Mental Health Courts (MHCs) are a diversion program for mentally ill offenders in lieu of incarceration. The Substance Abuse and Mental Services Administration (SAMHSA) developed these specialized court programs in the 1990’s to assist mentally ill offenders in overcoming barriers to treatment. While new laws have begun to change the way mentally ill offenders are viewed from a law enforcement standpoint, social workers’ attitudes and beliefs about these programs have not been studied. This quantitative study’s purpose was to examine Master of Social Work (MSW) Graduate students’ attitudes and beliefs of mentally ill offenders and MHCs. Social work student participants completed an online questionnaire developed by the researchers using Qualtrics software. We analyzed the data using descriptive and inferential statistics, including a t-test. Our hypothesis that attitudes and beliefs of social work students varied based on the student’s year in the MSW program was not supported by the data. These findings suggest that students’ attitudes and beliefs about MHCs remain consistent throughout their graduate social work training. Although, our findings do not generalize to all social work students or to social workers in the field, these findings suggest students’ exposure to this topic during their MSW program may be limited and may warrant further investigation. We discuss these findings and their implications for social work curriculum and practice.

Victims of childhood bullying often use passive coping strategies and experience depression, substance abuse use, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to examine adults' lived experiences of coping methods they used as victims of bullies during adolescence. Lazarus and Folkman's transactional theory of stress and coping provided the framework for the study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 young adults who were bullied as adolescents. Coding analysis indicated 7 emerging themes for coping: confrontation, self-controlling, seeking social support, accepting responsibility, escape-avoidance, problem-solving, and positive reappraisal. Participants reported that some coping methods were perceived as effective. The results suggested that self-support and the support of friends and family were key factors in overcoming childhood victimization. Findings may be used by parents, teachers, counselors, and community members to assist bullied or at-risk adolescents in developing coping methods to support their ongoing personal development.

Des personnes traitées injustement, des biens culturels en danger, la discrimination contre les minorités, l’harcèlement sexuel, l'intimidation et la violence sont seulement quelques comportements incivils et immoraux que nous pouvons témoigner dans les lieux publics. Quelle est notre réaction immédiate ? La présente thèse a examiné les caractéristiques de la personnalité des individus qui expriment leur désaccord et confrontent les auteurs des comportements incivils ou immoraux (Chapitre 1 & Chapitre 2). Nous avons vérifié si ceux qui interviennent ont tendance à être des « râleurs rancuniers » ou des « leaders bien adaptés ». Les deux premières études mesures des nombreuses différences individuelles qui seraient directement impliquées dans la réaction du témoin. Les résultats ont clairement confirmé l'hypothèse du « leader bien adapté ». La tendance des participants à confronter les transgresseurs est en corrélation positive avec la responsabilité sociale, l'acceptation sociale, l'indépendance, la régulation des émotions, la persistance, l'auto-déterminisme, l'âge et le salaire mensuel, mais pas avec l’agressivité. Trois études supplémentaires confirment l'hypothèse du "leader bien ajusté». Altruisme, outrage moral, implication personnelle, libéralisme politique et extraversion sont en relation avec les réactions auto déclarées des gens. Les données ne soutiennent pas l'idée que la haute estime de soi ou le fait d'être agressif serait nécessaire pour faire face à l'auteur d'un comportement incivil/immoral. Nous discutons des implications de ces résultats pour la perpétuation et le changement des normes sociales. Nous avons également examiné l'effet de la distance sociale témoin-transgresseur sur la tendance du témoin à confronter le transgresseur au sujet de son comportement (Chapitre 3). Nous avons présenté 26 comportements incivils et immoraux aux collégiens, lycéens et étudiants à l’université en leur demandant d'indiquer comment ils réagiraient s’ils devaient assister à chacun de ces comportements. Nous avons manipulé la relation avec le transgresseur, qui a été décrit comme soit un ami, soit une connaissance, soit un étranger pour le témoin. Les résultats suggère qu’une relation étroite entre le témoin et l'auteur du comportement incivil/immoral, agrandi la probabilité que le témoin exprime son désaccord. Les résultats parlent du rôle des relations étroites dans la perpétuation des normes sociales. Ils suggèrent également des moyens de réduire les comportements antisociaux dans plusieurs milieux sociaux, scolaires et organisationnels. / People treated unfairly, cultural assets in danger, discrimination against minorities, sexual harassment, bullying and violence are just a few uncivil and immoral behaviors that we can witness in public settings. What is our immediate reaction? The present research examined the personality characteristics of individuals who "speakup" and confront perpetrators of uncivil or immoral behaviors (Chapter 1 & Chapter 2). We tested whether those who intervene tend to be "bitter complainers" or "well-adjusted leaders".The first two studies, measured numerous individual differences that are directly implicated in bystander’s intervention. The results clearly confirmed the well-adjusted leader hypothesis. Participants' self-reported tendency to confront perpetrators correlated positively with social responsibility, acceptance by peers, independent self-construal, emotion regulation, persistence, self-directedness, age, and monthly salary, but not with aggressiveness. Three additional studies provide support for the "well-adjusted leader" hypothesis. Altruism, moral outrage, personal implication, political liberalism, and extraversion were positively related to people's self-reported reactions. The data provided no support for the idea that high self esteemor being aggressive is necessary to confront the perpetrator of an uncivil/immoral behavior. We discuss the implications of these findings for the perpetuation and change of social norms. We also examined the effect of social distance between a bystander and the perpetrator of an uncivil/immoral behavior on the bystander's tendency to "speak up" and confront the perpetrator about his/her behavior (Chapter 3). We presented 26 uncivil and immoral behaviors to middle schoolers, high schoolers and university students and asked them to indicate how they would react if they were to witness each of the behaviors. We manipulated the relationship to the perpetrator who was described as a friend, an acquaintance, or a stranger. Results showed that smaller the social distance between the bystander and the perpetrator of the uncivil/immoral behavior the greater the self-reported likelihood that the bystander will express his/her disapproval to the perpetrator. The findings speak to the role of close relationships in the perpetuation of social norms. They also suggest ways to curb antisocial behaviors in a variety of school and organizational settings.

