This phenomenological study investigates the religious and spiritual values of older African American women with an emphasis on how values motivate volunteering in the Black community. Research questions were posed to older African-American women through focus groups at community centers located in six neighborhoods. The responses to the research questions provide an understanding of the religious and spiritual values; indicate how values were learned, transmitted, and practiced within the context of volunteerism; and clarify what is helpful to motivate and maintain the practice of volunteering The descriptive voices of older African-American women are shown in the data analysis indicating major themes that emerged. Themes are interpreted using womanist theology and the Black helping tradition. These two paradigms provide lenses from which to view the intersection of race, gender, religiousness and spirituality, age, and class. Findings indicate religious and spiritual values motivate older African-American women to volunteer in order to strengthen their neighborhoods. Diverse value based volunteer activities that form a helping tradition are described and reflect practices that connect individuals, families, organizations, and neighborhoods. The limitations of the research and future research are discussed. Implications for the social work profession are presented with an emphasis on education, research, direct service, and policy practices / acase@tulane.edu

Older gay men and lesbians are often viewed as having multiple stressors and challenges. Social work literature and social work text books have tended to emphasize pathologies among this group. In fact, the preponderance of scientific research reveals that older gay men and lesbians enjoy a high quality of life, despite having experienced persecution, oppression, and rejection from their families and society. The purpose of this strengths-based study was to examine how these individuals are able to develop resilience in light of their cultural environment This study sampled five gay men and five lesbians who were white, middle-class, professionals, sixty years old and older, and native to or long-term residents of rural Mississippi. They were interviewed in their own homes or the location of their choosing using a semi-structured questionnaire. Responses were audio-taped and transcribed The transcripts were analyzed using phenomenological methodology and NVivo 2.5 software. The study resulted in the identification of resilient traits utilized by gay men and lesbians to survive and thrive in spite of their heterosexist environments. Participants described supportive attachments, an internal locus of control, and the benefits of existential aloneness as mechanisms by which they have avoided depression and achieved a high degree of life satisfaction. Using Friend's (1992) constructivist theory as a framework, this study examines how the study participants are able to reject heterosexist messages, develop positive self-images and become empowered / acase@tulane.edu

This dissertation examines a social work treatment model which integrated various theoretical and practice orientations into a unified approach using the interactional framework of the small group to help members achieve their goals in dealing with depression. The structured model utilized a twelve week psychoeducational program for use with chronic depressive clients in a community mental health center. Alternate treatment groups using brief supportive psychotherapy and a wait-list control group were compared to the structured treatment groups on six outcome measures. Findings indicated that members of the structured treatment groups improved significantly on three of four measures of depression used in the study in relation to the wait-list control group. However, only moderate improvement was shown in relation to the alternate treatment groups. Members of the alternate treatment groups improved on only one measure of depression. Group leadership and group process measures were also analyzed in the study / acase@tulane.edu

This study focused on the experience and determinants of caregiver burden for one specific caregiving relationship, that of spouse caring for spouse with Alzheimer's Disease or mixed dementia. The subjects were couples, of which one partner was a patient attending a university hospital Memory Disorders Clinic. This caregiver sample included 19 husbands and 17 wives; they were representative of the ethnic mix of South Louisiana To study factors contributing to the dependent variable, burden experienced by spouses caring for dementia patients, the statistical association of patient and caregiver independent variables to the Zarit Burden Interview (Zarit, et al., 1985) scores were analyzed by Chi-Square, T-Test, Analysis of Variance, Analysis of Co-Variance and Multiple Regression Analysis. Patient independent variables were: age, sex, education, socio-economic status, ethnic group, dementia diagnosis, duration of dementia, Mini-Mental State Examination Scores and a alcohol history. Caregiver independent variables were: age, sex, education, socio-economic status, ethnic group, health status, alcohol history, marital satisfaction, assistance in the home, and tolerance of behavioral problems The first question analyzed patient and caregiver biographical/demographic characteristics that contributed to caregiver burden. The second question explored illness characteristics that contributed to caregiver burden. Psychosocial factors contributing to caregiver burdens were examined in the third question. Patient and caregiver alcohol histories that contributed to caregiver burden were investigated in the fourth question Instruments used for the independent variables were the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for biographical/demographic information and for alcohol history (Rabins, 1981). Marital satisfaction was obtained from the Spainer Dyadic Adjustment Scale (Spainer, 1976). Frequency and tolerance of behavioral problems were measured by the Zarit Memory and Behavior Problems Checklist (Zarit, et al., 1986). Life satisfaction was measured by the Life Satisfaction Index A (Neugarten, et al., 1981) Results of this study indicate that caregiver associated psychosocial variables as measured by the Tolerance subscale of the Zarit Memory and Behavior Problem Checklist (p $<$.0002) and lack of assistance in the home, p $<$.002) were significantly related to spouse caregiver burden. The relationship of spouse use of alcohol approached significance (p =.08) Thus, given a marital situation, stressed by dementia in one partner, selected caregiver rather than patient variables were found to contribute to the spouse caregiver perception of burden / acase@tulane.edu

