Research & Faculty

Reproductive justice (RJ) is a social justice orientation undergirded by the right to sexual, gender, and bodily autonomy. It consists of three core tenets: 1) the right to have a child, 2) the right to not have a child, and 3) the right to raise a child in safe and sustainable communities. It is a movement that focuses on uplifting and empowering the voices of individuals who have been historically oppressed, a movement that is a natural fit with social work's orientation of social justice, empowering marginalized groups, and more. This book takes each core tenet of RJ and explores them through a social work lens, seamlessly mapping core ethics and values of social work onto the praxis of RJ.

Written by interdisciplinary authors of many identities, Social Work and Reproductive Justice introduces readers to the foundations of RJ as applied to social work through history and ethics, followed by an exploration of how the main tenets of RJ apply to areas of social work including work with abortion, confronting infertility, social work practice in fetal care centers, environmental justice advocacy, resources in schools, intervention in prison environments, and more. Each chapter concludes with a Voices from the Field section that features the real-life work of RJ advocates "doing the work" in the field.

Victoria Banyard, Professor, Associate Dean for Faculty Development, and Associate Director of the Center on Violence Against Women and Children, has authored Strengths-Based Prevention: Reducing Violence and Other Public Health Problems, with Sherry Hamby. 

Strengths-Based Prevention presents a new way of thinking about prevention that focuses on building assets and resources. This book provides practitioners and researchers with the means to make more impactful choices in the design and implementation of prevention programs.

Drawing from state-of-the-art research on a range of behavior problems such as violence, drug abuse, suicide, and risky sexual activity, Victoria Banyard and Sherry Hamby present a strengths-based approach to prevention.

Historically, most prevention efforts have focused too much on admonishment and knowledge transfer, despite years of evidence that such programs are ineffective. Effective prevention must be grounded in a broad understanding of what works, what does not, and how different forms of risky behavior share common elements.

This book synthesizes research on behavior change from a variety of disciplines, including psychology, public health, sociology, criminology, resilience science, critical race theory, and even urban planning. It emphasizes the importance of building enough protective strengths to insulate people from risks.

Research Methods for Social Work: A Problem-Based Approach is a comprehensive introduction to methods instruction that engages readers innovatively and interactively. Using a case study and problem-based learning (PBL) approach, authors Antoinette Y. Farmer and G. Lawrence Farmer utilize case examples to achieve a level of application which builds readers’ confidence in methodology and reinforces their understanding of research across all levels of social work practice. These real case examples, along with critical thinking questions, research tips, and step-by-step problem-solving methods, will improve reader mastery and help them see why research is relevant. With the guidance of this new and noteworthy textbook, readers will transform into both knowledgeable consumers of research and skilled practitioners who can effectively address the needs of their clients through research.

E. Goldblatt Hyatt, DSW, MSW, MBE published Grieving for the Sibiling You Lost: A Teen's Guide to Coping with Grief and Finding Meaning After Loss in 2015. This book is meant help reader's understand her or his own unique coping style after the death of a sibling. It includes effective exercises based in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to help individuals work through negative thoughts, and learn the importance of creating meaning out of loss and suffering. Most importantly, readers will learn when and how to ask for help from parents, friends, or teachers. 

Associate Professor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Antoinette Y. Farmer (along with G. Lawrence Farmer of Fordham University) has authored a book entitled, Research with Diverse Groups: Research Designs and Multivariate Latent Modeling for Equivalence. This book introduces the methodological precautions that must be taken into consideration when conducting research with diverse groups. This book is ideal for social work doctoral students and doctoral students from other disciplines who are committed to producing methodologically sound and valuable research that can lead to effective interventions and public policies for diverse groups.

This book is available through Oxford University Press.

Professor Lia Nower has co-edited a book entitled The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of Disordered Gambling, a complete guide to the current empirical literature internationally, relating to the conceptualization, assessment, and treatment of disordered gambling. The book outlines best-practice guidelines for the clinical management of problem and disordered gambling. It contains empirically derived findings that translate research into practical clinical applications that clinicians and counselors can use in understanding and treating problem gamblers.

Professor Chien-Chung Huang, director of Huamin Research Center, and Dr. Richard L. Edwards coedited a book titled, China’s Nonprofit Sector: Progress and Challenges. This book provides an authoritative discussion of the nonprofit sector in one of the world’s most dynamic emerging economies and transitional societies. The book is available through Transaction Publishers and at retailers nationwide.

Professor Chien-Chung Huang, director of Huamin Research Center, and Dr. Richard L. Edwards co-edited a Chinese book titled, Comparative Study of Social Work Education in China and US. The book examines similarities and differences of social work education and research between China and the United States. It helps readers understand international social work and draws on practice experience to develop social work system in China. The book is available through Social Sciences Academic Press (China) and at retailers nationwide in China.

Professor Chien-Chung Huang, director of the Huamin Research Center, and Dr. Richard L. Edwards co-edited a Chinese book, titled Comparison of Social Welfare in China and the United States. The book compares the framework and policy content of the social welfare system in China and the United States. The book covers topics such as child welfare and family policy, elderly welfare, non-government organizations, medical health, and issues related disabled population. The book is available through Shandong People’s Publishing House and at retailers nationwide in China.

Associate Professor Judith McCoyd has co-authored with Toba S. Kerson, "Social Work in Health Settings." The book presents a "practice in context" framework which is then applied in thirty-one casebook chapters, covering a great variety of health care settings from working with survivors of domestic violence through supporting people with HIV to services for military personnel.

This thought-provoking volume thoroughly integrates social work theory and practice, and provides an excellent opportunity for understanding particular techniques and interventions. In this era of managed care, downsizing, and moving away from hospital-based work, the approach taken in Social Work in Health Settings proves more salient than ever before.

The book is available from Routledge and Amazon and other retailers nationwide.

Associate Professor Judith McCoyd has co-authored with Carolyn A. Walter "Grief and Loss Across the Lifespan: A Biopsychosocial Perspective." It is unique in its treatment of grieving patterns and intervention strategies for different age groups. With this book, students and practitioners will learn how grief is influenced by biological responses to stress, psychological responses to loss, as well as social norms and support networks. The book is available at Springer Publishing and at retailers nationwide.

Antoinette Y. Farmer and Miriam Potocky have co-edited a book about research with minority and oppressed populations. The editors have abstracted from each article in this special collection research principles that can be generalized across different multicultural groups. In addition, they have suggested fundamental research questions that will advance further knowledge in the field. The book is available at Amazon.com and other major retailers nationwide.

Allison Zippay charts the decline of displaced blue-collar workers in this case study of Pennsylvania's Shenango Valley, detailing the fallout of the past decade's shift from a manufacturing to a service-based economy. Challenging the assumption that these workers have been absorbed into the post-industrial economy, the volume questions the real nature of their occupational transition. Zippay uses data gathered from in-person interviews to delineate blue-collar downward lifestyle shifts and conveys a community portrait of industrial displacement. The book is available from Amazon.com and other major retailers nationwide.