The effect of expressing appreciation on positive regard for a friend or roommate and willingness to voice relationship concerns to this person was examined using a journal study format. Participants (n = 75) were randomly assigned to one of four conditions (one being an expression of appreciation condition) and they engaged in their assigned activity twice a week for three weeks. At the end of the three weeks, those assigned to the expression of appreciation in relationships condition reported higher positive regard for their friend/roommate and more comfort in voicing relationship concerns than did those in the other conditions, even when controlling for the baseline scores of these variables and frequency of participation in the intervention. In addition, positive regard mediated the relationship between condition and comfort in voicing relationship concerns. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Family and Child Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Summer Semester, 2008. / July 9, 2008. / Comfort In Voicing Relationship Concerns, Positive Regard, Appreciation, Mediation / Includes bibliographical references. / Frank Fincham, Professor Directing Thesis; Jon Maner, Outside Committee Member; Kay Pasley, Committee Member; Ming Cui, Committee Member.

Promoting physical activity is consistent with many models and perspectives on social work, such as the empowerment perspective, self-efficacy theory, resilience, the strengths perspective, good health, hardiness, and self-determination, yet it has received little attention in social work literature as an effective intervention. Among older adults, exercise has been shown to reduce costs for health care, limit injury, decrease heart disease and obesity, improve diabetes, and result in a more active life style. Moreover it has been shown to elevate mood. Recent neuroimaging studies indicate that exercise expresses neural functions similar to anti-depressant medication without the side effects. Findings of this meta-analysis found a significant overall pretest-posttest mean change effect size of -0.46 (p This meta-analysis included randomized experimental studies of exercise and follow-up with clinically depressed samples of older adults conducted 2000-2006. Clinical depression was defined according to DSM-IV-TR and ICD-10 criteria. Twenty-six independent samples describing nine studies met criteria. The null hypothesis proposed exercise would have no effect upon major depression, as defined by statistically significant differences and meaningful effect sizes. A comprehensive literature search was conducted and features of each study were coded independently by two coders, with an inter-rater reliability of 0.97. Analyses looked at overall effect, group of assignment, duration, treatment studies and follow-up, outcome measures, type of exercise, age: young-old versus old-old, and standards and protocols used to determine clinical effectiveness. All effect sizes were computed as standardized pretest-posttest mean-change measures. Weighted analyses adjusted for variable sample size. In the fixed effects model analysis, each effect size was weighted by its inverse variance; the random effects model employed a method-of-moments estimator. The significant overall pretest-posttest mean change effect size was a moderate -0.46 (p Both specific and overall findings among the studies of the analyses suggest that like cardio protection, a lifestyle change of ongoing regular moderate exercise can effect remission from clinical depression in older adult clients and protect from relapse. Findings indicate that efforts by social work researchers and practitioners are worthwhile at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels to provide professional pre-education, develop exercise interventions within practice, educate clients and others about the antidepressant nature of exercise, promote accessibility, and advocate community and regulatory improvement. Other studies suggest a neural link between exercise and remission of depression, and further intervention research should include interdisciplinary teams drawing from venues of social work, neuroscience, medicine, and exercise to explain the causal mechanism, identify the populations at risk, and investigate the prophylactic effect. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Social Work in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2007. / September 19, 2007. / Older Adults, Elderly, Physical Activity, Depression, Exercise, Randomized, Evidence-Based / Includes bibliographical references. / Bruce A. Thyer, Professor Directing Dissertation; Charles C. Ouimet, Outside Committee Member; Charles R. Figley, Committee Member.

