Noël Busch-Armendariz

A kaleidoscope: The role of the social work practitioner and the strength of social work theories and practice in meeting the complex needs of people trafficked and the professionals that work with them

This qualitative research study explored responses to trafficking in persons. Fifty-five (n = 55) interviews were collected and data were analyzed using qualitative iterative processes. The social worker and the utilization of social work perspectives provided a strong and effective framework for service delivery and effective interdisciplinary collaboration. The ecological, strengths-based, and victim-center approaches were a benefit to survivors and professionals specifically around coordinated efforts, trust-building, and increased cultural competence. Findings also support that individuals who are trafficked have unique needs and social workers’ theoretical and practice modalities are well suited to respond to and coordinate these distinct circumstances.

Climate Surveys: An Inventory of Understanding Sexual Assault and Other Crimes of Interpersonal Violence at Institutions of Higher Education.

Sexual assault, dating/domestic violence, sexual harassment, and stalking are complex crimes and have been a major focus of national attention at institutions of higher education (IHEs). To grasp the extent and nature of these crimes on campuses, institutionally specific climate surveys are being developed and endorsed by the federal government and conducted at IHEs. These climate surveys differ in content and length. This article describes 10 different climate surveys and outlines the variables measured in each tool. Next steps for assessing climate surveys are discussed.

Testing Telephone and Web Surveys for Studying Men's Sexual Assault Perpetration Behaviors

Three pilot studies were conducted to obtain information about sexual assault perpetration from adult men in the United States. Each used the same random digit-dial sampling and recruitment strategy. One pilot was administered by telephone and two via the Web. Response rates in all pilots were low. Although results cannot be generalized beyond the sample, of the 97 men who completed the surveys, approximately 40% in each pilot reported some sexual assault behavior, broadly defined. Contrary to expectations, telephone respondents reported a wider range of sexual assault behaviors. Suggestions for improving response rates include offering a choice of participation methods.

Unsettled integration: Pre- and post-migration factors in Congolese refugee women’s resettlement experiences in the United States

By 2019, the United States plans to resettle approximately 50,000 refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The purpose of this study was to identify and understand the challenges, risks, and strengths of adult Congolese refugee women resettled in the United States to help policymakers, service providers, and other stakeholders prepare for the arrival of Congolese women and their families. Researchers conducted in-depth interviews and focus groups with Congolese refugee women (n = 28) and resettlement service providers (n = 29) in three US cities. The findings of this study reveal the complex and dynamic nature of Congolese refugee women’s resettlement experiences in the United States and highlight the importance of recognizing the intersection of pre- and post-migration factors during resettlement. This article offers concrete implications for the social work profession and practitioners.

Marital and Familial Strengths and Needs: Refugees Speak Out

This study describes the marriage and family relationships of refugees as they transition through resettlement. Through in-depth interviews with 31 refugees representing 12 countries, participants describe their lives and experiences in their own “voices.” The findings reflect two broad themes that either support or impede self-sufficiency: (1) the internal or intimate dynamics of refugee lives, and (2) external and systems dynamics. Qualitative data analysis procedures yield findings that illuminated strengths of refugees, the challenges that they face, and suggestions for informative and responsive policy and program changes based on this knowledge.

Elite Knowledge or the Reproduction of the Knowledge of Privilege Social Work Doctoral Education

Epistemology is fundamental to feminism. This editorial grapples with the cultural norming process that influences the way knowledge emerges, is developed, and shaped. It makes a case that social work scholarship continues to be shaped by a dominant paradigm that controls knowledge production through the reproduction of white racial privilege, the acculturation of alternative perspectives, and the pressures of educational institutions that are tied to a market economy. Doctoral students in social work develop as new scholars in an environment driven by these forces. Because of this, feminist epistemology and methods often are relegated to marginal spaces in the education and mentoring of new scholars. This marginalization begins early as the pool of students from which to draw doctoral students begins to be shaped as early as middle and high school. Consequently, an editorial on doctoral education must begin with considering the available pool from which doctoral program can draw its students. In this way, we must tangle with who has access and under what conditions students are successful in high school and institutions of higher education. Pew Research Center in a recent report again affirmed high schools are failing Hispanic students at a greater rate than any other racial group (this excludes American Indians as they were not a part of the Pew calculation; Lopez & Fry, 2013). In the same report, Pew Research Center noted that college enrollment declined between 2011 and 2012 for all groups except Hispanics high school graduates (who were already a dwindled pool). This report exemplifies the roller coaster ride of higher education access. Many youth of color are eliminated from accessing higher education because of school failure rates and when youth are successful (or as some may say, survive), the primary and secondary educational systems they choose to continue on to college. Unfortunately, this already grim story of educational access does not paint a complete picture of the struggle of students of color to persist and thrive in a system of educational inequity (Salazar, et al., 2008). In July of this year, Georgetown University Public Policy Institute released a report entitled, Separate and Unequal: How higher education reinforces the intergenerational

