Impact of disability and other physical health issues on academic outcomes among American Indian and Alaskan Native college students: an exploratory analysis.

This study investigated whether self-identified disabilities among American Indian and Alaskan Native college students impact academic performance and persistence to graduation and explored the differences in health and academic grades between American Indian and Alaskan Native students and students of other racial and ethnic identities using the National College Health Assessment. Findings indicate that American Indian or Alaskan Native students have significantly lower grades than White and Asian students, and American Indian and Alaskan Native women report the highest incidence of health problems of any demographic group. Exploratory results point to future research to determine the full impact of disabilities and poor health on academic success.

Factors influencing the implementation of a brief alcohol screening and educational intervention in social settings not specializing in addiction services.

Although alcohol use continues to be a major problem, when high-risk users enter social services, they are not provided with empirically supported treatments (ESTs). This study investigates predictors of successful implementation in agencies not specializing in addiction services. Fifty-four frontline workers in six organizations were enrolled in the study.

Implementing outside the box: Community-based social service provider experiences with using an alcohol screening and intervention.

Objective: The aim of this study is better understand perceptions of front-line social service workers who are not addiction specialists, but have to address addiction-related issues during their standard services.

Method: Six social service organizations implemented a validated alcohol assessment and brief education intervention. After a 3-month trial implementation period, a convenience sample of 64 front-line providers participated in six focus groups to examine barriers and facilitators to the implementation of an alcohol screening and brief intervention.

Alcohol Screening and Brief Intervention as Standard Practice: Working with the American Indian/Native Alaskan Populations.

Alcohol use and the resulting problems associated with high-risk drinking in the American Indian/Native Alaskan (AI/NA) population are well-documented, as alcohol misuse has taken an incredible toll on many AI/NA communities. Presently, both overall health issues and alcohol use occur disproportionately within this population. This article provides an updated overview of the impact of alcohol use in the United States and within AI/NA communities specifically.

What Are the Ideal Characteristics of Empirically Supported Treatment Adopters?

There has been a clear and consistent shift in social work practice from offering treatment as usual to implementing empirically supported treatments (ESTs). As social work researchers and practitioners continue to evaluate the effectiveness of ESTs, their impact on clinical outcomes, and the various obstacles to their adoption, a developing literature could offer some guidance on characteristics of EST adopters. This article provides a beginning discussion of the ideal characteristics of EST adopters both at the organizational and individual levels.

Sociocultural Influences on Gambling and Alcohol Use Among Native Americans in the United States.

Gambling opportunities on and near Native American lands have increased in recent decades; yet there is a lack of research examining the patterns of problem gambling and alcohol abuse among Native Americans in the US. Traditional Native American cultural identity may be a protective factor for problem gambling and alcohol abuse among Native Americans. Telephone interviews were conducted with 415 Native American adults aged 18 years and older across the US.

Refining the Evidence-Based Practice Attitude Scale: An Alternative Confirmatory Factor Analysis.

Barriers to adopting evidence-based practices into real-world mental health organizations have received considerable attention and study. One particular attempt is Aarons's Evidence-Based Practice Attitude Scale (EBPAS), which measures a worker's attitudes toward adopting new treatments, interventions, and practices. This study follows Aarons's work by conducting a confirmatory factor analysis of the EBPAS administered in a large child and family human service agency in New York state ( = 1,273).

Is Openness to Using Empirically Supported Treatments Related to Organizational Culture and Climate?

The overall purpose of this study is to investigate workers' openness towards implementing a new empirically supported treatment (EST) and whether the workers' openness scores relate to their workplace culture and climate scores. Participants in this study (N=1273) worked in a total of 55 different programs in a large child and family services organization and completed a survey measuring their attitudes toward ESTs. Results indicate that work groups that measure themselves as being more open to using ESTs rated their organizational cultures as being significantly more proficient and significantly less resistant to change.