Reggie Ferreira

Tulane University | TU · School of Social Work

Objective: The purpose of this research was a pilot examination to identify and assess relationships among social vulnerability, personal resilience, and preparedness for a sample of US residents living in the Gulf South, who had experienced climate-related disaster (e.g., hurricanes) and the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Binary logistic regression...

This study investigated posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) prevalence among a sample of intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors (n = 77) who filed for restraining orders in rural Louisiana during the COVID-19 pandemic. IPV survivors were individually interviewed to assess their self-reported levels of perceived stress, resilience, potential PTS...

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to increase social, economic, and psychological risks, including increased perceived stress – or the degree to which a person perceives a stressor and their ability to cope with it. The current study uses novel data collected during the COVID-19 pandemic to assess the role of a range of demographic and disaster-relat...

Objective The objective of this research is to identify sociodemographic predictors of depression for a rural population in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to enhance mental health disaster preparedness. Methods This study uses t-tests to differentiate between gender and ethnicity groups regarding depression status; binary logistic...

The purpose of this research was to identify differences in perceived stress and personal resilience across race, gender, and different types of stressors (i.e., rent/mortgage stress) for a sample of U.S. residents experiencing the COVID‐19 pandemic. This study used a cross‐sectional, convenience sampling design for primary survey data collected ov...

Purpose Few studies investigating disaster have examined the risks associated with surviving both disaster and intimate partner violence (IPV). IPV is psychological or physical abuse in a personal relationship. Using an intersectional approach, the purpose of this study is to investigate contributions to and differences in perceived stress and pers...

Objective: Our objective was to understand experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV) by survivors living through the COVID-19 pandemic in a rural area. Method: Structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of IPV survivors, 93% of whom identified as women, living in a rural parish (county) in Louisiana (n = 41). Interviews in...

The persistence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the significant changes in climate leading to an increase of disasters have been a cause of concern. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report warned that society has a narrow window of time left to prevent climate change from spinning out of control. This report has reignited u...

Based on the emerging literature being developed in Motivational Interviewing that suggests certain group process factors and facilitator attributes predict treatment outcomes, this study sought to investigate the relationship between both client and facilitator ratings of the batterer intervention group experience. This study presents data from 16...

This article is an introduction to a special issue regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The current author of the introduction was particularly interested in empirical studies focused on mental health disparities, trauma, and resilience in the wake of COVID-19. The special call is the first in a collection of some of the most important re...

COVID-19 is a pandemic event not seen in a century. The purpose of this research is to identify important predictors related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic to intimate partner violence (IPV) and to provide insight into communication ecologies that can address IPV in disaster contexts. This study uses a cross-sectional design, with purposive snowb...

COVID-19 is a pandemic event not seen in a century. This research aims to identify the group differences regarding resilience and perceived stress for those who identified as single, in a relationship not experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV), and those in a relationship experiencing IPV during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study uses a cross-...

A debate persists regarding the effectiveness of batterer intervention programs (BIPs), the predominant form of intervention for individuals who have perpetrated intimate partner violence (IPV). Social science research has identified some promising research trends—for example, the effectiveness of motivational interviewing and process factors that...

COVID-19 is a pandemic event not seen in a century. This research aims to determine important predictors of resilience towards the COVID 19/Coronavirus Pandemic. This study uses a cross-sectional design, with purposive snowball sampling, for primary survey data collected over 10 weeks starting the first week in April 2020. Participants completed a...

The hidden and often unspoken impact of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has been the prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV). This commentary addresses this issue and highlights a study undertaken to address this public health issue by generating empirical research on the relationship between COVID-19 and IPV. (PsycInfo Database Record...

In April of 2010 the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill poured an estimated five million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico over a five-month period (Devi, 2010) [1]. This paper examines resilience by gender through a Conservation of Resources (COR) framework in three Gulf Coast communities impacted by the DWH oil spill. A total of 326 residents...

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to understand the importance of research-supported practice for batterer intervention programs. Methods: This study applied descriptive statistics and chi-square analyses to a novel dataset from the Domestic Violence Perpetrator Treatment Survey (N = 411). This was a 69-item survey developed by domestic violen...

