Following the 2007 death of Baby Peter, the British Government commissioned an inquiry and subsequent report that recommended comprehensive reforms to social work practice and education. Successful educational reform has been linked to positive attitudes on the part of those individuals tasked with its implementation, attitudes influenced by a variety of personal and organizational cultural factors. This study surveyed social work educators in England ahead of implementation of the reforms, to assess the relationship between their attitudes and intentions towards those reforms, modeled on Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior. As predicted, attitude positively predicted intent. Data also showed that female social work educators had more positive attitudes and intentions towards the reforms than did their male counterparts. There was no evidence to suggest that chronological age, number of years' experience teaching in higher education, or the academic associations of the higher educational institution at which the educators worked influenced attitude or intent. The generally positive attitudes and intentions expressed by many educators may suggest relatively successful reform implementation when it occurs. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Social Work in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2014. / February 14, 2014. / Education, England, Reform, Social Work / Includes bibliographical references. / Dina Wilke, Professor Directing Dissertation; Sherry Southerland, University Representative; Nicholas F. Mazza, Committee Member.

Often considered the greatest of losses, a parent is never prepared for the death of a child. In addition to the unimaginable loss, there are practical issues that must be addressed, such as dealing with the belongings of the child. A study of spousal bereavement found that the way widows viewed the belongings of a spouse was related to complicated grief. The Dual Process Model of grief holds that bereaved people oscillate between a loss orientation and a restoration orientation as they deal with the death of a loved one and that this oscillation is a predictor of complicated grief. It was hypothesized that the significance that bereaved parents place on their child's belongings is a partial proxy of loss orientation. The Inventory of Daily Widowed Life was modified to apply to the death of any loved one and was used to measure oscillation. With the sample of bereaved parents, we found that oscillation explained 44% of the variance in scores on the Inventory of Complicated Grief after controlling for other known risk factors. A second analysis was performed, removing oscillation and using the subscale for restoration orientation and a measure of the significance of belongings. This model explained 39% of the variance in complicated grief after controlling for other known risk factors. This research suggests that the significance that parents place on the belongings of their deceased child may provide insight into the potential for complicated grief. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Social Work in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2014. / April 3, 2014. / Belongings, Bereavement, Child, Dual Process Model, Grief, Parent / Includes bibliographical references. / Neil Abell, Professor Directing Dissertation; Sally Karioth, University Representative; Nicholas F. Mazza, Committee Member; Bruce Thyer, Committee Member.

Financial management literature suggests that individuals manage money entering the household in a variety of ways which may be shaped by family composition. This dissertation addresses the influences of marital status, children and grandchildren residing inside and/or outside of the home, and gender on financial decision making. Two aspects of making financial decisions, psychological and sociological, serve as the focus of the study. Both of these important characteristics of making financial decisions were measured utilizing the National Endowment for Financial Education's Life Values study which characterizes psychological aspects as Inner Life Financial Values and sociological aspects as Social Life Financial Values. It was hypothesized that individuals in non-committed relationships, individuals with children or grandchildren residing outside of the home, and men with children or grandchildren outside of the home would demonstrate higher levels of Inner Financial Life Values. It was also hypothesized that individuals in committed relationships, individuals with children or grandchildren residing inside of the home, and women with children or grandchildren inside of the home would demonstrate higher levels of Social Financial Life Values. Results were analyzed utilizing one-way analysis of variance. Post hoc analyses were also examined. With respect to Inner Financial Life Values, results indicated significant differences between groups. This research suggests that psychological aspects of financial values may differ for individuals in committed relationships (i.e. married or living with a partner) as compared to individuals who are in non-committed relationships (i.e. divorced or have never been married). Additionally, the addition of children within a committed relationship may further contribute to the shaping of psychologically-based financial values. An examination of Social Financial Life Values indicated no significant differences between groups. A lack of differences between groups may be indicative of a reliance on social supports, such as extended family and friends, for individuals in non-committed relationships. Further examination of this measure is warranted. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Social Work in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2014. / April 1, 2014. / Couples, Financial Decision-Making, Financial Management, Financial Therapy, Household Composition, Marriage / Includes bibliographical references. / Thomas E. Smith, Professor Directing Dissertation; David R. Peterson, University Representative; Bruce A. Thyer, Committee Member; Jean Munn, Committee Member.

