Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work
Asian Americans have a history of discrimination and othering in the US. In October 2016, journal... more Asian Americans have a history of discrimination and othering in the US. In October 2016, journalist Michael Luo put out a call for Asian Americans to tweet racist encounters using the hashtag, #thisis2016. The aim of this study was to examine the encounters shared by Asian Americans. Tweets between October 2016 and December 2017 were obtained via Twitter. The tweets were scoped down to 3,156 tweets to include those that appeared to answer the original call. A phenomenological approach was the overall framework with thematic content analysis applied to analyze the data. Tweets were categorized by type of racist encounter. The racist encounters included: microaggressions, denial of intra-ethnic differences, seen as other, verbal harassment, validation of anti-Asian racism, prejudice, verbal violence/attack, and model minority. Understanding the unique experiences of Asian American individuals, families, and communities helps to target policies, social services, and programming that takes these factors into account.
Anxiety has significant consequences for maternal and infant health, and Mexican immigrant mother... more Anxiety has significant consequences for maternal and infant health, and Mexican immigrant mothers are at significantly high-risk. This study examined whether maternal depressive symptoms and trauma are related to anxiety symptoms in perinatal Mexican immigrants. Data were collected from 103 Mexican women residing in the Midwestern United States who were pregnant or up to two years postpartum. Half were aged 30-34. The majority had two or more children and low socioeconomic status. Linear regression analyses predicted current anxiety symptoms from current maternal depression symptoms, trauma history, and socio-demographics. Anxiety symptoms were significantly related to depressive symptoms (B = 0.87, 95% CI 0.73, 1.01) and trauma. Compared to women with no trauma history, women who experienced more than ten traumas had increased anxiety symptoms (B = 7.15, 95% CI 0.34, 13.96). Perinatal Mexican women with higher depression symptoms and trauma have increased anxiety symptoms, increasing the need for more comprehensive screening.
The health of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities remains an understudied area... more The health of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities remains an understudied area of racial/ethnic minority research in the United States, and even more so in the field of social work. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted how AAPI health and social welfare issues have not received adequate attention in social policy, social work practice, and research. Contrary to model minority myths, AAPIs are subject to racialized attitudes and discrimination, which have been associated with adverse physical and mental health outcomes, including increased anxiety, depression, and suicidality. Drawing from the theoretical framework of AsianCrit, which is grounded in critical race theory, authors analyze health disparities among AAPI communities as reflected in COVID-19 hospitalizations and fatalities, as well as increases in acts of anti-Asian racism and xenophobia. Better understanding health disparities of AAPI communities needs to be a key research issue for social workers in f...
Despite growing support and increased rate of which traumainformed approaches are being promoted ... more Despite growing support and increased rate of which traumainformed approaches are being promoted and implemented in schools, evidence to support this approach is lacking. 1.2 | What is this review about? Exposure to different types of trauma have been associated with varying types and complexity of adverse outcomes, including adverse effects on cognitive functioning, attention, memory, academic performance, and school-related behaviors. Given the growing research on trauma and increased knowledge about the prevalence, consequences and costs associated with trauma, there have been increased efforts at the local, state and federal levels to make systems "trauma-informed" (Lang, Campbell, & Vanerploeg, 2015). While the intent of creating trauma-informed approaches in schools is a noble one, relatively little is known about the benefits, costs, and how trauma-informed approaches are being defined and evaluated (Berliner & Kolko, 2016). Adopting a trauma-informed approach in a complex system such as a school building or district is a time consuming and potentially costly endeavor and thus it is important to assess the effects of this approach to inform policy and practice. This aim of this review was to assess trauma-informed approaches in schools on trauma symptoms/mental health, academic performance, behavior, and socioemotional functioning. Trauma-informed approaches include programs, organizations, or systems that realize the impact of trauma, recognize the symptoms of trauma, respond by integrating knowledge about trauma policies and practices, and seeks to reduce retraumatization. At least two of the three key elements of a trauma-informed approach must have been present: Workforce development, trauma-focused services, and organizational environment and practices, which differ from trauma-specific interventions designed to treat or otherwise address the impact/symptoms of trauma and facilitate healing. What is the aim of this review? This Campbell systematic review sought to examine the effects trauma-informed schools on trauma symptoms/ mental health, academic performance, behavior, and socioemotional functioning. Although we conducted a comprehensive search to find studies testing traumainformed approaches in schools, no studies met the inclusion criteria. 1.3 | What are the main findings of this review? No studies met criteria for this review, indicating that there is a lack of evidence of trauma-informed approaches in schools.
Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 2021
Asian Americans have a history of discrimination and othering in the US. In October 2016, journal... more Asian Americans have a history of discrimination and othering in the US. In October 2016, journalist Michael Luo put out a call for Asian Americans to tweet racist encounters using the hashtag, #thisis2016. The aim of this study was to examine the encounters shared by Asian Americans. Tweets between October 2016 and December 2017 were obtained via Twitter. The tweets were scoped down to 3,156 tweets to include those that appeared to answer the original call. A phenomenological approach was the overall framework with thematic content analysis applied to analyze the data. Tweets were categorized by type of racist encounter. The racist encounters included: microaggressions, denial of intra-ethnic differences, seen as other, verbal harassment, validation of anti-Asian racism, prejudice, verbal violence/attack, and model minority. Understanding the unique experiences of Asian American individuals, families, and communities helps to target policies, social services, and programming that takes these factors into account.
We applied critical race theory’s concept of intersectionality to analyze the experiences of disc... more We applied critical race theory’s concept of intersectionality to analyze the experiences of discrimination among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (APIs) in the United States, across race, gender, and sexuality. We collected tweets from October 2016 through December 2017 using the hashtag #thisis2016 on the social media platform, Twitter. Data were scoped down to 3,156 tweets and were coded by four members of our research team—all of whom identify as Asian American female social workers. Only intersectional themes related to the convergence of race, gender, and sexuality among APIs are reported in this article. These six themes include the following: (1) API women are perceived to be exotic and are overtly sexualized, (2) API women are expected to be passive, (3) API men are perceived to be weak and asexual, (4) Both API men and women are the objects of racialized violence and sexual harassment, (5) Queer APIs have unique experiences of sexualized harassment and violence, and (...
Reminiscence therapy (RT) is a form of person-centered care that involves the exploration of past... more Reminiscence therapy (RT) is a form of person-centered care that involves the exploration of past activities, events, and experiences with another person or in a small group. Research on RT has found an array of benefits for older adults, including improvements in mood, quality of life, social interaction, cognition, and memory. In this presentation, the researchers report on Phases I and II of an evaluation of a reminiscence using three-dimensional (3D) printed objects from older adults’ pasts. Advances in 3D printing technology now allow researchers to create scale replicas of cherished items from peoples’ pasts, such as toys, bicycles, pets, automobiles, boats, and houses. In Phase I, the researchers evaluated the efficacy of incorporating 3D objects in reminiscence using a parallel convergent mixed methods design. Participants agreed or strongly agreed that the 3D object reminiscence was well-received (88.9%), facilitated reminiscence (83.3%), increased engagement and alertness ...
BACKGROUND The problem, condition or issue Childhood trauma has been receiving increased attentio... more BACKGROUND The problem, condition or issue Childhood trauma has been receiving increased attention and it is increasingly being recognized as a significant public health concern (Lang, Campbell, & Vanerploeg, 2015). Trauma exposure involves "actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence" that is either directly experienced or witnessed, or learning that any traumatic experiences have happened to a loved one, or having repeated exposure to details of traumatic events (APA, 2013, p. 271). Prevalence estimates of trauma experienced in childhood or adolescence vary by type of traumatic event (e.g., physical abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, witnessing violence, natural disasters) and how and when the traumatic experience is measured, but can range between 4% and 71% (Finkelhor et al., 2015; McLaughlin et al., 2013; Saunders & Adams, 2014). Exposure to traumatic events can disrupt brain development and can have immediate and lifelong adverse effects on social, emotional and physical wellbeing, including deficits executive functioning, developmental delays, behavioural health problems, difficulty regulating emotions and behaviour, academic performance and IQ, school behaviour problems, delinquency, substance abuse, and mental health and psychiatric disorders (Anda et al.
