Journal of evidence-based social work (2019)最新文献

Purpose: This systematic review aims to summarize the mental health outcomes of self-employment and identify potential moderators between self-employment and mental health issues, ultimately guiding future research and informing targeted suggestions for future practice.

Method: The initial search identified 3412 publications, including 43 that met the inclusion criteria. We identified 20 potential moderators in total.

Results: According to the summary results based on the diathesis-stress model, gender, financial precarity, and social security were identified as the most frequent potential moderators in each domain.

Discussion: The systematic review highlights the complex relationship between self-employment and mental health, revealing that self-employment often correlates with negative mental health outcomes such as stress and depression. Future practice should prioritize financial stability strategies, gender-specific support initiatives, work-life balance improvements, and expanded social security protections for self-employed workers.

Purpose: This study examined the association between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and resilience through a sense of purpose in life (SP) among 578 college students, applying resilience theory and positive psychology.

Materials and methods: Using a cross-sectional, online survey design, data were collected. Most respondents were female (71.9%), heterosexual (69.9%), and Caucasian (61.6%) undergraduate students.

Results: The results indicated that ACEs were not directly related to resilience (β = -.09, .05). SP had an indirect effect in the relationship between ACEs and resilience (β = -.11, 95% CI = -.16 to -.05). SP fully mediated the association between ACEs and resilience in college students.

Discussion: This indicates that students with a history of ACEs tend to have lower levels of resilience due to their reduced levels of SP.

Conclusion: Trauma-informed, campus-wide interventions targeting SP for college students who were exposed to ACEs may be effective.

Background: Existing research demonstrates that racial inequity influences mental health outcomes. However, few studies simultaneously analyze the multiple factors influencing racial disparities regarding these outcomes. Our study addresses this gap by analyzing the impact of discrimination, stress, self-esteem, racial identity, depressive symptoms, and demographic factors on anxiety symptoms.

Methods: Participants were adults recruited from a primary care clinic in the Southeastern region of the United States. We utilized a stratified random sampling strategy to select 383 participants. Participants completed a survey designed to assess levels of anxiety, depression, perceived stress, self-esteem, racial identity, experiences with discrimination, and demographic information. A hierarchical regression analyzed which factors most impact symptoms of anxiety.

Results: Of the 363 participants in our study, the majority were female (71.3%), 57% were White identifying, 43% were Black identifying, and the average age was 54.4 (SD = 12.3). Model 4 accounted for 58% of the variance of anxiety symptoms and included a combination of depressive symptoms, perceived stress, self-esteem, experiences of everyday discrimination, and interaction terms. Within this model, perceived stress (t = 3.81, p < .01), experiences of everyday discrimination, (t = 2.33, p < .01), and income (t = -1.96, p < .01) were significantly associated with increased anxiety.

Conclusions and implications: Multiple contextual factors influence the relationship between race and anxiety. In particular, anxiety increases with lower rates of self-esteem and income. Conversely, anxiety increases with higher rates of stress, discrimination, and depressive symptoms. Social workers should consider each of these factors when treating patients presenting with symptoms of anxiety.

Purpose: This study investigates the role of perceived social support from family and friends in enhancing life satisfaction among Syrian refugees in Türkiye during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Materials and methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 636 Syrian refugees residing in Istanbul and Hatay provinces. The study used the Multidimensional Perceived Social Support Scale, the COVID-19 State Anxiety Sources Scale, and the Satisfaction With Life Scale. Structural equation modeling was applied to analyze the relationships between social support, COVID-19-related anxieties, and life satisfaction.

Results: Both family and friend social support were positively associated with life satisfaction. Friend social support was negatively associated with COVID-19-related economic anxiety, daily routine change anxiety, and isolation anxiety. These anxieties mediated the relationship between friend social support and life satisfaction.

Discussion: The results suggest that strengthening social support from families and friends can mitigate the adverse effects of economic and routine-related anxieties among refugees, with friend support playing a more crucial role.

Conclusion: Social support is vital for enhancing life satisfaction among Syrian refugees in Türkiye during public health crises. Policy interventions should aim to reinforce these systems to build resilient refugee communities.

Purpose: Rural communities face specific challenges when attempting to implement evidence-based interventions, due to their size, distance from knowledge centers, and broad responsibility for the local population. The aim of this study was to investigate the utilization of an RPC (Research Practice Collaboration) initiative as a strategy for translation and implementation of EBPs in rural municipalities seeking to develop their services for individuals with serious mental illness.

Materials and methods: Following a broad invitation consisting of a presentation of the newly produced National Psychiatry Guidelines, to four northern regions in Sweden, four municipalities participated in an RPC process that focused on the implementation of specific EBPs.

Results: In addition to confirming many of the challenges in rural areas, the participants reported that the RPC process helped them to understand the relevance of these methods to their own conditions and ambitions. They were able to recognize and build on their already existing strengths and achieve incremental steps toward EBPs.

Discussion: The collaborative nature of the structure and knowledge dissemination, requiring extremely tailored implementation strategies while considering the essential components in relation to local conditions, led to increased readiness to implement these practices as locally relevant.

Conclusion: Research practice collaborations may contribute to the implementation of EBPs in rural areas by increasing the accessibility and relevance of these methods in these challenging conditions. Identifying structures for sustainably supporting these types of collaborations is a challenge for national actors.

Purpose: Evaluating students' attitudes toward research is essential for instructors of any research methods class, as students' general attitudes toward research may impact if and how they integrate research into practice decision making. However, few psychometrically sound, multidimensional instruments that can be used with Master of Social Work (MSW) students exist.

