Objective: Homelessness can have a deleterious impact on educational opportunities for children. The US government has enacted the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (MVA) to combat the challenges that children experiencing homelessness face when attempting to obtain education. Despite the importance of this policy, studies examining perceptions of its implementation are scant and research is needed to determine what hinders or facilitates school social workers' understanding of MVA implementation as a public policy. This study examines school social workers' perceptions of MVA implementation and proposes a conceptual model for understanding of school social work practice with homeless school children. Method: Data were collected at a regional school social work conference using a 77-item questionnaire which included sections on barriers to practice with children experiencing homelessness and measures on school social workers' experience, awareness, geographical location of practice, and a validated instrument designed to measure perceptions of MVA implementation. In addition, several cross tabulations were analyzed to attain a deeper understanding of respondents' characteristics. Results: Findings indicate that barriers do not individually influence perceptions of MVA implementation; however, when grouping barriers into those "general to homelessness" and those "specific to school" there is a significant association with levels of perceived implementation among respondents. Membership in a group of practitioners perceiving higher levels of barriers indicated significantly lower levels of perceived MVA implementation. Awareness of homelessness mediated the relationship among geographic location, practitioners' levels of experience, and their perception of MVA implementation. Conclusion: Findings from this study support a proposed conceptual model for school social work practice with this population. Implications for practice and future research are presented and discussed. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Social Work in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2012. / April 2, 2012. / Homeless education, Homelessness, McKinney-Vento Act, Measurement, Policy / Includes bibliographical references. / Martell L. Teasley, Professor Directing Dissertation; Patrice Iatarola, University Representative; Bruce A. Thyer, Committee Member; Stephen Tripodi, Committee Member.

ABSTRACT Purpose The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between self-reported school referrals and health behaviors among high school students in a suburban public high school with positive and negative health behaviors. Positive health promoting behaviors included physical activity, nutrition, sleep, and relaxation, and negative health behaviors included alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use. Method Data were collected from a sample of 413 students attending an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse public high school located in Jacksonville, Florida. Students in all high school grades were recruited in classroom settings by trained personnel following a strict protocol describing the study's aims, procedures, benefits, and risks. The mean age of participants was 16 years old (SD=.938). Males were slightly more represented with 53.8% (n=222). Most students were African-American (38%, n=157) followed by White (34.5%, n=142), and Other (27%, n=112). Results Students self-reporting the highest number of referrals were 4.58 times more likely to report using alcohol (p=.003), 3.22 times more likely to use cigarettes, (p=.006), and 4.63 times more likely to use marijuana (p=.001) than students self reporting no referrals. Those students reporting the highest number of referrals were also 2.19 times more likely to report using alcohol (p=.001), and 2.59 times more likely to report using marijuana (p=.001) than students with moderate self-reported referrals. Heavy use of alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana was also significant for students reporting the highest number of referrals. Results demonstrated males were more likely to report eating good carbohydrates, p=.001, and healthy fats, p=.006, and to participate in moderate physical activity, p=.04. Additionally, students with the highest rate of referrals were more likely to report participating in vigorous physical activity (.04). African American students reported they were more likely than Whites to eat good carbohydrates, p=.04, and eat healthy fats, p=.000. African American students also reported engaging significantly more in relaxation or meditation to relieve stress, p=.05. Conclusion This study presents novel findings regarding the association between both health risk behaviors and health promoting behaviors with school referrals. Students self-reporting the highest number of referrals were significantly more likely to report engaging in health risk behaviors. Significant differences were also noted with African Americans reporting notably better nutritional behaviors and relaxation exercises. School social workers are oftentimes the first to identify problems that include health behavior issues for students. Additional inquiry is warranted looking into positive and negative health behaviors of students relative to referrals in order to capitalize on a pro-active stance for effective school social work practice. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Social Work in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2012. / March 26, 2012. / health behaviors, high school students, school referrals / Includes bibliographical references. / Bruce A. Thyer, Professor Directing Dissertation; Martell Teasley, Committee Member; Christine Readdick, Committee Member.