The presence of sexual prejudice in social work remains an ongoing issue as the literature in this substantive area documents its presence among both practicing social workers as well as social work students. Institutionalized heterosexist bias creates an atmosphere ripe for differential treatment, and its presence in the social work profession has real potential to harm gay, lesbian, and bisexual clients who may be seeking those services. The Code of Ethics espoused by the National Association of Social Work (NASW) and the educational policy dictated by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) explicitly delineate antigay bias under the purview of professional issues. As social work educators attempt to train students to thwart their personal biases and encourage the promotion of social justice for all vulnerable and oppressed populations, including those who belong to a sexual minority group, garnering an understanding of the problem for their particular student population is a first essential step. The development of targeted pedagogical interventions must follow knowledge acquisition. Traditional measurement of antigay bias has focused on older notions of the problem, for example homophobia, and has failed to demarcate the precise source of prejudice. Of particular importance for social work educators is the specific source of biases found in the student population, especially one that is exposed to additional education about gays and lesbians. With that aim, this dissertation presents and evaluates a newly developed multidimensional measure of antigay bias. Items for the Sexual Prejudice Scale (SPS) were written to reflect contemporary conceptualization of antigay bias and based on a model of prejudice proposed by Haddock et al. (1993) and the perspective on prejudice espoused by conflict theory. The acquisition of prejudice may be multimodal, but its chief components remain stable—disparaging cognitions and negative affective reactions. Measurement of a latent phenomenon is improved when clear theoretical delineation of the construct is followed by accurate depiction through operationalization. Applying this approach, the SPS was designed to reflect the two primary forms of sexual prejudice—biases against gay men and those against lesbians. Within each of the gendered scales, each component of prejudice was conceived as a separate subscale to facilitate precision in measurement. These components are valuation, stereotyping, affective responses, and support for social equality. The SPS was subjected to a three stage process to establish evidence of validity, reliability, and its factor structure. A content validation study employing substantive and methodological experts was undertaken to delimit the initial item pool (N = 142). Data were then collected from students at four geographically diverse universities with CSWE accredited social work programs resulting in 851 usable surveys. The dataset was split using a random start point to generate two samples. The first sample (N = 426) was used for an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and to test the hypothesized factor structure of the SPS. Results indicated a three-factor solution (affective-valuation, stereotyping, and social equality beliefs) with correlated factors for each of the gendered scales. Initial results of the reliability analysis were good and suggested that the SPS warranted further testing. The second dataset (N = 425) was tested for evidence of factorial validity (a confirmatory factor analysis; CFA), construct validity, known groups, and predictive validity along with a final reliability analysis. Results of the CFA indicated a strong three factor model for each of the gendered scales as evidenced by the goodness-of-fit indices. Cronbach's alphas for each subscale ranged from adequate to good, and the composite scales' stratified alphas were excellent. A priori validity hypotheses were confirmed and thus provide initial evidence for the validity of the SPS. Limitations to this study include the use of a convenience sample and lack of geographic representation from the West coast and the Plains states. Because the SPS was designed for and tested with social work students, this study cannot generalize findings to other adult populations. Moreover, the high proportion of young women in the sample, which is an ongoing issue in social work research, limits understanding for males and older students. Future research will seek to provide additional evidence for the reliability and validity of the SPS and test its utility with other populations, such as practicing social workers. Testing established pedagogical interventions with a scale that elicits more information will allow researchers to determine which components of prejudice are addressed by these specific approaches and allow for modifications to be made. Additionally, studies regarding the sustainability of change would fill a major gap in the literature and provide additional information about how students will approach practice. / 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. / May 8, 2009. / Measurement, Sexual Prejudice, Factor Analysis / Includes bibliographical references. / Darcy Clay Siebert, Professor Directing Dissertation; Kay Pasley, Outside Committee Member; Jean Munn, Committee Member; Scott Rutledge, Committee Member.

The purpose of the study was to determine the effects of a short-term intervention for youth and their families currently involved or at-risk for involvement in the juvenile justice system. The intervention was based on the PAC Success Family Literacy Initiative which is a 6-week, 12-session program. The final sample consisted of 76 participants (43 parents/caregivers and 33 youth) from 7 Florida sites. The outcomes of interest were: (a) parental/caregiver perceptions of their children's behavior, (b) parental/caregiver perceptions of children, (c) youth perceptions of self, (d) youth perceptions of parents/caregivers, and (e) recidivism rates. A second goal of the study was to evaluate the program in terms of implications for future short-term programmatic interventions. Following PAC Success, there were significant changes reported in parental/caregiver perceptions regarding their children's behaviors and also their perceptions of children. Youth did not show significant changes in negative self attributes or in perceptions of negative parental/caregiver attributes. It is interesting to note that the parents were impacted more than the youth. Full completion and partial completion of the program was also considered. In regard to recidivism, whether the participants of the program had been involved or had contact with the system in 1 and/or 4 years following program participation, differences between full completers and partial completers were not significant. A primary contribution of this work is in the area of practice and evaluation. / 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, 2007. / February 28, 2007. / Juvenile Justice, Families, Adolescents, Intervention / Includes bibliographical references. / Marsha Rehm, Professor Directing Dissertation; Gary Peterson, Outside Committee Member; Penny A. Ralston, Committee Member; Kay Pasley, Committee Member.

