William R. Nugent

Creating and Validating Rapid Assessment Instruments for Practice and Research: Part 2

In this age of accountability, social work practitioners face greater demands to demonstrate the effectiveness of their interventions. A practical way to accomplish this is to use rapid assessment instruments (RAIs) to measure a client’s level of functioning so that any subsequent change in functioning can be accurately detected over time. This first article in this two-part series outlined how to conceptualize and create an RAI, and how to plan and subsequently implement a design testing the newly created scale’s psychometric properties, laying the groundwork for Part 2 of this series. The purpose of this article is to further develop the foundations that were introduced in Part 1 by using the authors’ own works to illustrate how to develop a new scale and test its psychometric properties. Decision-making strategies and standards for how to interpret scale psychometrics are provided.

Validation of a Clinical Measure of Self-Esteem

This article describes a validation study of a newly developed measure of self-esteem. Two studies were conducted, with the second intended as a replication of the first. The first involved 246 persons, and the second involved 107. Several specific predictions were made about the correlations between scores on the newly developed scale, another measure of self-esteem, a measure of depression, and a number of demographic variables. The results suggest that the newly developed scale does in fact measure level of self-esteem. Limitations in this study and the use of the scale in social work practice are discussed.

Participation in Victim-Offender Mediation and Reoffense: Successful Replications?

Objective: A study was conducted to determine the extent to which four investigations of the effect of participation in victim-offender mediation (VOM) on reoffense were successful replications. Method: The data from these four studies were combined and statistical analyses performed to determine if differences between studies were attributable to sampling variability. If the differences between studies were statistically nonsignificant, the results would be consistent with the four studies being successful replications of each other. Results: The results were consistent with the four studies representing a successful replication series. Analyses of the combined samples of 1,298 juveniles indicated that VOM participants reoffended at a rate 32% lower than nonparticipants. Conclusion: The difference in reoffense rates was more than three times larger than the average effect associated with interventions for delinquency found in a recent meta-analysis. These results suggested that VOM participation was associated with significant reductions in delinquent behavior.

Testing the Effects of Active Listening.

Active or empathic listening is a basic social work practice skill. Past research involving this skill has focused primarily on the relationship between level of empathy and ultimate outcome. Little research has focused on the more immediate effects of this verbal procedure. Focusing on the short-term affective impact of two types of active listening, this article describes a series of replications of an analog experiment. The results, which replicate across experiments, across dependent measures, across client situations and affect, and across experimenters, suggest that differently worded active-listening responses may lead to different short-term client affective outcomes. The implications of these results for future social work research and practice are discussed

The Effects of Aggression Replacement Training on Male and Female Antisocial Behavior in a Runaway Shelter

Objective: A field study was conducted to test the effect of Aggression Replacement Training on male and female antisocial behavior in a runaway shelter. Method: An interrupted time series design was used in this study. The case records of 522 adolescents who stayed in a runaway shelter over a 519-day period were reviewed and measures of antisocial behavior obtained. Results: The results suggested that the implementation of the Aggression Replacement Training was associated with a decrease in male and female antisocial behavior in the shelter and that the effect on male antisocial behavior depended on the number of males in the shelter. Conclusion: The results suggested that the Aggression Replacement Training may be a useful component of a multicomponent approach to reducing juvenile antisocial behavior in a short-term residential setting.

Integrating Single-Case and Group-Comparison Designs for Evaluation Research

This article describes and assesses the integration of single-case design and group comparison methods to address limitations inherent in each methodology. First, the use of Hierarchical Linear Models (HLM) for analyzing aggregated single-case design data is described. Next, two examples of research that combines single-case and group-comparison methods are presented, with reanalyses of data from these studies conducted using HLM procedures. One reanalysis produces results contradicting those obtained by the original researchers. The advantages and disadvantages of using such integrated approaches are then discussed.

A Statewide Evaluation of Family Preservation and Family Reunification Services

In recent years, social workers have begun to focus on services intended to help keep families together. This article describes evaluation studies of family preservation and reunification services provided to families of status offenders across the state of Florida. Logistic regression methods were used to identify correlates offamily preservation and family reunification in data from 4,195 families served by 23 Florida Network of Youth and Family Services programs during fiscal year 1989-1990. Statistically significant models were identified for both family preservation and family reunification efforts. Then data from families served by Florida Network agencies during fiscal years 1988-1989 (2,065 families) and 1990-1991 (3,931 families) were analyzed in a model validation study. Several demographic, client history, and service variables were identified as correlates of family preservation and family reunification. The implications of these results for the efforts of social workers to preserve and reunify families are discussed.

Single case design visual analysis procedures for use in practice evaluation

Abstract Visual procedures are the most commonly used in the analysis of single case design data. However, a number of problems with visual analysis methods have been identified in previous research, and research and development on visual analysis methods has been recommended. If single case design methods are to be used, as once hoped, by social work practitioners, then visual analysis methods should be easy and quick to use as well as methodologically defensible. This article presents visual analysis methods for use by social work practitioners. First, there is a presentation of a method for representing trend. Next there is a presentation of methods for representing variability, background variability, and overlap and discussion of their use in the visual analysis of single case data. Finally, there are two illustrative data analyses in which these methods are used. The mathematical and statistical bases for these methods are provided in two appendices. The methods presented are quick and easy to use and require nothing more than a pencil or pen and a straight edge for use by practitioners.

Equine-assisted therapy and its impact on cortisol levels of children and horses: a pilot study and meta-analysis

Childhood trauma, abuse or neglect impacts the function and structure of the brain of affected children. Attunement with other beings as well as an enriched environment can contribute to normal brain development. The enriched environment of a barn and attunement with an animal may contribute to reductions in stress for traumatised children. A pilot study, using a multiple base line, single case design included four children with post-traumatic stress syndrome (aged eight to ten years) and four therapy riding horses. This study hypothesised that cortisol would correlate between each child–horse pair, using a 12-day intervention that included six consecutive days of riding and grooming. A meta-analysis was completed of correlation levels of four child–horse pairs The weighted mean cross-correlation, controlling for autocorrelation, was 0.23, Z = 3.03, approximate 95% confidence interval 0.23 ± (1.96 × 0.076) or 0.08 to 0.38. The data suggest a need for further research.

The Relationship Between Suicidal Thinking and Dating Violence in a Sample of Adolescent Abortion Patients

BACKGROUND The relationship between suicidal thinking and adolescent dating violence has not been previously explored in a sample of adolescent abortion patients. AIMS This paper highlights a study where the relationship between dating violence and severity of suicidal thinking was examined in a sample of 120 young women ages 14-21 seeking to terminate an unintended pregnancy. METHODS The Multidimensional Adolescent Assessment Scale and the Conflict in Adolescent Relationships Scale was used to gather information about psychosocial problems and dating violence so that the relationship between the two problems could be examined, while controlling for the other psychosocial problems. RESULTS The results suggest that dating violence was related to severity of suicidal thinking, and that the magnitude of this relationship was moderated by the severity of problems with aggression. CONCLUSIONS Specifically, as the severity of participants general problems with aggression increased, the magnitude of the relationship between dating violence and severity of suicidal thinking increased. Limitations of the study and implications for practice are discussed.