Overcoming Barriers to Using Empirically Supported Therapies to Treat Childhood Anxiety Disorders in Social Work Practice

Anxiety disorders are among the most common psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents. Most empirically supported treatments (ESTs) for pediatric anxiety disorders include various cognitive-behavioral methods. Although demonstrated efficacious in controlled and clinic settings, there are barriers to implementing these types of therapies in social work settings due to beliefs about the usefulness of ESTs in community settings; limitations of treatment manuals; time constraints of implementing ESTs; fidelity and flexibility of implementing ESTs; and limited training opportunities. This article provides an overview of ESTs for childhood anxiety disorders, highlighting options for overcoming common barriers to implementing ESTs. Collaborative multi-method approaches to advance implementation of ESTs in social work practice are suggested.     

Discrimination,mental health,and body image among transgender and gender-non-binary individuals: Constructing a multiple mediational path model

The purpose of the current study was to examine the relationships among discrimination, mental health, and body image in a national sample of transgender adults. Participants (N = 78) identified as transgender, genderqueer, or other gender-non-binary identities and were recruited via a national online survey. Harassment/rejection, work/school, and other discrimination explained 10.4% of the variance in body appreciation, while satisfaction with life, anxiety, self-esteem, and depression explained 60.7%. Within these models, harassment/rejection was inversely associated with body appreciation, while self-esteem and satisfaction with life were positively associated. A series of path models moving from a measurement model to a more parsimonious and excellent-fitting model found that the effect of harassment/rejection on body appreciation was fully mediated by self-esteem and satisfaction with life, resulting in a multiple mediation.     

Meaningful learning in weighted voting games: an experiment

In April 2013, all of the major academic publishing houses moved thousands of journal titles to an original hybrid model, under which authors of accepted papers can choose between an expensive open access (OA) track and the traditional track available only to subscribers. This paper argues that authors might now use a publication strategy as a quality signaling device. The imperfect information game between authors and readers presents several types of Perfect Bayesian Equilibria, including a separating equilibrium in which only authors of high-quality papers are driven toward the open access track. The publishing house should choose an open-access publication fee that supports the emergence of the highest return equilibrium. Journal structures will evolve over time according to the journals’ accessibility and quality profiles.     

WeChat: social and political development of China’s dominant messaging app

This article traces the development of the Chinese social media app WeChat from its origins to its current role as a leading communications tool for some 600 million Chinese citizens. It analyzes the ways the small-group oriented app is changing China’s social connections, as it enhances trusted, personal contacts while transforming opportunities for larger online group formation. The article assesses methods the Chinese Government employs to monitor and control WeChat communication, and provides a case-focus study. It also considers the apolitical features, in particular, those related to entertainment and personal social relations, which have made important contributions to WeChat’s great popularity.     

Managing Serials in an Institutional Repository: An Interview With Kay Teel

ABSTRACT

In this interview from March 2017, Kay Teel, metadata librarian for serials and arts resources at the Stanford University Libraries, discusses the issues involved in providing access to serials through an institutional repository.     

From Despair to Integrity: Using Narrative Therapy for Older Individuals in Erikson’s Last Stage of Identity Development

Adults aged 65 and over are a growing population in the United States today. This population is underrepresented in the mental health literature despite the high rates of depression and suicide. Additionally, the newest generation of older individuals is more likely to seek therapy than past generations, furthering the need for mental health professionals to be prepared for treating older individuals. Erikson in Childhood and society, Norton, New York, (1950) describes this time period as being critical in terms of the final identity crisis, integrity versus despair. Integrity is marked by a positive evaluation of the individual’s entire life, less anxiety about death, and a feeling of gaining wisdom. Individuals who do not resolve this crisis can manifest despair in a number of ways, including depression, anger, and regret. This model proposes utilizing Narrative therapy (White in Maps of narrative practice, Norton, New York, 2007) to understand how elderly individuals evaluate their lives in reference to their environment. The model utilizes externalization, unique outcomes, and re-membering conversations to unlock subjugated stories and promote integrity.     

The Queer Utility of Narrative Case Studies for Clinical Social Work Research and Practice

The author uses a queer critical lens to analyze the marginalization of case study research in the evidence-based practice model of clinical social work. He argues that narrative case studies are necessary for the production of context-dependent knowledge about social work practice and asserts that the method offers particular utility in conducting queer inquiry. The method is explored in relation to its capacity to describe non-normative phenomena and the impact of normative cultural pressures on queer subjects. An abbreviated case study by the author is included to demonstrate these capacities.     

A Case for the Case Study: How and Why They Matter

In this special issue we have asked the contributors to make a case for the case study. The guest editors, Jeffrey Longhofer, Jerry Floersch and Eric Hartmann, intergrate ideas from across the disciplines to explore the complexties of case study methods and theory. In education, Gary Thomas explores the importance of ethnographic case studies in understanding the relationships among schools, teachers, and students. Lance Dodes and Josh Dodes use the case study to articulate a psychoanalytic approach to addiction. In policy and generalist practice, Nancy Cartwright and Jeremy Hardie elaborate a model for a case-by-case approach to prediction and the swampy ground prediction serves up to practitioners. Christian Salas and Oliver Turnbull persuasively write about the role of the case study in neuro-psychoanalysis and illustrate it with a case vignette. In political science, Sanford Schram argues for a bottom up and ethnographic approach to studying policy implementation by describing a case of a home ownership program in Philadelphia. Eric Hartman queers the case study by articulating its role in deconstructing normative explanations of sexuality. In applied psychology, Daniel Fishman describes a comprehensive applied psychology perspective on the paradigmatic case study. Richard Miller and Miriam Jaffe offer us important ways of thinking about writing the case study and the use of multi-media. Each contributor brings a unique perspective to the use of the case study in their field, yet they share practical and philosophical assumptions.     

Staff Member Reactions to Same-Gender,Resident-to-Resident Sexual Behavior Within Long-Term Care Facilities

The current study assesses ageism and heterosexism relating to older adult sexual activity within long-term care facilities. To assess caregiver reactions, 153 residential care facility staff members read one of three vignettes. Each vignette described a scenario in which a staff member walks in on two residents (male/female, male/male, or female/female) engaging in sexual activity. Although no main effects were discovered for vignette type, exploratory analyses revealed that the facility where participants were employed was significantly related to their ratings of approval. Furthermore, an interaction effect between vignette and facility types was also discovered for caregivers’ approval of sexual activity among residents. Additionally, a strong overall approval rating of older adult sexuality was reported by staff members. The results of this study warrant that further research is necessary regarding older adults’ perception of caregiver bias, as well as further investigation of caregivers’ perceptions of older adults’ sexual activity.