The aim of this study was to enlighten social workers experiences of social networks direct influence in Swedish social services, and in which ways those influences are manifested. Some of the issues that are being explored in this study are: The separation of the private sphere and professional duties; boundaries and dual relationships that occurs inside social networks; the use of social networks as a control-instrument in authority exercise towards clients; and social networks arising impact on social work. The empirical material was collected with nine qualitative interviews with social workers stationed at different social service departments in a Swedish municipality. Also one qualitative e-survey was sent out to, and answered by four social workers with a managerial position in the same municipality. The results reveal that several informants have experienced different problematic situations involving clients within the social networks. This study shows that the informants are very restrictive with what information (text and pictures) they publish on their facebook-profiles, because of their position of authority and the awareness of the possibility of always being watched. Several informants reveal a strong attitude against the use of social networks in social work and argue that information about clients fetched at social networks cannot be used. Yet some social workers use social networks at work to search information about clients and verify suspicions, for example in decision-making of governmental economical support. The power that the social workers hold against their clients is being exterritorialised inside the social networks and makes further way for an expanding control-society.

Dexter Morgan is a serial killer, but he may not be blameworthy for his actions There are two possible explanations that could absolve Dexter of moral responsibility: (1) His inability to empathize with others makes it so that he cannot make appropriate moral decisions. Or (2) his serial killing tendencies are determined in nature, set off by events of which he had no control. I conclude that Dexter is, in fact, morally responsible for his actions because he is capable of second order desires

published_or_final_version / Social Work and Social Administration / Master / Master of Social Sciences

Much is unknown about insular communities as they are often closed and guarded. This is especially so when it comes to crimes committed in their midst. Online forums geared to community members can reveal the discussions they have following a crime and the thoughts and feelings of the group. Using a functionalist approach, this study fills a gap in the literature on crimes committed in insular communities by and against community members by asking: what topics of discussion arose for Orthodox Jewish community members following a crime in their midst and were community members united or divided in their discussions? More explicitly, the sociological importance of what they discussed and how this affected community cohesion was examined. To address these questions, the comments following articles about a murder committed in an Orthodox Jewish community in New York on two Orthodox Jewish news websites (Yeshiva World News and Vos Iz Neias) were examined. Qualitative thematic analysis was used to examine how community members reacted to the murder through the discussions they had and whether these discussions affected and reflected community cohesion. Implications for better understanding crime in insular communities are discussed, as are directions for future research.

