Heather Coleman

Predictors of Depression Among Lesbian Women

ABSTRACT There is a paucity of research on depression and lesbian women. This is surprising given that large numbers of women experience depressive episodes and lesbian women in particular face an increased number of stressors related to their sexual orientation. This study explored how social support from family, social support from friends, relationship involvement, and sexual orientation disclosure related to and predicted depression for a sample of lesbian women. Information from 117 questionnaires was compiled from self-identified lesbians recruited through various lesbian-positive groups and snowball sampling. Results indicated significantly lower depression rates for women who were in a relationship and moderate negative correlations between depression and social support from family, social support from friends, and sexual orientation disclosure. Standard multiple regression analysis showed that 38% of the variability in depression scores was predicted by knowing the scores on the four independent variables. These results suggest that each of the independent variables has a significant effect on level of depression for lesbian women in the sample.

Evaluating skill acquisition in motivational interviewing : The development of an instrument to measure practice skills

Social work education has long emphasized the need to provide competence-based education. However, little work has been done to identify, validate and evaluate competencies in specific fields such as addictions. The purpose of this study was to isolate a set of substance abuse intervention competencies using Motivational Interviewing that could be used to teach and evaluate students. The research proceeded in three stages. First, a modified Delphi approach involving social work practitioners was used to discern a set of positive and dysfunctional skills related to Motivational Interviewing. The primary researcher taught a graduate social work class aimed at teaching students theory and skills related to this model. Students demonstrated these skills with simulated clients through videotaped interviews. Finally, three observers rated the student interviews using this developed instrument. While inter-observer agreement was lower than anticipated, this study does provide early support for the development of competencies related to specific theoretical frameworks.

The voices of parents: A qualitative study of a family preservation program

Most studies of family preservation services have used quantitative methods to examine program success. This paper reports on interviews with primary caretakers of children who have been abused and those with behavior problems between six months and three and one half years after family preservation services ended. Primary caretakers were asked three questions: What did you find to be the most helpful in your counseling? What did you find that did not help or that you disliked about counseling? After family preservation services, what happened with respect to the problems for which you were initially referred? Families found the support and nontraditional approaches to counseling helpful. Parents with children who had been abused particularly appreciated the teaching component of services. Brevity of the services and switching workers midstream caused the most concern for families. Finally, how families fared after intervention fell into a continuum from improved to deteriorated. The implications of these findings for clinical practice and program development are discussed.

The Healing Alliance: How Families Use Social Support after a Suicide

This article is based on a study that investigated family responses to suicide using a qualitative methodology. The intent of the study was to expand our understanding of family responses to suicide by asking the question, “What changes do families experience after a suicide?” One aspect of the data revealed how families use social support to integrate the death into its history. It was found that healing alliances created within and outside the family sustained its members as they engaged in the painful process of personal re-definition and family transformation.

A Longitudinal Investigation of Delinquency Among Abused and Behavior Problem Youth Following Participation in a Family Preservation Program

Abstract Evaluations of family preservation services have seldom assessed delinquency among adolescents receiving services. In this longitudinal study we examine court convictions among 104 youth referred to family preservation for problem behavior or abuse. Youth and their families were followed for up to three years after termination of family preservation services. Survival rates showing length of time to first conviction and correlates of reoffending are identified in two groups identified by reason for referral. Thirty-two behavior problem and 15 abused youth were convicted of offenses during the follow-up period. In addition, youth referred for problem behavior were 60.04% more likely to offend than youth referred for the reason of abuse. They also committed more offenses during follow-up and committed offenses sooner than those referred for abuse. Eighty-one percent of behavior problem referrals offended within the first year after family preservation compared to 66% of abuse referrals. Bivariate and multivariate EHA models differed by group. Implications for practice and program development are discussed. Family preservation may be less effective with youth who experience multiple behavior problems. Future research on family preservation outcomes should consider the heterogeneity of the population served by family preservation programs and adjust the services accordingly. One size does not fit all.

“You Didn't Throw Us to the Wolves”: Problem-Based Learning in a Social Work Family Class

Social work educators are challenged to create educational environments that are conducive to learning. PBL offers a structured and innovative learning experience different from a traditional theor...

Professional Suitability for Social Work Practice A Factor Analysis

Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify the underlying dimensions of professional suitability. Method: Data were collected from a province-wide mail-out questionnaire surveying 341 participants from a random sample of registered social workers. Results: The use of an exploratory factor analysis identified a 5-factor solution on professional suitability: social consciousness suitability, ethical suitability, practice suitability, and personal suitability, and distractors. This factor solution accounted for 47.4% of variance and achieved strong internal consistency with an overall Cronbach’s α value of .89, and subscales values ranged between .89 and .72. Conclusion: The identified underlying dimensions of professional suitability provide groundwork for the development of a psychometrically sound instrument for assessing performance of social work students and/or practicing social workers.

Revamping Family Preservation Services for Native Families

ABSTRACT FamilyPreservationServices(FPS) have become widespread among child pro tection agencies to pre vent the un nee es sary removal of chil dren from their fam i lies and fam ily homes. Native chil dren, who are over-rep re sented in pub lie care sys terns, are largely ab sent from re ports eval u ating the ef feetive ness of FPS. This pa per ex am ines the FPS philosophy and pro gram structures in the con text of Native culture. The authors provide practical sug gestions for changing FPS in hopes that such pro grams will im prove sue cess in serving and pre serving Native fam i lies with child pro tection concerns.

Peer Collaboration: A Model for Field Instructor Development and Support

Abstract Social work field instructor training, an area of ongoing development in most schools of social work across North America, is typically designed to teach field instructors strategies for effectively educating their practicum students. An important component of field instructor development is the provision of opportunities to critically reflect on field instruction practices. “Peer collaboration,” a type of “learning from each other” offers a compelling adjunct to ongoing field instructor development and support. The Peer Collaboration Model described in this paper aims to improve instructional competency through the development of critically reflective teaching practices. It outlines the basic theoretical premises of peer collaboration and presents the results of the first Peer Collaboration project piloted in a large urban school of social work with a group of field instructors. Issues of recruitment and supporting a peer collaboration program are presented. Lessons learned from the formative and summative evaluations of the process and outcomes, along with recommendations, are discussed.

Understanding and Interpreting Polytomous Logistic Regression: Applications to Research on Social Work Practice

This article demonstrates the use of polytomous logistic regression (PLR) and its application to a case example. An outcome study is used to illustrate the use of PLR in applied social work research. The case example is taken from an outcome evaluation of a family support program, involving 250 cases. This instructive article provides readers with (a) a conceptual overview of PLR, (b) an example of how to interpret key features of statistical output (BMDP), (c) a simple formula for calculating probabilities and odds for a particular outcome, and (d) a substantive interpretation of how results can be used in the context of program evaluation. Finally, recommendations for the application of this statistic in practice settings are given.