Two WSSW Students Present at Research Conference

Two Wurzweiler students, Lara Bolsom and Wendy Schudrich, presented posters at the annual Behavioral Science Research Day conference, co-sponsored by the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology and the Institute of Public Health Sciences. The conference took place on the 15th of May, on the campus of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Laurie J Bauman, Ph.D., a sociologist and Professor of Pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, was the guest speaker.

Ms. Schudrich used survey techniques to measure job satisfaction among 434 urban child welfare workers. She found that while most of the workers did not regret their career choice, child abuse prevention had not been their first preference. More than half the respondents had thought about leaving their jobs in the previous year, but more than 75 percent intended to stay. The four factors associated with looking for employment were contingent rewards, satisfaction with the nature of the work, pay, and perceptions of child welfare, in that order.

Ms. Bolsom presented a single-system research design that she had developed in Social Work Research and Evaluation (SWK 6401), a required course for all MSW students. She measured the efficacy of Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT) on a 29 year old female complaining of excessive negative thoughts. Using standard scales and a client log, she demonstrated that her own practice was effective in reducing the occurrence of negative thoughts for the client.