William Robert Nugent

University of Tennessee at Knoxville | UTK · College of Social Work

Police kill around 1,000 persons annually in the United States. This is a significant issue for social work because of the effects these killings have on individuals and communities. Recent research has shown a positive relationship between violent political rhetoric (VPR) and mass shootings. This study aimed to investigate if a relationship exists...

This study examined mental health symptoms among 8-11-year-old children of Latinx farmworkers in rural North Carolina (N = 76) and urban children of Latinx parents (N = 65). All had household incomes of 200% below the poverty line. A Spanish version of the Child Behavioral Checklist (CBCL) for children aged 6–18 assessed internalized (anxious/depre...

Research on school discipline disparities often examines the relationship between student behavior, student/teacher demographics, bias, policies, and practices on the likelihood of receiving a discipline outcome. However, often missing from the discourse is the role of repeat infractions and the time of the year that the discipline outcome was give...

The purpose of the current research was to translate the Family Bondedness Scale (FBS), a recently developed scale for measuring the extent to which pet owners are emotionally bonded with their pets in a manner commensurate with their emotional bondedness with human family members, into Spanish and test the measurement equivalence, or measurement i...

Burn injuries are associated with as well as complicated by alcohol misuse. To date, there are no stated guidelines for alcohol testing upon burn patient admissions. This study investigated if there were associations between race and testing for alcohol upon burn admissions, controlling for demographics, burn severity (degree), and other circumstan...

Purpose This study aimed to determine the relationship between demographic diversity and veterinary professionals regarding their psychological distress and suicidal experiences. This study also aimed to determine what demographic factors were associated with psychological distress and suicidal experiences for veterinary professionals. Methods Thi...

The reproductive autonomy of persons who can give birth can be impeded through forms of interpersonal violence and coercion. Moreover, macro-level factors (e.g., poverty, discrimination, community violence, legislative policies) may impede the reproductive autonomy of entire communities. This study investigates a form of violence we term perceived...

A significant percentage of US households have at least one pet. A recent poll found that over 90% of pet owners feel their pet is a family member, suggesting the definition of “family” should include pets. Some studies have found that pet ownership has physical, mental, and social health benefits for the owner, although other research has not foun...

About 38.4% of U.S. households include a dog, and 25.4% a cat, as pets, and a recent poll suggested over 90% of pet owners feel their companion animal is a family member. Numerous studies have suggested pet ownership has physical, mental, and social health benefits, though much of this research has yielded mixed results. Results of a recent review...

Mass shootings are a public health crisis and have numerous negative effects on health, mental health, and economic variables. Identification of correlates and causes of mass shootings is an important research priority, as findings may inform efforts to reduce these events and their sequelae. A relationship has been speculated between violent polit...

Mass shootings represent a major public health crisis. There are economic, health, and mental health consequences of these events. A number of causes of mass shootings have been investigated. One cause that has been hypothesized but not yet investigated is violent political rhetoric (VPR). The current study used publicly available data to test for...

Introduction Knowledge of substance use history is important for treating patients with burn injuries due to increased risk of mortality, complications, and poor outcomes. Yet, there has been little research on how admitting medical providers make the determination of who to test for alcohol or drug use. Burn severity, etiology, and circumstances s...

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the impact on suicidal ideation (SI) of having experienced spousal physical abuse and the possible effects of protective factors on the relationship between depressive symptoms and SI among community-dwelling older adults. Methods: Using Wisconsin Longitudinal Study data (N = 6,125), a path analys...

Purpose of the Study: The current research investigated the impact of protective factors – problem-focused coping, emotion-focused coping, having as a confidant either family or friends, and social support from friends – on suicidal ideation among older adults using Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS) data. This study also investigated the indirect...

Objectives: Smoking is deadly and exacerbates comorbid health conditions, especially among those with co-occurring substance use disorders. Tennessee does not require substance abuse treatment facilities to concurrently provide tobacco-cessation treatment options or limit smoking on facility property as a standard for licensure. This study examine...

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is a severe issue for older adults. (Sylaska & Edwards, 2014). IPV in later life is expected to increase as baby boomers age (Roberto, McPherson, & Brossoie, 2013). Women exposed to IPV are at risk of depression in later life (Chuang et al., 2012). Social support may be a crucial protective factor against this suscep...

