School of Social Policy & Practice
Founded as one of the nation's earliest schools of social work in the United States, the School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2) has trained social work professionals for over 110 years. In the 21st century, its scope expanded to include public policy and nonprofit leadership as natural extensions of applied social research. Today, SP2 offers masters programs in social work, public policy, and nonprofit leadership; doctoral programs in social welfare and clinical social work, and a wide range of certificate programs and specializations. The school is home to several research centers, including the Center for Carceral Communities, the Center for Guaranteed Income Research, the Center for High Impact Philanthropy, the Center for Social Impact Strategy, the Center for Social Mobility and Prosperity, the Field Center for Children's Policy, Practice and Research, and the Ortner Center on Violence and Abuse. Faculty and graduate work is rooted in social justice, community care, and advancing equity-based policies worldwide.
Search results
Publication Testing an Advance Care Planning Tool for Emerging Adults in Cancer Care: A Patient-Centered Perspective(2025-05-19) Devon CiampaBACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Emerging Adults (18-29 years, EAs) are a unique subgroup within the adolescent and young adult (AYA) oncology population. Studies of advance care planning (ACP) with EAs are scarce, despite this unique period in the lifespan. Theoretical and empirical work suggest developmental tasks of EAs include seeking independence, changes in relationships, and identity exploration. These tasks may conflict with, or be compromised by, the challenges of serious illness making this a vulnerable, yet critical, time to discuss ACP. This study aimed to increase understanding of how EAs interact with ACP and how health professionals can improve care of this population. METHOD: Structured interview data was collected through the study “Study of Voicing My CHOiCES (VMC) as a Tool for Advance Care Planning in Young Adults with Cancer” with 39 EA participants at The John Hopkins Hospital and the National Institutes of Health. English speaking EAs currently in treatment were eligible. Using a thematic content approach, themes addressed the following questions: 1) What do EAs want to focus on in ACP? 2) What are the benefits, burdens, and barriers to ACP with EAs? and (3) How can VMC assist EAs in ACP? FINDINGS: First, EAs requested ways to control their ACP process through more personalized choice. Second, EAs placed importance on the needs of loved ones. Finally, EAs valued a document that used age-appropriate language to learn about ACP and have support in facilitating difficult conversations. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Thirty-seven participants stated that using VMC provided desired control over choices and communication guidance, thus ensuring their preferences would be honored and their loved ones would be cared for. For these EAs facing a life-threatening illness, developmental tension was exacerbated by the loss of newfound independence and freedom of choice. Findings suggest health and mental health professionals might optimally ground resources and assistance with ACP in developmental practice models. Further, EAs need access to trained professionals with age-appropriate tools to facilitate ACP discussions in the dual contexts of significant developmental change and (unexpected) illness and early mortality.Publication We Did What We Could: A Qualitative Study Examining Parent-Child Relationships of Vietnamese American Emerging Adults(2025-05-19) Alyssa VuAs Vietnamese immigrants settled in America, there has been a shift in the mental health needs of subsequent generations of Vietnamese Americans. While many first generation Vietnamese avoided seeking mental health services, subsequent generations of Vietnamese Americans were open to seeking mental health services to explore their experiences as children of immigrants, parent-child relationships, and bicultural identities. Because this population has been rapidly changing and growing, mental health among Vietnamese Americans has become a larger need. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine how parent-child relationships of Vietnamese Americans impact their wellbeing in emerging adulthood. This research further explored the experiences of intergenerational cultural dissonance in this age group. This study consisted of 8 semi-structured interviews with Vietnamese American emerging adults (ages 19-29). Data was analyzed through reflexive Thematic Analysis. Four main themes emerged from the data that contributed to the Vietnamese parent-child dynamic: 1) Vietnamese parenting, 2) stressors and coping mechanisms in adolescence, 3) individuation during emerging adulthood, and 4) coming to terms with parent-child relationships. These themes highlight the experiences of Vietnamese American emerging adults and how they contend their identities and their relationships with their parents. The study underscores the importance of Vietnamese American emerging adults receiving mental health services to build towards a healthier understanding of themselves. Providing culturally responsive family treatment and educating parents on raising bicultural children could improve parent-child relationships. It is necessary to continue to study this population to create evidence based treatments for healthier Vietnamese American families.Publication Providing Support