Adverse Childhood Experiences and Their Relationships with Perceived Stress and Self-Care Behaviors in African American Social Work Students: Insights from a Latent Class Analysis.

Based on stress sensitization theory and stress proliferation theory, this study was designed to identify adverse childhood experience (ACE) classes and their relationships with perceived stress and self-care behaviors. Hypotheses were that (a) there would be diverse ACE classes among African American social work students; (b) the identified classes embedded in high/multiple ACEs would have greater levels of perceived stress than those in low ACEs; and (c) the identified classes embedded in high/multiple ACEs would have lower levels of self-care behaviors than those in low ACEs. Recruited from one of the South's historically Black colleges and universities, 186 African American social work students completed an online survey. Latent class analysis found three classes fit the data best: low ACEs, high divorce/abuse/neglect, and high/multiple ACEs. Students in the high divorce/abuse/neglect class had the greatest levels of perceived stress and significantly greater perceived stress levels than the low ACEs class. The low ACEs class had greater self-care behaviors than students in the other two ACEs classes. The study revealed diverse ACE classes and the effect of more ACEs on greater perceived stress and lower self-care behaviors, supporting the importance of using a range of approaches to support African American social work students with different ACEs.

The Impact of Cyberbullying Victimization on Academic Satisfaction among Sexual Minority College Students: The Indirect Effect of Flourishing.

This study examines the association between cyberbullying victimization and academic satisfaction through flourishing (psychological well-being) among 188 LGBTQ college students utilizing the lens of general strain theory and positive psychology. Results indicate that flourishing as a mediator explains the association between cyberbullying victimization and academic satisfaction among LGBTQ college students. For these students, flourishing can serve as a protective factor for their academic satisfaction. This finding highlights the need for college counselors, faculty, and administrators to foster psychological well-being among cyberbullied LGBTQ college students. Practice implications will guide the development of a campus-wide cyberbullying intervention for these students.

Differential Associations Among Cyberbullying Victimization, Parental Monitoring, and Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors in Male and Female College Students.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to examine the role of parental monitoring and help seeking in the relationship between cyberbullying victimization and suicidal thoughts and behaviors in male and female college students. METHOD: Data were collected for 336 college students (71.72% female and 28.28% male) aged 18 to 24 or older years from two universities in the Midwest and the South Central regions. RESULTS: Logistic regression indicated the interaction term of cyberbullying victimization and parental monitoring was negatively related to suicidal thoughts and behaviors in a male group (B = -.155, p < .05, Exp(B) = .86). DISCUSSION: Male students whose parents monitored about being safe on the computer had dramatically fewer suicidal thoughts/behaviors. In both male and female groups, seeking professional help was not a significant moderator that weakened the relationship. CONCLUSION: There is a need for additional research on the importance of prevention and intervention efforts to foster open dialogue between students and their parents.

Role of Health Literacy in Health-Related Information-Seeking Behavior Online: Cross-sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: The internet has emerged as a main venue of health information delivery and health-related activities. However, few studies have examined how health literacy determines online health-related behavior. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the current level of health-related information-seeking using the internet and how health literacy, access to technology, and sociodemographic characteristics impact health-related information-seeking behavior. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study through a survey with Minnesotan adults (N=614) to examine their health literacy, access to technology, and health-related information-seeking internet use. We used multivariate regression analysis to assess the relationship between health-related information-seeking on the internet and health literacy and access to technology, controlling for sociodemographic characteristics. RESULTS: Better health literacy (ß=.35, SE 0.12) and greater access to technological devices (eg, mobile phone and computer or tablet PC; ß=.06, SE 0.19) were both associated with more health-related information-seeking behavior on the internet after adjusting for all other sociodemographic characteristics. Possession of a graduate degree (ß=.28, SE 0.07), female gender (ß=.15, SE 0.05), poor health (ß=.22, SE 0.06), participation in social groups (ß=.13, SE 0.05), and having an annual health exam (ß=.35, SE 0.12) were all associated with online health-related information-seeking. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that access to online health-related information is not uniformly distributed throughout the population, which may exacerbate disparities in health and health care. Research, policy, and practice attention are needed to address the disparities in access to health information as well as to ensure the quality of the information and improve health literacy.

The Influence of Race and Ethnicity on the Relationship between Family Resilience and Parenting Stress in Caregivers of Children with Autism.

We examined the relationship between family resilience and parenting stress among parents of children with autism spectrum disorder, with a specific focus on race/ethnicity as a moderator. Multivariate models indicated that family resilience was associated with parenting stress. Race/ethnicity significantly moderated the relationship between family resilience and parenting stress. The effects of family resilience on parenting stress were significantly different among parents of African American, Hispanic, and white children. These effects were strongest for parents of African American children. Compared to white and Hispanic children, parents of African American children with low levels of family resilience had 60-82% higher probability of parenting stress; while those with high levels of family resilience had 15-18% lower probability for parenting stress.

Review of Online Education in Social Work Programs.

Despite the growing prevalence of online courses and programs, there is a lack of information on and continuing debates about their effectiveness on student learning outcomes in social work education.Purpose: The current study was to examine the status of the evaluation of online courses or programs in social work education.Method: Using comprehensive and rigorous methods, 15 articles were reviewed to examine the effectiveness of social work online courses or programs. All reviewed articles were either quantitative or qualitative studies that used process or outcome evaluation.Results: The major criterion for comparison of the effectiveness between the face-to-face and online course was grades.Discussion: There is an overall disconnect with the concrete value and meaning of assessment within social work programs and universities and schools appear to have placed assessment and student learning outcomes secondary to the financial gains that online courses and programs bring.

Traumatic and complicated grief among children: one or two constructs?

The purpose of this study was to examine the concepts of traumatic and complicated grief among children. Some authors seemingly use the concepts interchangeably, whereas others make a distinction between the two. A sample of 240 mainly parentally bereaved children were administered the Extended Grief Inventory (EGI). Two confirmatory factor analyses were run to examine the EGI factor structure and to determine whether traumatic and complicated grief are one or two concepts. Goodness-of-fit tests for the two models was considered acceptable for both models, however, the two-factor model was a better fit. Multiple regression analyses found that children's age, gender, and ethnicity were important predictors of traumatic grief but only gender was a predictor of complicated grief. Violent death was a predictor of complicated grief in an unadjusted regression analysis.

Gasification of biodiesel by-product with air or oxygen to make syngas.

In the present study, gasification of biodiesel by-product, crude glycerin, was performed in an entrained flow gasifier. Gasification was conducted in a temperature range of 950-1500 degrees C and excess air ratio of 0.17-0.7 for air or oxygen as a gasification agent. From the results, syngas heating value, carbon conversion and cold gas efficiency of more than 2500 kcal/Nm(3), 92% and 65% were achieved, respectively. The H(2)/CO ratio of the product gas was varied from 1.25 to 0.7 with the excess air ratio and this gas composition was favorable for DME synthesis. The optimum excess air ratio for gasification of biodiesel by-product was evaluated to be an approximately 0.35-0.4. The present results indicate that crude glycerin can be utilized as a feedstock for gasification to make syngas.