Judy Krysik

Online harassment among college students: A replication incorporating new Internet trends

Increased time spent online in combination with current Internet trends such as social networking have led to new risks for online harassment. This problem has been given much attention for adolescents, but little has been done to describe the risks of online harassment experienced by young adults, even though they exhibit Internet behavior comparable to adolescents. This study is in part a replication of a previous study that surveyed online harassment within a college population (Finn 2004). Three questions are addressed: (1) What is the prevalence of online harassment among undergraduate students at a large southwestern university? (2) What is the relationship between the senders and receivers of harassing communications? (3) What are the demographic and computer use variables associated with increased risk of online harassment? A cross-sectional survey was administered to a convenience sample of 420 undergraduates, and the final response rate was 81.4 percent (n = 342). Survey questions included items from the Finn (2004 ) study, and new questions about technological trends. The Finn study reported a 16.2 percent rate of online harassment compared to 43.3 percent in the current study. Computer use variables were significant in predicting the likelihood of being harassed online, e.g. time on social networking sites, owning an Internet connected phone, and having ever sent a sext message; overall demographic variables were not significant. Online harassment is an issue deserving attention from researchers, lawmakers, parents, and university communities. Further research should investigate how students are coping with harassment, including reporting practices. Evidence-based interventions targeting this emerging issue are greatly needed.

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.

Examining the sexual offenses of female juveniles: The relevance of childhood maltreatment

Research on female juvenile sex offenders is limited by small clinical samples. Little is known about the characteristics of female sexual offending and how it is related to child maltreatment. This study examines data from the case histories of 118 female juvenile sex offenders. In contrast to portrayals in previous research, this study shows that female sex offenders are not a homogeneous group. Findings also included differentiation between female juvenile sexual offenders with a history of child maltreatment and those without a history of child maltreatment. Female juvenile sex offenders who had a history of child maltreatment were more likely to have a current mental health diagnosis and experience clinical levels of anger--irritability and depression--anxiety than those without a history of child maltreatment. The impact of a history of sexual abuse for female juvenile sex offenders was found to be important with regard to higher levels of coercion of their sexual abuse victims. Important distinctions are highlighted that have implications for female-specific assessment, treatment, and prevention.

Research for effective social work practice

1. The Context of Social Work Research 2. The Politics and Ethics of Social Work Research 3. The Research Process: From Problems to Research Questions 4. Single Subject Research 5. Qualitative Research 6. Group Research Design 7. Sampling 8. Measurement 9. Implementation: From Data Collection to Data Entry 10. Describing Quantitative Data 11. Bivariate Statistics and Statistical Inference 12. Evaluation of Social Work Services 13. Writing and Presenting Research

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.

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.

Who are the fathers in Healthy Families Arizona? An examination of father data in at-risk families

Despite substantial research documenting the importance of father-child relations, little is known about fathers in families considered at risk for child abuse, and this lack of information makes adequate targeting of fathers in interventions challenging. This research aims to provide information that will aid interventions in targeting fathers and addressing father-related family issues through: (a) providing descriptive information regarding fathers in families at risk for child abuse, and (b) examining aspects of family well-being relative to father involvement. Analyses were conducted on mother-report data in families eligible for the Healthy Families Arizona prevention program (N = 197). Results indicated that although only 15% of parents in the sample were married, 47% of families had resident fathers, and 77% of fathers had some contact with their new babies. Families with greater father involvement had better prenatal care, higher incomes, less maternal involvement in Child Protective Services, less physical domestic violence (DV), and greater maternal mental health reflected through less loneliness. These findings have implications for targeting nonresident as well as resident fathers in families at risk for child abuse and for exploring DV issues in families with noninvolved fathers.

Design Imperatives to Enhance Evidence-Based Interventions with Persuasive Technology: A Case Scenario in Preventing Child Maltreatment

ABSTRACT This article examines how current thinking in persuasive technologies may be applied to evidence-based therapeutic interventions through a planned and multidisciplinary design process. Design steps identified in the human services and the design sciences are merged to generate six design imperatives. The need for human service knowledge to inform design is discussed in each design imperative. A case scenario using Healthy Families America (HFA), a broadly implemented child abuse and neglect prevention program, is presented as illustrative. The final design imperative argues for continuous attention to ethics across all disciplines. The design imperatives provide an initial framework for optimizing the development of persuasive technology applications in the human services.

Development and initial validation of an outcome measure for home visitation: The healthy families parenting inventory

The Healthy Families Parenting Inventory (HFPI) is a 63-item outcome measure that was designed to examine change in nine parenting-related domains. The HFPI was developed to respond to the need for an outcome measure for home visitation programs that is relevant to the intervention, sensitive to change, and appropriate with a diverse participant base, and would produce data that are immediately useful in practice. The authors detail the steps in the development and initial validation of the HFPI. The pattern of inter-item and item-to-subscale correlations as well as an exploratory factor analysis and sensitivity to change analysis support the nine-factor model of the HFPI.

Agency-Based Social Workers' Attitudes and Behaviors Regarding Service-Related Unsolicited E-mail

ABSTRACT A survey of 470 social workers in 17 agencies in central Pennsylvania explored attitudes and behaviors related to receiving unsolicited e-mail (UE). Results found that receiving UE is not an uncommon occurrence, with more than one-half of social workers receiving UE from strangers and one in six receiving UE from consumers. Social workers differed in their responses to UE, with approximately three-fourths answering UE from consumers and one-fourth answering UE from strangers. Responses to UE were related to individual attitudes as well as to agency policy. There is considerable variation in agency policy and only 60% of the social workers in this study knew whether their agency had an e-mail policy and only 15% knew if the policy included UE. Implications for agency policy and further research are discussed.