to Women During the Parole Process: A Case Study of an Innovative Program(2025-05-19) Thompson, AprilParole hearings offer hope of leaving prison early and returning to one’s community. Preparing for the hearing is an important endeavor for incarcerated individuals, but information about how to effectively prepare and what to include in a parole packet is often lacking. Further, once granted parole, individuals face multiple challenges during the reentry transition. Despite the need for support and information, few comprehensive resources exist, leaving individuals to navigate complex situations on their own. In 2021, a unique program called PREPARE was launched in Maryland to assist clients with all aspects of parole preparation from packet creation to reentry planning. This qualitative case study offers a description of the PREPARE program informed by review of program documents and interviews with three program advocates. Thematic analysis was used to evaluate data from interviews with six formerly incarcerated women about their experiences working with PREPARE advocates. Findings yielded four main themes: the importance of receiving accurate information, the impact of being treated with respect, the ways feeling prepared for parole hearings increased self-confidence, and the challenges of securing employment and housing upon reentry even with support. This study contributes to the literature on justice-involved women by offering firsthand perspectives from clients involved with an innovative program about what is needed during the parole and reentry process. Having access to accurate information, receiving compassionate support, and on-going connection to advocates were identified as factors supporting success. Clinical implications for social work practice with justice-involved clients focused on empowerment and self-determination are discussed.Publication Roots of Resilience: Perspectives on the Role of Nature in Mental Health & How Representation and Trusted Networks Influence Nature Engagement in South L.A.(2025-05-19) Jennifer L KaluhiokalaniThe benefits of nature contact for mental health are well-documented, including improved mood, executive functioning, and sense of belonging and connection. Nature has been found effective in addressing a spectrum of mental health issues including depression, anxiety, PTSD, and addiction – challenges that can result from or exacerbate problems faced by individuals who live in nature-deprived inner-cities. The importance of integrating effective, culturally relevant interventions into community mental health treatment cannot be understated. Yet significant gaps remain in understanding how populations who have been historically underrepresented in nature and outdoor activity, particularly individuals with mental health or substance use challenges in South Central Los Angeles, perceive, access, and engage with nature. Reflexive thematic analysis of nine semi-structured interviews revealed four key themes: living in South L.A. can be isolating and stressful, nature can be healing, experiences and barriers are socially, culturally, and structurally mediated, and choice, representation, and trusted networks are pathways to engagement. Implications for social work practice emphasize embodied experiential interventions that incorporate nature, such as ecotherapy and expressive arts, alongside trusted others and culturally-responsive providers. Findings support the need for collective healing spaces, community-driven programming, advocacy for systemic policy changes, and treatment approaches that challenge dominant narratives about recovery and healing.Publication Healing in Education: The Impact of the Immigration Journey on Student Mental Health(2025-05) Robles, VanessaImmigrant students who are forced to flee their home countries arrive in the United States with diverse social, emotional, and psychological needs. While existing research identifies the challenges faced by this vulnerable population, there is limited research on the specific interventions provided to immigrant children who are displaying trauma-related symptoms and the impact on these students enrolled in U.S. schools. The study aims to capture a comprehensive understanding of how trauma-related behaviors may manifest in school settings and how they relate to the diagnostic presentation of PTSD in immigrant children. Secondary data was obtained from the National Center for Educational Statistics 2011 Early Childhood Longitudinal Study. The researcher selected data from the teacher reports on externalizing problem behaviors, internalizing problem behaviors, and self-control scores from the Social Skills Rating System (SSRS). A logistical regression analysis was conducted to analyze the relationship between externalizing problem behaviors, internalizing problem behaviors, and self-control in correlation to immigration status. Contrary to existing literature, initial findings revealed no significant statistical differences between immigrant and nonimmigrant students on these variables. However, when examining behavioral changes over time, significant differences emerged. Immigrant students exhibited a greater reduction in externalizing behaviors compared to their nonimmigrant peers, suggesting that behavioral adaptation occurs over time. These findings offer insights into the behavioral development of immigrant students in elementary school settings to guide the development of targeted interventions that promote a more inclusive and supportive educational environment that enhances their