimers disease caregivers. This study was a secondary data analysis. The target population was Alzheimers disease caregivers in Louisiana. The design for this study was cross-sectional. The instrument was a survey consisting of a demographic section, the Revised Memory and Behavior Problems Checklist, the shortened Zarit Burden Interview, and the Coping in Task questionnaire. Most caregivers reported engaging in task-focused coping. Emotion-focused coping and avoidance-focused coping were positively related to burden. No significant relationship existed between task-focused coping and burden. The implication for social work was to inform clients of coping techniques less related to burden.

The present study examines the relationship between state electorate and state government political ideologies and state legislative responses to payday lending. Payday lending is a form of short-term, high-interest credit (e.g., Graves, 2003; Karger, 2005), and components of states legislative responses toward payday lending regulation serve as dependent variables in this study. The internal determinants model serves as the policy innovation model, predicting the attributes of states that influence legislative responses to social constructs (Berry & Berry, 1999; Mohr, 1969). People espousing liberal political ideology believe in using governmental intervention to ensure corporate social responsibility, while those adhering to a conservative political ideology do not (Walters, 1977). The author predicted negative associations between political ideologies and components of state legislative responses to payday lending indicating more regulation. This study found four modest, significant correlations: (1) Between the percentage of each states electorate identifying as liberal and that states legislated maximum payday loan principle amount, (2) between the percentage of each states electorate identifying as conservative and that states legislated maximum payday loan principle amount, (3) between liberal state government political ideology and that states legislated maximum payday loan principle amount, and (4) between the percentage of each states electorate identifying as liberal and that states legislated payday loan implied maximum annual percentage rate. No relationship was found between liberal electorate political ideology and state legislated maximum payday loan maturity terms or fee disclosure requirements; between conservative electorate political ideology and state legislated payday loan implied maximum annual percentage rates, state legislated maximum payday loan maturity terms, or fee disclosure requirements; or between liberal state government political ideology and state legislated payday loan implied maximum annual percentage rates, state legislated maximum payday loan maturity terms, or fee disclosure requirements. This suggests that the internal determinant, liberal political ideology, is associated with using government intervention to regulate the state legislated maximum payday loan principle amounts and state legislated payday loan implied maximum annual percentage rates that payday loan consumers can be charged.

With autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnoses on the rise, there is a growing need for knowledgeable professionals in the field. However, graduate social work students report low interest and negative attitudes toward working with this population, and few social workers enter the field of developmental disabilities. This is the first known study to examine the interrelationships among graduate social work students knowledge about ASD, self-efficacy in working with individuals with ASD, attitudes toward working with individuals with ASD, formal training in ASD, and contact with persons with ASD. These interrelationships were explained in the context of Social Cognitive Career Theory. The study found that knowledge, formal training, and contact were significantly and positively associated with participants self-efficacy. Attitudes and contact were found to be positively associated with interest, with attitudes demonstrating a stronger correlation. Implications of these findings for social work education, practice, and research are discussed.

Social workers in most professional practice settings will encounter young clients who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT). It is therefore important that variables influencing levels of homophobia and transphobia among these workers be analyzed. In this study, the author sought to examine the attitudes and perceptions of social workers in Louisiana toward LGBT youth. These attitudes and perceptions were then compared to individual variables such as religion, previous training on sexual orientation and gender identity, and race. The Religious Commitment Inventory (RCI), Genderism and Transphobia Scale (GTS), and Heterosexual Attitudes Toward Homosexuals (HATH) scale were completed by 67 social workers attending a training focused on youth and trauma. Religious commitment along with race were found to correlate with homophobia and transphobia, and there were significant mean differences between those who desired more training and those who did not on the variables of field and race. These findings are discussed in the context of previous research, and limitations and implications are presented.