Craig Winston LeCroy

LIMITATIONS OF EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE FOR SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION: UNPACKING THE COMPLEXITY

Although some academic scholars have called for adoption of evidence-based practice (EBP) as a unifying model for social work education and practice, controversies with the EBP approach for the social work profession still need to be examined. Some of the limitations of EBP to be recognized and addressed before recommending broad changes within social work education are described. Conceptual and definitional limitations include following a medical model, privileging certain types of evidence, and downplaying the importance of theory. Implementation and feasibility limitations include sorting the complexity of research information and providing necessary practice grounding and supervision to facilitate knowledge application. Dialogue on the role of EBP in social work education must continue.

A Family Based Model of Hispanic Adolescent Substance Use

While adolescent substance use has been the focus of extensive research over the last few decades, Hispanic adolescent substance use has received only limited attention. Studies exploring predictors of Hispanic adolescent substance use have failed to adequately explore the contribution of the family on substance use. The present study examined the relative influence of family, school and peer influences, perceived student substance use, family substance use, and acculturation on a sample of Mexican-American early adolescents using structural equations modeling. The findings varied for males and females. Family functioning and family use directly influenced substance use for males. Family functioning influenced school and peer variables, however, these were unrelated to use. For females, family use and student use directly influenced substance use. Family functioning influenced family use and school and peer attachments. School and peer attachment predicted perceived student use. These findings suggest that family functioning has a primary role in Hispanic adolescent substance use.

The Empirical Validation of an Instrument to Predict Risk of Recidivism Among Juvenile Offenders

An increase in the number of juveniles entering the juvenile justice system in the past 10 years has heightened the demand for rehabilitation services. Because the demand for rehabilitative services is greater than resources allow, efforts are underway to predict who is a high risk for recidivism so that services may be focused on these juveniles, while reducing efforts to those who are low-risk. In addition, statistical risk prediction is intended to infuse the decision-making process with greater equity and objectivity because the same factors are considered for every juvenile. This article describes the use of statistical risk prediction for first-time juvenile offenders. Suggestions for implementation are provided based on lessons learned from this research.

Experimental Evaluation of "Go Grrrls" Preventive Intervention for Early Adolescent Girls

This article is an evaluation of a preventive intervention developed for early adolescent girls. The 12-session curriculum was designed to address developmental tasks considered critical for the healthy psychosocial development of early adolescent girls in contemporary society. The program content included the following units: being a girl in today’s society, establishing a positive self image, establishing independence, making and keeping friends, learning to obtain help and find access to resources, and planning for the future. A total of 118 participants were recruited from middle schools and randomly assigned to a treatment (N = 59 )o r control group (N = 59) condition. The effects of the intervention were assessed using eight different measures such as body image, self efficacy, and attitude toward attractiveness. Results revealed significant improvement in the treatment group and significant differences between the treatment and control group on the key outcome measures. The study suggests that a “universal” prevention program can produce meaningful effects. Editors’ Strategic Implications: This paper details a strategy that shows promise. The author builds an argument for a developmentally appropriate prevention program that is broadly focused on positive development for early adolescent girls. Using an ethnically diverse sample and an experimental, pre-post design, short-term changes in some domains (e.g., self efficacy, body image) emerged for the experimental group. This prevention program awaits comparisons with other health promotion programs for girls and further validation with psychometrically established measures, larger samples across sites, and tests of longer-term impact on behavior and functioning.

The Implications of Ecologically Based Assessment for Primary Prevention with Indigenous Youth Populations

This paper describes a five-stage approach toward conducting an ecologically based assessment with Indigenous youth populations, and the implications of this approach for the development and implementation of culturally grounded prevention interventions. A description of a pilot study funded by the National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIH/NIDA) focused on drug use and American Indian youth is presented as one model for operationalizing ecologically based assessment with Indigenous youth populations, and issues related to translating the pilot study into a prevention intervention are discussed. This paper suggests that ecologically based assessment can serve as a foundation for culturally grounded prevention interventions, promoting the social and ecological validity of those interventions. Editors’ Strategic Implications: By basing the intervention components on assessments of population needs and abilities, the authors demonstrate how programs may be responsive to participants embedded in specific cultural contexts. This type of forward engineering changes the focus of adaptation to program development and should serve as a model for all those developing interventions as well as those working to adapt effective programs to meet the needs of specific populations.

The Influence of Race and Ethnicity on Substance Use and Negative Activity Involvement among Monoracial and Multiracial Adolescents of the Southwest

This study examined predictors of substance use and negative activity involvement among a diverse sample of European American, African American, Hispanic, Native American, and multiracial early adolescents (n = 749) living in a large urban city in the Southwest United States. This study investigated a broad set of predictor variables that tap sociodemographic, peer, family, community, and school influences. Overall, findings from this study confirm that lifetime substance use remains high among youth of color. Of particular concern is this studys finding that multiracial adolescents are at elevated risk to use substances and engage in negative activities. The implications of this study for understanding how risk factors are influenced by race and other variables on different measures of problem behavior are discussed.

Toward a Multiple Perspective in Family Theory and Practice: The Case of Social Exchange Theory, Symbolic Interactionism, and Conflict Theory.

The past two decades have evidenced an increasing amount of interest in theory construction and development in the area of the family. Yet in spite of this interest, few theorists have focused on the possibilities of utilizing a multiple theoretical approach in interpreting data and guiding practice interventions. The complementarity of three often used theories in family research is examined in this article: social exchange theory, symbolic interactionism, and conflict theory. A case example is provided in which a multiple perspective is applied to a problem of marital discord. Implications for the clinician are discussed.

Who Is Offering and How Often? Gender Differences in Drug Offers Among American Indian Adolescents of the Southwest:

This exploratory study examined gender differences in the patterns of drug offers among a sample of 71 American Indian middle school students. Participants responded to an inventory of drug-related problem situations specific to the cultural contexts of Southwestern American Indian youth. They were asked to consider the frequency of drug offers from specific groups in their social networks and the difficulty associated with refusing drugs from various offerers. The results indicated that female and male American Indian youth differ in the degree of exposure to drug offers and the degree of perceived difficulty in handling such offers. Even after controlling for differences in age, grade level, socioeconomic status, family structure, and residence on a reservation, girls reported significantly more drug offers from friends, cousins, and other peers than did boys. Compared to boys, girls also reported a significantly higher sense of difficulty in dealing with drug offers from all sources.

New Directions in Teaching Social Work Methods: A Content Analysis of Course Outlines.

Abstract Little information is currently available on the actual content taught in graduate schools of social work. This study examined course outlines being used to teach social work practice. Patterns of content were analyzed such as: teaching units typically covered in the course, the text-books used as required reading, and the type of assignments given. Results reveal several new directions, and these are interpreted in light of CSWE policy requirements.

The evaluation of Healthy Families Arizona: A multisite home visitation program

SUMMARY Healthy Families Arizona is a broadly implemented home visitation program aimed at preventing child abuse and neglect, improving child health and development, and promoting positive parent/child interaction. The program began as a pilot in two sites in 1991 and by 2004 had grown to 48 sites located in urban, rural, and tribal regions of the state. The unique administrative structure of the program and collaboration between evaluation and quality assurance have helped overcome many of the problems familiar to home visitation programs. This paper describes how a systematic focus to improve processes and outcomes has positioned the program for a randomized longitudinal study. Key components of the program are described and evaluation results are presented.