academic, social, and emotional well-being.Publication DYSFUNCTIONAL INDIVIDUATION POST EMERGING ADULTHOOD(2025-05-19) Gardner, SusanABSTRACT DYSFUNCTIONAL INDIVIDUATION POST EMERGING ADULTHOOD Susan M Gardner Dr. Shimrit Keddem Dysfunctional individuation describes the maladaptive outcomes for identity, autonomy and relatedness following the separation-individuation processes, which is an iterative developmental process that is initiated by biographical transitions. Identity, autonomy and relatedness are the three domains of individuation. These domains are interrelated and work together to support psychological wellbeing. Minimal research has explored the presentation of dysfunctional individuation for adults after emerging adulthood. This study used qualitative and quantitative methods including descriptive-interpretive analysis to develop knowledge into how adults (N=148) in a US population over the age of 30 describe their identity, autonomy and relatedness, and how these descriptions vary by severity of dysfunctional individuation. Identity, autonomy and relatedness were described through statements related to the participants’ meaning making, outcomes of prior processes, traits and skills. As level of dysfunctional individuation increased, participants tended to offer more negative descriptions of domains, increased statements about domain non-achievement and reported higher numbers of references to maladaptive inter-relatedness amongst the domains. This study validates the continued impact of dysfunctional individuation throughout the life cycle. Clinical understanding of how the domains interact supports focused efforts to select or develop interventions that build on current functional domains, renegotiate maladaptive inter-relatedness of domains, and/or repair dysfunctional domains. Future research should continue to develop insight into the presentation and treatment of dysfunctional individuation across the life cycle. Keywords: Dysfunctional individuation, separation-individuation, identity, autonomy, relatedness, meaning makingPublication Coming to Terms with Our Routes: The Impact of Family Estrangement on Asian American Identity(2025) Sullivan, SuMingEstrangement is a prevalent and understudied phenomenon, particularly in the Asian American diaspora. Research on Asian American families often frames intergenerational conflict as a cultural clash between assimilated youth and unassimilated elders, reinforcing essentialized views of Asian identity and obfuscating the broader sociopolitical contexts in which these relationships unfold. While cultural identity has been widely problematized, “culture” continues to be utilized as a reductive explanation for complex family dynamics. This study used reflexive thematic analysis to examine 30 in-depth interviews with Asian Americans who experienced family estrangement. Analysis focused on how participants discussed family ruptures, particularly the ways in which culture and identity were deployed. Findings highlighted how participants both challenged and reproduced racialized stereotypes, sometimes using essentialized identifications as a protective strategy. This led to the experience of double displacement, whereby essentialization left participants with a sense of belonging nowhere, neither to the U.S., where they were often subjected to the perpetual foreigner stereotype, nor to the Asian American diaspora. Participants engaged in meaning-making and identity reconstruction through transitional (racial) spaces, relationships with peers, therapists, online communities, and creative practices. Implications include the need for culturally attuned, anti-essentialist clinical and methodological approaches that recognize the impact of intergenerational trauma, racialization, and sociopolitical context on family estrangement and identity. The findings suggest that scholars and clinicians need to develop agility and a critical lens to balance honoring and prioritizing felt experiences as they are described while also being willing to challenge rigid identity constructions that unintentionally reify racist stereotypes.Publication EXAMINING THE RELATIONNSHIP BETWEEN DISCRIMINATION, RESILIENCE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING OF SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN HIJABI WOMEN IN THE UNITED STATES(2025-05-19) Kofoworola OwonikokoABSTRACT Objective: This study examined the psychological well-being of women of sub-Saharan African ancestry who wear the Islamic head covering, called hijab (so-called hijabi women) in the United States. The study focused on perceived discrimination, resilience, and psychological well-being of this group. The population under study faced distinctive challenges in the context of intersectionality amidst rising anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant sentiments in the US. Methods: The study is quantitative research, with cross-sectional design. The number of participants is N=155. Data were collected using Google Forms from women 18 years old and above, using the Anti-Muslim Discrimination Scale, Transcultural Resilience Scale and the Psychological (Distress and psychological) Scale. Employing network and convenience sampling approaches, diverse experiences were captured within this demographic group. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 21 and SPSS-Amos for structural equation modeling. Descriptive, bivariate, and multiple regression analyses were used to evaluate the relationships between variables. Results: This study demonstrated that perceived discrimination (Interpersonal and Societal) negatively impacted psychological well-being (Life satisfaction and Distress). The study found a substantial link between societal and interpersonal discrimination (r =0.53, p=0.01). Transcultural resilience mediated between societal discrimination and life-satisfaction. Resilience across cultures was shown to be positively correlated with life satisfaction (B = 0.33, p <.001) but insignificant in predicting distress. As not all hypotheses were proven, the conclusion is that this study was partially supported. Implication: This study filled a critical research gap and provided important objective data and insights to assist in combating discriminatory policies and also identified culturally responsive interventions. The adoption and implementation of the findings will promote equitable and fair practices that uphold human dignities, leading to improved well-being of sub-Saharan African hijabi women living in the United States.Publication Examining the Impact of Intrafamilial Adversity on Emotion Regulation in Sexual and Gender Minority People in Southwest Alabama(2025) Mary Barrett SmithThis dissertation explores the relationship between general childhood adversity, identity-based invalidation, and emotional dysregulation among sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals in Southwest Alabama. Grounded in the Minority Stress Model (Brooks, 1981; Meyer, 2003), the Traumatic Invalidation Framework (Cardona et al., 2022), and the Transactional Model of Emotion Dysregulation (Fruzetti et al., 2005), the study tests three primary hypotheses: (1) a positive association between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and identity-based adversities (ID-Adversities), (2) an association between ACEs and emotional dysregulation, and (3) an association between ID-Adversities and emotional dysregulation. This study is a secondary analysis of cross-sectional data collected through the Southwest Alabama Inclusion Project’s LGBTQ+ Community Needs Assessment. Participants (N = 488), ranging in age from 13 to 82 and representing a wide spectrum of sexual and gender identities, completed a survey that included measures of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), identity-based adversity (ID-Adversity), and emotional dysregulation using the DERS-SF. One-way ANOVA confirmed that ACEs were positively associated with ID-Adversity; multiple linear regressions confirmed that both ACEs and ID-Adversity independently predicted higher levels of emotional dysregulation. Post hoc analyses revealed developmental variation: identity-based adversity had the strongest effect among adolescents (13–17), ACEs were most predictive among emerging adults (18–24), and for adults 25 and older, lower household income emerged as the most robust predictor of dysregulation. Transgender boys and men reported significantly more ACEs than their cisgender peers, highlighting compounded risk among multiply marginalized subgroups. Findings underscore the cumulative, shifting nature of adversity across development and point to the embeddedness of psychological risk in structural and socioeconomic contexts. Policy and clinical implications include the need for trauma-informed, identity-affirming mental health services; caregiver education programs; and systemic reforms to reduce stigma, poverty, and exclusion of SGM individuals across the life course. Key words: sexual and gender minority, mental health, emotion regulation, parenting, identity-based adversity, adverse childhood experiencesPublication From Classical and Patriarchal to Relational and Queer: Histories and Theories of Psychoanalysis(2025-05-19) Nugent, JeanneAbstract This two-paper study investigates the historical and conceptual contexts of psychoanalytic psychotherapy, focusing on queer identity, sexuality, and gender. It examines the historiography and metapsychology of psychoanalysis to highlight the marginalized status of lesbian, gay, transgender, and gender non-conforming (LGBTGNC) people within the structure of the discipline itself. Part one explores the transmission of Freud’s foundational concepts through the leading histories of the movement over the past 125 years. It begins with Freud’s historical narratives about the movement and then traces the conditions that shaped the post-Freudian schools through subsequent chronicles. These historiographic sources document the impact of the end of the Victorian era, the World Wars, migration, Cold War politics, and social change movements within both progressive and regressive developments. Notably, most canonical texts ignore queer identity, gender, and sexuality within the overarching narrative. Part two evaluates the contributions of post-Freudian schools to metapsychology, starting with Freud’s Topographic and Structural models and tracing subsequent contributions from Ego psychology, Relational psychoanalysis, and Self Psychology. These schools decentered sexuality, leaving questions of queer (and non-queer) identity, gender, and sexuality under-theorized. The study concludes with a reconsideration of psychosexuality, dual-drive theory, innate polysexuality, and oedipal complexity as keys to a renewed psychoanalysis with queer people in mind, useful for the formulation of a new metapsychology relevant to a more fluid analysis of identity, gender, and sexuality today. Keywords: queer psychoanalysis, psychotherapy, LGBTQ+, metapsychology, Oedipus complex, Freud, Ego Psychology, Self Psychology, Relational Psychoanalysis, history of psychoanalysis