Background: Individuals living in rural areas may experience challenges in accessing affordable and appropriate medical care and support, often resulting in declines in health related quality of life. This is especially true for individuals diagnosed with HIV disease. While only one third of the US population lives in the south, over two thirds of all rural AIDS cases occur in this region. Fewer than 1,500 individuals are reported to be living with HIV/AIDS in the northern region of Florida commonly referred to as the Big Bend area. This predominantly rural region includes the eight counties located between the Gulf of Mexico and the Florida-Georgia border. Purpose: The purpose of this dissertation was to identify the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) status of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) in the Big Bend area who receive case management services. Questions: The following questions are addressed: 1. What is the HRQoL status for PLHA residing in the Big Bend area receiving case management services? 2. How much do previously identified correlates account for variances in HRQoL among PLHA residing in the Big Bend area? Method: A cross-sectional descriptive survey method assessed the demographic characteristics and HRQoL variables for approximately 97 PLHA who reside in the Big Bend area and receive case management. Group comparisons were made based on demographic and socioeconomic status characteristics, behavioral factors, disease status, symptom status, and functional status. Significance: The results reveal that PLHA who receive HIV case management in the Big Bend area have mild symptom burdens, are only mildly functionally impaired, yet have poor quality of life. Few group differences were observed. Three significant findings were present. First, among PLHA who take highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART), those with AIDS reported more concerns about the impact that HIV medications have had on their life than those who do not have AIDS. Secondly, those who report using tobacco products are less satisfied with their life than tobacco non-users and, more interestingly, those who report using tobacco products are less accepting of their HIV status than those who do not use tobacco, even when controlling for other variables. And finally, those who report using illicit drugs have significantly more concerns about family, friends, and coworkers finding out about their HIV status than those who do not report using illicit drugs. Implications for HIV case management and social work policy and practice are discussed. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Social Work in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2012. / April 2, 2012. / Case Management, Health Related Quality of Life, HIV/AIDS, Rural / Includes bibliographical references. / Bruce A. Thyer, Professor Directing Dissertation; David Eccles, University Representative; LaTonya Noel, Committee Member; James Whyte, IV, Committee Member.

According to objectification theory, western culture is saturated with dominant views of heterosexuality as well as the overt sexualization of the female body. As such, women are acculturated to internalize sexually objectifying experiences leading to psychosocial distress in the form of shame, anxiety, a lack of body responsiveness, and an inability to experience peak motivational states. Evidence suggests self-objectification can increase the risk for various mental and behavioral health problems that differentially affect women, namely substance use to appear sexually attractive or to cope with an objectified body consciousness. To test this theory, 348 college women from one southeastern university were surveyed using five previously validated scales. Structural equation modeling was used to explore pathways between latent constructs. A confirmatory factor analysis indicated the measurement model fit the data well after omission of five items. Results from the path analysis provided evidence in support of the first two hypotheses: a) the experience of being sexually objectified leads to the increased use of alcohol among college women in this sample and b) the internalization of that sexual objectification leads to the increased use of alcohol. Contrary to the third and fourth hypotheses, however, c) self-objectification did not mediate the relationship between sexual objectification and alcohol use and d) neither feelings of shame nor anxiety, a lack of body responsiveness, nor the inability to engage in peak motivational states mediated the relationship between self-objectification and alcohol use. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Social Work in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester 2015. / June 29, 2015. / Self-Objectification, Sexual Objectification, Substance Use, Women / Includes bibliographical references. / Stephen Tripodi, Professor Directing Dissertation; David Gussak, University Representative; Nicholas F. Mazza, Committee Member; Dina Wilke, Committee Member.

Background and Purpose: Social workers perform important roles within organ transplant services, especially in pediatrics where the parents and extended family are intimately involved. The role of social work in the area of organ transplantation remains underrepresented both within the social work profession and research literature. Research on the psychological and social predictors of medication adherence is critical to the advancement of pretransplant assessments and transplant social work services. Transplant social workers assess the child and family prior to transplantation to determine if the child and family are psychologically and socially prepared to undergo the procedure and care for the child after transplantation, and assist posttransplantation with resources and services. Ultimately, consistency with medication is critical to quality of life and in preventing organ rejection. Methods: The study used hospital-generated data and medical records information to test the association between patient and family psychosocial characteristics and medication adherence outcomes. Data generated from the United Network of Organ Sharing (Department of Health and Human Services) offered medical information and patient and family demographics. The posttransplant data included patients' long-term health, medical outcomes, and adherence to medications. All patients received psychological, psychiatric, or psychosocial assessments prior to being listed for transplantation which included information on the family and patient psychosocial information. Medication adherence was measured using the posttransplant opinion of the physician and standard deviation scores of patients' immunosuppressive medication blood levels. Research on the psychosocial predictors of medication adherence as well as health and medical outcomes are critical to the advancement of pretransplant assessments and transplant social work services. Results: Complete data were collected on 105 pediatric heart and lung transplant recipients and their families. The children were predominantly male (57%), white (65%), heart transplant recipients (78%), and a mean age at transplant of 10.1 years (sd = 6.0). A majority of the parents had an educational level below a four-year college degree (70%), were from a two-parent or blended family home (64%), and had public insurance (70%). In the bivariate analyses, age of the child at transplant, organ type, time of the pretransplant diagnosis, medical status (ICU) at time of listing for transplantation, and patient on life-support predicted standard deviation scores of the medication blood levels. The physician's opinion of the patient's adherence was predicted by age of the child at transplant, child experience of maltreatment, having private insurance, greater parental level of education, having a two-parent home, quality family communication, and patient on life-support. Multivariate, step-wise analyses were conducted with each adherence outcome. The medication blood level standard deviation scores were predicted by age at transplant. The multivariate, step-wise model predicting the opinion of the physician of the patient's adherence included age of the child at transplantation, parental education, two-parent families, other significant psychosocial problems, and the pretransplant life support status of the child. The resulting model explained approximately 39.5% of the variance in the physician opinion of adherence. Conclusions: The ability to assess pediatric patients and their families for risk factors of non-adherence is central to their care both in the pretransplant and posttransplant periods. Efforts to help transplant social workers identify psychological and social aspects of the children and families are important, especially when these characteristics are associated with not taking their medication. The development of standardized and evidence-based pretransplant psychosocial assessments in pediatric populations is suggested, especially those surrounding family factors. Family-centered approaches to the promotion of adherence are suggested during pretransplant and posttransplant periods. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Social Work in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2012. / April 25, 2012. / Adherence, Heart, Lung, Organ Transplantation, Pediatrics, Psychosocial / Includes bibliographical references. / Linda Vinton, Professor Directing Dissertation; Kay Pasley, University Representative; Martell Teasley, Committee Member.

