Postmodernism and spirituality are two concepts found increasingly in social work literature and vernacular. However, they have not been integrated as one viable concept, Postmodern spirituality is manifest in our culture in the form of two social movements---the New Age Movement (NAM) and the Holistic Health Movement (HHM) The purpose of this research was to describe and explore the use of this concept in social work literature and practice using the presence of NAM and HEM content as evidence of postmodern spirituality. A triangulation of methods was used which consisted of a combination of quantitative and qualitative techniques. Study One was a mad survey sent to a sample of licensed clinical social workers (LCSW) in the State of Colorado. Study Two was a manifest content analysis of the social work literature. Study Three consisted of a constant comparative analysis of 11 interviews with LCSW's who self identified themselves as participants in the NAM and HHM as well as using alternative therapies in their practice Results of these studies provided a description of current religious and spiritual practices of LCSW's in Colorado as well as themes, constructs, and a grounded theory that can be used for future research in postmodern spirituality. There is evidence that New Age and holistic health philosophy and practices are used among a group of LCSW's and that their current religious and spiritual practices include a postmodern spirituality. There is also evidence that as social movements, the NAM and HEM have impacted social work practice The effects of managed care may be connected with the use of New Age and holistic health practices. Managed care has influenced the practices of LCSW's interviewed in Study Three Implications for social work deal with the areas of education, theory, and practice. Postmodern spirituality is a concept used in social work practice and needs to be included in social work curricula / acase@tulane.edu

Very little is known about the lives of adolescent fathers and less is known about their relationship with their children. From a developmental perspective, these 'youngest parents' (Coles, et al., 1997) are compromised, conflicted and disadvantaged in their capacities and skills to care for their children. This study attempted to deepen our understanding of the bond between the adolescent father and his child The theoretical foundation for this study emerges from the question: What intrinsic factors motivate and contribute to the adolescent father's involvement with his child? The conceptual underpinning for this rests on the basic psychoanalytic and psychodynamic processes of internalization and identification, i.e., those traits, behaviors, thoughts, feelings and attitudes incorporated into the adolescent father's sense of self through early and on-going psychological processes with his parents (Moore & Fine, 1990). The study's conceptual base rests on how these processes contribute to the quality and constancy of the adolescent father's involvement with his child Unfortunately, research on adolescent fathers lags far behind the extensive body of knowledge on adolescent mothers. While there has been important research on the involvement of adolescent fathers with their children, the majority of these studies draw from samples of low income, inner-city minority populations. This study addressed a gap in the literature by researching the attachment patterns of adolescent fathers taken from a broad cross-section across all socio-economic levels From a subject population (N = 86) of adolescent fathers, aged 17 to 21 years, this study examined the impact of four categories of independent variables: (1) The demographic variable of adolescent father education level; (2) relationship with ones parents; (3) relationship with child's mother; and (4) involvement in the pregnancy and birthing experience on a composite dependent variable, involvement. Involvement in this study is conceptualized to comprise four components: (1) Involvement Sub-scale 1 (2) parental satisfaction, (3) time with child and (4) activity with child. Additionally, the impact of the independent variables on a fifth dependent variable, a combination of the four dependent variables, was also tested. Standard multiple regression was used to determine the effect of these four categories of independent variables on the adolescent father's involvement with his child The study results validated and reconfirmed the importance of the adolescent father's relationship with the child's mother and involvement in the pregnancy and birthing experience as predictors of involvement with his child. An inverse relationship was detected between the level of the adolescent father's education and his involvement with his child. Relationship with one's parents did not show statistical significance as a predictor of involvement 1Involvement Subscale refers here to one of the four measures of the main dependent variable, Involvement. When it appears in the text, it will always be referred to as Involvement Subscale to distinguish it from the parent dependent variable, Involvement / acase@tulane.edu