Materials and methods: This work used confirmatory factor analysis to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Revised Attitudes Toward Research Scale with a diverse sample of 396 master's level social work students. Multiple indicators, multiple causes models and a series of Monte Carlo simulations were then used to assess the relationship between various dimensions of students' attitudes toward research, their prior research exposure/training, and their sociodemographic characteristics.

Results: Results indicate that the overall performance of the measure with this sample of MSW students was strong, and the factor structure was consistent with that found when evaluated with different samples in previous research. Moreover, various sociodemographic characteristics predicted scores on the research usefulness, research anxiety, and positive research predisposition subscales.

Discussion: The use of this tool allows instructors to identify students with high levels of research-related anxiety and those who may not intuitively comprehend the need to understand empirical research findings and integrate them into practice decision making.

Conclusion: The authors offer suggestions for integrating this validated tool into social work research methods classes to assist in developing students' ability to engage in all steps of the evidence-based practice process once in the field.

Purpose: Social work is an intrinsically challenging profession, with high levels of distress and burnout reported amongst professionals. Self-compassion has been suggested as a coping resource that may benefit social workers and reduce levels of distress. There is reason to believe that low self-compassion may confer a vulnerability in social workers, particularly student social workers. The current review aimed to examine how reported levels of self-compassion in social workers compare to the general population and how they compare between qualified and student social workers. Additionally, this review explored the relationship between self-compassion and age, sex/gender, psychological distress, and work-related psychological wellbeing within social workers.

Materials and methods: A systematic literature search was conducted using APA PsycINFO, Scopus, Web of Science, CINAHL, and Medline. Twenty-nine articles met inclusion criteria and were assessed for risk of bias. Meta-analysis was used to synthesize the results.

Results: The meta-analysis found that qualified social workers reported significantly higher levels of self-compassion than student social workers and published general population estimates, although heterogeneity was high. There was some evidence to suggest that levels of self-compassion are related to age, but not to sex/gender. Self-compassion was significantly negatively correlated with psychological distress.

Discussion and conclusion: The tentative conclusion that qualified social workers may report relatively high levels of self-compassion is encouraging, given the evidenced negative relationship with psychological distress. Given student social workers appear to report lower levels of self-compassion, they may benefit from interventions/support to bolster it, although systemic factors influencing wellbeing must also be considered.

Purpose: This qualitative study explored the extent Hip-Hop music helped Black college males express their emotions and everyday lived experiences as they understood them within the context of anger, depression, and identity.Methods: Five Black first-generation college-enrolled males participated in three focus groups about anger, depression, and identity. Before each focus group, participants were provided with a playlist of Hip-Hop songs tailored to one of the three categories.Findings: Regarding anger, Hip-Hop underscored: 1) masked sadness, 2) compartmentalized, and 3) responsive to external stimuli. Regarding depression, Hip-Hop underscored: 1) suppressed feelings, 2) pride prevents help-seeking, and 3) community matters. Regarding identity, Hip-Hop underscored: 1) remaining unapologetically Black, 2) desire to introduce new ideas and images to young Black males, and 3) creating progressive Black male images.Discussion: Ultimately, Hip-Hop is a mechanism that can be used to help Black males construct, explain, and normalize their feelings, attitudes, and emotions.

Purpopse: There is a gap in the current literature regarding how doula care may be implemented into existing systems in Montana to best address the needs of individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs) during the perinatal period. Doulas may be particularly well positioned to reach a diverse range of patients, allowing them to feel supported and advocated for within the medical system. This study aims to illustrate the perspectives and experiences of doulas, individuals who have experienced perinatal SUDs, and maternal and mental health providers.

Materials and methods: A qualitative descriptive research methodology was used to conduct qualitative semi-structured interviews with 29 participants.

Results: Through these interviews, three overarching themes emerged: the necessity of doula workforce development to enhance sustainability when working with individuals with SUDs; reducing financial and structural barriers that prevent clients with SUDs from accessing doula care; and working to promote the acceptability of SUD-focused doulas in the healthcare system.

Discussion and conclusion: These findings highlight areas of possible intervention to broaden the use of doulas for perinatal individuals with SUDs.

Purpose: Data collection in community organizations can be challenging, but important for evaluative initiatives as well as for therapeutic purposes, such as for organizations engaged in measurement-based care. This study tested the impact of an online measurement data management platform (OMDMP) on mental health assessment response rates at a community-based sexual assault crisis center. We examined whether implementing the OMDMP improved client assessment participation in mental health assessment questionnaires compared to manual data collection methods. Materials and Methods: Using a pre-post design, we analyzed data from two time periods: pre-pandemic (manual assessments) and mid-pandemic (OMDMP assessments). Data included clients' mental health assessments, using standardized tools such as the DASS-21 and IES-R.

Results: Our analysis revealed a significant increase in the rate of clients completing at least one mental health assessment, rising from 45% (manual) to 71% after the introduction of the OMDMP. We also found that the OMDMP prompted clients to complete their assessments generally on time, contributing to effective use of assessments as a component of measurement-based care.

Discussion: Although this improvement demonstrates clear benefits for data collection in a community setting, challenges remain in ensuring both pre- and posttest completion. While online tools can enhance organizational capacity for self-evaluation and improve client participation in measurement-based care, attention is still needed to address gaps in the data collection process.

Conclusion: We discuss the successes and barriers encountered during the implementation of the OMDMP and its potential implications for social work practice.