There has been extensive research in the area of childhood sexual abuse in the last several decades. However, the focus has been on symptomology of survivors and the problems they face in adult life. The purpose of this study was to examine the coping strategies childhood sexual abuse survivors use in their daily lives as well as the satisfaction they feel in their current romantic relationship. This study utilized data from Parenting Among Women Sexually Abused in Childhood, 1998, available from the National Center for Child Abuse and Neglect. 265 women answered questions related to current relationship satisfaction as well as strategies they employ to deal with stressful situations. It was found that when women with sexual abuse histories were compared to those women with no sexual abuse history, the women with a sexual abuse history were more likely to use problem avoidance and social withdrawal strategies. No other coping strategies were significantly different. It was also found that there was no relationship between sexual abuse history and current relationship satisfaction. This study discusses implications for these findings for the general public, fellow researchers, and clinicians. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Family and Child Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2009. / March 23, 2009. / Sexual Abuse, Coping Strategies, Relationship Satisfaction / Includes bibliographical references. / Thomas Cornille, Professor Directing Dissertation; Nicholas Mazza, Outside Committee Member; Ann Mullis, Committee Member; Marsha Rehm, Committee Member.

This study offers a useful step toward conceptualizing and understanding control-motivated IPV as a device to control partners within specific motivating and facilitating contexts. The research literature suggests that desire for control increases perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV) against women, that attitudes supporting male dominance and backlash are associated with IPV against women, and that women's status in communities is associated with men's IPV perpetration risk. Recent literature argues that the interpersonal context of coercive control from the victim's perspective is central to understanding IPV. Yet, there are substantial gaps in the literature on how the contextual status of women facilitates IPV and how context might relate to men's attitudes and desire for control. The literature lacks theory to explain how women's contexts influence men to seek control over women and how differences in women's contexts might influence IPV perpetration. To explore these gaps in the knowledge base, this study examines the utility of a multidimensional conceptualization of the macro context of women's controllability in explaining IPV perpetration against women. This study examines how the macro context of women's controllability influences men's control-seeking; the mediating effect of men's attitudes of male dominance and backlash on the relationship between macro context of women's controllability and men's control-seeking; and the effect of macro context of women's controllability on the relationship between men's control-seeking and men's IPV perpetration. Multi-level analyses were conducted linking existing data about the macro context women's controllability in counties to data from 2,920 male undergraduate college students from a state-funded University in Florida. The college student data includes information on psychological and physical IPV perpetration, control-seeking and IPV attributions, and attitudes about male dominance and backlash. Results indicate that control-seeking mediates the relationship between the macro context of women's controllability and IPV. In addition, macro contexts of women's controllability influence men's control-seeking over and above the effects of attitudes supporting male dominance or backlash. Men from counties where women overall had greater controllability were on average more control-seeking. When women had greater power in counties, men were less likely to perpetrate psychological abuse, after taking into account control-seeking. Men with higher levels of control-seeking who were from counties where women shared greater power and independence tended to be less likely to perpetrate physical IPV. The results are promising and underscore the need for further research into macro contextual influences with additional individual level data collected as well as more refined community context delineations. The results are also hopeful for IPV prevention science, especially for community level prevention efforts / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Social Work in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2010. / March 10, 2010. / Prevention, Gender, Multi-level Modeling, Domestic Violence, Intimate Partner Violence, Community Context, Women's Status / Includes bibliographical references. / Dina J. Wilke, Professor Directing Dissertation; Patricia Yancey Martin, University Representative; James E. Hinterlong, Committee Member.

