Browsing by Author "Robbins, Susan P."
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Item Banking on the American Dream: A Quantitative Study of Determinants of Latino Immigrants’ Bank Account Use in Houston, Texas, United States of America(2018-05) Barros Lane, Liza; Robbins, Susan P.; Jones, Eric; Berger Cardoso, Jodi; Pritzker, SuzanneFor most people in the United States, the financial system constrains financial opportunities through access to the credit system (Levine, 2005). The credit system allows individuals--who do not have enough capital--to purchase homes, transportation, and obtain higher education, which are activities necessary for economic development (Allen et al., 2012). Owning a bank account is an important first step in engagement with the financial industry. However, percentages of unbanked Latino immigrants in the United States are high and range between 37% (Rhine & Green, 2006) and 44% (Perry, 2008). Two frameworks, the financial capability model and the Focus Theory of Normative Conduct (Cialdini et al., 1990), were used to guide this exploratory study. The Focus Theory of Normative Conduct subdivides social influence into descriptive norms, or typical patterns of behaviors, and injunctive norms, or moral rules of conduct. Data was collected at Houston area agencies and online. Questionnaires assessed financial knowledge, attitudes towards banks, and descriptive and injunctive influence in a sample of 130 Latino immigrants. Half of the sample was comprised of undocumented immigrants, and 28.5% did not own bank accounts. The data was analyzed using logistic regression, and social network analysis variables were included in the logistic regression. Backward stepwise logistic regression was conducted to determine the model with the best fit. Results revealed that attitudes towards banks, financial knowledge, and descriptive influence were predictive of bank account ownership. Social networks may be used to engage first-generation Latino immigrants to the financial mainstream.Item Building, Maintaining, and Assessing Trusted Influence: A Grounded Theory of Clinical Social Workers on Interprofessional Behavioral Health Teams(2019-05) Kimbrough, Hannah Ashley Davis; Robbins, Susan P.; Brown, C. Brené; Bromfield, Nicole F.The intention of this qualitative study was to generate a theory, grounded in data, about the lived experiences of Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs) employed on interprofessional teams in behavioral health settings. Although much has been written and discussed about interprofessional teams, there is still a gap in understanding the perspective of LCSWs working on these teams in behavioral health. Adjusted conversational interviews were conducted with twenty-two LCSWs employed on interprofessional teams in behavioral health settings. The main concern that surfaced from the interviews was the need to develop trusted influence within the team in order to fully serve their clients and achieve the obligations of their role. The research participants resolved this main concern through the social process of Building, Maintaining, and Assessing Trusted Influence. Building, Maintaining, and Assessing Trusted Influence is composed of four circular strategies that work in tandem including: 1) clarifying value and role, 2) building trust and connection, 3) applying context agility and 4) expanding influence. Each strategy is illustrated by a basic social process of behaviors that support and inhibit one’s ability to develop trusted influence within a team. Building, Maintaining, and Assessing Trusted Influence has implications for not only social work education, practice, and policy, but also any profession where one may work on a team made up of various disciplines.Item Capping Back: A Grounded Theory on African American Adolescent Males and Emotional Self Protection(2015-05) Lachapelle, Alicia Renee; Robbins, Susan P.; Brown, C. Brené; Narendorf, Sarah C.This qualitative study sought to generate a theory grounded in data to conceptualize the main concern of African American male adolescents about their educational experiences and how they resolve this main concern. There has been a proliferation of studies that attempted to address variables that are essential to the academic success of African American male adolescents. However, few of these studies have addressed the main concern that these adolescents have regarding their own educational experiences. To discover the main concern of African American male adolescents and its resolution, adjusted conversational interviewing was used. A purposive sample consisted of 17 African American male adolescents. A theoretical sample consisted of 8 adults who were either African American male college students, parents of African American male adolescents or youth program workers. A grounded theory analysis of the interviews revealed that the main concern was to protect self-worth and the freedom to explore authenticity when experiencing emotional vulnerability. Participants resolved this main concern by connecting with loved ones, friends, and supportive adults. The main concern and its resolution resulted in the development of the theory, Capping Back: A grounded theory on African American adolescent males’ emotional self-protection. Capping Back illustrates how participants, upon experiencing emotional vulnerability, are prompted to protect their self-worth and/or their freedom to develop authenticity. The subsequent protective responses are influenced by relationships with loved ones, friends and supportive adults. This theory holds practice and policy