Suchergebnisse

There are two purposes to this article. The first is to update the science of social work framework. The second is to use recent discussions on the nature of realist science and on social work science to propose a definition of social work as an integrative scientific discipline that complements its definition as a profession.

Social workers provide more social services to populations across the life span than any other human service profession, including psychiatry, nursing, and psychology. The scientific methodologies and the scientific knowledge relevant to social services have expanded dramatically in the last 30 years. Using the two indicators of the total number of journals and the impact factors of those journals, it would appear that social work's contribution to that expanding scientific knowledge base has been relatively limited. The purpose of this article is to examine the relationship between social work and science and to propose the outlines of a science of social work that intends to serve as a catalyst for shaping social work into a scientific discipline.

Advocating for the use of model-derived specifications in the monitoring of program implementation, this article presents the model-guided method. The method provides a test of the adequacy of a program's implementation, and its application to the evaluation of a community support program for the chronically mentally ill is presented. A procedure for field testing the reliability and validity of a monitoring instrument is outlined, and recommendations for using the model-guided method in other field applications are offered.

Victims and perpetrators of wife and child abuse are often not identified in treatment settings. The author offers strategies for detecting abuse in the clinical environment. Psychological and interactive indicators are emphasized, and the contexts of detection are discussed.

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to examine the cross-ethnic construct validity of the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI). Method: The sample consisted of 1,166 individuals diagnosed with severe and persistent mental illness who were receiving treatment in community-based mental health programs. Multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis was used to test measurement invariance of the BSI's second-order factor model across three ethnic groups (African Americans, Caucasians, and Latinos). Results: The data supported the configural invariance of the BSI's second-order factor model as well as the full metric invariance and the partial metric invariance. Conclusions: The present study presented substantial empirical evidence for the construct validity of the BSI's second-order factor model across the three ethnic groups.

Foreword / Marilyn Flynn -- Preface / John Brekke and Jeane Anastas -- Acknowledgements -- Current context and the realist frame -- The science in social work roundtables : context, content, process / Susan Stone and Jerry Floersch -- The realist frame : scientific realism and critical realism / John Brekke, Jeane Anastas, Jerry Floersch, and Jeffrey Longhofer -- The foundations of social work science -- Science and identity in social work / John Brekke P -- Defining a social work science : its nature and consequences / John Brekke -- Social work science in the context of social work ideas : social work science and grand challenges / Rowena Fong and Edwina Uehara -- Values-informed research and research-informed values / Jeffrey Longhofer and Jerry Floersch -- Theory in social work science / Susan P. Kemp and Gina Miranda Samuels P -- Who knows? : critical realism, philosophy of mind, embodiment, and the science of social work / Jeane Anastas -- Essential issues in social work science -- Science and social work practice : client-provider relationships as an active ingredient promoting client change / Mary Bunn and Jeanne Marsh -- Rigor and relevance in social work science / Lawrence A. Palinkas -- Tools and training to support social work as an integrative science / Paula S. Nurius -- Concluding thoughts -- Concluding and commencing thoughts / Jeane Anastas and John Brekke.