Social Work research impacts policy, evidence-based practice approaches, and clinical interventions with many populations. Social Work faculty at UNH conduct research related to adventure therapy, child welfare, the elderly and elder abuse, interpersonal violence, persons with disabilities, schools and educational settings. Social Work faculty serve as evaluators on community-based projects in health and human service agencies, with particular emphasis on evaluation within adventure therapy and child welfare agencies.
Adventure Therapy
- Effectiveness of adventure and wilderness therapy programs
- Outcomes of youth who participate in NATSAP’s therapeutic boarding schools, wilderness programs and residential treatment centers.
Recent Publications:
Tucker, A., Beale, B., Norton, C. L., Walsh, H., Keefe, M., Holmes, L., & Wermer-Colan, A. (2024). The Ohio Adventure Therapy Coalition: A statewide trauma informed group work initiative for youth involved in CPS. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, https://doi.org/10.1080/15401383.2024.2386163
Blum, C., Tucker, A., Levran, M., Holmes, L., & Walsh, H. (2024). Positive youth development at sea: A case study of the Shenandoah Model. Journal of Experiential Education, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/10538259241275051
Norton, C.L., Tucker, A., Farnham-Stratton, M., Borroel, F., & Pelletier, A. (2017- online first). Family enrichment adventure therapy: A mixed methods study examining the impact of trauma-informed adventure therapy on children and families affected by abuse. Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-017-0133-4
Tucker, A.R., Massey Combs, K., Bettmann, J., Chang, T., Graham, S., Hoag, M., & Tatum, C. (2016 – online first). Longitudinal outcomes for youth transported to wilderness therapy programs. Research on Social Work Practice. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049731516647486
Tucker, A.R., Widmer, M., Faddis, T., Randolph, B., & Gass, M. (2015) "Family Therapy in Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare: Current Practices and Future Possibilities" has been accepted for publication in Contemporary Family Therapy.
Tucker, A., Norton, C., DeMille, S., & Hobson. (2015, Online First). The impact of wilderness therapy on physical and emotional health: Utilizing an integrated approach in Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare. Journal of Experiential Education. https://doi.org/10.1177/1053825915607536
Tucker, A., Bettmann, J., Norton, C.L., & Comart, C. (2015). The role of transport use in adolescent wilderness treatment: Its relationship to readiness to change and outcome. Child and Youth Care Forum, 44, 671-686. doi 10.1007/s10566-015-9301-6
DeMille, S., Comart, C., & Tucker, A. (2014). Body composition changes in an Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare
program. Ecopsychology, 6(3), 174-182.
Tucker, A., Smith, A., & Gass, M. (2014). The impact of presenting problems and individual client
characteristics on treatment outcomes in residential and wilderness treatment programs. Residential Treatment for Children and Youth, 31(2), 135-153.
Child Welfare: Children, Youth, and Families
- Engaging parents of children in foster care
- Youth who self-harm and the influence of self-harm websites
- Climate, culture, and administration of child welfare organizations
- Removal of Native American and Alaskan Native (NA/AI) children from their homes
- Sex trafficking
Recent Publications:
Godshall, K. C., Cross Hansel, T., & Brewer, K. (2024). Exploring teen suicide rates through the lens of macro risk factors. Social Work in Public Health, 39(4), 313–322. https://doi.org/10.1080/19371918.2024.2324145
Enelamah, N. V., Skahan, R. L., & Thompson, S. (2024). An examination of adversity and the unique mental health needs of Black crossover immigrant and refugee youth (IRY). Journal of Family Strengths: Vol. 23: Iss. 1, Article 5. https://doi.org/10.58464/2168-670X.1474
Enelamah, N.V., Rao, S., Lombe, M., Yu, M., Newransky, C., Villodas, M.L., Foell, A., Nebbitt, V. (2024). Examining the utility of the Early Childhood Development Index (ECDI) among children in the Nigeria context. Children. 2024; 11(3):361. https://doi.org/10.3390/children11030361
Currie, N., Simmons-Horton, S., Burke, J., Farley, R., & Olson-Kennedy, A. (2024).
Gender and orientation diversity in the family courts: A guide to terms and present issues. Family Court
Review, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12810
Kwon, E., Kim, B. & Park, S. (2017). The Multifaceted Nature of Poverty and Differential Trajectories of Health among Children. Journal of Children and Poverty, 23(2).
Wells, M. et al. (2015). Engaging parents: Assessing child welfare agency onsite review instrument outcomes. Families in Society, 96, 211-218.
