David K. Androff

Religious coping and acculturation stress among Hindu Bhutanese: A study of newly-resettled refugees in the United States:

After years in Nepali refugee camps, over 100,000 Bhutanese refugees are being resettled around the world by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). This study examines the relationship between religious coping and acculturation stress among newly-resettled Hindu Bhutanese refugees in the United States (US), the projected home of most Bhutanese refugees.

Intended and unintended consequences of the employer sanction law on Latino families

This study examined the consequences of the Legal Arizona Workers Act (LAWA) on the lives of Latino families. Twenty-six Mexican immigrants participated in focus groups. Data were analyzed using grounded theory methods including open and axial coding. The results reveal that LAWA has met its objectives, as many undocumented individuals are no longer able to obtain jobs. Several ‘unintended consequences’ point to the use of exploitive employer practices, racial profiling in the form of workplace raids, and intensified anti-immigrant sentiment and racism toward Latinos resulting in economic hardships, changes to family dynamics, living in a constant state of fear, and relocation. Implications for social work practice and policy are discussed.

Latinas’ Perceptions of Law Enforcement Fear of Deportation, Crime Reporting, and Trust in the System

Latinas may be unlikely to report violent crime, particularly when undocumented. This research examines the impact of fear of deportation and trust in the procedural fairness of the justice system on willingness to report violent crime victimization among a sample of Latinas (N = 1,049) in the United States. Fear of deportation was a significant predictor of Latinas’ perceptions of the procedural fairness of the criminal justice system. However, trust in the police is more important than fear of deportation in Latinas’ willingness to report violent crime victimization. Social workers can provide rights-based education and encourage relationship building between police and Latino communities.

The problem of contemporary slavery: An international human rights challenge for social work:

Despite conventional wisdom that slavery has been eradicated, this analysis of the human trafficking literature reveals that this form of violent coercion and economic exploitation persists. However, there is little agreement upon definitions, estimates and responses to this problem. Differing academic and policy definitions and estimates of slavery are reviewed, in which most emphasis is placed upon sexual trafficking, while other forms such as chattel slavery, debt bondage and contract slavery are often under-recognized. There are a range of policy options for ameliorating this problem, which include social services, community-based interventions, harm reduction strategies and legal and economic responses.

Narrative Healing Among Victims of Violence: The Impact of the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Narrative interventions have been increasingly incorporated into social practice and applied to victims of violence. Truth and Reconciliation Commissions (TRCs) are interventions that seek to provide victims of violence with opportunities for healing and validation through a narrative process. In a qualitative study of the first TRC in the United States, the Greensboro TRC (GTRC) in Greensboro, NC, this research investigated the impact of giving testimony to the GTRC on the victims of a 1979 incident of racial violence. Most victims (N = 17) reported positive healing and validating experiences from their participation in the intervention. This study provides support for the healing assumption embedded in TRC processes and discusses implications for narrative interventions with victims.

Practicing rights: Human rights-based approaches to social work practice

1. The Relevance of Human Rights to Social Work 2. A Framework for Rights-based Practice 3. Human Rights-based Approaches to Poverty 4. Human Rights-based Approaches to Child Welfare 5. Human Rights-based Approaches with Older Adults 6. Human Rights-based Approaches to Health 7. Human Rights-based Approaches to Mental Health 8. Perils and Prospects of Human Rights-based Approaches to Social Work

Social Empathy Attitudes: Do Latino Students Have More?

This article reports on the “social empathy attitudes” results that were part of a larger study on empathy in college students at a large research university in the Southwest. Two hundred ninety-four students completed the Social Empathy Assessment Index (SEAI). The research hypothesis was that students of color would have higher levels of social empathy attitudes than Caucasian students. The statistically significant SEAI items suggested that Latino students identify as more collectivist and more optimistic and have higher levels of social empathy attitudes. Latinos may be more willing to help a stranger than either Caucasians or members of other racial groups.

“To not hate”: reconciliation among victims of violence and participants of the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission

The Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission (GTRC) was an intervention promoting reconciliation among the victims and community affected by the 1979 Greensboro Massacre in North Carolina. An exploratory qualitative research design was used, in which in‐depth, open‐ended interviews were conducted with victims of the Greensboro Massacre who subsequently participated in the GTRC (n = 17). Findings revealed a typology of reconciliation that includes cognitive–affective, behavioral and social reconciliation. Respondents displayed different orientations in how they prioritized reconciliation with the twin goals of seeking truth and justice. The GTRC did contribute to interpersonal reconciliation, and can be a useful model of communities working to recover from violence. The cognitive–affective, behavioral and social typology of reconciliation can be used to assess other interventions aimed at promoting reconciliation. Individuals’ personal orientations towards reconciliation can also be used to explain different reactions among people to restorative justice efforts.

The association between protective actions and homicide risk: findings from the Oklahoma Lethality Assessment Study.

This study focuses on the relationship between women’s risk of homicide as measured by the Danger Assessment and 13 protective actions. Participants (N = 432) experienced an incident of police involved intimate partner violence (IPV) and subsequently completed a structured telephone interview. Most women in this sample experienced severe violence and were classified as being at high risk for homicide. Participants engaged in an average of 3.81 (SD = 2.73) protective actions. With the exception of the use of formal domestic violence services, women in the high-risk category were significantly more likely than women in the lower risk category to have used each of the protective actions examined. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Policing immigrants: Fear of deportations and perceptions of law enforcement and criminal justice:

Summary This study examined the relationship between the fear of deportation and perceptions of law enforcement, the criminal justice system, and the willingness to report crimes among Latinos in the US. Understanding the relationship between increased immigration enforcement and fear of deportation may promote public safety by improving the relationship between the police and Latino communities. Findings Multivariate ordinal logistic regression analyses of the data found that participants who had a greater fear of deportation reported: (1) less confidence that police would not use excessive force (p < .01); (2) less confidence that police would treat Latinos fairly (p < .05); (3) a lower likelihood of reporting crimes (p < .05); and (4) less confidence that the courts would treat Latinos fairly (p < .01). Applications Social work practitioners can help address this issue and improve the relationship between law enforcement, the criminal justice system, and the Latino community by: delivering cultural competence training for police and criminal justice personnel; educating Latinos about how to protect their rights when interacting with police and the criminal justice system; and by advocating for immigration reform that can help improve public safety and reduce fear in Latino communities.