Research Guides: Scholars Symposium 2025: Social Work

Impact of Short-term Respite for Crossroads Hospice Caregivers

by Anna Hudspeath (Undergraduate), Kendra Tolley (Undergraduate)

Research on the impact of short respite care for caregivers is limited and contradicting. This study will seek to analyze the impact of short-term respite care on role stress for patient caregivers at Crossroads Hospice. The study will utilize a pre–test–post–test design to determine the levels of stress on caregivers prior to and following respite care. We will utilize purposive sampling by selecting primary caregivers for terminally ill patients who reside in Dayton, OH, and are affiliated with Crossroads services. The surveys will be completed virtually and documented verbatim. The purpose of the survey is to determine a change in role stress when respite care is utilized. We expect to find that short-term respite care has an impact on the stress associated with the caregiver role.

Mental Health Treatment with Refugees and Asylum Seekers

by Madelyn Ziegler (Undergraduate)

America is seeing a rise in refugees and asylum seeker (RAS) population, with a reported 100,000 refugees being resettled into America in 2024. With this growing population there is also the growing need of understanding the barriers that RAS may face. This study aims to examine the prevalence of mental health concerns among the resettled, while working to identify what approach to treatment will have the best outcome using a quantitative approach. Specifically, this project will seek an answer to the question: “Does the treatment approach at Catholic Social Services refugee resettlement improve client experience outcome?” This study will utilize a non-equivalent control group design, collecting data through both a standardized mental health assessment tool, along with a pre-existing client survey form. There will be two samples of RAS clients, first will be a group who did not have a specifically targeted approach to mental health, and another group where there will be a targeted treatment approach. The client survey forms will allow for both groups to share their experiences. There will also be data collected throughout the clients program enrollments that tracks employment, income, class attendance, and english proficiency. This data should give insight into the outcome of the client's ability to integrate into American society and become self-sufficient. The treatment that will be offered to the second group will be a culturally responsive and trauma informed approach to each individual's lived experience. The findings of this study will provide quantitative evidence based insights to inform the policy makers, employees, and community partners of ways that they can work to ensure a positive integration experience into American society.

Bridging the Gaps: Uniting Community Health and Schools on Fighting Chronic Absenteeism

by Audrey Mohr (Undergraduate)

This study investigates a school and community behavioral health unification program's potential effectiveness in improving attendance rates among chronically truant middle school students at Springfield Middle School. In Springfield Middle School, 25% of students were chronically absent in the 2023-2024 school year (Ohio Department of Education, 2024). Chronic absenteeism remains a significant barrier to academic success, particularly for at-risk youth. This program seeks to bridge the gap between educational institutions and community behavioral health resources, providing students access to essential support systems. By utilizing local mental health services and trained care coordinators through Harbor, a behavioral health clinic, the initiative addresses the various obstacles to attendance—such as mental health issues, socio-economic challenges, and inadequate family support. Using a pretest-posttest methodology with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), we will assess changes in student engagement and overall well-being before and after the program duration of a school year. We will also mark the participants’ attendance before and after the clinic. These results offer insights into the effectiveness of integrated behavioral health interventions in reducing truancy and enhancing the educational experience for students facing significant challenges.

Influence of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) on Substance Use Disorder (SUD)

by Brook Fetter (Undergraduate), Emily Hamstra (Undergraduate)

This proposal will seek to analyze whether Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) increases the probability of problematic substance use for women in Springfield. This is important because research on the influence of IPV on substance use is minimal. There is known to be a correlation between SUD and IPV (Ogden et al., 2022). We will be using Simple Random Sampling on Project Woman’s database in Osnium of clients serviced after 2010. To determine association and time order, we will be running a secondary ex post facto quantitative case study at Project Woman. Using Logistic Regression, we will be determining the independent prediction between our variables of substance use and the danger assessment score. We will be conducting research into assessing the patterns and prevalence between IPV and problematic substance use. We expect to find that IPV will increase the probability of problematic substance use.

Does the Salvation Army Anti-Human Trafficking Program Increase a Trafficking Victim’s Ability to Function in Society as Measured by the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale?

by Christina Borman (Undergraduate), Pablo Marquez (Undergraduate)

Human trafficking has detrimental consequences on the victim’s ability to function normally in society. Salvation Army takes on the challenge of assisting victims through programs that rehabilitate them to be functional in their societies. We will explore the victim's ability to reintegrate into society by using the Global Assessment of Functioning. The pre-test post-test model will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the Salvation Army’s intervention program for Human Trafficking victims. Fifty victims will complete the survey before and after 3 months of utilizing the Salvation Army’s Anti-Human Trafficking program. We predict that the Salvation Army’s human trafficking interventions aid in a victim’s ability to function in society.

