The concept of civic-efficacy, as well as its role in post-school outcomes for high school students with disabilities is explored. Service-learning is introduced as a possible intervention for improving the civic-efficacy of high school students with disabilities. The existing literature regarding civic engagement, service-learning, and students with disabilities is critiqued. The results of a mixed methods study with quasi-experimental design analyzing the impact of service-learning activities on the civic-efficacy of youth with disabilities are presented. The findings indicate a significant difference in the civic-efficacy scores of youth who participate in service-learning activities. Qualitative analysis revealed that all the youth participating in the focus groups would like to do more service-learning activities and none of the service-learning sites aligned their projects with the service-learning best practices. / A Dissertation Submitted to the College of Social Work in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2009. / December 5, 2008. / Disability, Transition Services, Service-Learning, School Social Work, Inclusion / Includes bibliographical references. / James E. Hinterlong, Professor Directing Dissertation; Bruce Menchetti, Outside Committee Member; Martell Teasley, Committee Member.

This descriptive, nonexperimental, cross-sectional, in vivo study examined factors influencing decisions about life-sustaining treatment decisions (CPR, mechanical ventilation, tube feeding, and hemodialysis), and perceptions of the benefits and barriers associated with these decisions in a central Florida (USA) sample of health care surrogates and proxies (N = 132). Derived from the Health Beliefs Model, a surrogate decision-making model portrayed relationships among study variables assessed with hierarchical multiple regression (HMR). A three-step variable entry process and post hoc case analysis produced the final surrogate decision model: R² = .381 (F = 6.43, [F = .05; 9, 94] = 10.65, p Surrogates were reassured by knowing patients' verbal and/or written advance treatment instructions. Sustained by knowing "what Mom wanted", 97.8% of respondents expressed a higher degree of personal decision acceptance by carrying out patient wishes, accepting those decisions as the best alternatives. Following treatment decisions, surrogates expressed high self-reliance and significantly appreciated the benefits associated with treatment decisions. As surrogates must possess essential patient information prior to legitimately exercising legal and moral obligations to the patient in a decision reflecting patient wishes, engagement between social workers and surrogates at hospital/ICU admission can facilitate surrogate-patient communication and information exchange with remaining healthcare professionals. New measurement tools to clarify patient treatment preferences and surrogate role demands enable social workers to prepare surrogates for their role, counter barriers associated with treatment decisions, and mitigate stressors associated with surrogacy. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Social Work in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2007. / December 1, 2006. / Proxy Decisions, Surrogate Decision-Making, Health Belief Model, Health Care Decision-Making / Includes bibliographical references. / Neil Abell, Professor Directing Dissertation; Michelle S. Bourgeois, Outside Committee Member; Nicholas F. Mazza, Committee Member.

This study investigated the relationship between initial levels and change in parent involvement and children's learning-related social skills over time. Bioecological theory was the theoretical framework which guided the study using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Class of 1998-99. MPlus (Muthén & Muthén, 2004) was used to address missing data using Full Information Maximum Likelihood estimation and to complete latent growth curve analysis. Parent involvement at home (PI-H) in kindergarten was found to be significantly and positively related to interpersonal skills (IPS), but not work-related skills (WRS) in kindergarten. Parent involvement at school (PI-S) in kindergarten was found to be significantly and negatively related to both IPS and WRS in kindergarten. Increase in PI-H and PI-S overtime was found to be significantly related to decrease in IPS and WRS over time. There were not significant results found for the relationship between parent involvement in kindergarten and change in children's learning-related social skills over time. / 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 17, 2009. / Social Competence, ECLS-K, Social Behavior, School Success, Bronfenbrenner, Educational Success, Parent-Child, Home Environment, Social Development, Secondary Data, Weights, Approaches To Learning, Peer Play, Self-Control, Cooperation, Responsibility, Independence, Self-Regulation, Listening, Following Directions, Staying on Task, Task Completion, Mastery Behaviors, Organizing, Executive Skills, Independent Working Skills, Adaptation To The Classroom, Responsible, Attentive, Assertive, Play Interactions / Includes bibliographical references. / Ann K. Mullis, Professor Directing Dissertation; Patrice Iatarola, Outside Committee Member; Carol Darling, Committee Member; Ming Cui, Committee Member.