Purpose: Virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) is an intervention used to treat alcohol and nic... more Purpose: Virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) is an intervention used to treat alcohol and nicotine dependence that delivers cue exposure therapy using a virtual reality environment; however, little is known about the effects of these interventions. Method: We used systematic review methods to examine the effects of VRET on alcohol or nicotine dependence, craving, and substance use with persons with current nicotine or alcohol dependence. We conducted a comprehensive search to retrieve published and unpublished intervention studies in 18 databases and other gray literature sources. Studies were screened, and data were extracted by two independent reviewers. Results: Five studies including 212 participants were included. Effects were found for alcohol and nicotine dependence and craving; however, significant methodological issues and high risk of bias were present across studies. Conclusion: Evidence of effects of VRET is sparse, and methodological flaws and gaps in reporting were...
This pilot study examined the effectiveness of a multi-phase trauma-informed intervention with 24... more This pilot study examined the effectiveness of a multi-phase trauma-informed intervention with 24 trauma-exposed Latino youth. Treatment included a somatic-based intervention to target physiological hyperarousal symptoms and a sensory/cognitive-based trauma-focused intervention targeting stabilization of the trauma experience. Twenty-four participants completed several measures for mental health symptomatology and psychosocial functioning at baseline, at the conclusion of treatment, and at 3-month followup. Results of paired sample t-test analyses showed significant improvements in scores on measures for trauma, anxiety, depression, psychosocial functioning, and emotional dysregulation following 12 weeks of treatment when compared to baseline. Improvements were maintained at 3-month follow-up. This community-based intervention shows promise in helping Latino children who have experienced trauma. Research using randomized controlled designs with larger samples is suggested to further test the efficacy of this intervention.
1 | PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY 1.1 | The review in brief Despite growing support and increased rate o... more 1 | PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY 1.1 | The review in brief Despite growing support and increased rate of which trauma-informed approaches are being promoted and implemented in schools, evidence to support this approach is lacking. 1.2 | What is this review about? Exposure to different types of trauma have been associated with varying types and complexity of adverse outcomes, including adverse effects on cognitive functioning, attention, memory, academic performance, and school-related behaviors. Given the growing research on trauma and increased knowledge about the prevalence, consequences and costs associated with trauma, there have been increased efforts at the local, state and federal levels to make systems "trauma-informed" (Lang, Campbell, & Vanerploeg, 2015). While the intent of creating trauma-informed approaches in schools is a noble one, relatively little is known about the benefits, costs, and how trauma-informed approaches are being defined and evaluated (Berliner & Kolko, 2016). Adopting a trauma-informed approach in a complex system such as a school building or district is a time consuming and potentially costly endeavor and thus it is important to assess the effects of this approach to inform policy and practice. This aim of this review was to assess trauma-informed approaches in schools on trauma symptoms/mental health, academic performance, behavior, and socioemotional functioning. Trauma-informed approaches include programs, organizations, or systems that realize the impact of trauma, recognize the symptoms of trauma, respond by integrating knowledge about trauma policies and practices, and seeks to reduce retraumatization. At least two of the three key elements of a trauma-informed approach must have been present: Workforce development, trauma-focused services, and organizational environment and practices, which differ from trauma-specific interventions designed to treat or otherwise address the impact/symptoms of trauma and facilitate healing. What is the aim of this review? This Campbell systematic review sought to examine the effects trauma-informed schools on trauma symptoms/ mental health, academic performance, behavior, and socioemotional functioning. Although we conducted a comprehensive search to find studies testing trauma-informed approaches in schools, no studies met the inclusion criteria.
Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work
Asian Americans have a history of discrimination and othering in the US. In October 2016, journal... more Asian Americans have a history of discrimination and othering in the US. In October 2016, journalist Michael Luo put out a call for Asian Americans to tweet racist encounters using the hashtag, #thisis2016. The aim of this study was to examine the encounters shared by Asian Americans. Tweets between October 2016 and December 2017 were obtained via Twitter. The tweets were scoped down to 3,156 tweets to include those that appeared to answer the original call. A phenomenological approach was the overall framework with thematic content analysis applied to analyze the data. Tweets were categorized by type of racist encounter. The racist encounters included: microaggressions, denial of intra-ethnic differences, seen as other, verbal harassment, validation of anti-Asian racism, prejudice, verbal violence/attack, and model minority. Understanding the unique experiences of Asian American individuals, families, and communities helps to target policies, social services, and programming that takes these factors into account.
Anxiety has significant consequences for maternal and infant health, and Mexican immigrant mother... more Anxiety has significant consequences for maternal and infant health, and Mexican immigrant mothers are at significantly high-risk. This study examined whether maternal depressive symptoms and trauma are related to anxiety symptoms in perinatal Mexican immigrants. Data were collected from 103 Mexican women residing in the Midwestern United States who were pregnant or up to two years postpartum. Half were aged 30-34. The majority had two or more children and low socioeconomic status. Linear regression analyses predicted current anxiety symptoms from current maternal depression symptoms, trauma history, and socio-demographics. Anxiety symptoms were significantly related to depressive symptoms (B = 0.87, 95% CI 0.73, 1.01) and trauma. Compared to women with no trauma history, women who experienced more than ten traumas had increased anxiety symptoms (B = 7.15, 95% CI 0.34, 13.96). Perinatal Mexican women with higher depression symptoms and trauma have increased anxiety symptoms, increasing the need for more comprehensive screening.
The health of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities remains an understudied area... more The health of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities remains an understudied area of racial/ethnic minority research in the United States, and even more so in the field of social work. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted how AAPI health and social welfare issues have not received adequate attention in social policy, social work practice, and research. Contrary to model minority myths, AAPIs are subject to racialized attitudes and discrimination, which have been associated with adverse physical and mental health outcomes, including increased anxiety, depression, and suicidality. Drawing from the theoretical framework of AsianCrit, which is grounded in critical race theory, authors analyze health disparities among AAPI communities as reflected in COVID-19 hospitalizations and fatalities, as well as increases in acts of anti-Asian racism and xenophobia. Better understanding health disparities of AAPI communities needs to be a key research issue for social workers in f...
Despite growing support and increased rate of which traumainformed approaches are being promoted ... more Despite growing support and increased rate of which traumainformed approaches are being promoted and implemented in schools, evidence to support this approach is lacking. 1.2 | What is this review about? Exposure to different types of trauma have been associated with varying types and complexity of adverse outcomes, including adverse effects on cognitive functioning, attention, memory, academic performance, and school-related behaviors. Given the growing research on trauma and increased knowledge about the prevalence, consequences and costs associated with trauma, there have been increased efforts at the local, state and federal levels to make systems "trauma-informed" (Lang, Campbell, & Vanerploeg, 2015). While the intent of creating trauma-informed approaches in schools is a noble one, relatively little is known about the benefits, costs, and how trauma-informed approaches are being defined and evaluated (Berliner & Kolko, 2016). Adopting a trauma-informed approach in a complex system such as a school building or district is a time consuming and potentially costly endeavor and thus it is important to assess the effects of this approach to inform policy and practice. This aim of this review was to assess trauma-informed approaches in schools on trauma symptoms/mental health, academic performance, behavior, and socioemotional functioning. Trauma-informed approaches include programs, organizations, or systems that realize the impact of trauma, recognize the symptoms of trauma, respond by integrating knowledge about trauma policies and practices, and seeks to reduce retraumatization. At least two of the three key elements of a trauma-informed approach must have been present: Workforce development, trauma-focused services, and organizational environment and practices, which differ from trauma-specific interventions designed to treat or otherwise address the impact/symptoms of trauma and facilitate healing. What is the aim of this review? This Campbell systematic review sought to examine the effects trauma-informed schools on trauma symptoms/ mental health, academic performance, behavior, and socioemotional functioning. Although we conducted a comprehensive search to find studies testing traumainformed approaches in schools, no studies met the inclusion criteria. 1.3 | What are the main findings of this review? No studies met criteria for this review, indicating that there is a lack of evidence of trauma-informed approaches in schools.
Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 2021
Asian Americans have a history of discrimination and othering in the US. In October 2016, journal... more Asian Americans have a history of discrimination and othering in the US. In October 2016, journalist Michael Luo put out a call for Asian Americans to tweet racist encounters using the hashtag, #thisis2016. The aim of this study was to examine the encounters shared by Asian Americans. Tweets between October 2016 and December 2017 were obtained via Twitter. The tweets were scoped down to 3,156 tweets to include those that appeared to answer the original call. A phenomenological approach was the overall framework with thematic content analysis applied to analyze the data. Tweets were categorized by type of racist encounter. The racist encounters included: microaggressions, denial of intra-ethnic differences, seen as other, verbal harassment, validation of anti-Asian racism, prejudice, verbal violence/attack, and model minority. Understanding the unique experiences of Asian American individuals, families, and communities helps to target policies, social services, and programming that takes these factors into account.
We applied critical race theory’s concept of intersectionality to analyze the experiences of disc... more We applied critical race theory’s concept of intersectionality to analyze the experiences of discrimination among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (APIs) in the United States, across race, gender, and sexuality. We collected tweets from October 2016 through December 2017 using the hashtag #thisis2016 on the social media platform, Twitter. Data were scoped down to 3,156 tweets and were coded by four members of our research team—all of whom identify as Asian American female social workers. Only intersectional themes related to the convergence of race, gender, and sexuality among APIs are reported in this article. These six themes include the following: (1) API women are perceived to be exotic and are overtly sexualized, (2) API women are expected to be passive, (3) API men are perceived to be weak and asexual, (4) Both API men and women are the objects of racialized violence and sexual harassment, (5) Queer APIs have unique experiences of sexualized harassment and violence, and (...
Reminiscence therapy (RT) is a form of person-centered care that involves the exploration of past... more Reminiscence therapy (RT) is a form of person-centered care that involves the exploration of past activities, events, and experiences with another person or in a small group. Research on RT has found an array of benefits for older adults, including improvements in mood, quality of life, social interaction, cognition, and memory. In this presentation, the researchers report on Phases I and II of an evaluation of a reminiscence using three-dimensional (3D) printed objects from older adults’ pasts. Advances in 3D printing technology now allow researchers to create scale replicas of cherished items from peoples’ pasts, such as toys, bicycles, pets, automobiles, boats, and houses. In Phase I, the researchers evaluated the efficacy of incorporating 3D objects in reminiscence using a parallel convergent mixed methods design. Participants agreed or strongly agreed that the 3D object reminiscence was well-received (88.9%), facilitated reminiscence (83.3%), increased engagement and alertness ...
BACKGROUND The problem, condition or issue Childhood trauma has been receiving increased attentio... more BACKGROUND The problem, condition or issue Childhood trauma has been receiving increased attention and it is increasingly being recognized as a significant public health concern (Lang, Campbell, & Vanerploeg, 2015). Trauma exposure involves "actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence" that is either directly experienced or witnessed, or learning that any traumatic experiences have happened to a loved one, or having repeated exposure to details of traumatic events (APA, 2013, p. 271). Prevalence estimates of trauma experienced in childhood or adolescence vary by type of traumatic event (e.g., physical abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, witnessing violence, natural disasters) and how and when the traumatic experience is measured, but can range between 4% and 71% (Finkelhor et al., 2015; McLaughlin et al., 2013; Saunders & Adams, 2014). Exposure to traumatic events can disrupt brain development and can have immediate and lifelong adverse effects on social, emotional and physical wellbeing, including deficits executive functioning, developmental delays, behavioural health problems, difficulty regulating emotions and behaviour, academic performance and IQ, school behaviour problems, delinquency, substance abuse, and mental health and psychiatric disorders (Anda et al.
