Suchergebnisse

• Summary: Evidence-based practice (EBP) has been gaining acceptance and momentum in the social services professions. As evidence related to specific programs and interventions mount, social service practitioners and organizations around the world have increasingly begun to implement evidence-based programs as a strategy for creating better outcomes for children, families, and adults. Unfortunately, the science of evaluating efficacious and effective programs and interventions has far outpaced the science of implementing them. A gap exists between what we know works and being able to utilize what works in practice. This article will examine the challenges facing social service organizations in implementing evidence-based programs and explore an organizational theory to address those challenges. • Findings: The implementation of EBPs has proven to be a complex and challenging process, with organizational factors coming to the forefront as important in bridging the gap between science and service. The complexity of translating what we know from research into practice requires an organizing theory to help guide implementation efforts in the context of an organization. • Applications : This article proposes the use of a theoretical framework, the learning organization, by social service organizations. By transforming social service organizations into learning organizations, social service organizations will be able to more effectively meet the challenges of implementing evidence-based programs and function as a bridge, rather than a barrier, between science and service.

Purpose: This study's aim is to review and synthesize the scientific evidence for financial capability interventions that combine financial education and financial products and services to affect financial behavior. Method: A systematic review process was used to search for, screen, and extract data from relevant studies. Following descriptive analysis, we calculated effect sizes. Results: After excluding duplicates, non-relevant and ineligible reports, this review included 24 unique studies. This review identified several different types of previously evaluated financial capability interventions. Few interventions were evaluated by more than one study that measured the same or similar outcomes. Therefore, evidence is sparse about whether financial capability interventions improved participants' financial behaviors and/or outcomes. Conclusion: While each type of financial capability intervention has a unique evidence base, this lack of evidence across financial capability interventions points to the need to develop a more definitive evidence base for financial capability interventions about the financial outcomes.

Objective A systematic review was conducted to examine effects of indicated interventions to reduce symptoms of secondary traumatic stress (STS) experienced by mental health workers. Method Systematic review methods were employed to search, retrieve, select, and analyze studies that met study inclusion criteria. Results Over 4,000 citations were reviewed, 159 full-text reports were screened, and two studies were fully coded and determined to be ineligible. No studies met criteria for inclusion in this review. Discussion There is compelling evidence of psychological effects of working with trauma victims; however, no rigorous evidence meeting eligibility criteria was found to inform how to intervene most effectively with mental health workers who experience symptoms of STS. While it is important to provide effective interventions to helpers who may be experiencing symptoms related to secondary trauma, it seems apparent that there is yet more we need to do in order to advance efforts in evaluating the outcomes of practices currently being used and under development.

Objective: This study compared the effects of direct child–parent interventions to the effects of child-focused interventions on anxiety outcomes for children with anxiety disorders. Method: Systematic review methods and meta-analytic techniques were employed. Eight randomized controlled trials examining effects of family cognitive behavior therapy compared to individual or group child-only therapy met criteria. Results: The overall mean effect of parent–child interventions was 0.26, 95% confidence interval [0.05, 0.47], p < .05, a small but positive and significant effect, favoring child–parent interventions. Results of the heterogeneity analysis were not significant ( Q = 8.08, df = 7, p > .05, I2 = 13.41). Discussion: Parent–child interventions appear to be more effective than child-focused individual and group cognitive behavioral therapy in treating childhood anxiety disorders. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

Abstract
This photovoice study explores the experiences of adaptive coping and safety amongst adults with co-occurring post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorder (SUD). Participants (n = 6) were purposively sampled from Seeking Safety groups at a community mental health centre in the United States of America. Participants identified primarily as women (83 per cent), white (50 per cent) and had a mean age of 42 years (standard deviation = 11). Data were gathered through individual photo-elicitation interviews. Through reflexive thematic analysis, the authors generated five themes related to coping safely with distress: (1) similar to other views on mental health recovery, the process of learning to cope with distress was framed as a journey; (2) participants cited several behavioural and meaning-making strategies for coping with distress; (3) feelings of agency were promoted through mastery of wellness skills; (4) healthy personal and professional relationships contributed to positive growth and use of adaptive coping strategies; and (5) participants' social and physical environments greatly impacted perceptions of safety. Findings provide new evidence on the range of adaptive coping strategies persons with SUD and PTSD employ to realise feelings of safety and the assets relationships and communities can provide to support post-traumatic growth and recovery.

Purpose: This systematic review examined the effects of tax-time saving interventions that promote saving with tax refunds from relevant experimental or quasi-experimental studies of interventions aimed toward low- and moderate-income adults delivered when filing U.S. income taxes. Method: A systematic review process was used to search for published and unpublished studies from sources through September 2021. Two reviewers screened studies, extracted data and assessed risk of bias, and effects on savings rate and amount were synthesized using robust variance estimation. Results: This review included 14 unique studies. Five studies reporting 13 effect sizes for savings amount found a small, statistically significant effect ( d  =  0.06, 95% CI [0.05, 0.08]). Nine studies reporting 35 effect sizes found no statistically significant effect for savings rate (LOR =  4.11, 95% CI [0.42, 40.44]). Discussion: Results suggest some evidence that tax-time savings can be a relatively simple method for increasing the amount low- to moderate-income adults save.

Objectives: This study examined the effects of Check & Connect (C&C) on the attendance, behavior, and academic outcomes of at-risk youth in a field-based effectiveness trial. Method: A multisite randomized block design was used, wherein 260 primarily Hispanic (89%) and economically disadvantaged (74%) students were randomized to treatment or control conditions within 14 urban middle and high schools. The social service organization Communities In Schools implemented C&C in each of the schools, and the effects were compared to those of typical Communities In Schools services. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to account for the nested or random school-level effects when modeling student-level responses to the intervention. Results: Controlling for pretest performance and all relevant student- and school-level characteristics, C&C was significantly related to improvements in academic performance and reductions in disciplinary referrals. No significant effects were found for attendance. Conclusions: C&C is a promising intervention to improve outcomes for at-risk youth in school settings. Application to social work practice and research are discussed.

There exists significant variation in religious expression, and a growing body of research suggests the importance of examining this variation among emerging adults vis-à-vis involvement in antisocial and high-risk behaviors. Drawing from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH; N = 19,312) and the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC; N = 2,721), latent profile analysis and multinomial regression are employed to examine the relationships between latent religiosity classes, antisocial behavior, substance use, and substance use disorders. Results revealed four-class solutions for both the NSDUH and NESARC samples. Emerging adults classified as "publicly and privately devoted" were substantially less likely to be involved in a broad array of risk behaviors and to meet criteria for substance use disorders. Findings suggest the protective effect of religiosity finds its most powerful expression primarily among the minority of emerging adults most profoundly committed to religious life.