It is almost taken for granted that social relationships benefit mental health, yet these relationships may not always be protective. This study examines how the support and strains individuals derive from family and friends may be related to depression and anxiety among Asian Americans. Data come from the 2002-2003 National Latino and Asian…

By now, most social workers are familiar with the issue of human trafficking. However, many are likely unfamiliar with research indicating that youths constitute the most vulnerable group in the United States for becoming victims of sex trafficking and that most women in prostitution actually entered as minors. Some experts are now referring to…

Increasing numbers of women are found in the military, and they are now performing roles very similar to those of male service members. More returning servicewomen and veterans have been exposed to stressful and traumatic experiences, such as combat and difficult living circumstances, and military sexual trauma is common. These experiences have…

This study evaluated the effectiveness of an 11-session, spiritually focused group intervention with older women survivors (age 55 years and older) of interpersonal trauma (child abuse, sexual assault, or domestic violence) in reducing trauma-related depressive symptoms, posttraumatic stress, and anxiety. Forty-three community-dwelling women…

Although domestic violence has historically been considered primarily a crime perpetrated by men, increasing numbers of women are being arrested and mandated into batterer intervention programs. This study examined existing state policies to explore the degree to which they address the unique needs of women in batterer intervention programs.…

From a global perspective, the typical person living with HIV/AIDS is likely a sub-Saharan African woman. Yet despite calls from NASW to adopt a global outlook on the HIV/AIDS crisis, little research has examined how such women cope. In this study, the authors used a mixed-methods approach to explore how one sample of sub-Saharan African women (N…

Although substantial numbers of women seeking Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) report domestic violence, few receive mandated services through the Family Violence Option (FVO). This study used transcripts of interviews between welfare caseworkers and their clients to identify and classify the responses made by workers to client…

This article provides an overview of restorative justice as a process and examines its relevance to women who have been victimized by physical and sexual abuse. The starting point is the justice system with its roots in adversarial, offender-oriented practices of obtaining justice. The widespread dissatisfaction by battered women and rape victims…

Gender-based violence (GBV) affects women across race, ethnicity, age, socioeconomic status, religion, sexual orientation, and geographic boundaries. No segments of society are immune from the vestiges of this problem. Yet GBV has been particularly harmful within communities of African ancestry African American communities suffer with greater…

An estimated one in four women experiences a pregnancy loss during her lifetime. Despite the pervasiveness of fetal mortality reflected by these numbers, social workers rarely initiate dialogues regarding reproductive loss history. Reproductive loss experiences are interwoven with typical themes emerging in everyday social work practice, including…

The trafficking of young women and children for prostitution and other forms of sexual exploitation is one of the most significant human rights abuses in contemporary society. In keeping with the social work profession's commitment to social justice, this article examines the issue of sexual trafficking in the United States. The transnational…

This article depicts the changing demographic portrait of social work education in the United States from 1974 through 2000 and considers the demographic shifts in the profession of social work. During this period, BSW and joint MSW-BSW programs increased from 150 to 404, MSW programs increased from 79 to 139, and social work doctoral programs…

Since the introduction of the first neoliberal budgets in the mid-1980s, Canadian social service workers have had ample reason to resist changes in their work lives. Drawing on literature as well as on themes emerging from an intentionally diverse subset of data collected as part of a multiyear study, this article explores the resistance…

Mexican Americans have as much as a six-times greater risk of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) than non-Hispanic white Americans, and women show a faster rate of decline in diabetic renal functioning. The leading treatment for ESRD is hemodialysis, an intensive, complex treatment regimen associated with high levels of patient nonadherence. Previous…

Although most social work professionals may expect that women who experience partner violence will sustain acute physical injuries, social workers may be less knowledgeable about the chronic health problems with which violence survivors often struggle. To inform social work practice, we reviewed and synthesized the recently published research on…