The police have actively intervened in intimate partner violence (IPV) since the 1980's to hold batterers accountable by legal punishment, to prevent future violence, and to provide victims' safety. However, research results of the effectiveness of the police intervention are inconclusive. Moreover, the majority of studies focused on batterers, overlooking victim-related factors in examining the effectiveness of the police intervention. This paper used the National Crime Victimization Survey from 1987 to 2003 to examine whether arrest of batterers has an effect in reducing revictimization. Overall, younger, separated victims are more likely to be revictimized than the older, married women. Rape or sexual assault victims and those without injury from the previous victimization are more vulnerable to revictimization. Also, IPV incidence rates declined by half, and arrest rates of batterers were doubled from 1987 to 2004. With regard to the effect of arrest, the study results support the specific effect of arrest on victims' safety. Logistic regression analysis of data from 2,462 victims showed that when the police arrested batterers, their chance of revictimization fell by half. However, the general effect of arrest on incidence rates is not as apparent as the specific effect. The time-lagged effect of arrest on incidence rates, which was shown in this study, needs future research for meaningful interpretation because there is no theory to explain such a delayed effect. Since dual-examination of the specific effect and the general effect showed the overall effectiveness of arrest in reducing IPV incidence and revictimization, social work policy and practice fields will be able to develop informed, effective intervention strategies in IPV. / 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 31, 2006. / NCVS, Domestic Violence, Criminal Justice, Intimate Partner Violence / Includes bibliographical references. / C. Aaron McNeece, Professor Directing Dissertation; Xu-feng Niu, Outside Committee Member; Dina J. Wilke, Committee Member.

Contemporary study of trauma is only a few decades old, and a framework for conceptualization and measurement of trauma in children has developed even more recently. One of the most under-studied populations of children with regard to trauma exposure and trauma-related mental health and behavioral problems is delinquent youth. However, understanding and addressing trauma promises to add significantly to our understanding of the etiology and treatment of criminal behavior among children. This dissertation includes a review of the often politically charged history of trauma research and treatment, including a discussion of why the delinquency field has lagged behind other human services disciplines with regard to acknowledging and studying the importance of maltreatment and trauma. The review includes recent research on the pervasive physiological impact of serious and chronic trauma among children, and touches briefly on emerging research regarding the physiological impact of serious and chronic trauma. The review also discusses the emerging model of trauma-informed care, which promises to help create safer institutional environments with improved treatment outcomes. The analysis utilizes a large statewide dataset that includes first offense and trauma history information for 36,695 youth who were arrested for the first time and assessed using the Positive Achievement Change Tool (PACT) within 48 hours of arrest. From the original pool of 36,695, twelve-month recidivism data are available for 28,442. Research questions include an exploration of the prevalence of various types of trauma indicators including physical abuse, witnessing violence, sexual abuse, and endorsing a history of flashbacks, and trauma for all youth as well as by race, sex, and Hispanic ethnicity among this group of first-time arrested youth. Next, logistic regression analyses are used to determine whether trauma indicators in general and specific types of trauma indicators are predictive of increased risk of offending in general and offending violently in the twelve months subsequent to the first arrest. Next, logistic regression is applied to determine whether the observed relationships between trauma and later offending operate similarly for youth regardless of sex, race, and Hispanic ethnicity while controlling for demographic and prior-offense variables. Analyses reveal that, according to the PACT assessment, the girls in the study were significantly more likely to endorse each unique trauma indicator as well as trauma in general, however, there were no significant differences in exposure based on race and Hispanic ethnicity. The logistic regression analyses revealed that each unique trauma indicators and trauma in general increase the likelihood of a new charge of any type, as well as a new violent charge. The final set of analyses involved disaggregating by categories of race, sex, and Hispanic ethnicity, and conducting logistic regression analyses for each of the six categories of youth included in the study. This set of analyses revealed some differences between groups with regard to which types of trauma indicators were significantly associated with a subsequent offense or a subsequent violent offense. This study utilizes a large, statewide dataset to replicate prior findings from smaller-scale studies that have found a higher prevalence of maltreatment and trauma histories among juvenile-justice involved youth. Further, the findings support the notion that trauma histories are associated with increased risk of subsequent juvenile offending and subsequent violent juvenile offending. Additionally, the findings suggest that far more research is needed to determine how sex, race, and ethnicity play a role in how trauma is experienced and how it impacts upon later mental and behavioral health. / 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 25, 2010. / abuse and delinquency, maltreatment and delinquency, trauma-informed practice, trauma-informed care, delinquency, trauma, child trauma, child abuse, recidivism / Includes bibliographical references. / Martell Teasley, Professor Directing Dissertation; Irene Padavic, University Representative; Aaron McNeece, Committee Member.