Pregnant and Parenting Battered Women Speak Out about their Relationships and Challenges

ABSTRACT Domestic violence is one of the leading health risks to women in the United States. Abuse during pregnancy increases the negative health consequences for mothers and their unborn children. This article presents survey and open-ended interview data from participants in an innovative program for pregnant and parenting battered women and examines the health status of mothers and newborns, their experience and perception of both physical and nonphysical abuse, and their challenges to prenatal care.

Development and Validation of an Instrument to Assess Social Work Students’ Perceptions, Knowledge, and Attitudes About Human Trafficking Questionnaire (PKA-HTQ): An Exploratory Study

Objective: This study sought to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of a tool designed to assess social work students’ knowledge of and perceptions and attitudes toward human trafficking. To achieve this aim, the Perceptions, Knowledge, and Attitudes toward Human Trafficking Questionnaire (PKA-HTQ) was developed and its psychometric properties were evaluated. Specifically, the factor structure and the internal consistency of the PKA-HTQ were evaluated. Methods: Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and a replication EFA were conducted on two independent samples of university students, an initial validation (n = 325), and cross-validation (n = 212) sample. Findings: The EFA revealed a three-factor structure, that is, self-appraisal of knowledge/skills (α = .89), worldview (α =.78), and help-seeking behavior (α =.66); this three-factor structure was supported by replication EFA. Conclusion: The PKA-HTQ questionnaire shows promise as a meaningful, potentially reliable and valid measure.

Writing a Good Peer Review to Improve Scholarship: What Editors Value and Authors Find Helpful

The above quotes were recently published in Buzzfeed (Oakes, 2014), an online media and technology company, and ostensibly were culled from actual peer reviews published on another website. As is the case with much content on the Internet, it’s hard to determine if these are fabricated or real. Nonetheless, despite the intended humor for the general public, they clearly demonstrate the type of mean-spirited review comments that are not helpful to authors or editors. With increasing demands for faculty to publish in top ranked journals, editors continually are faced with the challenge of selecting high quality manuscripts that not only meet the specific criteria for their journals, but also retain or raise their journal’s prestige. The peer review process plays an indispensable role in these decisions and editors base their final decision on their reviewer’s comments combined with their own expertise, assessment, and judgment. In a 2009 large-scale international peer review survey of over 4,000 authors and reviewers, the study found that most respondents valued the peer review process and deemed it to be essential, and almost all researchers believed that the peer review process improved the quality of their papers. The vast majority of reviewers enjoyed not only reading other scholars ’ works, but also appreciated the ability to help authors improve their manuscripts. Notably, they also saw this as an important role as a member of the academic community and were committed to conducting reviews in the future. However, they also noted that in order to improve the peer review process, the training of new reviewers was needed (Mulligan, Hall, & Raphael, 2013). Although most journals provide specific guidelines for reviewers, in general, there is little or no mentorship when faculty are selected to conduct peer reviews. Although

Building Community Partnerships to End Interpersonal Violence: A Collaboration of the Schools of Social Work, Law, and Nursing

The article discusses the University of Texas at Austin’s (UT Austin) Institute on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (IDVSA), an institution that was established in 2001. IDVSA is a collaboration of the Schools of Social Work, Law, and Nursing, and 150 community affiliates. Recognizing that interpersonal violence does not occur in a vacuum, the IDVSA operates within an ecological framework in which explanations for interpersonal violence acknowledge that individuals and families are nested in larger mezzo and macro systems, and factors such as gender, poverty, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and immigration status play influential roles in our understanding of these issues. The overarching goal is to advance knowledge and meaningful practice in the field through partnerships with survivors and community practitioners. Specifically, the mission is to advance the knowledge related to domestic violence and sexual assault in order to end interpersonal violence. IDVSA seeks to achieve its mission by focusing on three key areas: (1) rigorous research and scholarship on domestic violence and sexual assault; (2) comprehensive training, technical assistance, and information dissemination to the practitioner community and the community at large; and (3) substantial collaboration with our community partners. This article summarizes the authors’ pursuit.