This historical analysis investigates the contributions of John Wesley's doctrine of entire sanctification, with its attendant emphasis on Christian perfection, to the value base of American professional social work. Major questions asked were: how catalytic was this doctrine in the drive for nineteenth-century social reform, especially in reforms headed by women; how specifically did it influence the founding and direction of early social work; what happened to these Wesleyan values as social reform moved from a spiritually-grounded movement into a secularized one; and what lessons are embedded in that history for current practice? Findings confirmed Wesleyan perfectionism's significant impact on social work's ethical foundation through America's Puritan-Enlightenment-Wesleyan synthesis; through the Benevolent Empire it spawned; and through the activities of its female adherents, notably the Methodist Diaconate. Tensions between these Wesleyan ideals and the positivistic utilitarian values that displaced them in social work's drive for professionalization remain today / acase@tulane.edu

This study identifies sets of beliefs predicted by length of time of sobriety for recovering alcoholics. One hundred and nineteen subjects, with varying times of remittance from mood-altering substances were recruited from local Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. Each subject completed three questionnaires measuring general belief dimensions: (1) the Coping Response Inventory, (2) the Ego and Discomfort Anxiety Scale and (3) the Rational Behavior Inventory. A linear combination of beliefs instrumental in relapse and recovery processes were selected from these instruments and regressed on to length of time of remittance for all 119 subjects and for white males over 30. A trend, approaching significance for the combination of all beliefs (p $<$.19) was found for all white participants (n = 93). White males over 30 (n = 53) demonstrated two beliefs dimensions significantly predicting length of time of remittance (p $<$.05). They were seeking guidance and support and inertia and avoidance. This study demonstrates that specific cognitions, measured by sets of beliefs, are predictive of the maintenance of on-going sobriety for problematic substance abusers / acase@tulane.edu

This investigation examined the interrelationship between gender, psychopathology and self-perception. The specific research questions posed in this exploratory study were: (1) How are the various aspects of self-perception related to the sex of the child? (2) What is the nature of the interrelationship between number of symptoms, as reported by mother and child, self-perception and gender? The sample consisted of 24 boys and 24 girls, along with their mothers. All children were involved in psychotherapy for behavioral and/or emotional problems. Self-perception was measured using The Self-Perception Profile (Harter, 1985). Psychopathology was reported by mother and child using a structured interview (Child Assessment Schedule, 1985). Several background variables were also measured Results indicated that boys and girls did not differ in their mean scores for any of the measures. The children reported relatively high levels of self-perception and acknowledged a magnitude of symptomatology that was similar to that reported by their mothers. There were significant gender differences, however, in the way in which the variables were interrelated. It was found that the various components of self-perception were strongly interrelated for girls and not for boys. Furthermore, age was inversely related to overall self-perception for girls. The number of child-reported symptoms was the strongest predictor of overall self-perception for all children. While mothers and children reported similar numbers of symptoms, in general, the actual agreement between mother and daughter assessments of psychopathology was relatively low. Thus, it appears that mothers and children acknowledge different types of problems and that girls and their mothers are more divergent in their appraisal than mothers and sons From these results, it was concluded that the self-perception of girls is more tenuous, both in its construction and maintenance. Boys are able to maintain both positive and negative appraisals of their competency in various areas while still reporting a positive sense of global self-worth. Girls, however, had to perform well in all areas in order to maintain a sense of global self-worth. Furthermore, it was observed that development exacts a greater toll on the self-perception of girls than it does for boys / acase@tulane.edu

The purposes of this study were: (1) to determine what types of social support moderate the pathogenic effects of excessive stress; (2) to examine the differential impacts of stress and social support on depressive symptomatology; (3) to determine whether the gender of social support recipient influences responses to stress. The respondents of this study were 271 (M = 116, F = 155) Korean-Americans The instruments used were the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (ISEL), a modified version of the Hispanic Stress Inventory (HSI), the Center for Epidemiological Studies - Depression (CES-D), and a demographic questionnaire The results indicated that acculturative stress was a strong indicator of depressive symptomatology for both Korean immigrant men and women. However, the difference in the level of stress between men and women was not significant and neither were there any significant difference in depressive symptomatology between men and women. Social support was negatively correlated with stress, whereas the stress-induced depressive symptomatology was negatively correlated with social support and positively with stress. The moderating effect of social support on acculturative stress was not significantly different among Korean men and women / acase@tulane.edu