Purpose: Virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) is an intervention used to treat alcohol and nic... more Purpose: Virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) is an intervention used to treat alcohol and nicotine dependence that delivers cue exposure therapy using a virtual reality environment; however, little is known about the effects of these interventions. Method: We used systematic review methods to examine the effects of VRET on alcohol or nicotine dependence, craving, and substance use with persons with current nicotine or alcohol dependence. We conducted a comprehensive search to retrieve published and unpublished intervention studies in 18 databases and other gray literature sources. Studies were screened, and data were extracted by two independent reviewers. Results: Five studies including 212 participants were included. Effects were found for alcohol and nicotine dependence and craving; however, significant methodological issues and high risk of bias were present across studies. Conclusion: Evidence of effects of VRET is sparse, and methodological flaws and gaps in reporting were...
This pilot study examined the effectiveness of a multi-phase trauma-informed intervention with 24... more This pilot study examined the effectiveness of a multi-phase trauma-informed intervention with 24 trauma-exposed Latino youth. Treatment included a somatic-based intervention to target physiological hyperarousal symptoms and a sensory/cognitive-based trauma-focused intervention targeting stabilization of the trauma experience. Twenty-four participants completed several measures for mental health symptomatology and psychosocial functioning at baseline, at the conclusion of treatment, and at 3-month followup. Results of paired sample t-test analyses showed significant improvements in scores on measures for trauma, anxiety, depression, psychosocial functioning, and emotional dysregulation following 12 weeks of treatment when compared to baseline. Improvements were maintained at 3-month follow-up. This community-based intervention shows promise in helping Latino children who have experienced trauma. Research using randomized controlled designs with larger samples is suggested to further test the efficacy of this intervention.
1 | PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY 1.1 | The review in brief Despite growing support and increased rate o... more 1 | PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY 1.1 | The review in brief Despite growing support and increased rate of which trauma-informed approaches are being promoted and implemented in schools, evidence to support this approach is lacking. 1.2 | What is this review about? Exposure to different types of trauma have been associated with varying types and complexity of adverse outcomes, including adverse effects on cognitive functioning, attention, memory, academic performance, and school-related behaviors. Given the growing research on trauma and increased knowledge about the prevalence, consequences and costs associated with trauma, there have been increased efforts at the local, state and federal levels to make systems "trauma-informed" (Lang, Campbell, & Vanerploeg, 2015). While the intent of creating trauma-informed approaches in schools is a noble one, relatively little is known about the benefits, costs, and how trauma-informed approaches are being defined and evaluated (Berliner & Kolko, 2016). Adopting a trauma-informed approach in a complex system such as a school building or district is a time consuming and potentially costly endeavor and thus it is important to assess the effects of this approach to inform policy and practice. This aim of this review was to assess trauma-informed approaches in schools on trauma symptoms/mental health, academic performance, behavior, and socioemotional functioning. Trauma-informed approaches include programs, organizations, or systems that realize the impact of trauma, recognize the symptoms of trauma, respond by integrating knowledge about trauma policies and practices, and seeks to reduce retraumatization. At least two of the three key elements of a trauma-informed approach must have been present: Workforce development, trauma-focused services, and organizational environment and practices, which differ from trauma-specific interventions designed to treat or otherwise address the impact/symptoms of trauma and facilitate healing. What is the aim of this review? This Campbell systematic review sought to examine the effects trauma-informed schools on trauma symptoms/ mental health, academic performance, behavior, and socioemotional functioning. Although we conducted a comprehensive search to find studies testing trauma-informed approaches in schools, no studies met the inclusion criteria.
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Papers by Anne Farina