In this article, we systematically reviewed 116 veterans’ medical records to explore the mitigating factors in sleep disturbance, polytrauma clinical triad (PCT), and suicide. We discovered that a particular nonaction (i.e., no standardized completion of sleep-disturbance screenings) had strong implications for resulting suicides among veterans wit...

Objective: Findings from meta-analytic studies that use standardized mean differences (SMDs) may be overly dependent on the original measures that were used to generate SMDs. This may be particularly true when measures have arbitrary metrics or when measures fail to meet measurement equivalence. We test the hypothesis that in such cases, meta-analy...

Objective: The knowledge base and skills required for effective practice in integrated and behavioral health care are poorly specified. This study aims to identify types of knowledge and skills necessary for effective practice by empirically testing the content and structure of a model of integrated health care knowledge. Method: Participants (N =...

This study examines the relationship between female adolescents’ perceptions of their fathers’ level of communication and care, and the influence of these variables on their adolescent daughters’ sexual behaviors. Data was extracted from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health from 1994–2008, which consisted of a sample (N=629) of adol...

Objective This article introduces the reader to item response theory (IRT), differential item functioning (DIF), and differential test functioning (DTF), and it demonstrates how a DIF and DTF analysis can be conducted using IRT analysis methods. DIF concerns the possibility that items on a scale work differently for different groups, such as female...

This study was designed to examine the relationship between children’s understanding of their genital anatomy and their use of the word “inside” in response to questions about genital touch during a forensic medical examination. This study involved a secondary data analysis of 674 records of children at a sexual abuse clinic in a large city in a so...

College drinking is a public health dilemma affecting the nation’s institutions of higher education. This article assesses the relationship between mental health symptoms and alcohol consequences experienced by college drinkers. It is a secondary data analysis of the American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment (ACHA-NCHA...

Meta-analysis is a significant methodological advance that is increasingly important in research synthesis. Fundamental to meta-analysis is the presumption that effect sizes, such as the standardized mean difference (SMD), based on scores from different measures are comparable. It has been argued that population observed score SMDs based on scores...

This literature review examines five empirical studies that researchers conducted to investigate children’s reports about their experience of undergoing a genital examination. Findings show older children tend to provide more extensive and accurate accounts of their experiences than younger children, who are particularly vulnerable when questioned...

This literature review focuses on the use of Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students (BASICS), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Mindfulness, and Brief Motivational Interventions (BMI) during individual evidence-based therapeutic interventions with college students engaging in high-risk drinking. A review of family hist...

This review examines 10 studies of suicide prevention programs conducted in small communities using these programs: (1) Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST), (2) Connect, (3) Campus Connect, and (4) Question, Persuade, and Refer (QPR). These evidence-based programs are listed in the Best Practices Registry funded by the Substance Ab...

The suicide rate within the U.S. armed forces remains a pressing issue for the country. This comprehensive literature review found only five published studies on military suicide prevention programs and their outcomes. Substantial research design and methodological issues are noted, and only one study produces statistically significant results. Fin...

This review includes 15 studies, evaluating evidence of the effectiveness of interventions addressing negative affect in substance use relapse prevention. A unitary construct of “negative affect” was inadequate for reconciling conflicting findings. Instead, affect variables were divided by temporal range, model of affect, and discreteness of measur...

The assessment of suicide risk is a critically important task for practitioners working with older adults. Short-form scales are important tools for use in the assessment of suicide ideation and risk since their brevity makes them ideally suited for use in busy practice settings. This article reports results of a validity study of an ultra-short su...

A foundational assumption in meta-analysis is that effect sizes (EFSs) based on scores from different measures are directly comparable. Recent theoretical work has shown that in order for EFSs to be comparable—in the sense of being interchangeable across measures—the EFSs must be based on scores meeting two conditions: construct equivalence and the...

Childhood trauma, abuse or neglect impacts the function and structure of the brain of affected children. Attunement with other beings as well as an enriched environment can contribute to normal brain development. The enriched environment of a barn and attunement with an animal may contribute to reductions in stress for traumatised children. A pilot...

Nationwide, the percentage of faculty who are tenured (or in tenure-earning positions) is declining, with proportionate increases in the amount of instruction provided by adjunct and other part-time instructors, including doctoral students. These trends are mirrored within academic social work and have given rise to some concerns about the potentia...

