This study examines the factors contributing to substance abuse among African-American women. The sample of this study consisted of 41 African-American women who identified themselves as substance abusers and were currently receiving treatment in either an inpatient or outpatient facility. African-American women are disproportionately affected by substance abuse, which has made an impact on their personal and family life. Life for African-American women can be immersed with a number of social problems such as poverty, racism, and sexism, which make life difficult to manage. In an effort to manage, many African-American women turn to a life of addiction. Once addicted, the African-American woman finds herself with limited effective options for treatment. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there was a relationship between spirituality, African self-consciousness, and substance abuse among African- American women. An additional objective was to determine whether spirituality was a predictor of substance abuse among African-American women. This study was based on the premise that little research has been conducted on factors that relate to lifetime years of substance abuse among this population, more specifically Spirituality and African self-consciousness. An exploratory research design was utilized. Statistical treatment of the data employed descriptive statistics, Pearson's r, chi-square, and logistic regression analysis, hi addition, two focus groups were used to explore the respondents' ascribed meanings of the two independent variables of this study. While the findings did not show a significant relationship between Spirituality and substance abuse or between African self-consciousness and substance abuse, Spirituality was found to be a predictor of heroin use among this population. Additional findings in qualitative analysis as respondents self-disclosed about the relationship between Spirituality, African self-consciousness, and their substance abuse experience suggest there the two variables are related. Implications for conducting more qualitative analysis with this population are discussed.

The United States has more than doubled the teenage pregnancy rate of any western industrialized country, with more than a million teenagers becoming pregnant each year. There is no adequate sex education targeting teenagers in public schools which, this researcher has found, leads to a high teenage pregnancy rate. In this study, 33 teenagers from ages 12 through 18 were asked their opinion on sex, teen pregnancy, and sex education. Literature on teen pregnancy and sex education was reviewed to investigate the research question and the subsequent methodology. The issue of sex education and some case studies were presented in the literature review. Data were collected using a mixed format measure. Descriptive data from this One-Shot survey method were used to present the results.

This study examines whether or not HIV/AIDS education, socioeconomic status, and/or self-esteem affect the frequency with which African American women between the ages of 18 and 24 participate in risky sexual behavior. HTV is an acronym for the human immunodeficiency virus, which is the virus that leads to AIDS, the acquired immune deficiency syndrome. AIDS is one of the most deadly diseases affecting the world today and is the number one killer of African American women between the ages of 18 and 24. HIV/AIDS prevention education has been the major outreach tool used to combat the spread of this disease. However, prevention education does not seem to be impacting this population significantly, which leaves many searching for other answers for outreach. The purpose of this study was to find out whether or not HIV/AIDS prevention education plays a major role in deterring this population from participating in risky sexual behavior or if self-esteem and socioeconomic status are more influential in this population's sexual decision making. A predominantly African American college campus in Atlanta, Georgia provided a sample of 94 African American women between the ages of 18 and 24. Each participant completed a questionnaire regarding their HIV/AIDS prevention education level, their socioeconomic status, and their level of selfesteem. The data collected via the questionnaire were analyzed using descriptive, as well as, cross tabulation analysis. A focus group often participants was also convened to explore the responses on the questionnaires more in-depthly. While the findings did not show a significant relationship between socioeconomic status (SES), HIV/AIDS knowledge and risky sexual behavior, there was evidence of a relationship between selfesteem and risky sexual behavior. Implications for measuring SES and self-esteem in this population are discussed.

This study is an effort to show an association between African American females exposed to familial domestic violence and recidivism. The antisocial behaviors exhibited that lead to incarceration are running away, prostitution, and physical assault. The results of this study can help social workers implement and/or improve effective treatment programs and services for this particular population. The study utilized a multi-group post test only design. The sample and setting consisted of 29 African American females at Father Flannagen's Boys Town of Georgia Community Based Program for Girls. Interval/ratio data were collected to measure the percentage of antisocial behaviors exhibited by this population. The results indicated that 96.6 percent of the participants were exposed to familial verbal abuse and 62.1 percent were exposed to familial physical assault. As a result of witnessing abuse 37.9 percent stated that it made them run away from home, 17.2 percent engaged in prostitution, 37.9 percent had physically assaulted someone, and 58.6 percent were repeat offenders. A Chi- Square Test of Association was employed to test the statistical significance of the hypothesis. The values .389 (exposure to familial physical assault cross tabulated with number of times incarcerated) and .174 (exposure to familial verbal abuse cross tabulated with number of times incarcerated) exceeded the p< .05 level of significance. Thus, concluding a statistically significant association between African American female's exposure to familial domestic violence and repeat offending.

