Youn Kyoung Kim

Listening to refugees: How traditional mental health interventions may miss the mark

Understanding the dynamics of mental health of recently resettled refugees is an essential component of any comprehensive resettlement program, yet establishing the components of a successful and acceptable mental health intervention is an elusive task. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 resettled refugees from five countries who had received treatment for depression, post-traumatic stress symptoms, or anxiety. Themes generated from the interviews emphasized the need for strong group-based social support as well as a focus on practical needs such as acquiring and maintaining employment, language and literacy training, and access to care.

Service-learning Use in Criminal Justice Education

Using an exploratory, cross-sectional, survey design (N = 142), the current study explored the use of service learning in criminal justice education by examining how faculty members perceive the pedagogy, how often they implement it, and when they do so, how they implement it. The majority of respondents reported using service learning occasionally or regularly. The perception that service learning has a positive impact on student outcomes was generally supported, even among faculty who report never using service learning. Instructor unfamiliarity with the community and service learning being unfeasible were cited as the most common barriers, especially by those that never use service learning. The results suggest that universities and administrative leadership may foster greater use of service learning by reducing these barriers rather than extolling the already well-established benefits of service learning.

The Path to Service Quality: The Mediating Role of Organizational Commitment on the Effects of Strategic Planning and Technology Access Within The Salvation Army

The current study used structural equation modeling to test the relationships among familiarity with a strategic plan (FSP), technology access (TA), organizational commitment (OC), and service quality (SQ) with employees (N = 247, 67.6% female, 53.8% White) at one Area Command of The Salvation Army. We hypothesized that FSP and TA would have direct effects on SQ and indirect effects through OC. Results showed that OC fully mediated the effects of FSP on SQ and partially mediated TAs effects. Findings underscore the importance of organizational commitment for service quality in non-profit human service organizations.

Intentions to turnover: Testing the moderated effects of organizational culture, as mediated by job satisfaction, within the Salvation Army

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to advance the knowledge base by testing the hypothesis that job satisfaction mediates the relationship between perceived organizational culture and intentions to turnover, and that employee characteristics moderate this relationship. Design/methodology/approach Data were drawn from a cross-sectional online survey of employees at one Area Command of The Salvation Army in the USA (N=250, 66.8 percent female, 26.4 percent African American). The study implemented two different techniques to incorporate methodological triangulation to test the mediation model: a three-step regression analysis and a bootstrapping technique in which direct and indirect effects are tested at once. Also, a conditional process analysis was used to test the moderated mediation model. Findings Results supported the hypothesized mediation relationship and showed that lower mean organizational culture scores were significantly associated with lower job satisfaction, and thus, higher intentions to turnover. Additionally, office location moderated the indirect effect of organizational culture on intentions to turnover through job satisfaction. Practical implications Findings highlight the variability in how organizational culture affects employees across the work environment. Interventions, which are subtly tuned to the variation in workplaces, may be the most effective at building strong and positive organizational cultures. Originality/value The current study extends prior empirical work by testing the hypothesis that employee characteristics moderate the mediating effect of organizational culture and job satisfaction on intentions to turnover. Results showed that work location moderated the relationship between organizational culture and job satisfaction; organizational culture had a stronger effect on job satisfaction among employees working at the administrative office compared to those in community-based centers. Findings underscore the need for leadership to create a strong culture that permeates all work sectors in order for it to be effective.

Mental health treatment for resettled refugees: A comparison of three approaches

ABSTRACT Mental health concerns are a major factor in the overall wellness and stability of resettled refugees. While the need for mental health treatment for this population has been well-documented, less is known about the effectiveness of various treatment modalities on mental health outcomes. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to assess the impact of three different mental health interventions among refugees from Burundi, Burma, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Bhutan. The effects of eight weeks of randomly assigned office-based counseling (treatment as usual [TAU]), home-based counseling (HBC), and a community-based psycho-educational group (CPG) on posttraumatic stress symptoms, depression, anxiety, somatization, and social support were evaluated using a pre–post design. Results indicate merit in each of the treatment modalities, with varying efficacy across intervention according to mental health symptoms. In general, however, participants in HBC and CPG demonstrated greater overall improvement in mental health outcomes than participants receiving TAU.

