A Possible Selves Intervention to Enhance School Involvement

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/89945/1/oyserman__terry__bybee__2002.pd

Establishing Individualized Goals in a Supported Education Intervention: Program Influences on Goal-Setting and Attainment

Objectives: Support for goal-setting and attainment is a frequent component of social work interventions aimed at fostering client growth. This study investigated goal-setting and attainment in the Michigan Supported Education Research Project, an intervention that provides support for adults with psychiatric disabilities to engage in postsecondary education. Method: An experimental design with three conditions was used and data was collected at five time points. The sample included 397 adults. Results: Results indicate increased complexity of goal statements over time. Goals became more specific for those in the treatment conditions and for those who were high participants. Multivariate models found that selecting school as the most important goal was a significant factor in predicting later enrollment. Conclusions: Interventions can influence the goals that are set by individuals. Because of its importance to social work practice, researchers and practitioners should pay more explicit attention to goal-setting.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68745/2/10.1177_104973159900900405.pd

Independent Effects of Paternal Involvement and Maternal Mental Illness on Child Outcomes

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/89957/1/father_involvement.pd

Racial-ethnic identity in mid-adolescence: Content and change as predictors of academic achievement

Three aspects of racial-ethnic identity (REI)Ffeeling connected to one’s racial-ethnic group (Connectedness), being aware that others may not value the in-group (Awareness of Racism), and feeling that one’s in-group is characterized by academic attainment (Embedded Achievement)Fwere hypothesized to promote academic achievement. Youth randomly selected from 3 low-income, urban schools (n598 African American, n541 Latino) reported on their REI 4 times over 2 school years. Hierarchical linear modeling shows a small increase in REI and the predicted REI – grades relationship. Youth high in both REI Connectedness and Embedded Achievement attained better grade point average (GPA) at each point in time; youth high in REI Connectedness and Awareness of Racism at the beginning of 8th grade attained better GPA through 9th grade. Effects are not moderated by race-ethnicity.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/64271/1/Racial-ethnic_identity_in_mid-adolescence.pd

Living Arrangements and Social Support: Effects on the Well-Being of Mothers with Mental Illness

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/89958/1/living_arrangements_and_social_support.pd

Long-term trends in depression among women separated from abusive partners

This study tested a cumulative adversity hypothesis, where differences in postseparation stressors among battered women were expected to lead to a widening gap in levels of women’s depression over time. Ninety-four women separated fromtheir abusive partners were interviewed six times over a 2-year period. Consistent with the hypothesis, inequalities grew over time.Women who were exposed to the greatest amount of violence and secondary stressors shortly after shelter exit experienced relatively higher levels of depression that either did not improve or significantly increased with time. Social support was the only resource to have the hypothesized decreasing effect on depression.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90508/1/Anderson-Saunders-Yoshihama-Bybee-Sullivan _2003 Long term trends in depression among survivors VAW.pd

Influences of maternal mental illness on psychological outcomes for adolescent children

The research literature associating maternal mental illness with problematic mental health outcomes of adolescent children typically controls for neither the effects of family stresses and lack of support, nor the effects of parenting style. To address this gap, we explore the effects of maternal psychiatric symptoms and community functioning on child outcomes in a diverse sample of seriously mentally ill women caring for their teenaged children. In hierarchical multiple regression, for youth depression, we find effects for parenting style and maternal mental health; for youth anxiety and efficacy, effects involve the interplay between maternal symptoms and community functioning.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/64259/1/Influences_of_maternal_mental_illness_on_psychological_outcomes_for_adolescent_children.pd

Integrating Vocational Services on Case Management Teams: Outcomes from a Research Demonstration Project

Recent innovations to improve employment rates among persons with psychiatric disabilities include “hybrid case management/employment services.” Project WINS was a research/demonstration project which integrated specialized vocational services into case management teams. In this report, client outcomes of WINS involvement are evaluated, using a quasiexperimental, longitudinal design. On almost all the work-related variables, participants in the immediate and delayed treatment conditions displayed better outcomes than those in the control condition, as did individuals receiving moderate or substantial service versus no/minimal services. To address possible selection bias due to the quasiexperimental nature of the design, further analyses used baseline differences across conditions and participation levels as covariates. Results of multivariate analyses showed some anomalous findings regarding significant positive effects for the delayed, but not the immediate treatment condition versus the no-treatment control group. However, in similar analyses involving participation level as the independent variable, a moderate or substantial amount of service increased the odds of working by almost five times and also positively affected three other work-related variables. While limitations of this quasiexperimental design are noted, the results appear promising enough to support replications of WINS.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45357/1/11020_2004_Article_223795.pd

Fitting in matters: Markers of in-group belonging and academic outcomes

Minority boys are at risk of academic disengagement. Prior research documents that an aspect of racial-ethnic identity, in-group connection, can buffer against this risk, but that in-group connection is undermined in high-risk neighborhoods. We examined another way that boys may feel connected to the in-group, by looking like in-group members. We hypothesize that physical markers of in-group membership can serve to improve boys’ sense of belongingness, thereby facilitating their engagement in school. We tested our model with low-income, high-risk African American (Study 1, n 5 102) and Latino (Study 2, n566) teens. Hierarchical regression supported our model; dark skin tone was a protective factor (and light skin tone a risk factor) for African American boys, and feeling that one looks Latino was a protective factor (and feeling that one does not look Latino a risk factor) for Latino boys’ grades, in-class behavior, and school engagement. Mediational analyses suggest that markers of belongingness have their impact via peer-group choice.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/64269/1/Fitting_in_matters.pd