The Trauma Resilience Scale for Children (TRS-C) was created to be a developmentally appropriate, psychometrically valid, reliable and unbiased measure of the major protective factors associated with children's resilience following violence. Extending pilot work with adults, this scale assesses children's perceived presence of ten protective factors following child maltreatment including: physical abuse, sexual abuse, witnessing or experiencing intimate partner violence, and/or witnessing or experiencing a serious threat or injury to life. Empirical and theoretical literature guided subscale and item formulation. Mixed methods design was used for content validation and item refinement with adult trauma experts (n=9) and children in the foster care system (n=9). Refined items were subsequently tested on a larger sample within school and clinical settings (n =208) for scale reliability, validity, factor structure, and differences across demographic characteristics. The scale demonstrated psychometric properties that support its use with children in varied circumstances. The limitations and implications of the scale are discussed, including application within clinical and research settings. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Social Work in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2010. / October 20, 2010. / Positive Adaptation, Protective Factors, Child Maltreatment, Child Abuse, Violence, Scale, Measure, Psychometrics, Children, Resiliency, Resilience, Trauma, Qualitative, Quantitative, Ecological / Includes bibliographical references. / J. Neil Abell, Professor Directing Dissertation; Eric Stewart, University Representative; C. Aaron McNeece, Committee Member.

Florida Self-Directed Care (FloridaSDC) is a state-funded mental health services program for adults diagnosed with a severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI), who rely upon public assistance to access mental health services. Self-directed care (SDC) is a relatively new approach to service delivery in the mental health arena. Modeled after the Cash and Counseling program for individuals with disabilities, SDC differs from traditional community-based mental health services in its "money follows the person" approach. Individuals enrolled in SDC programs control the public dollars allotted for their care, making decisions regarding the types of services and service providers they feel will best assist them in achieving their self-identified recovery goals. Research regarding SDC is limited, particularly with respect to participants and their goals for program success. FloridaSDC presents a unique research opportunity in that it is currently the largest and most established SDC program in the United States. The purpose of this exploratory study is to provide a more holistic, in-depth understanding of FloridaSDC participants than is currently available in the existing literature. This study examines participants' demographic characteristics and mental health, physical health, and substance use histories, as well as their recovery goals, service choices, and outcomes, including goal achievement. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from the clinical and fiscal records of a purposive sample (n=80) of the FloridaSDC participants (N=264) served during the 2009-2010 fiscal year and still enrolled in the program at the time of this study. The majority of study participants were female (n=49, 61.3%), white (n=61, 76.3%), divorced (n=37, 46.3%) or single (n=34, 42.5%), living alone (n=42, 52.5%), and diagnosed with a mood disorder (n=54, 67.5%). Participants ranged in age from 29 to 70, with a mean age of 51.4 years (SD=9.07). With respect to educational level, 26 (32.5%) participants held a high school diploma, and 21 (26.3%) completed some college. The majority of participants (n=67, 83.8%) reported having an employment history, although 48 (60.0%) were disabled (as opposed to being employed) during the study period. Study participants' had a mean annual family income of $10, 260 (SD=$4,842). A total of 64 (80%) individuals received psychiatric disability income. Key findings suggest that poverty is a major barrier to recovery for FloridaSDC participants, who spent the bulk of their allotted budgets on goods and services to meet their basic needs and maintain independent living. This study also identified an inverse relationship between the severity of participants' symptomology and functioning and their total expenditures, suggesting that those who are the most troubled may be the least likely to make use of FloridaSDC funds to access desired services. Finally, the highly personalized nature of participants' self-reported recovery goals and the degree of consistency between participants' service expenditures and their self-identified barriers to goal achievements reinforce the utility and importance of person-centered planning and individualized budgeting. Additional recommendations for policy, practice, and future research are discussed. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Social Work in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2011. / June 30, 2011. / FloridaSDC, Self-directed care / Includes bibliographical references. / Tomi Gomory, Professor Directing Dissertation; Ann Mullis, University Representative; Nicholas F. Mazza, Committee Member.

This study explored the extent to which differences in social capital among family structures predicted academic improvement in young children using data from the nationally representative Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey, (ECLS) Kindergarten class of 1998-1999, which is administered by the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES). For all children included in the analyses, parent social and resource capital explained 13% of the variance in reading change scores from kindergarten to fifth grade and 15% of the variance in math change scores from kindergarten to fifth grade. In addition, parent social and resource capital explained 34% of children's reading change scores in stepparent family structures. In light of these findings, implications for policymakers, parents, and scholars are discussed. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Family and Child Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2008. / August 26, 2008. / Stepfamilies, ECLS-K, Social Capital Theory / Includes bibliographical references. / Ronald L. Mullis, Professor Directing Dissertation; Patrice Iatarola, Outside Committee Member; Thomas A. Cornille, Committee Member.