The purpose of this study was to explore the factors that help parents to cope with stress and to determine the overall impact that parenting stresses have on satisfaction with child care and overall life satisfaction. The current study utilized a family stress model to determine the overall impact that parenting stresses have on the two dependent variables with influences of parenting stresses, parenting daily hassles, level of family coping, perceived teacher support, and sense of coherence. Two hundred and one parents from one of five selected counties in Florida completed an online survey. The data were analyzed using SPSS 15.0 and AMOS 6.0 and the models fit well with the observed data. The results revealed that the variable with the greatest total effect on satisfaction with child care was sense of coherence followed by parenting stress and perceived teacher support and the reported R2 explained 10.0 percent of the variance. Similar results were found for satisfaction with life. The variable with the greatest total effect on satisfaction with life was sense of coherence, followed by parenting stress and perceived teacher support and the reported R2 explained 33.0 percent of the variance. Parents reported being most stressed with worrying about "doing enough" for their children, with difficulty in balancing different responsibilities because of their children, and by financial burden. / 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, 2010. / April 23, 2010. / Parenting Stress, Family Coping, Satisfaction with Child Care, Satisfaction with Life, Sense of Coherence, Teacher Support / Includes bibliographical references. / Carol A. Darling, Professor Directing Dissertation; Nicholas Mazza, University Representative; Marsha Rehm, Committee Member.

This study examines adoptive adolescents and their relationships with their adoptive parents. The adolescents in this study were adopted from the child welfare system and therefore experienced various stressors throughout their lifetime that are uncommon to other adolescents their age. These stressors include being removed from their biological home, having numerous placements, and possibly being separated from their siblings. Due to these stressors, many adopted adolescents may be left without social supports. This study draws upon previous research, presents a Systematic Research Synthesis (SRS) and builds upon a previous stress-coping model in order to further examine specific variables that affect this population. These variables include personal factors, stressors, and adoptive parent-child relationships. The moderating/buffering effect of social supports is also investigated through an examination of the interaction between three forms of social supports (i.e., family, friends, significant others) and stressors. The analyses that were utilized within this study include t-tests and Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE). This study examines 335 adopted adolescents and their adoptive parents. It is based on the first wave of a three-year longitudinal study. The data are drawn from two separate surveys that were completed by adoptive parents and adopted adolescents. The present study found that adolescents adopted when older had significantly more behavioral and educational needs than adolescents adopted when younger. Also, support from family and significant others were found to be significant while support from friends was not. Although these social supports were found to be significant, an interaction effect with the stressors was not found to be significant. Finally, the adolescents' educational and behavioral needs were found to be significant predictors of their relationships with their adoptive parents. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Social Work in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2006. / June 26, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references. / Scott D. Ryan, Professor Directing Dissertation; Pamela Perrewé, Outside Committee Member; C. Aaron McNeece, Committee Member.