Faith Based Mentorship as a Protective Factor for Juvenile Delinquency

by Audrey Nelson (Undergraduate), Adrienne Erslan (Undergraduate)

This research proposal aims to evaluate the impact of faith based mentorship programs on juvenile delinquents and rates of recidivism at Clark County Juvenile Detention Center (CCJDC). The study will utilize a quasi-experimental simple time series research design to determine whether or not involvement in a faith based mentorship program in Springfield (YoungLife) reduces the likelihood that an adolescent will re-offend. Adolescents will all experience the treatment upon release from the detention center. Progress will be monitored through both qualitative and quantitative measures including a yearly survey and crime report. The data collected will then be compared to already existing data from the last five years of juveniles detained in Clark County. We will consider the length of time that both groups were able to refrain from committing a crime as well as the severity of their crime. Ultimately, the aim of our research is to discover a potential protective factor to reduce recidivism for juveniles who have been incarcerated.

Effects of Long-Term Out-of-Home Care on Youth Mental Health

by Karisa Reynolds (Undergraduate), Madison Glenning (Undergraduate)

This study will examine the effects of out-of-home care on youths’ mental health when they leave care. In particular we will be looking at the correlation between length of stay in out-of-home care and the prevalence of mental health diagnoses in youth who age out of care. We will use a descriptive, quasi-experimental, ex-post facto comparison design to assess the prevalence of diagnoses of depression, anxiety, and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among youth through a survey. We will then use SPSS to analyze the data for measures of central tendency and frequency distribution before we run a Pearson’s R correlation test to assess the correlation between the variables. We expect to find that the longer a youth spends in out-of-home care the more likely they are to receive a mental health diagnosis after they age out of care.

Examining the Benefits of Mobile Crisis Response for Xenia and Fairborn

by Grace Darr (Undergraduate), Hannah Shirley (Undergraduate)

TCN Behavioral Health serves five counties and over 8,000 individuals yearly. One of the greatest needs that the communities they serve have at this moment is the amount of strain on emergency response teams. This study examines if utilizing a mobile crisis response team from TCN Behavioral Health minimizes the usage of emergency service resources for mental health crises in the Fairborn and Xenia areas. For this study, we will be completing a quasi-experimental ex-post facto quantitative review of data on TCN Behavioral Health’s Mobile Crisis Response to mental health crises and their interaction with local law enforcement.

Evaluating the Efficacy of the RIMHCO Refugee & Immigrant Mental Health Training for Mental Health Care Practitioners.

by Katelyn Baker (Undergraduate), Katharyn Bell (Undergraduate)

As the number of immigrants and refugees in our country rises, so does the need for adequate, competent mental health care intervention. However, there is also a need to provide suitable training to equip mental health care practitioners to provide such care. Community Refugee and Immigration Services provides training to equip practitioners to feel confident in their ability to intervene with clients in a culturally competent and humble manner. This research study aims at answering the question: To what extent does the RIMHCO Refugee and Immigrant Mental Health Training improve social workers’ confidence in providing culturally competent intervention with refugee and immigrant clients? This will be a pilot study assessing a sample of social workers who have attended the training, and will be performed using a one group pretest-posttest design to evaluate program effectiveness, which will rely on cultural competence and practitioner confidence self-surveys. We anticipate that the training program will increase the practitioners’ confidence in providing culturally competent care for their immigrant and refugee clients.

Examining Why Foster Parents Disrupt Placements

by Makayla Railton (Undergraduate)

Problem: Foster parents at CHOICES Inc. hold the ability to submit a thirty-day notice whenever they feel the placement is not a good fit. Many studies have indicated how placement instability negatively impacts the well-being of a child and adds to the trauma they have already endured (Wurth, M. (2023), Mishra, A. A., Schwab-Reese, L. M., & Murfree, L. V. (2020)), yet there is limited research done on what causes a foster parent to choose to disrupt a placement. Studying the factors that may lead to foster parents submitting a thirty-day notice will allow Choices to better prevent unnecessary failed placements and increase placement stability in the lives of foster youth. Research Question: What factors influenced foster parents to disrupt a placement at CHOICES Inc.? Design/Sampling: Using a nonexperimental static group comparison design, we will naturally split the cases at CHOICES Inc. into two groups, foster parents who have disrupted a placement and foster parents who have never disrupted a placement, in order to compare these two groups and run a descriptive analysis of the sample. We would then be able to run a logistic regression test to predict the probability of a foster parents submitting a thirty-day notice depending on the information that is gathered during the foster parent licensing process. The samples will be determined by systematic sampling by choosing every 5th foster family that has had a placement at CHOICES Inc. starting with the most current and going back to the previous years until there is a total sample population of 100 cases.