This dissertation explored the associations between the degree of congruence between therapist and client perceptions about specific sources of power in individual therapy and the quality of the therapeutic relationship. Power bases were conceptualized as being either state-dependent (therapy-specific) or trait-dependent (extratherapeutic). I hypothesized that the more congruent the perceptions of the therapist's and client's therapy-specific and extratherapeutic power, the better the quality of the therapeutic relationship. Adults currently in the working stage of voluntary outpatient therapy and their corresponding therapists completed surveys about the therapist's and client's therapy-specific and extratherapy power bases (N = 47 dyads). The survey packets consisted of modified versions of the Interpersonal Power Inventory (Raven et al., 1998; Anderson, 2008), single-item indicators for extratherapeutic bases (likability, age, intelligence, sex/gender, and race/ethnicity), the Working Alliance Inventory-short version (Horvath & Greenberg 1989; Tracey & Kokotovic, 1989), and supplemental demographic questions. I used difference scores to calculate each dyad's levels of congruence. Results showed no significant correlations between congruence on client or therapist therapy-specific harsh or soft power bases and the quality of the therapeutic relationship. Statistically significant negative correlations existed between congruence on therapist age, intelligence, sex, and the quality of the therapeutic relationship. Statistically significant negative correlations existed between congruence on client age, intelligence, and the quality of the therapeutic relationship. Multiple regression models showed several trends. The model with congruence on therapist power as predictive of the quality of the therapeutic relationship was statistically significant. Congruence on therapist therapy-specific harsh and soft power bases were not significant predictors of quality. The congruence about all extratherapy power bases was a significant (negative) predictor in the models, and when examining the bases individually, congruence on therapist age was a significant negative predictor of quality only when including the client's length of treatment in the model. Models run with congruence on client power as predictive of the quality of the therapeutic relationship were not statistically significant. Congruence on client therapy-specific harsh and soft power bases were not significant predictors of quality. The congruence about all extratherapy power bases was a significant (negative) predictor in the models, but when examining the individual bases, none were significant predictors of the quality of the therapeutic relationship. Findings from this study supported future inquiry into congruence on perceptions of power and the quality of the therapeutic relationship, especially concerning extratherapy power bases. Future researchers should consider a longitudinal design with a larger, more diverse sample to enhance generalizability. Through awareness of how such power resources influence the process of therapy, therapists can help build a better relationship and in turn, better client outcome. / 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 27, 2011. / Therapy, Counseling, Social Work, Direct Practice / Includes bibliographical references. / Stephen Tripodi, Professor Directing Dissertation; Nicholas Mazza, Committee Member.

Despite the growing interest and research on sexual violence, the topic of elder sexual abuse has received minimal attention in the literature. The data used in this study are from reports of substantiated elder abuse in Wisconsin between 1988 and 2003. This study examines the influence of a variety of predictor variables upon the likelihood of a case being identified as elder sexual abuse, where other forms of abuse may occur, as contrasted against those cases where elder abuse was substantiated but no sexual abuse occurred. This study utilizes a case-control forward stepwise logistic regression to develop a final parsimonious model. The presence of material abuse and/or self-neglect decrease the likelihood of a case being identified as elder sexual abuse. Findings suggest that women are more likely than men to be victims of elder sexual abuse. Social workers are often in a position to identify elder victims of abuse due to their work in hospitals, clinics, long-term care facilities, and private homes. Social work education should include information on elder abuse, highlighting elder sexual abuse. When conducting an adult protective services assessment, information should be gathered from every client concerning the possibility of elder sexual abuse. / A Dissertation Submitted to the College of Social Work in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2006. / March 17, 2006. / Elder Sexual Abuse, Sexual Abuse, Elder Abuse, Sexual Violence, Aging Individuals / Includes bibliographical references. / Robin E. Perry, Professor Directing Dissertation; Deborah Ebener, Outside Committee Member; Bruce A. Thyer, Committee Member.