Le vieillissement de la population entraîne une hausse des maladies chroniques telle que la maladie d’Alzheimer dans nos sociétés occidentales. L’enjeu du vieillissement se répercute aussi dans les réformes de nos politiques sociales, et plus généralement dans la gestion des services publics. Dans ce contexte, le régime de santé publique québécois connaît diverses modifications concernant la prestation de soins de première ligne. De nouveaux acteurs acquièrent des rôles et des responsabilités définissant des enjeux particuliers. Nous étudierons l’un de ces enjeux. Ce mémoire vise à spécifier les processus sociaux à la base de l’isolement des aidants familiaux de personnes atteintes par la maladie d’Alzheimer. La stigmatisation des aidants et les microprocessus afférents sont les principaux mécanismes analysés. Les données sont extraites d’entrevues semi-structurées réalisées avec une cohorte d’aidants familiaux (N=60) suivie longitudinalement depuis le début de leur trajectoire de soins. Une démarche qualitative soutient ce projet. Nous avons analysé un échantillon de douze participants au moyen d’une approche séquentielle. Trois processus typiques ont été identifiés : le stigma de forme en ruptures (séparation sociale), le stigma de forme transitoire (stigma transitoire) et le stigma de forme anomique (anomie sociale). Les résultats suggèrent que les réseaux sociaux des aidants sont soumis à un ensemble de conditions favorisant la structuration du stigma social, la principale condition étant un enjeu de pouvoir concernant le contrôle de la personne malade. Les aidants conjoints de personnes atteintes sont plus enclins à la stigmatisation en début de trajectoire. / Aging populations in western societies contribute to the raise of chronic illnesses such as Alzheimer disease. The issue of aging also echoes in recent political reforms and more generally in the way we manage public services. In this context, Quebec’s public health regime has known diverse modifications concerning “first line caregiving” (soins de première ligne). New actors of the public system have acquired roles and responsibilities defining particular issues. We address one of these issues. This research aims at specifying the social processes inherent to the isolation of family caregivers helping a relative suffering from Alzheimer disease. The stigmatization process and related microprocesses are the principal mechanisms analysed. The data derives from in-depth, semi-structured interviews, realised with a cohort of sixty family caregivers followed longitudinally since the beginning of their care trajectories. A qualitative scheme bears out our investigation. We have analysed a sample of twelve participants using a sequential approach. Three typical processes were identified: social separation, transitory stigma and social anomia. Results suggest that the caregivers’ support networks are subjected to a setting of conditions structuring social stigma, the recurrent condition being an issue of power implying the social control of the ill relative. Caregivers who also are the spouses of the ill relative are the most inclined to stigmatization in early trajectory.

No description available.

Ce mémoire analyse les trajectoires de sortie de communautés juives ultraorthodoxes. Plus précisément, il cherche à mettre en lumière le processus par lequel certains juifs hassidiques parviennent à s’affranchir de leur communauté d’origine. Dans une recherche alliant entrevues, notes de terrain et observation,notre étude montre comment malgré la présence d’un fort contrôle social au sein de ces communautés ultra-religieuses certains de leurs membres le déjouent. Ce mémoire vise à repérer et à analyser les stratégies d’adaptation et les ruses mises en place par les hassidim pour échapper au contrôle et ainsi enclencher le processus de sortie. À la lumière de la théorie goffmanienne nous montrons comment dans un environnement contrôlant,les individus réussissent à s’aménager des marges de manoeuvre. C’est en se créant des espaces de liberté durant le processus de sortie qu’ils parviennent à avoir les coudées franches pour s’en affranchir définitivement. / This master’s thesis analyses the paths taken by individuals who exit ultraorthodox Jewish communities. More precisely, it illuminates the process by which certain Hasidim take it upon themselves to leave behind the lifestyle and the community in which they were born and raised. My research primarily uses interviews and field notes to show how certain individuals manage to exit such ultra-religious communities despite the presence of strong social controls to prevent leaving. This study examines adjustment strategies and ruses used by Hasidim to avoid religious control and prompt their departure process. Drawing from Goffman’s theory, I will show how in a controlled environment individuals are still able to succeed in creating some marges de manoeuvre. These particular spaces of liberty shaped by each individual allow for the ultimate success of completely leaving the community.