The Implicit Curriculum Survey: An Examination of the Psychometric Properties

This study examined the psychometric properties of the Implicit Curriculum Survey (ICS) using an exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Students enrolled in four different MSW programs (N=262) from different geographic locations completed the ICS, which is a Web-based survey. The domains of the ICS include field, academics, community, diversity, faculty advising, and support services. The ICS includes quantitative and qualitative responses. However, for this study only the quantitative results were used. The EFA revealed that for each of the subscales, Cronbach’s alphas ranged from .52 to .90 and validity of the ICS was demonstrated through the good model fits found during the factor analysis. Implications for social work education and future research are discussed.     

“How Could I Have Done This?” Thoughts of Mothers of Children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

Biological mothers of children with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) must cope with the struggles of parenting a child with special needs with the knowledge that their children’s problems are due to their alcohol use during pregnancy. Qualitative interviews were conducted by telephone with 11 biological mothers of children with FAS. This group of mothers understood their use of alcohol during pregnancy through reliance on the disease model, inaccurate or incomplete knowledge of the consequences of drinking during pregnancy, the advice of others, and a lack of awareness of the pregnancy.     

Supporting Vulnerable Families Through School-Based Mental Health Services: Results of Caregiver and Teacher Focus Groups

Family perspectives facilitate participation and positive outcomes in child mental health treatment. In schools, families and teachers must cooperate to best meet children's mental health needs, also making teacher perspectives important. In this study, caregivers and teachers participated in focus groups following the pilot year of a school-based mental health (SBMH) project. Participants noted successes and challenges of the project and suggested improvements. Although this study focuses on the SBMH project, many of the study implications are applicable to other school mental health programs and may be of value to school and community practitioners.     

Stress and Resilience in the Oral Histories of Rural Older Women

Oral history research has seldom focused on the reflections of rural older women. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify: (a) stresses associated with major historical events that affected the lives of rural older women, and (b) strategies they used to deal with those stresses. Oral histories were gathered from a cross-section of 25 older women living in a small rural Midwestern community and analyzed using the method of constant comparison (Glaser & Straus, 1967 Glaser, B. and Strauss, A. 1967. The discovery of grounded theory, Chicago: Aldine.  [Google Scholar]). Content analysis revealed that economic hardship, disruption of family life, and fears and uncertainties were stressors associated with the Great Depression and world wars of the 20th century. Resilience was demonstrated by frugality, reliance on social supports, and acceptance. Implications for intervention with rural older women are discussed.     

The silent impact of ageist communication in long term care facilities: Elders' perspectives on quality of life and coping strategies

Communication is an essential component of any caregiving relationship. This is especially the case for institutionalized elders who need to maintain strong and empowering social bonds with caregivers. Previous studies have shown that communication can be a powerful transmitter of age-based stereotypes and as such, can lead to psychological disengagement and lowered self-esteem. In light of these results supporting the postulates of Communication Accommodation Theory, the main goal of the current study is to gain a better understanding of the role and impact of communication in the context of a caregiving relationship. Precisely, this study explored the extent to which institutionalized elders perceive daily communication with caregivers as being ageist, as well as the impact of such perceptions on quality of life in the facility and coping strategies used by elders. To do so, a total of 33 in depth and semi-structured interviews were conducted with elders living in long-term care facilities in the province of Quebec. Results of qualitative and quantitative data analyses suggest that communication with caregivers is indeed perceived as ageist by the majority of elders and that such perceptions diminish the perceived quality of life in the facility; furthermore, most elders seem to cope with ageism by accommodating caregivers, a strategy that may ironically reinforce patterns of ageist communication.     

The Impact of Autism Spectrum Disorders on the Family: A Qualitative Study of Mothers’ Perspectives

An estimated 730,000 Americans younger than age 21 in the United States have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and current trends predict 36,500 new diagnoses each year. Due to this rapid increase in ASD diagnoses, it is critical to understand the impact having a child with ASD has on a family's daily functioning to better coordinate services and design effective interventions. Qualitative semistructured interviews with eight mothers were conducted, and four primary themes emerged identifying primarily negative impacts of having a child with ASD. Implications for practice and future research are addressed to inform the development of best practices for families.     

Planning parenthood: the Affordable Care Act young adult provision and pathways to fertility

This paper investigates the effect of the Affordable Care Act young adult provision on fertility and related outcomes. The expected effect of the provision on fertility is not clear ex ante. By expanding insurance coverage to young adults, the provision may affect fertility directly through expanded options for obtaining contraceptives as well as through expanded options for obtaining pregnancy-, birth-, and infant-related care, and these may lead to decreased or increased fertility, respectively. In addition, the provision may also affect fertility indirectly through marriage or labor markets, and the direction and magnitude of these effects is difficult to determine. This paper considers the effect of the provision on fertility as well as the contributing channels by applying difference-in-differences type methods using the 2008–2010 and 2012–2013 American Community Survey, 2006–2009 and 2012–2013 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention abortion surveillance data, and 2006–2010 and 2011–2013 National Survey of Family Growth. Results suggest that the provision is associated with decreases in the likelihood of having given birth and abortion rates and an increase in the likelihood of using long-term hormonal contraceptives.     

Assisted Reproductive Technology and Women’s Timing of Marriage and Childbearing

This paper exploited variation in mandated insurance coverage of assisted reproductive technology (ART) across US states and over time to examine the connection between the price of ART and women’s timing of family including marriage and child bearing in and out of wedlock. Duration and competing risks analyses were estimated to investigate the effects of ART insurance mandates on women’s timing of first marriage and first birth using the 1968–2009 Panel Study of Income Dynamics. The findings suggest that the mandates were associated with delayed marriage and childbearing at younger ages and an increased likelihood of marriage and motherhood at ages 30 and older, but only for college graduate women. For the full sample of women, the mandates were associated with an increased likelihood of marriage at ages 25 and older and motherhood within marriage after at ages 30 and older, but not with delay at younger ages. Results by race were similar to those for the full sample for Whites, but were generally less significant for Blacks. No significant effects of the mandates were found for out-of-wedlock childbearing.     

Low effect sizes of evidence-based programs in school settings

School practitioners working from an evidence-based practice framework are expected to implement interventions that are effective with students. In the current study, the authors explore the feasibility of that expectation in light of the availability of critical effect size information necessary for making informed intervention decisions. Effect sizes for 51 school-based programs endorsed as effective by authoritative sources were reviewed. Effect size analyses reveal that the programs were not, on average, highly effective. Difficulties finding effect size information and programs with high effect sizes are discussed. Recent advances in evidence-based programs and suggestions for increasing the feasibility of evidence-based programs in schools are offered.