implications for Social Workers as well as educators who work with African American male adolescents.Item Guest Editorial-Social Justice in Social Work Practice and Education(University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work, 2016) Robbins, Susan P.Editorial for volume 12 of Perspectives on Social Work, by journal editor Susan P. Robbins, Ph.D, LCSW.Item Health, Wellness, and Quality of Life Satisfaction among Persons Receiving Medication-Assisted Treatment(2018-05) Patrick, Rhonda G.; Robbins, Susan P.; Rubin, Allen; Parrish, Danielle E.Purpose This study explores the health, wellness, and quality of life (QoL) of opiate-dependent individuals who are receiving medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder. The study assesses longitudinal improvement of QoL and the influence of demographic, psychosocial, drug, and health-related variables on individuals' QoL. Methods This is a quantitative longitudinal study of adult patients enrolled in two outpatient opioid treatment programs (OTP) located in Texas. The patients were receiving medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder. The study includes analysis of patient psychosocial and demographic information collected at the time of the patient’s initial enrollment in the program and analysis of QoL assessments collected from patients annually in 2013, 2015, 2016, and 2017. Results Although there were some small long-term changes in the six dimensions of the patients’ QoL, these changes appeared to have limited practical or clinical significance. Several psychosocial stressors, including anxiety, alcohol use, non-prescribed opioid use, being physically abused as a child, and childhood exposure to substance use had statistically significant effects on patient QoL, however, these effects appeared to have limited practical or clinical significance. Conclusions Ultimately, this study has revealed that individuals receiving medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder need psychosocial supports throughout the entirety of their treatment, regardless of the length of the episode. A satisfactory QoL is mediated by psychological well-being. Consequently, a more holistic approach to MAT is recommended, which goes beyond pharmaceutical maintenance and medical care to include special attention for psychological complaints and trauma.Item Intergroup Threat and Minority Student Suspension Risk: The Relation of School District Outcomes with Community Factors.(2021-05) Minter, Anthony Hall; Robbins, Susan P.; Pritzker, Suzanne; Narendorf, Sarah C.; Chin, Wynne W.Students of color experience disproportionate risk of suspension due to racial-ethnic bias in school disciplinary decision making. The present study employees Partial Least Squares Path Modeling to investigate suspension disproportions through the lens of Integrated Threat Theory (ITT). The study finds significant mediation relations between community- and district-level indicative of inter-group threat. Results demonstrate the effects of community structure on school district disciplinary outcomes. Results also support the identification of school district structures with the ITT constructs of symbolic and realistic threat. Results are applied to identify opportunities for research, policy, and school social work practice.Item Knowledge of Social Work Roles on Interdisciplinary Primary Care Teams: An Advanced Mixed Methods Study(2018-05) Bakos-Block, Christine River; Robbins, Susan P.; Narendorf, Sarah C.; Hart, John M.Driven by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA, 2016), new programs like Healthcare Transformation Initiatives are being adopted by healthcare systems in the United States to improve patient health outcomes. Social workers are uniquely suited to address the psychosocial needs that often get overlooked in primary care. This study used an advanced mixed methods, qualitative + qualitative + quantitative design to understand the roles fo the social worker on the integrated primary care team and how knowledge of social work roles is related to interdisciplinary collaboration. A scale developed in the qualitative part of the second phase of this study was used to quantitatively measure knowledge of social work roles. This study identified a positive relationship between increased knowledge of social work roles and interdisciplinary collaboration. This study also found that as knowledge of social work roles increased, satisfaction with collaboration increased. These findings establish the importance of role knowledge on interdisciplinary collaboration. Additionally, as social work roles are diverse and often defined by setting, this study promotes the need for further research regarding the various functions of social workers in primary care. It further suggests that social work is in a unique position to make its mark on integrated primary care and further redefine its role on interdisciplinary healthcare teams.Item LEARNING TO CONFRONT STRUCTURAL RACISM: AN INTERPRETIVE PHENOMENOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL WORK STUDENTS’ EXPERIENCES(2023-12) Kennedy, Priscilla P; Robbins, Susan P.; Lea, Charles H., III; Walton, Quenette L.This dissertation study used Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), guided by the Critical Transformative Potential Development (CTPD) framework, to explore how eight MSW students at a large Southeastern university made meaning of structural racism after participating in a course titled Social Work and Mass Incarceration: Policy, Practice, and Research. The course design incorporated problem-posing instructional