Research Office News

The University of Michigan School of Social Work celebrated World AIDS Day with talks on science and policy, personal testimonials--including words from Jeanne White-Ginder, the mother of Ryan White--awards to prominent local AIDS activists, including members of the Michigan HIV/AIDS Council, a social justice exhibit drawn from the School's fine art collection, and an impromptu AIDS "quilt," created by attendees (out of paper, not cloth).

The event, sponsored by the office of the Associate Dean for Research, also featured Dawn Lukomski of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, telling a generally optimistic story of the state of HIV/AIDS in southeast Michigan, but stressing the need for, among other things, wider acceptance and understanding of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to limit the spread of the disease. Associate Dean for Research Rogerio M. Pinto followed Ms. Lukomski and outlined an ambitious new research agenda around PrEP.

The day also featured words from Dean Lynn Videka and a performance by Unified Field Theory, a jazz combo from Ann Arbor's Community High School.

Joint PhD student Yun Chen and Kathleen Pottick, visiting scholar and professor of social work at Rutgers University, are both recipients of an honorable mention for the 2019 Society for Social Work and Research Excellence in Research Award. The award recognizes the article “Conceptualizing Culturally Infused Engagement and Its Measurement for Ethnic Minority and Immigrant Children and Families, Clinical Children and Family Psychology.” In conferring the honorable mention, the Society recognized outstanding social work research that represents the highest of scientific standards and advances social work knowledge.

Professor Joe Ryan says many Indiana families struggle with the root causes of addiction. He recently spoke at a meeting hosted by The Center for Families at Purdue University. The meeting highlighted what policies and programs are working in other states.  "It’s not like substance abuse is their only problem, these are families that have high rates of domestic violence, parental incarceration, employment problems, housing problems," says Ryan.

The University of Michigan LSA National Center for Institutional Diversity recently published a scholar story showcasing Assistant Professor Shanna Kattari. Her scholarship focuses on three main areas:

• disability, ableism and microaggressions around disability;
• sexuality and gender;
• healthcare access, culturally responsive healthcare and sexual and reproductive healthcare.

Kattari enjoys using mixed methods, PhotoVoice, digital storytelling, arts-based methodologies and phenomenology from the qualitative perspective to depict her research.

A new study from researchers at the University of Michigan School of Social Work is the largest to date to examine associations between parental spanking and child well-being. The results of this study suggest that the use of spanking is detrimental to children across cultural contexts. Specifically, this study used data from 62 countries, representing nearly one-third of the world’s countries, and demonstrated that caregivers’ reports of spanking of children in the household were associated with lower socioemotional development of 3- and 4-year-old children. "Spanking may do more harm than good," said Garrett Pace, the study's lead author and a doctoral student of social work and sociology. 

The results of this study suggest that bans are warranted and likely benefit child well-being in the long term. In addition, caregivers can be supported in their efforts to change parenting behaviors through culturally competent parent education as well as the use of evidence-based practices that promote alternatives to physical punishment.  The study was published in Child Abuse and Neglect The International Journal. Additional authors include Associate Professors Andrew Grogan-Kaylor and Shawna Lee.

William Elliott III, Social Work Professor and Director of the Center on Assets, Education, and Inclusion research on Children’s Savings Accounts is highlighted in a new Brookings Institute report, “Four policies to help the middle class, and how to pay for them”.  

Elliott is a leading researcher in the fields of college savings accounts, college debt and wealth inequality. Elliott’s research challenges individual beliefs and cultural values that surround funding for college, student debt, inequality, systemic patterns of poverty and educational justice

Todd Herrenkohl, Marion Elizabeth Blue Professor of Child and Family was recently appointed by Alex Azar, the Secretary of Health and Human Services to the Board of Scientific Counselors for the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Board advises and makes recommendations to the Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services; the Director, Center for Disease Control and Prevention; and the Director, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control regarding surveillance, basic epidemiologic research, intervention research and implementation, dissemination and evaluation of promising and evidence-based strategies for the prevention of injury and violence.

The New York Times features the American Academy of Pediatrics new most strongly worded policy statement against spanking children. The latest statement stems from a body of research including Associate Professor Andrew Grogan-Kaylor's "Spanking and child outcomes: Old controversies and new meta-analyses".