Aggression behavior and substance use among immigrant children: Mediating effect of antisocial attitudes

ABSTRACT In 2010, approximately one out of four youths in the United States were immigrant children. Hispanics and Asians comprised the largest groups (58% and 16%), respectively. Today, the Hispanic population is the largest ethnic minority in the United States (15%) and is a majority of the U.S. foreign-born population (47%). While immigration is a positive process for most immigrants, resettlement into a new country has challenges, including acculturation adjustments. Youth engage in risky behaviors such as substance use and antisocial behaviors. For immigrant youth with limited supportive opportunities, however, the acculturation process can be difficult. Stress, alienation, and stigma often manifest and cause behavioral problems, including aggression. This pilot study examines the mediating effect of antisocial attitudes using sociocultural, developmental, and environmental factors to understand Hispanic youth problem behaviors. We sampled 136 youths, ages 6–12, from predominantly Hispanic elementary schools in the southwestern United States to ascertain the role of aggression and antisocial behavior in substance use attitudes. The results show significant differences in aggression, antisocial attitudes, and substance use according to (1) age, (2) years in the United States, (3) English level, and (4) relationship with mother. Aggression significantly predicted antisocial attitudes and substance use, with antisocial attitudes having a mediating effect on the relationship between aggression and substance use. In developing social service programs to prevent substance use among children from immigrant families, social work educators and practitioners may consider addressing the role of aggression in Hispanic adolescents’ future behavior.

Antisocial attitude and aggressive behavior among immigrant children: The moderating effects of parent-child relationships

ABSTRACT Guided by the ecological framework, this study explored 1) the effect of antisocial attitude as a risk factor on aggressive behavior and 2) how a maternal- or paternal-child relationship buffers the impact of antisocial attitude in predicting aggressive behavior among children attending elementary school. A convenience sampling strategy was utilized to recruit 136 immigrant children (female 54.8%, Hispanic and Latino 80.9%) attending schools in one school district in the Southwestern United States. The results showed that the effect of antisocial attitude on aggressive behavior varied depending on the children’s relationships with their parents. A close relationship with their mother mitigated the effect of antisocial attitude on aggressive behavior. Also, if the child had a positive relationship with both parents, the impact of antisocial attitude on aggressive behavior decreased. Thus, immigrant children who had a close relationship with both parents were less likely to have aggressive behavior. These results indicate that there is a benefit when children have close relationships with their parents in reducing problem behaviors.

The association between school bullying victimization and substance use among adolescents in Malawi: the mediating effect of loneliness

Abstract Background and objectives Research has shown an increased prevalence of substance use among adolescents in countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Peer affiliation, bullying, and psychological stress are significantly associated with substance use. This study empirically tested theoretical frameworks linking peer affiliation, bullying victimization, loneliness and substance use (specifically tobacco or alcohol use) among adolescents. Materials and methods Data were obtained from the 2009 Malawi Global School-based Health Survey (GSHS) with a representative sample of 2359 students aged 13–17 years in Malawi, Sub-Saharan Africa. Missing data were handled using multiple imputation. The study conducted path analyses using Mplus to test the conceptual models of tobacco use and alcohol use. Results The results showed that loneliness partially mediated the association between bullying victimization and tobacco use in the first model, as well as the relationship between bullying victimization and alcohol use in the second model. Results indicated statistically significant indirect paths from bullying victimization to tobacco use and alcohol use through the mediation of loneliness. However, peer affiliation did not directly predict bullying victimization in the two path models; it directly predicted tobacco use only. Conclusions These findings have important implications in early intervention for health practitioners in school and mental health settings to prevent feelings of loneliness and substance use among adolescents who have experience with bullying victimization but no experience with depression, alcohol use or tobacco use.

Multiple Predictors of Korean Elderly Men's Leisure Participation

This study examines the leisure constraints experienced by elderly men and investigates how leisure constraints affect their level of participation in leisure activities. A convenience sampling of the independent elderly, sixty or older, residing in Seoul and the province of Kyenggi in Korea comprised the study sample. Of the total 275 participants, 164 were male. The study employed hierarchical multiple regression analysis including demographic, health status, financial status, and leisure constraint factors impacting participation in leisure activities. The findings of the study highlight the importance of interpersonal constraints of elderly men in leisure participation. The elderly men reported significantly higher levels of interpersonal constraints than the elderly women. Financial status factors, such as leisure allowance and employment status, were confirmed to be more influential predictors in determining the elderly mens leisure participation. Practice implications include considering interpersonal constraints or financial status to enhance elderly mens leisure life.