Adopting a financial capability and asset-building curriculum at historically Black colleges and universities

ABSTRACT

Social workers currently engage in financial capability practice with low-income and financially vulnerable individuals and families in diverse practice settings, but typically lack professional preparation for this work. In response, several schools of social work have begun adopting financial capability curricula. Using an in-depth interview methodology, this study examines the adoption of a curriculum in financial capability and asset building (FCAB) from the perspectives of faculty and administrators (N = 19) at four historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Findings show that key reasons for curriculum adoption are prior working relationships and trust, relevance of FCAB content to student and community needs, and alignment with program, institutional, and professional goals. Using the diffusion of innovation theory to understand curriculum adoption in HBCUs suggests that perhaps trust and relationship building are particularly important in the case of minority serving institutions.     

Listening to Words,Hearing Feelings: Links Between Eating Disorders and Alexithymia

Research suggests that eating disorders often involve difficulty with affect regulation and processing of emotions. Studies also show that many individuals with these difficulties suffer from alexithymia, or an impaired ability to use language to tolerate or process emotions. Many clients with eating disorders are highly verbal, able to talk about feelings and even have good insight into the causes of their behaviors. Yet their verbal and cognitive strengths may disguise their inability to use thoughts to manage their emotions. Such clients often have a lifelong experience of appearing more capable and competent than they feel. Self-criticism and negative self-image concretized in a negative body image are part of their eating disorder. Therapeutic exploration can increase anxiety and self-criticism, aggravating feelings of inadequacy and the concomitant need for self-soothing. Techniques that focus on affect regulation have been shown to be effective, yet a psychodynamic approach can be an important tool in such an integrative practice. In this article, clinical material and theory will illustrate some of the ways that incorporating an understanding of alexithymia into the work can enhance the use of both psychodynamic exploration of meaning and also tools to manage affect and change behavior.     

The Gudaga Research Program: A Case Study in Undertaking Research with an Urban Aboriginal Community

This paper presents the Gudaga Research Program as a case study describing the practice principles used to implement a successful research partnership with an urban Aboriginal community in south-western Sydney. This is one of few papers that address research issues unique to working with urban Aboriginal communities, in which the Aboriginal culture of the community is not homogenous. The authors argue that the relationships between the researchers and key community members and research participants underpin the research success. Throughout, the authors show that ongoing processes to nurture and reaffirm these relationships are important and require ongoing investment. A proposed practice framework demonstrates the relationship between knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal history and culture, the underpinning values including trust, respect, and reciprocity, and shared skills and communication. Examples of how these were built into the research are provided. These are important skills that have application beyond the research process.     

The Resilience of Transracial Korean American Adoptees: Cultural Identity Crisis within the Family and the Mediating Effects of Family Conflict and Cohesiveness during Adversity

This study used a mixed-methods approach to examine the family practices that are fundamental for fostering resilience among 34 transracially adopted Korean American youths living with White American parents in the United States. The results demonstrate that in addition to experiencing stress related to their education and occupation, Korean American adoptees may encounter cultural identity crises. The negative effects of life stress on adoptees' mental health, however, were diminished once family cohesiveness and conflict were taken into account. Study findings have important implications for various stakeholders who seek to cultivate a healthy living environment for society's children (i.e., orphans).     

Dads care too! Participation in paid employment and experiences of workplace flexibility for Australian fathers caring for children and young adults with disabilities

This study uses Australian survey data to explore whether caring for children and young people with disabilities affects paid employment participation of fathers who identify as the secondary caregiver. More fathers in the study were in full-time employment than those in the general Australian population, but they worked fewer hours, often in jobs they did not enjoy or roles with less responsibility. Over one third of fathers reported that caring had impacted on their job opportunities or career progression, particularly those whose children had more severe disabilities. The financial costs of raising a child with disabilities and their caring obligations informed many of the decisions fathers made in relation to employment. Fixed hours of work, lack of understanding from their employer, an income tied to hours worked and staff resources were cited as reasons why almost half of the fathers felt they were unable to access flexible working conditions to assist with their child’s care. Self-employment was seen by many fathers as desirable, but the perceived increase in flexibility may be accompanied by an increase in work hours. Implications for paternal well-being are discussed, along with the lifelong implications of caring on employment and financial security for families in the Australian context.     

Psychological Well‐being Among Older Adults: The Role of Partnership Status

Today's older adults are increasingly unmarried. Some are in cohabiting unions, others are dating, and many remain unpartnered. Unmarried older adults are at risk of poorer well‐being than married older adults, but it is unclear whether older cohabitors fare worse than or similar to their married counterparts; nor have well‐being differences among cohabitors, daters, and unpartnered persons been considered. Conceptualizing marital status as a continuum of social attachment, data from Waves I and II of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project are used to examine how older married, cohabiting, dating, and unpartnered individuals differ across multiple indicators of psychological well‐being. Among men, cohabitors appear to fare similarly to the married, and better than daters and the unpartnered. In contrast, there are few differences in psychological well‐being by partnership status for women.     

Family Functioning and Mental Health of Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming Youth in the Trans Teen and Family Narratives Project

Transgender and gender-nonconforming (TGN) youth are at increased risk for adverse mental health outcomes, but better family functioning may be protective. This study describes TGN youth’s mental health and associations with family functioning in a community-based sample. Participants were from 33 families (96 family members) and included 33 TGN youth, ages 13 to 17 years; 48 cisgender (non-transgender) caregivers; and 15 cisgender siblings. Participants completed a survey with measures of family functioning (family communication, family satisfaction) and mental health of TGN youth (suicidality, self-harm, depression, anxiety, self-esteem, resilience). TGN youth reported a high risk of mental health concerns: suicidality (15% to 30%), self-harm (49%), clinically significant depressive symptoms (61%); and moderate self-esteem (M = 27.55, SD = 7.15) and resiliency (M = 3.67, SD = 0.53). In adjusted models, better family functioning from the TGN youth’s perspective was associated with better mental health outcomes among TGN youth (β ranged from ?0.40 to ?0.65 for self-harm, depressive symptoms, and anxious symptoms, and 0.58 to 0.70 for self-esteem and resiliency). Findings from this study highlight the importance of considering TGN youth’s perspectives on the family to inform interventions to improve family functioning in families with TGN youth.     

The legacy of Tom Andersen: The ethics of reflecting processes

Tom Andersen and his pioneering work with reflecting conservations has had a lasting influence on the field of family therapy and mental health more broadly. Most family therapists are familiar with his contributions related to reflecting teams; however, fewer are familiar with his conceptualization of reflecting processes, which offer practical ways to approach therapeutic conversations to address challenging problems. This article provides a brief history of Andersen's career and reviews four key elements of his approach, including: (a) his way of being in relationship, (b) appropriately unusual comments, (c) inner and outer dialogs, and (d) ethics of dialogical relating. Finally, this article introduces readers to the context of the video that will be analyzed in the articles that follow in this special section.