ANSWER

Action Network for Social Work Education and Research

Social Work Research...

...benefits consumers, practitioners, policy-makers, educators, and the general public through examining societal issues such as health care, substance abuse and community violence; family issues, including child welfare and aging; well-being and resiliency; and the strengths and needs of underserved population. Social work research identifies strategies and solutions that enhance individual, family and community well-being by exploring the social, behavioral and environmental connections to health and mental health issues. Social work research occurs on the front-lines in schools, communities, health care facilities and human service agencies, examining the inter-relationships among individuals, families, neighborhoods and social institutions and providing empirical support for best practice approaches to improve service delivery and public policies.

Selected Areas of Social Work Research...

Selected Recent Social Work Research Findings...

Linking Mental Health and Educational Attainment

People coping with mental illnesses are often at a mental disadvantage when seeking higher education degrees because of weakened coping strategies in stressful situations. The Michigan Supported Education Research Program (MSEP) studied 397 participants in a supported education program. Participants were randomly assigned to individual, group, or classroom supported education programs in which they received ongoing psychosocial rehabilitation. After two semesters of treatment, all participants tended to use problem-solving coping strategies more positively, demonstrated increased specificity in educational goals, and enrollment in college or vocational activities more than doubled. The MSEP is now an on-going expanded service in Detroit and Wayne County, Michigan. Collins, M.E., Bybee, D., & Mowbray, C. T. (2000) Effectiveness of supported education for individuals with psychiatric disabilities. Results from an experimental study. Community Mental Health Journal.

Decreasing Youth Violence

The level of youth violence is a growing social problem, challenging workers to implement effective preventive strategies. Supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, the Youth Services Project at Washington University interviewed 796 youth who had received services related to juvenile violence. Structured interviews measured variables related to violent behavior, exposure to violence, neighborhoods, schools, family, peers, traumatic experience, and alcohol and drug use. The results indicate that both environmental and behavioral variables are directly related to violent behavior. Thus, it supports the need to develop preventive ecological services that focus on all social domains including the individual, family, peers, and school. Williams, J. H., Stiffman, A. R., O'Neal, J. L. (March 1998). Violence among urban African American youths: An analysis of environmental and behavioral risk factors. Youth Service Project: Washington University.

Building Economic Self-Sufficiency

Social work research supports the creation of a progressive matched savings program for the poor through individual savings accounts (IDA's). IDA data collected through an "American Dream Demonstration" showed that in 14 IDA programs, 1,326 individual participants saved an average of $33 per month. With an average matching rate of 2:1, each participant accumulated resources averaging $100 per month. The concept, which promotes savings and investment among low-income persons, was incorporated into the 1996 federal welfare reform law. Sherraden, M., Johnson, L., Clancy, M., Beverly, S., Schreiner, M., Zhan, M., Curley, J. (January 2000). Saving patterns in IDA programs; Downpayments on the Americans dream policy demonstration, a national demonstration of individual development accounts. St. Louis: Center for Social Development, Washington University.

More social work research is needed to explore...

Prepared by:
Institute for the Advancement of Social Work Research
750 First Street, NE Suite 700, Washington, DC 20002-4241
(202) 336-8385 | iaswr@naswdc.org | www.iaswresearch.org

ACTION NETWORK FOR SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION AND RESEARCH (ANSWER)
A Coalition of the
Association for Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors
Council on Social Work Education
Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Education
Institute for the Advancement of Social Work Research
National Association of Deans and Directors of Schools of Social Work
National Association of Social Workers
Society for Social Work and Research