Hip Hop,empowerment, and clinical practice for homeless adults with severe mental illness

This article focuses on the use of a music and empowerment-based group as a vehicle for engagement, and therapeutic, and social-emotional benefits with homeless adults coping with severe mental illness in a shelter setting. The authors present a conceptual framework that includes case illustrations to capture the group process. The group was guided by the MUZUZE Hip Hop and empowerment framework, which is meant to facilitate well-being as evidenced by indicators of social-emotional learning and empowerment-based positive youth development. The authors found that the use of Hip Hop helped foster well-being via pathways of individual and community empowerment. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.     

Validation of the Individual and Community Empowerment Inventory: A Measure of Rap Music Engagement among First-Year College Students

Amid robust debates about the impact of music on the lives of young people, empirically validated measures of music engagement are absent. The present study builds on the construction of the Individual and Community Empowerment (ICE) inventory, a measure to capture different types of empowerment and different types of risk potential from rap music engagement. The scientific intent of the scale development and the present validation study was to test the simultaneous presence of empowerment and risk associated with music engagement and its application to the individual and community. A unique sample existed for the present study in comparison to the original, with the bulk of respondents being first-year college students and White. Results of the present study suggest that the ICE inventory is an effective and comparative measure of risk and empowerment. Major findings about the instrument’s utility were replicated, but results were divergent from original research on certain demographic trends with respect to gender, age, and race/ethnicity. Empowering and risky music engagement scale means were higher among male and younger respondents. White respondents had significantly lower mean scores than all other groups on empowerment scales, and African Americans had lower scores on the individual risk scale than other groups. Each result suggests the need for additional research. The validation of the ICE inventory offers promise for helping to collect, organize, and interpret new data on associations between music engagement and desirable health and well-being outcomes.     

Limit your time,gamble responsibly: setting a time limit (via pop-up message) on an electronic gaming machine reduces time on device

In the current study, we assessed whether undergraduate electronic gaming machine (EGM) gamblers would be more apt to set a time limit and spend less time gambling when asked to consider setting an explicit time limit prior to their gambling session. To this end, participants (N = 43) were randomly assigned to a time limit pop-up condition or control condition, both of which involved gambling on an EGM in a virtual reality (VR) casino. In the time limit pop-up condition, participants were asked (via pop-up message) to consider setting a time limit on play and entering that limit in an available text box prior to commencing play. In the no time limit pop-up condition, participants engaged in play immediately upon accessing the EGM in the VR casino (i.e. they were not exposed to a time limit pop-up message). As predicted, participants who were explicitly asked to consider setting a time limit on their EGM play were significantly more likely to do so and spent less time gambling than those who were not given such instructions. The results provide preliminary support for the contention that setting a time limit on EGM play is an effective responsible gambling strategy.     

Testing the Feasibility of Mobile Audio-Based Recovery Material as an Adjunct to Intensive Outpatient Treatment for Veterans with Substance Abuse Disorders

This pilot study explored the feasibility of mobile media players as a resource to help veterans in recovery for alcohol abuse and dependence disorders. Twenty veterans, enrolled in intensive outpatient treatment at a Veterans Hospital, participated in this study. Participants were provided an iPod loaded with recovery-related audio podcasts, and surveys were conducted before and after the intervention. Participants generally indicated they used the device regularly, thought it was useful and wished they had access to this type of support earlier in their recovery process.     

Notes on Supervision

I am honoured that you wish to include my “Notes on Supervision” in the issue of the Journal dedicated to Miss Parker. Re-reading them calls back the pleasure and stimulation of working with her and those of you who were supervising social work students then, and of being a part of the struggle we all were making to identify problems in field instruction and to overcome them.     

“害怕与专业帮助人员亲近量表”在中美老人研究中的运用

该研究的主要目的是为了探讨不同文化背景下的人们不愿意寻求专业帮助的原因.本研究为中国和美国的社会工作人员、心理咨询师和心理学家提供参考,帮助他们更好地了解服务对象的心理抵触程度,从而根据具体情况采取对策,实施各种有效的干预措施.通过“害怕与专业帮助人员亲近量表”的运用,不仅可以使中国的社会工作者更有效地帮助服务对象,而且可以促进美国的专业人员更好地帮助在美华裔,并将增进中美两国进行跨文化的研究交流与合作.