There are currently over 500,000 children in foster care in the United States. Foster care places them at a high risk for immediate and long term psycho-social-educational problems. In an effort to prevent some of the immediate behavior problems in foster children, an innovative intervention referred to as Transitional Group Therapy (TGT) was developed. TGT combines developmentally appropriate therapeutic interventions, psycho-education, and play therapy in a group milieu to facilitate resiliency. This study is the first phase of a best practices approach in which TGT was tested for its feasibility with 11 first-placement foster children, ages 6-11. Its research and development methodology employed both qualitative and quantitative methods. A challenge to the implementation of this program included systemic barriers to recruiting participants. Qualitative data and quantitative pre and post testing on the Child Behavior Checklist and the Behavior and Emotional Rating Scale offered promise of the TGT'S effectiveness. This preventive intervention in time may be viewed as providing a "shot in the arm" to instill resiliency in first-placement foster children to help them survive their experience. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Family and Child Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2008. / May 19, 2008. / Interventions, Resiliency, Play Therapy, Group Therapy, Foster Children, Foster Care, Research And Development / Includes bibliographical references. / Robert E. Lee, Professor Directing Dissertation; Scott Ryan, Outside Committee Member; Ron Mullis, Committee Member; Lenore McWey, Committee Member.

According to the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics (2008), "The primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well being and help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty" (p. 1). The focus on marginalized groups has always been a central feature of the profession. More interestingly, perhaps, the social work profession has always been a profession principally comprised of women. Throughout the literature, the nineteenth-century female friendly visitor is generally recognized as the precursor to the modern social caseworker (Boylan, 2002; Comitini, 2005; Elliott, 2002; Katz, 1996; Kirk & Reid, 2002; Lubove, 1965; Margolin, 1997; Popple & Reid, 1999; Trattner, 1978). However, how friendly visiting came to be is less developed. This study fills a critical gap in the developmental history of social work by providing an exploration of the possible evolution of professional helping in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. First, eighteenth-century women's roles, responsibilities, and duties are explored through the writings of four English writers: Mary Astell (1697), Lady Sarah Pennington (1761), Mary Wollstonecraft (1792), and Hannah More (1799). These gentlewomen, here defined as educated women of means, identify charity as an accepted feature of women's social and religious responsibilities. Then, early benevolent organization societies and the roles available to women in Western Europe and America are explored. The overlap between religion and charity work, evident from Pennington, More, Astell, and Wollstonecraft, informs the creation of benevolent societies on both continents. However, by the close of the eighteenth century, philanthropy and religion are infused with the language of medicine and science. Finally, the work of the friendly visitor, formalized through the Charity Organization Societies and the scientific charity movement, is considered. The formalization of friendly visiting reveals the gendered nature of professional helping that persists to this day. / A Thesis submitted to the College of Social Work in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Social Work. / Spring Semester, 2011. / May 5, 2010. / Friendly visiting, Friendly visitor, History, Women's Studies, Benevolent Society, Charity Organization Society / Includes bibliographical references. / Tomi Gomory, Professor Directing Thesis; Stephen Tripodi, Committee Member; Dina Wilke, Committee Member.