Wells, et al. (2015). Child welfare agency climate: Congruence with practice model beliefs. Journal of Public Child Welfare, 9, 236-255
Gerontology
- Elder maltreatment, neglect, and exploitation
- Intergenerational relations and support, transitions in physical/cognitive functioning in old-age, social support and mental health in old age, health care utilization, long-term care services, and comparative research.
- Intergenerational relations and social network in old age
- Transitions in physical/cognitive functioning in old age
- Community services and policies for older population
Recent Publications:
Park, S., †Park, S., †Ryu, B., †Baek J., Amano, T., & Kim, B. (2023). Subsidized Senior Housing in the U.S.: A Scoping Review, Journal of Applied Gerontology
Hong, I., Kwon., & Kim, B. (2018). Measuring Social Policy Change in Comparative Research: Survey Data Evidence from South Korea. Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice. Published online: doi.org/10.1080/13876988.2017.1418207
Cho, J., Kim, B., Park, S., & Jang, J. (2017). Later year volunteering among the retired: the interface between work opportunity and poverty. Journal of Gerontological Social Work
Hong, I., Kwon, E., & Kim, B. (2017). Reloading the Dependent Variable Problem in South Korea: Implications from Survey-Based Welfare Recipiency Data. Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis.
Kwon, E., Kim, B., Lee, H. & Park, S. (2017) Heterogeneous Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms in Late Middle Age: Life-course Perspective. Journal of Aging and Health (published online before print) .
Kim, B., Park, S., Bishop-Saucer, J., & Amorim, C. (2017). Community-Based Services and Depression from Person-Environment Fit Perspective: Focusing on Functional Impairments and Living Alone. Journal of Gerontological Social Work (published online before print)
Health and Health Care Disparities
- Racial/ethnic health and health care disparities
- Trajectories of hospitalizations and outpatient visits among people with multiple chronic conditions
Recent Publications:
Smith, L. L., Brewer, K. B., Carr, L. C., Roe, D., & Gearing, R. E. (2024). Mood disorder public stigma in Jewish communities in the United States. Journal of Religion & Health. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-024-02146-w
Brewer, K. B., Washburn, M., Yu, M., Giraldo Santiago, N., Pickford, M., Torres, L. R., & Gearing, R. E. (2024). Stigma toward families of people with mental health problems in Latino communities. Families in Society. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/10443894241237018
Brewer, K. B., Gibson, R., Tomar, N., Washburn, M., Giraldo Santiago, N., Torres-Hostos, L. R., & Gearing, R. E. (2024). Why culture and context matter: Examining differences in mental health stigma and social distance between Latino individuals in the United States and Mexico. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 26, 278-286. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-023-01550-w
Gearing, R. E., Brewer, K. B., Washburn, M., Yu, M., de la Cruz, P., Garcia Andres, A., & Torres, L. R. (2024). Mental health help-seeking in Mexico. Global Health Promotion, 31(1), 55-64. https://doi.org/10.1177/17579759231204
Park, S., Kim, B., & Kim, S. (2016). Poverty and Working Status in Changes of Unmet Health Care Need in Old Age. Health Policy, 120(6), 638-645.
Park, S., & Kim, B. (2016). The role of environmental context in nursing home admission: Assessing the experience of different health profiles. TS Cuadernos de Trabajo Social, 14.
Kim, B., Park, S., & Antonucci, T. (2015). Social Network Type Changes and Subjective Well-Being among the Korean Older Adults: A Longitudinal Analysis. Ageing & Society, 36(9): 1915–1936.
Kim, S., Kim, B. & Park, S. (2015). Preventable Hospitalizations and Emergency Room Visits: Focus on Medical Aid Beneficiaries with Chronic Conditions. Health and Social Welfare Review, 35(2): 405-428.
People with Disabilities
- Research on victimization of children and adolescents with learning disabilities
- Studies systemic barriers to services for children with developmental disabilities such as access to early intervention services, health care, behavioral supports in schools, and juvenile justice.
- Effectiveness of follow-up services for families who receive a diagnosis of autism or other neurological challenges
Recent Publications:
Wells, M. & Mitchell, K. (Appeared in Online First April 2013). Youth receiving special education services and youth with physical disabilities: Patterns of internet use and risk for online interpersonal victimization. Journal of Special Education.
Schools and Educational Settings
- Inequities that affect women and children in academic settings
- School social work
Recent Publications:
Joseph, A., Slovak, K., Broussard, C. A., & Webster, P. (2012). School social workers and multiculturalism: Changing the environment for success, Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 21(2), 129-143.
