Scaling Up Social Problems: Strategies for Solving Social Work’s Grand Challenges

Social work research must more consistently link case and cause, iteratively developing processes for bringing micro-, mezzo-, and macrostreams of information together. We further argue that meaningful engagement with the initiative requires social work scholars and practitioners to actively scale up practice and research inquiry. We detail two key strategies for employing a scaled-up social work practice and research ethos: (a) employing a critical economic lens and (b) engaging with diverse publics.

Journal ArticleLaysha OstrowJuly 16, 2021advocacy, participatory research, families

Risk Factors Associated With Child Protective Services Involvement Among Parents With a Serious Mental Illness

This study sought to identify risk factors for child protective services (CPS) involvement among parents with serious mental illnesses. Compared with parents without CPS contact, parents with a CPS contact were more likely to be nonwhite and to be less educated. They were also more likely to have less attachment-related social support, more parenting-related needs in numerous areas, and more substance use–related issues and to have experienced adverse childhood and traumatic events. One-quarter of the parents with CPS contact reported not having a mental disorder diagnosis at the time of the first contact, and those in the CPS group were less likely to have taken medications at the time of the first contact than were parents who did not have a CPS contact.

Journal ArticleLaysha OstrowJuly 16, 2021families, research, state policy

An exploratory analysis of the role of social supports in psychiatric medication discontinuation: results related to family involvement

Individuals in psychiatric treatment frequently choose to stop taking psychiatric medications, but little is known about the role of social supports in this process. Of all social support groups, only family was significantly associated with medication discontinuation. Respondents who rated family as helpful in the discontinuation process were less likely to completely discontinue than those who rated family as unhelpful or who reported no family involvement. Additionally, we observed a statistically significant but nonlinear relationship where respondents who rated their families as either “very supportive” or “very unsupportive” of the decision to discontinue were less likely to meet their original discontinuation goal than those with more neutral ratings. The results of this study suggest families have an important and complex role in medication decision-making.

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