Assessment is the key to identification of appropriate support and intervention in family health care. Current reviews of assessment tools and practice are being utilized in health prevention and intervention programs. The family, its function, structure, rules, and beliefs are known to have a significant relationship to the health behaviors and illness outcomes of family members (Gillis & Knafl, 1999; and Marmot & Wilkinson, 1999). Currently there is no standardized approach by which interdisciplinary health professionals are trained to conduct family health assessments. The University of Florida Health Science Center interdisciplinary team of health professionals conducted the initial development and administration of the FHS for the Interdisciplinary Family Health course. A 48-item health focused scale contained 11 social support items, 16 health behavior items, and 21 health belief items. This exploratory focus group study was designed to identify how the different health professions responded to the utility of the FHS as a measure for specific aspects of family centered health care assessment. The focus group included social work, medicine, dental, pharmacy, physical therapy, and interdisciplinary health professionals whose aims included: 1) The examination of the faculty's perceived usefulness of the FHS questionnaire for interdisciplinary health care training in family health assessment. 2) The exploration of the interdisciplinary collaborative team members' perspectives on family preventive health behaviors as identified by the FHS. 3) The identification of potential health and social problems that may impact health outcomes by using the FHS. The six health profession focus groups agreed that the FHS questionnaire was a useful tool for training interdisciplinary health profession students in family health assessment, but limitations of the survey tool existed for clinical practice. Responses suggested that using the FHS can identify a whole families health needs and inform the IFH students family health project planning. Issues related to improvement for the future re-design of the FHS were identified, and the challenges and opportunities for the interdisciplinary health professionals actively involved in the assessment process are recognized. / A Dissertation Submitted to the College of Social Work in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2006. / October 25, 2006. / Interdisciplinary Health Training / Includes bibliographical references. / Neil Abell, Professor Directing Dissertation; Marie Cowart, Outside Committee Member; Nicholas Mazza, Committee Member; Mary Ann Burg, Committee Member.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a family narrative/music therapy intervention (FNMT) on family functioning in families with children or adolescents who have experienced the death of a parent some time in the two years prior to the study. To accomplish this, two families participated in FNMT within the framework of a nonconcurrent multiple baseline design. Both families consisted of a single parent (one female, one male) and two daughters. Pretest/posttest measures were the Family Assessment Device (FAD) for adults and adolescents and the Children's Assessment of Family Functioning (CAFF) for children younger than 12. Baseline/postsession measures were a self-rating scale and open-ended questions designed for this study. All family members completed two pretest and one posttest measure and six weekly postsession measures. A random assignment resulted in Family 1 and Family 2 completing baseline measures for six and three days prior to the first session, respectively. In addition to these measures, the therapist completed a behavioral observation form following each session. FNMT involved the use of music listening, drumming exercises, and drawing to enhance emotional expression and facilitate discussion of loss issues and the writing of a story about each family's experience of the death. The six sessions took the family through the loss process and included such topics as facts about the death, first hearing about the death, the funeral, memories of the deceased, the family as it is now, and future plans. The primary intention of this intervention was to create an experience through which family members could process their loss experiences with each other and parents could learn about developmentally appropriate responses to loss. This combination was expected to improve family functioning (i.e., decrease parent-child conflict, increase parental nurturance) so that the family units would provide the emotional support necessary for the children to be able to progress in their emotional and cognitive development despite the major loss they had experienced in their family structure. Data analyses of the different measures showed mixed results. Mean FAD change scores for parents and adolescents showed a trend of improvement in overall family functioning from pretest to posttest. There was, however, no change in the CAFF scores of the younger daughter in Family 1 from pretest to posttest. Interestingly, this same participant who rated no change in family functioning according to the CAFF was the only one whose self-rating scale scores showed significant improvement in parental nurturance during the treatment phase according to the X-moving range-chart analysis. The results for her older sister's self-rating scale scores showed the opposite effect, indicating a significant increase in parent-child conflict and decrease in parental nurturance. Graphic analyses of the self-rating scales, supplemented by the calculation of an average effect size (ES) for all participants, indicated a small positive effect on parent-child conflict (ES = 0.28) and a small negative effect on parental nurturance, as measured by comfort with emotional expressiveness (ES = -0.31) and communicating about death (ES = -0.42). Therapist observations showed no change in the way parents expressed and handled disagreement in sessions but did show positive change in all family members' emotional expressiveness during sessions. A chi-square analysis of the ethnographic content analysis of responses to the open-ended questions revealed no statistically significant difference in the participants' description of sessions as being therapeutic or facilitative of therapeutic ends and a statistical significance in the description of behaviors in the family indicative of more nurturance. A discussion of limitations of this study, recommendations for future research, and implications for practice concludes this paper. / A Dissertation Submitted to the College of Social Work in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2006. / June 6, 2005. / Nonconcurrent multiple baseline design, Child development, Adolescent development, Intervention research, Adolescent grief, Child grief / Includes bibliographical references. / Nicholas Mazza, Professor Directing Dissertation; Clifford K. Madsen, Outside Committee Member; Ann K. Mullis, Committee Member; Ronald L. Mullis, Committee Member.

