Danielle C. Swick

The Impact of Autism Spectrum Disorders on the Family: A Qualitative Study of Mothers’ Perspectives

An estimated 730,000 Americans younger than age 21 in the United States have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and current trends predict 36,500 new diagnoses each year. Due to this rapid increase in ASD diagnoses, it is critical to understand the impact having a child with ASD has on a familys daily functioning to better coordinate services and design effective interventions. Qualitative semistructured interviews with eight mothers were conducted, and four primary themes emerged identifying primarily negative impacts of having a child with ASD. Implications for practice and future research are addressed to inform the development of best practices for families.

Increasing Awareness of Child Mental Health Issues Among Elementary School Staff

Without sufficient education and training on mental illness, school teachers are less likely to have the capacity to recognize related symptoms in students and make appropriate referrals for care. The current pilot study tests the overall effectiveness of a new in-service training designed as the introductory component to a school-based mental health intervention. The training included information on the prevalence of mental health problems in the United States, common youth disorders, and treatment barriers that many families face. Participants’ knowledge before and after the training was measured using a 27-item instrument, and statistical significance was assessed for pre- to posttest changes for individual items. Results are overwhelmingly positive and provide evidence of an increase in accurate knowledge of child mental health issues. Implications for both practice and research are discussed.

Supporting prosocial development through school-based mental health services: A multisite evaluation of social and behavioral outcomes across one academic year

Abstract Unaddressed behavioral and socioemotional difficulties impact the mental health, educational attainment, and future outcomes of children to such an extent that it is imperative to identify effective strategies for early intervention and treatment. School-based mental health services address students’ socialemotional concerns by removing barriers to accessing appropriate services, improving coordination of services, and implementing prevention and intervention strategies for students. This study evaluates the effects of one such program on the socioemotional well-being of students served across six elementary school sites. Study findings support the critical need for school-based mental health for the promotion of prosocial behavior and socioemotional wellness.

The Implicit Curriculum Survey: An Examination of the Psychometric Properties.

ABSTRACT This study examined the psychometric properties of the Implicit Curriculum Survey (ICS) using an exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Students enrolled in four different MSW programs (N=262) from different geographic locations completed the ICS, which is a Web-based survey. The domains of the ICS include field, academics, community, diversity, faculty advising, and support services. The ICS includes quantitative and qualitative responses. However, for this study only the quantitative results were used. The EFA revealed that for each of the subscales, Cronbach’s alphas ranged from .52 to .90 and validity of the ICS was demonstrated through the good model fits found during the factor analysis. Implications for social work education and future research are discussed.

Community capacity and the psychological well-being of married U.S. air force members

This book focuses on the key issues that affect military families when soldiers are deployed overseas, focusing on the support given to military personnel and families before, during and after missions. Todays postmodern armies are expected to provide social-psychological support both to their personnel in military operations abroad and to their families at home. Since the end of the Cold War and even more so after 9/11, separations between military personnel and their families have become more frequent as there has been a multitude of missions carried out by multinational task forces all over the world. The book focuses on three central questions affecting military families. First, how do changing missions and tasks of the military affect soldiers and families? Second, what is the effect of deployments on the ones left behind? Third, what is the national structure of family support systems and its evolution?. The book employs a multidisciplinary approach, with contributions from psychology, sociology, history, anthropology and others. In addition, it covers all the services, Army, Navy/Marines, Air Force, spanning a wide range of countries, including UK, USA, Belgium, Turkey, Australia and Japan. At the same time it takes a multitude of perspectives such as the theoretical, empirical, reflective, life events (narrative) approach, national and the global, and uses approaches from different disciplines and perspectives, combining them to produce a volume that enhances our knowledge and understanding of military families. This book will be of much interest to students of military studies, sociology, war and conflict studies and IR/political science in general.