Children and Their Neighborhoods: A Mixed Methods Approach to Understanding the Construct Neighborhood

The University Archives has determined that this item is of continuing value to OSU's history.Nicotera, Nicole, Ph.D., University of Washington, Seattle, Washington - "Children and Their Neighborhoods: A Mixed Methods Approach to Understanding the Construct Neighborhood"The Ohio State University College of Social Wor

Civic Activity and Well-Being Among First-Year College Students

Institutions of higher education face the challenge of fostering academic success and well-being among students at a time when depression and substance abuse are on the rise within undergraduate populations. Evidence suggests that service-learning and community service promote undergraduate well-being in relation to substance use and psychological health. The study discussed in this article examined the association between civic activity and several aspects of well-being as it relates specifically to young adults during the first year of college. Results suggest that engaging in civic activities during the high school years or during the first year of college may serve to promote different aspects of well-being among first-year undergraduate students

Developing the Civic Skills of Public School Youth: A Mixed Methods Assessment

This study employed mixed methods to examine the experiences of public high school youth (N=126) who participated in youth-designed and youth-led community action over the course of an academic year. The authors explore the development of leadership skills, attitudes toward school-community, and sense of agency. Quantitative findings demonstrate statistically significant changes in youths’ civic attitudes and skills. Qualitative findings provide nuanced understanding of youths’ experiences with responsibility-accountability, confidence-empowerment, perseverance, leadership, mentorship- relationship, and professional skills.

A Template Analysis of Intimate Partner Violence Survivors’ Experiences of Animal Maltreatment: Implications for Safety Planning and Intervention

This study explores the intersection of intimate partner violence (IPV) and animal cruelty in an ethnically diverse sample of 103 pet-owning IPV survivors recruited from community-based domestic violence programs. Template analysis revealed five themes: (a) Animal Maltreatment by Partner as a Tactic of Coercive Power and Control, (b) Animal Maltreatment by Partner as Discipline or Punishment of Pet, (c) Animal Maltreatment by Children, (d) Emotional and Psychological Impact of Animal Maltreatment Exposure, and (e) Pets as an Obstacle to Effective Safety Planning. Results demonstrate the potential impact of animal maltreatment exposure on women and child IPV survivors’ health and safety

Dedication to Community Engagement: A Higher Education Conundrum?

Universities and colleges are increasingly providing internal grants to encourage faculty and staff involvement in community-based research and service-learning projects; however, little attention has been given to the impact of institutional support of these efforts. This qualitative study employed focus group interviews with 17 faculty and staff at one mid-size private research university (high activity) to explore the impact of institutional funding on their professional roles and practice of community engaged work. Findings revealed that community-based projects energized the participants, helped them make their academic work relevant in communities, created formal and informal university-community partnerships, and elevated the University’s public image. However, a conundrum was evident in the tension between the University’s public expression of the importance of community engagement and participants’ concerns that the traditional academic reward structure could jeopardize their long-term commitment to community work. A framework is offered that may assist institutions that are pondering or have already committed to using institutional dollars to support engaged scholarship

A Case Study of Institutional Visioning, Public Good, and the Renewal of Democracy: The Theory and Practice of Public Good Work at the University of Denver

In 2001, the University of Denver included language in its vision statement that committed the institution to becoming “a great private university dedicated to the public good.” This essay (1) explains how the development of an institutional visioning statement led to the implementation of a series of campus dialoguesand action steps designed to forward public good work at the university; (2) presents campus conversations and current literature to offer a theory of public good work within private research universities; and (3) documents challenges and lessons learned through institutional efforts to embrace a culture of engagement

Building Civic Leadership: The Journeys of Pre-Adolescent Youth

Studies of younger youth suggest that the path to civic leadership and the development of associated skills and attitudes is not linear. Instead, these studies suggest that as youth learn to act as agents of change, their real world experiences may create dissonance in their civic skills and attitudes. The reported current study employs qualitative methods to examine the experiences of urban, low-income, youth of color who participated in a civic leadership curriculum. Findings give voice to youth’s experiences and the tension that can occur on their journeys toward civic leadership. Implications are discussed

Children\u27s experiences of companion animal maltreatment in households characterized by intimate partner violence

Cruelty toward companion animals is a well-documented, coercive tactic used by abusive partners to intimidate and control their intimate partners. Experiences of co-occurring violence are common for children living in families with intimate partner violence (IPV) and surveys show that more than half are also exposed to abuse of their pets. Given children\u27s relationships with their pets, witnessing such abuse may be traumatic for them. Yet little is known about the prevalence and significance of this issue for children. The present study examines the experiences of children in families with co-occurring pet abuse and IPV. Using qualitative methods, 58 children ages 7–12 who were exposed to IPV were asked to describe their experiences of threats to and harm of their companion animals. Following the interviews, template analysis was employed to systematically develop codes and themes. Coding reliability was assessed using Randolph\u27s free-marginal multirater kappa (kfree = .90). Five themes emerged from the qualitative data, the most common being children\u27s exposure to pet abuse as a power and control tactic against their mother in the context of IPV. Other themes were animal maltreatment to discipline or punish the pet, animal cruelty by a sibling, children intervening to prevent pet abuse, and children intervening to protect the pet during a violent episode. Results indicate that children\u27s experiences of pet abuse are multifaceted, potentially traumatic, and may involve multiple family members with diverse motives

Building Civic Leadership: The Journeys of Pre-Adolescent Youth

Studies of younger youth suggest that the path to civic leadership and the development of associated skills and attitudes is not linear. Instead, these studies suggest that as youth learn to act as agents of change, their real world experiences may create dissonance in their civic skills and attitudes. The reported current study employs qualitative methods to examine the experiences of urban, low-income, youth of color who participated in a civic leadership curriculum. Findings give voice to youth’s experiences and the tension that can occur on their journeys toward civic leadership. Implications are discussed

Contextual Influences on the Implementation of a Schoolwide Intervention to Promote Students’ Social, Emotional, and Academic Learning

Schoolwide interventions are among the most effective approaches for improving students\u27 behavioral and academic outcomes. However, researchers have documented consistent challenges with implementation fidelity and have argued that school social workers should be engaged in efforts to improve treatment integrity. This study examines contextual influences on the implementation of a whole-school intervention called Responsive Classroom (RC) in one urban K-8 public school serving a diverse student body. RC improves social, emotional, literacy, and math outcomes for disadvantaged students with behavior problems by building on the assets of teachers to intervene with misbehaving students in the classroom setting or school environment. Yet little is understood regarding the factors that constrain or enable implementation of RC in noncontrolled research conditions. Results from a mixed-methods convergent analysis of focus group, observation, and survey data indicate the influence of the following three contextual factors on implementation fidelity: (1) intervention characteristics such as compatibility with staff members\u27 beliefs about behavior change and management, (2) organizational capacity such as principal and teacher buy-in, and (3) the intervention support system such as training and technical assistance. Implications for future school social work research and practice with respect to the implementation of schoolwide programs are discusse