Juvenile offenders have a number of factors that contribute to their delinquency including family dysfunction, substance abuse, negative peers, and limited education and employment opportunities. The focus for juvenile delinquency research has historically been focused on the youth's behavior in the community and crimes against the "public". The behavior of the youth while in the custody of the juvenile justice system is critically important to the safety of all youth. Self-mutilation by youth in juvenile justice custody is a behavior that elicits fear, frustration and consternation from staff. The incidence rate in juvenile settings and possible indicators that may influence a youth to self-mutilate have had limited attention from researchers and none from the State of Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. The purpose of this dissertation research is to explore self-mutilation to determine if specific aspects of demographics, substance abuse, mental health or criminal behavior influence the likelihood of self-mutilating. A purposive, non-random sample was obtained (N=261) composed of youth residing in juvenile detention and residential programs in the State of Florida. Incident reports of self-harm were collected over a six-month period and examined by two raters. The incidents were classified into three categories, angry/impulsive self-harm, self-mutilation, and suicidal behavior. Far fewer than expected reports of self-mutilation were found. Subtle differences were found between the three groups using chi square, ANOVA and logistic regression analyses. Specific variables that appeared to influence group membership included race, program type (detention or residential), mental health issues and substance abuse. / A Dissertation Submitted to the College of Social Work in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2005. / August 2, 2005. / Juvenile Justice, Adolescence, Suicide, Self-Harm, Self-Mutilation / Includes bibliographical references. / C. Aaron McNeece, Professor Directing Dissertation; Marc Gertz, Outside Committee Member; Bruce Thyer, Committee Member; Laura Bedard, Committee Member.

Relationships between family values, perceived family social support, and stress appraisal among Black and White College students were examined in this study. A total of 200 male and female undergraduate students complete a demographic/background questionnaire, a culturally oriented measure of family values (Family Allocentrism Scale), a perceived family social support measure (Social Supportive Behavior Scale), a perceived stress measure (Perceived Stress Scale), a daily stress measure (Inventory of College Students Recent Life Events Scale) and a coping measure (Coping in Stressful Situations). Results revealed no significant differences among Black and White students in terms of family values, perceived family social support, perceived stress and coping style. However a significant difference was found in daily stress among Black and White students, with Black students reporting more daily stress. In addition, perceived family social support was associated with daily stress and perceived stress for White students. However, only family values were associated with perceived stress for Black students. These findings suggest that Black students may place greater value on family values/family connectedness in the appraisal of certain types of situations whereas White students' perceived availability of social support may be of greater value to them. Implications for future research include further examination of the impact of culturally oriented family values on stress appraisal and the examination of more complex models of stress among racially heterogeneous groups. / 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, 2004. / October 28, 2004. / Stress and Family Values, Stress, Stress and Social Support / Includes bibliographical references. / Ronald L. Mullis, Professor Directing Dissertation; Kaisheng Song, Outside Committee Member; Marsha Rehm, Committee Member.

In view of the centrality of child-mother attachment to child well-being and in the context of the increasing participation of ethnically diverse groups in non-maternal care settings in the United States the purpose of this study was to investigate the contribution of ethnicity to toddler-mother attachment and identify the combination of non-maternal care and child and familial factors that best predict the development of attachment. A sub-sample of 817 Euro-American, African-American, and Hispanic 24-month-olds participating in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care was used. Small yet significant differences in toddler's attachment to their mothers as measured by the Attachment Q-Set (Waters & Deane, 1985) were associated with child ethnicity as indicated by Analysis of Variance. According to Post-Hoc comparisons using the Tukey test, Euro-American and Hispanic toddlers were observed to be more securely attached that African-American toddlers. No significant differences between Euro-Americans and Hispanics were found. Using a general lineal model, maternal sensitivity, social support, child gender, and African-American ethnicity were significant predictors of attachment. Higher levels of maternal sensitivity and perceptions of social support, as well as being a girl predicted more secure attachment; being African-American predicted less secure attachment. Furthermore, the relationship between social support and attachment was significantly moderated by toddler ethnicity and gender. Specifically, increasing levels of social support predicted more secure attachment among Euro-American boys. Although the amount of variance in toddler-mother attachment explained by these models was modest, the results of this study suggest that family factors and processes may exert more influence on toddler-mother attachment relationship than the non-maternal care factors available for examination. Cultural variations in parenting behavior and socialization goals as well as limitations of the NICHD Study of Early Child Care data set are suggested as factors that may explain these results. / 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, 2006. / October 27, 2006. / Culture, Child Care, Ethnic Minorities, Attachment, Children / Includes bibliographical references. / Christine A. Readdick, Professor Directing Dissertation; Vickie E. Lake, Outside Committee Member; Cynthia A. Lundeen, Committee Member; Ronald L. Mullis, Committee Member.