Barbara Thomlison

Self-silencing and age as risk factors for sexually acquired HIV in midlife and older women.

Objectives: This study explores the contribution of psychosocial factors on sex behaviors of midlife and older women. Methods: A community-based sample of ethnically diverse women (N = 572) between the ages of 50 and 93 completed standardized measures of self-silencing, self-esteem, sensation-seeking behavior, HIV-related stigma behavior, sexual assertiveness, and safer sex behaviors. Results : Results from the regression analysis indicated the model significantly predicted safer sex behaviors (p < .001), with self-silencing (β = —.115, p < .05) and age (β = .173, p < .001) as significant predictors. Bivariate correlation analysis indicated an inverse correlation between HIV stigma (p < .05) and safer sex behaviors. Discussion: Implications for further study and practice are discussed to include considerations for development of age- and gender-appropriate prevention interventions assisting women with interpersonal processes combined with skills for active involvement in addressing high-risk sex behaviors.

Hold the Presses: A Commentary on the Effects of Media Coverage of Fatalities on the Child Welfare System

Child fatalities initiate a formidable exchange between the media and child welfare services. The impact affects the families involved, staff and administrators of public and private child welfare agencies, and the community. The media role to provide the public with information in a prompt manner can be at odds with the child welfare administrators desire to improve practice for all children. In many jurisdictions, the relationship between the media and the child welfare organization is weak, if not adversarial. This commentary poses questions for debate and suggests that the media and child welfare need to have an ongoing relationship where both are focused on informing the public as a continuous process.

School Personnel's Observations of Bullying and Victimization Among Rural Elementary and Middle School Children

Abstract School bullying and aggression is recognized as a public health problem and appears to be the most prevalent form of school violence in elementary and middle schools (Olweus, 1993). Bullying behavior among peers has detrimental effects for the bully and the victim as well as others who witness it. Research has shown that children who are involved in school bullying or are victims are at risk of developing problems later in life (Craig, Peters, & Konarski, 1998; Farrington, 1993). The problem is often exacerbated by the fact that family, school and peer culture do not recognize bullying behavior. This paper reports on analysis of data from a community sample of 70 school personnel in three rural elementary and middle schools to better understand the sources and types of bullying occurring as part of a pilot project on prevention of school violence. Transforming the family, school, and destructive peer culture is an important step in intervening and modifying the bullying behaviors. Effective intervention programs are identified.

Exploring organizational culture and climate in community coalitions

There is little research on the effects of organizational culture and organizational climate in community coalitions. This study investigated School Readiness Coalitions during their formative period to test the association between indicators of organizational culture and climate and the influence on collaborative capacity to plan services. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis found three factors to explain 48% of the variance in coalition collaborative capacity to plan services. Findings suggesting a constructive culture that is both supportive and individualistic include sufficient autonomy to make decisions and contributions; and a positive coalition climate for members was dependent on job satisfaction in their home organization enabling, which then translated to working and planning together as a group. Further research is needed to understand the complexity in the coalition context than previously recognized.

Association of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) with food security and nutrition status among persons living with HIV.

Aims: Nutritional status can be compromised by food insecurity which is common among HIV infected persons. Providing food assistance is expected to improve food insecurity and nutritional status among persons infected with HIV. This study aimed at examining the relationship of participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the largest food assistance program in the United States, with food security and nutritional status among HIV infected adults. Study Design : A cross - sectional study de sign was used in this study. Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted in Miami, FL, USA, between April 2011 and August 2012. Methodology: We included 159 HIV infected individuals in this study, 113 participants were SNAP recipients while 46 w ere not. All study participants were, however, eligible to participate in SNAP. Each participant completed demographic and food security surveys as well as dietary and nutrition status assessment. Statistical analyses were conducted using univariate and mu ltivariate analyses.

Challenging Messages About Advocacy and Public Relations

The inspiration for this special issue came from the 2008 Child Welfare Track Business Meeting convened at the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) Annual Program Meeting in Philadelphia. The focus of the discussion was on advocacy, the part of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics that tends to be more elusive than the other five major principles. While competence, dignity, integrity, importance of human relationships, and service are realized in countless ways by practitioners, educators, and students, advocacy for social justice is more challenging to demonstrate and document. Positive relationships with community leaders, the media, and the general public are essential to challenge false assumptions about our profession, our credentials, and who we are and what we do. Creating and nurturing such connections, in turn, offers the only way to present a realistic picture of the services our clients need to be safe and productive community members. The challenge of advocacy and public relations is particularly difficult because of the barrage of negative publicity about child abuse and neglect across so many jurisdictions and the social work community’s frustration at often finding few allies. The Philadelphia discussion elicited several examples of compelling social advocacy and positive public relations that, if shared, could be replicated to provide a more accurate picture of the strengths of the social work profession. The unanimous recommendation was to publish a special issue of Journal of Public Child Welfare to showcase advocacy and public relations strategies. Child welfare’s image, and our ability to support our clients, is compromised unless social workers nationwide do a better job of exposing the

Parent-Focused Preventive Interventions for Youth Substance Use and Problem Behaviors: A Systematic Review

Research indicates substance use initiation increases the risk of other youth problem behaviors and substance dependence. Preventing these problematic behaviors through parenting has the potential for avoiding deleterious consequences for youth, their families, and the community. Purpose: This systematic review provides an assessment of parent-focused preventive interventions that are effective in preventing early substance use (SU) and other problem behaviors among youth. Method: A systematic search following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines was conducted to identify prevention studies. Studies were then assessed utilizing the Society for Prevention Research (SPR) efficacy criteria. Results: Ten studies, utilizing 11 preventive interventions, met all inclusion criteria. Discussion: The efficacious interventions emphasized parent skills training and engagement, were school-based, and utilized multiple prevention strategies. The Strengthening Families Program met the most SPR efficacy criteria. This review suggests parenting interventions are effective at preventing early youth SU and other problem behaviors. Implications for social work practice are discussed.

Concurrent Participation in Federally-Funded Welfare Programs and Empowerment Toward Economic Self-Sufficiency

Abstract This research examined the impact of participation in federal means-tested welfare programs on the attainment and maintenance of economic self-sufficiency. Using the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), this quasi-experimental investigation compartmentalized 4216 low-income households into an intervention group (n = 2436) and a comparison group (n = 1780). Households in the intervention group received one or more welfare benefits for the most part of the 2008–2013 quinquennium. By contrast, those in the comparison group – although eligible for these benefits – did not receive them. The survey respondents were measured repeatedly over a 56-month period to assess whether welfare receipt impacts their household income steadily beyond 150% of the federal poverty level, after controlling for known predictors. Multivariate analyses displayed medium effect sizes indicating that participation in public assistance did decrease the likelihood of economic self-sufficiency. Macro-implications of these findings for poverty and social welfare stakeholders were discussed.