This study examines the effects of adventure-based counseling on the enhancement of coping skills of at-risk youth. Adventure-based counseling is an innovative form of therapy designed to enhance the coping skills of at-risk youth receiving treatment at residential facilities. This unique form of therapy is a burgeoning alternative to traditional forms of therapy. It places patients in a group setting (supervised by a counselor), for the purpose of attaining a specific goal through interaction with group members. Adventure-based counseling, a form of experiential learning, has not been widely adopted by facilities seeking to provide treatment services to youth diagnosed with at-risk behavior. Based on empirical data, a large number of adventure therapy studies reviewed were not related to residential facilities; rather, they were independent studies conducted by researchers trying to assess the effects of adventure-based counseling in relation to youth. This study sought to determine the effect of adventure-based counseling on enhancing the coping skills of at-risk youth at Inner Harbor Hospital, a residential treatment facility in Douglasville, Georgia. This study was conducted to assess the effect of adventure-based counseling. Experiential therapists were interviewed to determine whether or not desired outcomes were being achieved through the interaction of patients in experiential activities. Patients from various campsites/units at Inner Harbor were used as the sample studied, and five experiential counselors were interviewed to assess the effects of adventure-based counseling. The findings suggested that there was a relationship between adventure-based counseling and the enhancement of coping skills, despite the many limitations of the study which imply that further research is needed.

This study examines the difference between chronic homeless black men with substance abuse issues and former homeless black men who have transitioned into successful independent living. An exploratory descriptive study was conducted at Jefferson Place Emergency and Transitional Housing. The study used a variation of the Young Adult Social Support Inventory measurement instruments to gather data for the purpose of measuring the strength of different support systems looking at 3 major variables, church, family, and the 12-step community. The researcher found that using the Pearson Chi square test there was a significance of .978 for church, .535 for family, and .000 for the 12-step community. These findings left the conclusion that there are some correlations between the variables church and family, but the significance of the l2-step community is not great enough to make a determination.

This study examines the HIV/AIDS knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of medical social workers that provide services to older adult populations and the effects that may impact service delivery. It was hypothesized that medical social workers believe that they lack sufficient knowledge to provide social work services to older adults with HIV/ AIDS. The study sample consists of medical social workers who work with older adult patients and residents at a southeast Atlanta hospital and nursing home. The study reported the findings of a 23-item questionnaire that measured knowledge of HIV/AIDS older adult related issues, professional preparation and attitudes regarding sexuality and older adults. A descriptive approach was used to analyze the data and report significant findings. Findings showed that social workers were knowledgeable, yet lacked knowledge in critical areas. Overall social workers believed that they were not prepared to provide effective service delivery. This research is of importance because in order to enhance the quality of life for at risk older adults, social workers need to evaluate their level of knowledge, their attitudes and become aware of any gaps in knowledge or biases that may impede effective service delivery.

The overall objective of this study was to determine if there was a significant relationship between job burnout and social support systems among social workers employed in a VA hospital setting. To obtain this objective the researcher examined job burnout in relation to two key social support systems (Le., emotional and practical support). The researcher also explored the impact of demographic predictor variables on the relationship. An exploratory descriptive research design was used in this study. A self administered questionnaire was given to 42 VA hospital social workers employed in 4 VA medical centers located in the Southeast region of the United States. Bivariate analysis was computed using Pearson's r correlations. The study found that there was a significant relationship between job burnout and emotional support among social workers employed in a V A hospital setting.

This study examined the relationship between African American women diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and risky sexual behaviors. The aims of the study were: (1) to describe knowledge related to sexual transmission of HIV/AIDS; (2) to determine high-risk sexual behaviors; and (3) to discuss intervention needed to reduce risky sexual behaviors. The setting was Positive Impact, a non-profit agency located in Atlanta, Georgia that provides counseling to those diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. The sample consisted of 25 African American women between the ages of 18 to 50. The participants were given a 97-item questionnaire to asses demographics, knowledge about the sexual transmission of HIV/AIDS, and risky sexual behaviors. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and the chi-square goodness-of-fit test. The findings indicated that although the participants had a high level of knowledge about the sexual transmission of HIV/AIDS, they still engaged in risky sexual behaviors. The results are valuable for clinicians because it will aid in educating individuals about risky sexual behaviors. Also, it will be useful for developing intervention programs and implementing policies that may eventually decrease risky sexual behaviors and the spread of HIV/AIDS among African American women.

This study examines perceptions on self-esteem of adolescents in foster care and non-foster care adolescents. The study was based on the premise that there is a statistical significant relationship between the perceptions on self-esteem of adolescents in foster care and non-foster care adolescents. A case study analysis approach was used to analyze the data gathered using the SPSS program. Descriptive analysis and frequencies are presented as percentages, frequency distribution, the Mean, the Standard Deviation, Chi-square test, and the T-test was used with a p-value of .05 to determine significant relationships between variables. The researcher found that the hypothesis was accepted and that there is a statistical significant relationship between the perceptions on self-esteem of adolescents in foster care and non-foster care adolescents. The conclusions drawn from the findings suggest that there is a need for more research that will contribute to elevate the awareness for services needed among this population.