The hidden and often unspoken impact of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has been the prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV). This commentary addresses this issue and highlights a study undertaken to address this public health issue by generating empirical research on the relationship between COVID-19 and IPV. (PsycInfo Database Record...

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill was the largest in U.S. history, releasing an estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. The scale of the disaster motivated diverse stakeholders to examine the human dimensions of the spill and how communities' resilience to similar threats could be improved. This examination is needed...

We conducted a survey-based study looking at the associations among attachment insecurities (anxiety and avoidance), relationship functioning, and psychological domestic violence. We looked at three relationship functioning variables (i.e., anger management, communication, and conflict resolution) and three domestic psychological violence variables...

The relationship between gender, disaster exposure, and the Protective Action Decision Model (PADM) is explored through a survey administered to 326 Gulf Coast residents following the Deep-Water Horizon oil spill. Structural Equation Modeling was used to find that disaster exposure demonstrated a significant negative effect on PADM, such that great...

Purpose: This study examines similarities and differences of parenting attitudes between male and female perpetrators of intimate partner violence in a batterer intervention program. Method: This research utilized a cross-sectional, secondary analysis of 257 men and women. Results: Logistic regression analyses indicate a statistically significant m...

Objective: This study sought to investigate similarities and differences in resilience among African American females and males living in areas impacted by the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and their ability to conserve resources. Methods: This research utilized a cross sectional design with 4,664 African American adults. Results: Standard multiple r...

Fostering awareness of self in the education of social work students, has focused primarily on a micro-conceptualisation of the self, which implies that the attention was, and still is, mainly on the intrapsychic processes brought about by theory and field practicum. The development of the professional self should also encompass a macro-conceptuali...

Research and practice aimed at enhancing community resilience to disasters such as hurricanes have focused primarily on the survival of individuals and the development of social capital and networks. Less consideration has been given to the dynamics of social-ecological conditions that can govern post-disaster outcomes. This article provides a rati...

This paper presents findings from eight post-hoc interviews with individuals representing the key community partner organizations that facilitated and hosted data collection for an in-person mixed-methods survey about disaster resilience and preparedness in three communities on the Gulf Coast (U.S.) impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and n...

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (DWH) was one of the largest hydrocarbon disasters in US history. The estimated 5 million barrels of oil that poured into the Gulf of Mexico had a devastating impact on the natural environment, as well as on the livelihoods of communities residing along the coastal region. This paper explores resilience in indiv...

New Orleans has experienced some of the highest per capita rates of homicide in the nation. In response, the City of New Orleans developed the NOLA FOR LIFE murder reduction strategy, one aspect of which is the implementation of Positive Action, a character building program for youth. The Positive Action program has offered promising results for cu...

Objective Literature explores which factors most impact resilience and how these factors impact an individual and communities’ ability to cope with disaster. Less research has focused on how age impacts resilience. This research adapts several previous conceptual models used to investigate resilience. To investigate the unique vulnerabilities faced...

Purpose: This study sought to investigate similarities and differences among race, gender, parenting attitudes, and conflict negotiation tactics of perpetrators of intimate partner violence in a batterer intervention program. Method: This research utilized a nonequivalent, control group secondary analysis of 238 women and men. Results: Logistic reg...

Purpose of review: We review topical evidence on ethical issues in conducting disaster research with children and families affected by natural disasters, with an emphasis on analyzing specific vulnerabilities associated with children and families affected by disasters, identifying significant findings and trends of ethical guidelines and approache...

Purpose This study sought to investigate similarities and differences among race, gender, parenting attitudes, and conflict negotiation tactics of perpetrators of intimate partner violence in a batterer intervention program. Method This research utilized a nonequivalent, control group secondary analysis of 238 women and men. Results Logistic regr...

Given the multifaceted disruptions caused by disaster, and how disaster intersects with intimate partner violence (IPV), this study identifies the resilience and self-mastery characteristics of IPV survivors in the aftermath of disaster. The study is guided by the conservation of resources theory (COR-theory), utilizing a resource loss and resource...

Little empirical research exists on the relationship between disaster and IPV among older adults. Survivors of “non-disaster” IPV are frequently able to recover, but clear information is lacking on recovery mechanisms of older adults. The extant literature on recovery mechanisms for victims doesn’t address the same issues for older IPV survivors in...