The relationship between suicidal thinking and adolescent dating violence has not been previously explored in a sample of adolescent abortion patients. This paper highlights a study where the relationship between dating violence and severity of suicidal thinking was examined in a sample of 120 young women ages 14-21 seeking to terminate an unintend...

Meta-analysis is becoming a principal tool for research synthesis and for the identification and justification of evidence based practices. A fundamental assumption in meta-analysis is that effect sizes based upon different measures are comparable. Recent work has challenged this assumption in the case of the standardized mean difference. In this a...

Adolescent antisocial behavior is a significant problem. Aggression Replacement Training (ART) is a multicomponent intervention developed to treat adolescent antisocial behavior. However, to date, no research has focused on the extent to which ART affects the cycles of antisocial behavior among youth in short-term residential programs. This article...

Meta-analysis is a fundamental tool for identifying and justifying evidence based practices. A fundamental concept in meta-analysis is the effect size, and a basic presumption is that effect sizes based upon different measures are comparable. Recent theoretical work has shown that effect sizes based upon different measures are comparable only when...

This book focuses on the analysis of data from single case designs. The methods covered in this book range from traditional visual analysis methods to complex ARIMA statistical models. The use of graphical methods is also extensively covered. The book is most appropriate for students in doctoral programs in disciplines such as Social Work and Psych...

The relationship between dating violence and 13 psychosocial problems, conceptually organized into three symptom clusters--depressive, family problem, and posttraumatic stress--was investigated in a sample of adolescent pregnancy termination patients, ages 14 to 21. Results of a multivariate multiple-regression analysis indicated that, after contro...

The use of meta-analysis is growing in popularity. It is based on the fundamental notion of the effect size, and a critical assumption is that effect sizes based on different measures are directly comparable. In this article it is argued that the direct comparability of effect sizes across measures implies the invariance of the effect sizes across...

Critical to meta-analysis is the presumption that effect sizes based on different measures are directly comparable. Recent theoretical work has shown that an invariance condition--universe score, or construct, validity invariance--must hold for either observed score or reliability-corrected effect sizes based on different measures to be directly co...

Regression analysis procedures are frequently used in Social Work research. One of the assumptions on which regression analysis is based is the assumption that all independent variables have been measured without error. This assumption is probably ignored by most researchers. However, the consequences of violations of this assumption are profound....

This article describes an investigation of the relationship between participation in a victim-offender reconciliation program (VORP) and subsequent reoffense by children and adolescents. Two random samples of children and adolescents were drawn: one from participants in a VORP and a second from a population who went through a more traditional juven...

One of the most important effect sizes used in meta-analysis is the standardized mean difference (SMD). In this article, the conditions under which SMD effect sizes based on different measures of the same construct are directly comparable are investigated. The results show that SMD effect sizes from different measures of the same construct are dire...

This study investigated the measurement characteristics of the Multi-Problem Screening Inventory (MPSI) suicidal thoughts subscale. A sample of 542 responses to the MPSI was obtained and the responses on the suicidal thoughts subscale were analyzed using classical, Item Response, and Generalizability Theory methods. Results indicated that the MPSI...

This paper focuses on whether running away from adolescent residential care facilities is related to having off grounds passes with an adult resource. It was hypothesized that as off grounds passes increased in frequency and duration, runaway behavior would decrease in frequency and duration. Data were collected from two hundred closed client files...

Objective: This article reports the results of a meta-analytic study of the relationship between participation in victim- offender mediation (VOM) and the prevalence of subsequent delinquent behavior. Method: Analyses were conducted with the results of 15 studies, conducted at 19 different sites, with a sample of 9,307 juveniles. Results: The resul...

The purpose of the research reported in this article was to replicate findings reported by Nugent and Williams-Hayes that suggested that there is a relationship between missing information on demographic items found on client intake forms and severity of suicidal ideation. Replication of these results would have important implications for social wo...

A study was conducted to assess the equivalence of validity and reliability of two forms of the Self-Esteem Rating Scale. A total of 228 responses were obtained from a purposive sample. Several data analysis methods were used to test specific hypotheses, and two methods of equating observed scores on the two forms were used. The results were consis...