The study conducted by a mailed questionnaire assessed the training needs and surveyed the problems faced by 50 volunteer administrators in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Texas. The section on training needs was a replication of the 1987 Appel study and data on both studies were compared The study developed two scales. The Competency scale had twelve subscales: Advertising and promotion, Program planning, Volunteer training, Rewarding and recognizing, Group or process, Site planning and maintenance, Motivation, Recruiting and screening, Supervision, Money management, Interpersonal skill and Legal issues. The Problem scale had six subscales: Colleague, Job, Staff, Funding and resources, Training for volunteer administrators and Profession. Both scales reported a alpha reliability of.08 or larger The data revealed substantial differences in training needs of volunteer administrators based on age (p $<$.00) and tenure (p $<$.03). These findings differ from the Appel study. Entire sample reported a training need in the area of legal issues. The perceived lack of professionalism for the field of volunteer administration was most frequently experienced problem. Volunteer administrators who supervised less than 450 volunteers perceived problems to a greater degree than those who supervised more than 450 volunteers. Volunteer administrators who had less than 20% volunteer turnover perceived the need for training more than those who had greater than 20% of volunteer turnover / acase@tulane.edu

The relationship between adolescent depression and parental separation/divorce during childhood was assessed. Forty-two subject pairs (mother and adolescent) from divorced families and 93 subject pairs from intact families participated in the study. The present investigation focused on the importance of developmental level of the adolescent at the time of marital rupture. Key factors including interparental conflict, quality of mother-adolescent relationship, quality of father-adolescent relationship, psychological well-being of the mother, frequency of visitation with the non-custodial father, and gender were examined in terms of their impact on adolescent depression when parental divorce had occurred during the subject's childhood. The developmental level of the adolescent at the time of the parental divorce was not found to be a sole predictor of depressive symptomatology in adolescence. Using simple correlations, relationship with mother emerged as the most significant predictor of adolescent depressive symptomatology. Interparental conflict was found to be significantly associated with adolescent depressive symptoms when the parental dissolution occurred during the adolescent's pre-oedipal stage. Females whose parents separated/divorced during their oedipal phase experienced significantly more depressive symptoms when, during the adolescent period, the non-custodial father visited less frequently / acase@tulane.edu

This study examined the relationship between depression, coping skills, and assertiveness in 63 battered women from four shelters. Hypotheses were: (1) Battered women are depressed as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory. (2) They are not assertive as measured by the Rathus Assertiveness Schedule. (3) They have poor coping skills as measured by McCubbin's F-Copes. (4) There is a negative relationship between depression and coping skills. (5) There is a negative relationship between depression and assertiveness. (6) There is a positive relationship between coping skills and assertiveness. Further analyses were done to examine if racial differences existed. The only difference was on the coping skills measure with black respondents coping less adequately than whites. Hypotheses 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 were supported by the results. No relationship was found between coping skills and depression / acase@tulane.edu

Men who are arrested for battering are usually mandated to intervention programs. Black men are overrepresented in arrest for domestic violence in the majority of urban areas and are, therefore, also overrepresented in batterers' intervention programs in those areas. Most states have identified standards for these programs that utilize a profeminist curriculum (such as The Duluth Model), but do not specifically require that the programs include a cultural component. The current approach to batterers' intervention is often described as color-blind and one-size-fits-all. However, the research literature does not provide empirical support to reject the profeminist curriculum in favor of creating racially-homogeneous programs or culturally-focused curricula This qualitative study utilizes a feminist perspective and a phenomenological approach with a womanist emphasis to determine if the current profeminist curriculum represents the experience of violence in relationships between Black women and Black men. The premise of this study is that determining the answer to this question begins with a phenomenological analysis of the essence of violence in Black dyads from the perspective of battered Black women. This study presents the experiences of battering related by ten Black women The focus of the data reduction was to identify the behavioral antecedents and the tactics of violence discussed by the participants. Coding the behavioral antecedents resulted in the development of three themes: threat to the relationship (actual or perceived), threat to his physical or emotional well-being (actual or perceived), and threat to his perception of gender roles: Ten themes emerged from the acts of physical, psychological, or sexual violence that were identified in this data. These themes mirrored the tactics that comprise the Power and Control Wheel that is utilized in the Duluth curriculum. Therefore, the findings of this research suggest that the profeminist curriculum does reflect the experience of battering from the perspective of battered Black women and is, therefore, consistent with the womanist perspective of domestic violence. Subsequently, batterers' intervention programs that utilize this curriculum will most likely be appropriate for Black participants / acase@tulane.edu

This study focuses on the theoretical relationship between levels of caregiver strain and the posthospital functioning of the elderly. One hypothesis tested was that elderly patients whose caregivers report higher levels of caregiver strain, as measured by the Caregiver Strain Index, will be readmitted more frequently than elderly patients whose caregivers report less strain. Dependent measures were submitted to Analysis of Variance, Chi-square, and stepwise linear regression analysis as appropriate. Readmission was related to high scores on the Caregiver Strain Index only when the caregiver was a spouse or child. No significant relationship was found between caregiver strain levels and length of time to readmission in the group of elderly patients who were readmitted. The presence of formal support services did not affect readmission / acase@tulane.edu

The present study is an empirical analysis of 60 female victims of sexual abuse and their perceptions of their relationship with their non-offending mothers. Contrary to much of the sexual abuse literature, which suggests a hostile and rejecting relationship, this study finds that the victims perceived a warm and accepting relationship with their mothers. The present study examines female victims of sexual abuse between ages 7-12, who were interviewed within a few weeks of disclosure. Data collection includes the Parental Acceptance/Rejection questionnaire and the Child Behavior Checklist by Achenbach. Sexual abuse variables related to the nature of the sexual abuse are also analyzed. Results indicate that sexually abused girls who perceived lower levels of maternal rejection had higher competency ratings and fewer behavior problems as compared with victims who perceived higher levels of maternal rejection. Abuse involving force by the offender correlated with lower competency in the victims / acase@tulane.edu