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of parenting attitudes and widely used indicators of intimate partner violence perpetration on program completion in a sample of women required to attend a 26-week batterer intervention program. Methods: This research used a nonequivalent, control-group design in a secondary analysis of...

Disaster significantly increases the prevalence and severity of intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization, with empirical evidence suggesting a decrease in access to social services and social networks available post disaster. This study examines the compounded vulnerability of IPV victims post-disaster by identifying the predictors of IPV and...

Objective Many Latino youth are often unable to access mental health services and support following exposure to traumatic and stressful events. This study assesses the benefits and effectiveness of utilizing Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS), a school based intervention, with Spanish speaking, Latino youth residing in...

The spouse of a military service member is in a special position to understand the behaviors of a service member better than anyone. These individuals live with the military members and are able to detect changes in behavior and increased stress reactions. Yet, there is limited published research focusing on spouses’ levels of awareness of posttrau...

Background and purpose: The disruptive effects of disasters on communities have become increasingly long-term and long lasting with the increasing frequency of disaster exposure. The social impact from disaster can result in uncertainty regarding the immediate and long-term future, a situation that is exacerbated by stressors that contribute to a w...

Proposal: Over the last five decades (1964-2013) disasters have affected 6.9 trillion people and caused damages totaling US $2.6 trillion (CRED, 2014). Natural and manmade disasters affect and disrupt millions of people, indifferent to age, race, socioeconomic status (Baker & Cormier, 2015). There is an increasingly large literature exploring which...

In the United States, the judicial system response to violence between intimate partners, or intimate partner violence (IPV), typically mandates that adjudicated perpetrators complete a batterer intervention program (BIP). The social science data has found that these programs, on the whole, are only minimally effective in reducing rates of IPV. The...

A 15-page questionnaire, the North American Domestic Violence Intervention Program Survey, was sent to directors of 3,246 domestic violence perpetrator programs (also known as batterer intervention programs, or BIPs) in the United States and Canada. Respondent contact information was obtained from state Coalitions Against Domestic Violence and from...

Background and purpose: Communities worldwide are affected by daily fatal disasters. In March 2012, a rural US social service agency responded to a tornado disaster affecting 5500 households. It resulting in an overload of cases being handled by lay disaster case-managers. While social service agencies normally quickly respond, reluctance in uncove...

Background: Communities worldwide are at a severe risk of manmade disaster, yet the impact of technological disasters on resilience remains a neglected area of research. The 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) disaster provides a unique opportunity to gain a scientific understanding of systems level (e.g. individual, household and community) disaster resi...

This article provides an outline of the challenging process of teaching, acquiring and internalising social work values, which form an important aspect on which ultimate ethical decision making with clients rests. The supposition is that treating clients impartially, reasonably and justly is dependent on students' understanding and awareness of the...

Objective The purpose of the study was to investigate the differences between intimate partner violence (IPV) and parenting attitudes by race by comparing demographic, parenting, and IPV indicators for African American and White men. Method The study employed a nonequivalent, control group design in a secondary analysis of 111 men. Results Analys...

Objective: The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between parenting attitudes and Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) perpetration and identify factors associated with program completion for a 26-week batterer intervention program (BIP). Method: The study employed a non-equivalent, control-group design (comparing program complete...

Objective The purpose of the present study was to investigate the impact of gender and other variables commonly associated with intimate partner abuse perpetration on program completion and pretreatment abusiveness profiles among a sample of men and women ordered into a 52-week batterer intervention program (BIP). Method The study employed a postt...

Worldwide there has been a significant increase in disasters the past decades, particularly in the United States. Due to the increased frequency of disasters, the field of disaster research has seen a corresponding increase in empirical studies involving human subjects. A large number of these studies include vulnerable populations. Study of these...

Objective The purpose of the study was to evaluate the psychosocial predictors of propensity for abusiveness among a large sample of women ordered into a 26-week batterer intervention program (BIP). Method The study employed a nonequivalent, control group design (comparing program completers to dropouts) in a secondary analysis of 485 women. Resu...

Background and purpose: Communities worldwide are affected by an increasing amount of disasters. It is estimated that a disaster occurs every day somewhere in the world. This is particularly troubling given the rapid worldwide increase in disaster fatalities. Louisiana is no stranger to experiencing disasters on a regular basis. The need to underst...