This study investigated the client's perception of the therapist using three types of clinical humor: appropriate, inappropriate, and no humor. These humor conditions were interspersed within identical scripts, which were enacted and videotaped The hypotheses were that: (1) the therapist using appropriate humor would elicit the most positive response, (2) the male subjects would more appreciate clinical humor use, and (3) the male therapist using appropriate humor would be rated the most positively One hundred and twenty subjects used the Counselor Rating Scale by Barak and LaCrosse, to evaluate the video therapist. All subjects had previous therapy experience Appropriate humor did not elicit a more positive score than the use of no humor, but was significantly more positive than inappropriate humor. Male subjects favored inappropriate humor significantly. Further, an interactional trend suggested a gender bias; the male therapist was rated highest when using appropriate humor, whereas the female therapist was rated highest when not using humor / acase@tulane.edu

This study investigates battered women's perception of marital abuse using attribution theory. A simple model, building on previous research, is tested by evaluating two hypotheses: (1) Women in a shelter or living separately will attribute more cause/responsibility/blame to their partner than those still in the abusive relationship; (2) The nature of the abuse, the partner's history of abuse toward others, the woman's beliefs about marital violence and women's roles in society, and the woman's self-efficacy will be predictive of her attributions. 88 battered women receiving services at women's centers were surveyed. The findings of the study support both hypotheses. Specifically, the study shows that women's beliefs about violence against women and about sex roles influence their attributions about the abuse. The resulting recommendations for social work practice include an early emphasis on modifying key attitudes which facilitate a change in attributions and, in turn, behavior / acase@tulane.edu

Divorce and marital distress remain significant issues within the United States. Since the 1990s, a substantial body of literature has developed on the subject of premarital counseling. That literature provides solid evidence of the effectiveness of premarital counseling as a tool in reducing the odds of divorce. In spite of this evidence, usage of premarital counseling by prospective couples is relatively low The profession of social work is actively involved in marital and family therapy, helping to repair the effects of marital and familial conflict. Yet, social work is bypassing the role it could play in prevention with regards to divorce and marital distress. The purpose of this study was to examine the attitudes, beliefs, knowledge and practices of social workers regarding premarital counseling in an effort to assess and describe the readiness of social workers to promote the usage of premarital counseling as a tool to prevent divorce Using a web-based, self-administered survey called the Social Worker Premarital Counseling Survey (SWPCS), social workers in Louisiana responded to 34 questions. 183 subjects responded. 67% of respondents were White and 31% were Black. 86% were women and 62% possessed the highest level of licensure (LCSW). Respondents resided in either the Greater New Orleans area or the Greater Baton Rouge area Overall, subjects in this study revealed a high degree of readiness. Results showed that social workers in this sample believe divorce is a major problem, they believe premarital counseling helps couples to stay together, they are willing to be providers, they are willing to accept referrals from clergy, they feel comfortable doing premarital counseling, and they are willing to promote it within the community in several ways. Chi square tests revealed significant relationships in specific areas The findings suggest that the social work community is an untapped reservoir of assistance in our nation's struggle to prevent the ravages of divorce and marital distress and its multi-faceted effects on adults and children. Recommendations for future research and training are offered along with suggested changes to public policy relating to premarital counseling / acase@tulane.edu

Twelve-step programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) offer inexpensive and highly accessible support for individuals attempting to abstain from using addictive substances. Most chemical dependency treatment programs in the United States refer patients to AA or NA as an adjunct to treatment or as a form of aftercare. Despite compelling evidence that affiliation with twelve-step organizations is associated with reduced alcohol or drug use, many individuals either drop out or do not participate at sufficient levels to benefit. A 15-item Survey of Readiness for Alcoholics Anonymous Participation (SYRAAP) was developed to assess attitudes that may promote or interfere with twelve-step program affiliation. In this study, adult patients (N = 144) entering an intensive outpatient program were administered the SYRAAP upon admission to assess the extent to which scores predicted performance in a twelve-step based treatment program. Bivariate and multivariate analyses indicated that scores on the SYRAAP demonstrated significant positive associations with length of stay and treatment completion, thereby establishing the instrument as predictive of performance in a twelve step-based treatment program. The limitations of the study and the potential for future use of the instrument are presented / acase@tulane.edu