Abortions Affects on Women's Mental Health

by Grace Nelson (Undergraduate)

Problem: This research proposal aims to evaluate women who have experienced mental health issues and trauma after an abortion. Most research suggests that there is no connection between abortion and trauma or mental health issues. (Klimiuk, Kot, Majcherek, Kubiak, Balwicki, 2024). However, in pregnancy resource centers and counseling groups women are sharing their symptoms of depression, regret, and PTSD. (Rousset, 2012). Unfortunately, there is very little substantial research done pertaining to mental health and trauma long term after completing an abortion. Expanding evaluations of women who have experienced an abortion gives professionals the ability to recognize the abortion as a triggering point. Research Question: Do women seen at Elizabeth's New Life Center who have had an abortion have more complex issues compared with the general population in the Miami Valley? Method: This hybrid qualitative and quantitative study will use an explanatory and evaluative approach. This approach will determine if completing an abortion leads to increased mental illnesses and trauma amongst women in the Miami Valley area. Collection and Analysis: Data will be analyzed using SPSS to perform a paired-sample T-test to assess the differences between the control and experimental group. Expected Findings: I expect to find women who have completed an abortion experience a higher severity of mental health issues and trauma compared to women who did not have an abortion.

Academic Performance of Students with ODD at South Community Who Have Supportive Student-Teacher Relationships

by Jessica Wiebe (Undergraduate), Amelia Hofford (Undergraduate)

A substantial amount of research has been conducted on Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) in school-aged children and teens, delineating detrimental and beneficial factors to the symptomology of children with the diagnosis. What is lacking, however, is research on how contributing factors influence these children’s symptomology when studied together. Current treatments for ODD include parental involvement, behavioral interventions, and supportive teacher-student relationships (Ghosh et al., 2017). ODD negatively affects school performance and creates challenges for teachers often unequipped to handle them (Barker et al., 2022). Research question: “Do supportive student-teacher relationships improve school performance for children diagnosed with ODD at South Community?” Design/Sample: We will use a cross-sectional, descriptive explanatory research design. School-aged children ages 7-17 with an ODD diagnosis enrolled in the Youth Positive Health Program at South Community and the teachers of those children at their respective schools will complete the sample. Collection/Analysis: At the end of each student’s respective school year in May, each student will be administered the QTSA and TSS-21 questionnaires, and the teachers will receive SNAP-IV and the SDQ. Descriptive statistics and a Spearman Rho test will be run through SPSS software to analyze data collected through the questionnaires. Expected findings: We expect to find a difference between students with ODD who have supportive relationships with their teachers and those that do not to have higher grades at the end of the academic year.

Substance Use Recovery & Obesity Prevention

by Anna Farley (Undergraduate), Vivian Neal (Undergraduate)

Researchers have documented the existence of an association between obesity and substance use disorder recovery (Vergés, 2013). However, the efficacy of interventions at varying levels of treatment require more extensive examination in order to inform best practice procedures targeting longevity of weight management related coping skills. A longitudinal cross-sectional study of the fixed sample panel design variety will be conducted, using participants selected from McKinley Hall's (located in Springfield, OH) outpatient (OP) and intensive outpatient (IOP) programs. Statistical analysis of the variables using multiple-regression will help to determine the impact of the treatment level intensity on participants’ weight management ability. The screening process used to select participants will involve survey responses inquiring about communication skills, willingness to participate, demographic information, informed consent, relapse potential (as measured by number of times returned to treatment), and self reported experiences of past intense weight fluctuation. It is hypothesized that longer, more intensive interventions will produce more resilience in clients regarding weight management. Further research is needed to direct agencies such as McKinley Hall to establish an effective level of intensity for interventions aimed at establishing long-lasting healthy habits.

Student Perceptions of the Safe Dates Curriculum in Relation to Exposure to Harmful Dating Behaviors in the Media

by Olasia Moss (Undergraduate)

This study will analyze student perceptions of the Safe Dates curriculum in public schools in Green County Ohio using a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design. The schools will be chosen based on a non-random sampling strategy. They will be selected based on where they are located (rural, suburban, urban) and class size to maximize participation. Each class period teaching health at the high school level will make up the participants of this study. The data will be analyzed by running descriptive statistics as well as Spearman Rho to assess the relationship between exposure and perceptions through SPSS. I anticipate findings will indicate students who have higher levels of exposure to harmful dating behaviors in media will be more likely to have negative perceptions of the Safe Dates curriculum.