A study was conducted to test the hypothesis that scores from a self-anchored scale for depression function as unidimensional indicators of depression and that scores from a self-anchored scale for self-esteem function as unidimensional indicators of self-esteem. A total of 228 responses were obtained from a purposive sample of clinical and nonclin...

Understanding how to respond effectively and efficiently to crime victims and their offenders, and identifying what policies assist victims in having their victimization redressed is a major social concern. Social workers have contact with these vulnerable populations in many different ways, yet the social work profession, in general, is unfamiliar...

The Evidence-Based Practice Manual includes 104 original chapters, each specially written by the most prominent and experienced medical, public health, psychology, social work, criminal justice, and public policy practitioners, researchers, and professors in the United States and Canada. This book is specifically designed with practitioners in mind...

A little discussed issue for practitioners is the probability that a client actually has (or does not have) a disorder that he or she has been diagnosed as having (or not having). These probabilities depend upon the sensitivity and specificity of the assessment procedure used, and on the prevalence of the disorder among those seeking services. Prob...

A study was conducted to investigate the validity of missing information on a client background questionnaire as an indicator of suicidal thinking. Method: Four hundred six responses on a client background questionnaire and on the Multi-Problem Screening Inventory were obtained and analyses conducted to test the relationship between missing client...

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the measurement characteristics of the Multi-Problem Screening Inventory (MPSI) depression subscale. Method: A sample of 542 responses to the MPSI was obtained from persons seeking assistance in any of several child and family service agencies. The responses on the depression subscale were analyzed u...

In this age of accountability, social work practitioners face greater demands to demonstrate the effectiveness of their interventions. A practical way to accomplish this is to use rapid assessment instruments (RAIs) to measure a client’s level of functioning so that any subsequent change in functioning can be accurately detected over time. Although...

This study investigates die relationship between comorbidity of depression with other problems in personal or interpersonal functioning and severity of suicidal ideation. A number of variables are used as covariates, and a number of mechanism variables are included as a means to control for possible biases introduced by missing data. Results sugges...

Objective: A study was conducted to determine the extent to which four investigations of the effect of participation in victim-offender mediation (VOM) on reoffense were successful replications. Method: The data from these four studies were combined and statistical analyses performed to determine if differences between studies were attributable to...

Visual procedures are the most commonly used in the analysis of single case design data. However, a number of problems with visual analysis methods have been identified in previous research, and research and development on visual analysis methods has been recommended. If single case design methods are to be used, as once hoped, by social work pract...

Regression analysis procedures are frequently used in social work research. One of the assumptions on which regression analysis is based is the assumption that all independent variables have been measured without error. This assumption is probably ignored by most researchers. However, the consequences of violations of this assumption are profound....

Few studies have examined the extent to which public children's service systems respond to the mental health problems of children in state custody. This is an important issue because previous research suggests that little attention is given to children's mental health service needs when judicial and service decisions are made about children who ent...

Objective: A field study was conducted to test the effect of Aggression Replacement Training on male and female antisocial behavior in a runaway shelter. Method: An interrupted time series design was used in this study. The case records of 522 adolescents who stayed in a runaway shelter over a 519-day period were reviewed and measures of antisocial...

Afield study was conducted to investigate the effects of Aggression Replacement Training (ART) on the antisocial behavior of adolescents in a runaway shelter. An interrupted time series design was used. The case records of 522 adolescents who lived in the shelter for more than 519 days were reviewed. Data were obtained on the adolescents'antisocial...

This article describes research on the effects of an anger control training (ACT) program conducted in a group home for adolescents in state custody for unruly and delinquent behavior. Comparisons were made between changes in antisocial behavior shown by adolescents who went through ACT and those shown by (a) a random sample of comparable adolescen...

This article describes and assesses the integration of single-case design and group comparison methods to address limitations inherent in each methodology. First, the use of Hierarchical Linear Models (HLM) for analyzing aggregated single-case design data is described. Next, two examples of research that combines single-case and group-comparison me...

This article describes an investigation of the relationship between participation in a Victim-Offender Reconciliation Program (VORP) and reoffense within a year of participation. Three research questions were investigated: (a) What are the characteristics of these antisocial children and adolescents ? (b) What relationships exist between these char...

Active or empathic listening is a basic social work practice skill. Past research involving this skill has focused primarily on the relationship between level of empathy and ultimate outcome. Little research has focused on the more immediate effects of this verbal procedure. Focusing on the short-term affective impact of two types of active listeni...