The current study examined the longitudinal moderating effects of organizational social phenomenon (viz, leader behaviors, cohesion, and collective efficacy) on the relationship between stressors associated with military peacekeeping operations and psychological distress. This study was a secondary analysis of longitudinal data collected by personnel from the US Army Medical Research Unit – Europe. The original data were collected from US Army personnel deployed in support of the NATO peacekeeping operation in Kosovo. Data collection occurred in two waves. The first wave occurred during the mid-deployment phase of an approximately six-month deployment, while the second wave occurred approximately two months after the soldiers returned from Kosovo to capture post-deployment psychological distress. Data were separated into individual level variables and organizational-level variables. The individual-level variables consisted of individual perceptions of operation-related stressors including, (a) role conflict and mission ambiguity associated with the role of peacekeeper, (b) concern for family well-being and (c) exposure to potentially traumatic events and the outcome variable assessing psychological distress. Organizational-level variables represented group perceptions of leader behaviors, cohesion, and collective efficacy aggregated at the US Army company to which the soldiers were assigned. Data from a sample of 546 soldiers assigned to 37 different US Army companies were examined using hierarchical linear modeling. Initial results indicated that, within organizations, only role conflict/mission ambiguity served to predict post-deployment individual psychological distress. None of the organizational-level variables predicted the within-groups relationship between role conflict/mission ambiguity and post-deployment psychological distress. However, a between-groups interaction of leader behavior and role conflict/mission ambiguity with psychological distress was observed. When leader behavior lacks clear direction and support and the mission is perceived of as vague or ambiguous, soldiers, on average, are more likely to experience greater degrees of psychological distress than in units where leaders exhibit strong characteristics of directive and supportive behaviors. This discrepancy, however, diminishes as soldiers perceive the peacekeeping environment as meaningful and pertinent. The results of this study reinforce the theory that leaders influence attitudes of subordinates which in turn positively affects psychological adaptation to potentially stressful environments. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Social Work in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2003. / March 3, 2003. / Leader Behavior and Mission Attitudes, The Stress Strain Process / Includes bibliographical references. / C. Aaron McNeece, Professor Directing Dissertation; Pamela L. Perrewé, Outside Committee Member; Jorge Delva, Committee Member.

The purpose of this study was to examine if degree (on a continuum from negative to positive) and/or similarity of patients' and their partners' meanings of the lung cancer illness significantly influenced psychosocial adjustment in a low-income, urban sample of couples (n = 35). Findings were consistent with those of other studies. A significant actor effect (p = .00) was found for both patients and partners, with individuals viewing the illness more positively reporting better adjustment. However, no significant partner effect was found. In addition, the degree of similarity between patients' and partners' meanings was not significantly related to the psychosocial adjustment of either. Findings suggest thatlung cancer patients and their partner s who hold a highly negative view of the illness may be appropriate targets for intervention. However, it does not seem necessary that patients and partners are congruent in their meanings attached to the illness. Additional research on the relationship between meaning and psychosocial adjustment to the lung cancer illness is warranted. Implications for the development and delivery of psychosocial interventions in an oncology setting 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, 2007. / October 19, 2007. / Meaning Adjustment, Lung Cancer, Patients, Partners, Couples / Includes bibliographical references. / Lenore McWey, Professor Directing Dissertation; Charles Figley, Outside Committee Member; Robert E. Lee, III, Committee Member; Thomas Cornille, Committee Member.

The purpose of this research was to explore and describe parenting styles in planned lesbian families with young children by using a case study design with observations and interviews as a tool for collecting evidence regarding parenting styles along with three self-reports. The scores of the self reports revealed that: 1. Six of the mothers perceived themselves to have been authoritarianly parented and four perceived to have been authoritatively parented, 2. All the mothers perceived themselves to be authoritative parents, and 3. All five couples perceived themselves to have a strong parenting alliance marked by well coordinated and respectful transactions. The findings showed that the construct validity of the theoretically derived sequences for observing parenting styles was congruent with the sequences' definitions, but not the results of the self-reports. The observational data analysis process revealed the emergence of a new sequence that codes observations of children demanding their parents to act maturely in a variety of situations according to established parental standards. In conclusion, the analysis of the observational data and the self-reports determined the authoritative parenting style of four and permissive style of six of the planned lesbian families. / 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. / February 26, 2009. / Socialization, Parenting Styles, Permissive Parenting, Authoritative Parenting, Lesbian Parenting, Gay Parenting / Includes bibliographical references. / Christine A. Readdick, Professor Directing Dissertation; Gary Peterson, Outside Committee Member; Ann Mullis, Committee Member.