strategies; critical, engaged, and abolitionist pedagogies; and the study of mass incarceration as a lens to identify the structural linkages that perpetuate oppressive systems. Data collection included individual semi-structured interviews and a review of participants’ completed course assignments. After initial data analysis and interpretation, member-checking interviews with five participants confirmed the researcher’s interpretations. Three group experiential themes emerged: (a) positionality as a starting point, (b) thriving in a brave space, and (c) critically reflecting about contradictions in social work education and practice. Findings also indicated that participants experienced significant perspective change, heightened critical consciousness, and expanded knowledge of how structural forces work to maintain privilege and oppression. Findings illuminated students’ perceptions about the contradictory dimensions of social work education, including ideological differences over social work curricula, pedagogies, classroom dynamics, administration, and the underlying mission and vision of graduate programs. The study contributes to social work education scholarship by adding insight to how MSW students make meaning of structural racism and cultivate critical consciousness. Based on the results of this study, there is a need to develop, implement, and formally evaluate course content and pedagogies that guide students to critique, challenge, and disrupt oppressive systems.Item The Needs and Experiences of Justice-Involved Young Women(2021-05) Menon, Sujeeta Elizabeth; Robbins, Susan P.; Lea, Charles H., III; Parrish, Danielle E.The dissertation includes three studies with a focused analysis on the needs and experiences of Justice-Involved Young Women (JIYW). The first two studies utilize a cross sectional data collected from the Positive Achievement Change Tool (PACT) (n=365). The first study, “How are they different? An exploration of family and school factors among post-adjudicated young women” explores the associations between family and school factors, and their relationship to criminal risk among JIYW using multiple regression analyses. After controlling for age, the model (Family incarceration history, Running away from home, School suspension or expulsion, Abuse, Neglect and a Special learning need) emerged as significant predictors of criminal risk (p= <.001). However, only family incarceration and special education needs (learning, behavioral or ADHD/ADD) were predictive of higher levels of criminal risk for Black JIYW, while running away from home was predictive for Hispanic JIYW. The second study, “Risk and protective factors among post-adjudicated young women with high criminal risk: An exploratory cross-sectional analysis” explores the risk and protective correlates of criminal risk among JIYW with high risk using an exploratory model building method with logistic regression analyses. The results revealed that young women with high criminal risk were more likely to have had a history of mental health problems, a history of running away from home, and were younger in age, based on the best model selected (χ2 = 51.904, df = 8, p<.001). The third study, “They see me as a bad kid”: Public School and Correctional Educational Experiences on the Self-perception of Justice-Involved Young Women” utilized a secondary dataset (n=14) to examine the self-perceptions of a sample of 10 JIYW, two probation officers and two correctional teachers from a youth correctional facility. A qualitative thematic analysis using Symbolic Interactionism and Institutional Embeddedness revealed three themes, (1) " I would pay attention and I would still get them wrong and feel stupid ", (2) I'm making straight As for the first time", and (3) "They see us as bad kids". All three studies elucidate unique experiences, across risk level and race/ethnicity, which calls for gender-specific, culturally sensitive and trauma-informed intervention for JIYW.Item What's Race Got To Do With It? A Cannabis Industry Policy Analysis Using Critical Race Theory(2023-12) Mohr-Avitia, Gabriella; Robbins, Susan P.; Lechuga-Peña, Stephanie; Borja, Sharon; Maschi, TinaThe evolution from cannabis prohibition to a lucrative business opportunity presents a complex social landscape in the United States. As of October 2023, 24 states have fully legalized recreational and medical marijuana. This shift has prompted agencies like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to argue that marijuana legalization is a racial justice issue since racialized communities have suffered the most from marijuana prohibition. Using Critical Race Theory and a qualitative content analysis methodology of 23 written policies from California, Nevada, and Washington state, this study examined the role of race in the written policies. The final 23 policies analyzed were chosen after data immersion. Thematic coding was used in Dedoose software The findings revealed that all three states (1) were written from a colorblind perspective, (2) gave power to either an appointed board of the state itself, (3) required financial and social capital to have access to marijuana business licenses, (4) Washington state compared to the other states had written action to serve the community, and (5) Nevada used problematic language in their policy that may hinder access compared to the other states. Findings indicate that colorblind policies may perpetuate racial inequities in the cannabis industry. More research on other states and racial equity needs to be conducted to deepen understanding of racial equity and the cannabis industry.