This article describes a differential validity study of a 40-item Likert Type self-report measure of self-esteem, the Self-Esteem Rating Scale. A regression analysis was performed with the criterion variable being scores on Hudson's Index of Self-Esteem. Analyses of data on 369 responses to this assessment scale suggest that scores on the Self-Este...

This article describes the use of Generalizability theory to estimate the dependability of the clinical cutting scores on Hudson's (1982) Generalized Contentment Scale and Index of Self-Esteem. The clinical cutting score represents a criterion demarking clinically significant from clinically nonsignificant problem levels. Use of such a criterion is...

This article describes three single case design evaluations of an Ericksonian hypnotic intervention used with anxiety problems. The first study, carried out in a community mental health center, involved a 17-year-old female high school student experiencing problems classifiable under DSM-III criteria as "agoraphobia with panic attacks" and "general...

Reviews critical issues in the emerging debate over the use of paradoxical techniques in the practice of mental health counseling, focusing on issues related to manipulation and deceit in the counseling relationship and issues of informed consent. Arguments for and against the use of paradox are examined not only in terms of the ethical standards o...

This article describes a study that was conducted to investigate the construct validity of a self-anchored scale for measuring self-esteem. Self-anchored scale ratings of self-esteem were correlated with scores on two self-esteem scales, a depression scale, and demographic variables to provide evidence of convergent and discriminant validity. Resul...

This article describes a validation study of a newly developed measure of self-esteem. Two studies were conducted, with the second intended as a replication of the first. The first involved 246 persons, and the second involved 107. Several specific predictions were made about the correlations between scores on the newly developed scale, another mea...

In recent years, social workers have begun to focus on services intended to help keep families together. This article describes evaluation studies of family preservation and reunification services provided to families of status offenders across the state of Florida. Logistic regression methods were used to identify correlates offamily preservation...

This article describes a psychometric study of the performance of a self-anchored scale for measuring the level of depression in a clinical setting. The self-anchored scale has been advocated for use in clinical and experimental settings as an all purpose measurement procedure capable of measuring almost any construct. The results of this studv dem...

This article compares important concepts from Classical Measurement Theory, Item Response Theory, and Generalizability Theory. A brief, somewhat technical overview of each of these measurement theories is given. Important conceptual and technical similarities and differences between each of these theories are then noted. Several hundred responses o...

A series of studies was conducted to investigate the immediate affective impact that a clinical social worker's interviewing style has on clients. In Experiment 1, four simulated interviews were conducted using B1-B2-B1-B2 single-case designs. In Experiment 2, three further B1-B2-B1-B2 single-case-design studies were conducted in order to demonstra...

This paper describes a mathematical model for use in analyzing single case replication series. First, a mathematical model of two adjacent single subject design phases is developed with some mathematical rigor. Then, a comparative data analysis is performed, comparing the information produced by a classical pretest-posttest design analysis, a class...

This article presents an overview of item-response theory and how it may be applied in social work. First, classical measurement theory is briefly discussed via the domain sampling model. Important limitations of classical theory are discussed. Item-response theory, and how it addresses these limitations, is then presented. The theory is then used...

In this paper mathematical concepts from vector analysis are used to develop a vector model of single case design data. From this model several objective measures of change between single case design phases are developed. One, the Treatment Phase Effect Vector, is a multivariate index of change that indicates the change in level of a dependent vari...

This article describes the reanalysis of data from a recent experimental test of the tension-reduction theory of alcohol abuse. The reanalysis that is described employs a methodological approach using both single-case-design and group-comparison methods. This "integrated" analysis is described in some detail. The results of this reanalysis severely...

A methodological framework for evaluating the internal and external validity of case studies is presented. Based on an evaluation of 74 case studies published in the American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis using this framework, the author makes recommendations for upgrading the value of case studies used and reported by practitioners using hypnotic i...

An Ericksonian hypnotherapeutic procedure is designed to access and direct creative unconscious processes toward the creation and implementation of satisfactory solutions to recurrent problem behaviors. The use of the procedure is described in three cases. Two of the cases involve treatment of severe hypodermic needle phobias. The third case involv...

Typescript. Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 1986. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 240-245).