The purpose of this study was to determine how patients as well as members of their families cope with Chronic Hypertensive Cardiovascular Disease and the problems associated with it on a daily basis. Research was done based on Phenomenological theory because it concerns the nature of the lived experience relative to the disease and family life. I wanted to qualitatively explore perceptions, meanings, effects, and experiences among African American patients and family members of Chronic Hypertensive Cardiovascular Disease, and discover coping strategies and adjustments made for daily life. A purposive convenience sample of ten participants from five households was the sample population for this study. Of the ten participants, five were patients, two were spouses (i.e., one was female and one was male), one was a mother, one was a sister, and one was a daughter of the patients. All of the participants were African American and resided in North Florida. The ages of the participants ranged from 40 years of age to 85 years old. The participants were observed and interviewed in the comfort of their own homes to promote a familiar environment and safety. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and analyzed. Social support theory and the health belief model were the framework choices for this study. The frameworks were used to determine how and to what extent morale and hope are strengthen and to determine if a person's health and behavior are affected by his or her health beliefs. Eight different over-arching themes prevailed (e.g., fear and anxiety of the disease, dependency on the physician, family background and familiarity, need for family support, need for external support, coping strategies and techniques, socioeconomic status, and spirituality). Social support regardless as to whether it is in the form of emotional, cognitive, or instrumental, was found to significantly be associated with positive health behaviors such as exercise, medication compliance, diet, regular checkups and appointment keeping patterns. In addition, if a person believes that taking medication that has been prescribed by their physician will make them better, then they will take it. If patients feel that exercise and diet would be beneficial in decreasing either their vulnerability to or the harshness of the condition, and if they believe that the probable costs of taking action are outweighed by benefits then they will comply. Education plays an important factor as well. Patients knowledgeable about his or her disease will help influence medication compliance, exercise regimen, and diet, which will increase patient progress toward healthy living. Fear and anxiety proved to be the center core of all the themes relative to CHCD. Because of fear and anxiety about the disease, the patients and caregivers showed the dependency and belief they have in the physician. Paradoxically, that fearful state of mind had a positive effect of making the patient more aware and familiar with the disease. Also, because of fear and anxiety, the patient depended a great deal on family and external support in terms of coping strategies and techniques. It was also found that even though a patient may have close ties with family, they must interact with individuals outside the family structure (external support). This may be through agencies, health care providers, or just through some individual who has a kindred spirit and a concern for the circumstance. / 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, 2003. / March 5, 2003. / Cardiovascular Health, Lifestyle Adjustments, Chronic Illness / Includes bibliographical references. / Marsha Rehm, Professor Directing Dissertation; E. Newton Jackson, Jr., Outside Committee Member; Barbara Allison, Committee Member.

The purpose of this study was to examine 9-13 year old children's reasons and motivations for participation in physical activity. Child's activity level, age, gender, race, parental education level, and perceived child weight were examined. For the most part, no differences were found in reasons children cited for doing or not doing physical activity based on children's activity level, age, race, parental education, and children's perceived weight. However, there were gender differences for amotivational reasons cited by children for not participating in physical activity. More than boys, girls indicated that they were too busy or were not athletic enough to participate. Implications for interventions and future research are provided. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Family and Child Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Sciences. / Fall Semester, 2010. / October 27, 2010. / child physical activity, gender and physical activity, children activity level / Includes bibliographical references. / Ronald Mullis, Professor Directing Thesis; Christine Readdick, Committee Member; Tom Ratliffe, Committee Member.