Lack of health insurance is a significant public health concern in the U.S. Currently more than 45 million Americans do not have any health insurance, and many more are underinsured. Public policy approaches that seek to improve access to medical care for the uninsured and underinsured must be based on an understanding of physician decision-making because physicians are gatekeepers who play an important role in determining the quantity and quality of medical care. This dissertation explores the relationship between physician variables (job satisfaction, decision-making style, social distance and length of time in practice), patient variables (insurance status, race, and ethnicity) and treatment recommendations by physicians for insured and uninsured patients. Survey instruments measuring social distance, job satisfaction, and tacit decision-making were mailed to a random sample of 250 Georgia family physicians. Decision outcomes were measured through the use of four vignettes that depict common, hypothetical scenarios requiring clinical decision-making. The vignettes varied only in the depiction of the patients described as in terms of insurance status, race, and ethnicity. The data indicated that in three of four hypothetical scenarios, physicians' clinical decisions varied depending on combinations of patient characteristics. The data also revealed that lack of health insurance (but not African American race or Latino ethnicity) resulted in lower decision outcome scores. No relationship was found between the set of physician variables (job satisfaction, decision-making style, social distance, and time in practice) and decision outcome scores. Decision-making style was negatively associated with decision outcome in Scenario 1. Time in practice was positively associated with decision outcome in Scenario 2. Time in practice was positively associated with job satisfaction. This study has important implications for health care policy in developing an effective response to the problem of medical indigence. / 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 14, 2006. / Inequality, Access, Medical Care, Social Work, Public Health, Health, Indigent, Health Insurance, Decisions, Physicians, Prejudice, Stereotypes, Health Policy, Health Care Administration, Medical Sociology, Disparities In Health Care, Equity, Race, Ethnicity, Family Physicians, Georgia / Includes bibliographical references. / C. Aaron McNeece, Professor Directing Dissertation; Mary Ellen Guy, Outside Committee Member; Wendy Crook, Committee Member.

This study addressed the impact of the external environmental context of individual organizations on their internal structures and service configurations, as they attempted to adapt to a changing political economy, via an examination of a portion of the Georgia child welfare system's response to the introduction of the principles of managed care. Based, in part, on Hasenfeld's (1992) notion that institutional and political economy perspectives are the most important theoretical approaches to understanding external influence on the service delivery systems of human services organizations, the current study presents conceptual and analytical models, which also includes network theory. In 1995, members of the Georgia Association of Homes and Services for Children (GAHSC) began sculpting a strategy for addressing managed care approaches to child welfare service delivery and funding in their state. This phenomenon provided an excellent context for studying the external environmental factors associated with the adoption or rejection of a controversial new methodology. A survey instrument, based on Dillman's (1978; 1991) Total Design Method, was developed and administered to assess Chief Executive Officers' and Managers' perceptions of the influence of external, political and economic, institutional, and network influences on their organizations' decisions to adopt managed care principles. The sampling frame included all residential child caring agencies licensed by Georgia's Department of Human Resources' Office of Regulatory Services (N=114). The final response rate for the survey was 33% (n = 37). Survey items were grouped according to theoretical constructs (i.e., perceived political and economic pressure, perceived institutional pressure, perceived network pressure, and perceived adoption of managed care principles) via the creation of index scores based on responses to the survey items. Regression analyses on the index scores for these four variables provided limited support for political economy theory and network theory as significant predictors for the adoption of managed care principles. Limitations in the design and implementation of this study are discussed to inform the applicability of these findings to human service organizations. Possible implications are also presented for human services organizations, social work practice, and future research in this area. / A Dissertation submitted to the School of Social Work in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2003. / March 27, 2003. / Social Welfare Organizations, Organization Theory, Human Service Organizations, Index Scoring, Multiple Regression / Includes bibliographical references. / Wendy P. Crook, Professor Directing Dissertation; Richard Chackerian, Outside Committee Member; Thomas E. Smith, Committee Member.