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This study focused on how adopted adults who have reunited with at least one birth family member experienced identity shifts related to their original birth certificates (OBCs). Framed by the Communication Theory of Identity (CTI), 50 adopted adults discussed their experiences related to their OBCs and how their identities are connected to this symbol through three of the layers of CTI, the personal, enacted, and relational layers. Participants discussed the presence of an ambiguous and unsolvable identity that interpenetrated with their other identity layers. Findings extend CTI to include an additional layer for adoptees – phantom identity – which can explain the life adoptees would have lived had they not been adopted. This identity was salient for participants as it manifested in ways such as expressing frustration with obstacles in gaining access to their OBC and refocusing their professional life to support other adopted adults. Moreover, findings offer implications for the examination into current adoption record practices in the United States, additional state mutual consent registries, and increased access to adoption-competent counselors for adoptees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is highly prevalent among adults in the US and is associated with substantial personal and societal costs. Yet only a small percentage of adults with AUD initiate treatment, including those with severe AUD symptoms who are most in need of treatment. In this paper we use latent profile analysis (LPA) to describe differences in symptoms of AUD severity and alcohol-related consequences among untreated adults with severe AUD symptoms who were recruited from the community. Identification of such differences will result in better understanding of this population and will improve methods of treatment outreach. The LPAs were conducted on the baseline data of 403 (50% male, 77% White, M age = 40.74 with severe AUD recruited from the community and enrolled in a trial of an intervention designed to encourage treatment initiation. Participants reported no prior AUD treatment history. The LPAs were based on indicators of AUD severity, alcohol-related negative consequences, and self-reported intention to initiate AUD treatment. The LPAs revealed 4 profiles. Profile membership was predicted by baseline participant sex and whether they were living with a partner and was associated with baseline past 30-days alcohol consumption. The findings characterize and describe the variability among adults in the community with untreated severe AUD on variables that tend to motivate such individuals to seek treatment, which could significantly advance treatment outreach efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Racial minority families engage in "racial socialization," the process by which individuals develop meaning and understanding of what race is, and its implications. While parents are often seen as the site of this socialization, we wanted to explore which racial socialization messages were salient for young adults, and from whom they received these messages. This paper utilized focus groups to explore messages that young Black adults received about race, and what this means for their racial identity. We identified three dominant themes in our analyses: (a) the content of familial messages regarding race, identity, and prejudice, (b) critical incidents that shaped individuals' understandings of Black racial identity, and (c) familial sources. Each of these themes is constituted by various experiences and examples that shed light on racial socialization in today's social climate. Overall, parents, extended family members, and community members were sources of socializing what race meant to young Black adults. We discuss implications for research on racial socialization and family communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International social work (ISW) has gained traction across the USA with a number of schools taking the lead in promoting the values of social work through exchange programs, service learning, and volunteerism. The internalization of campus through the proactive action of institutions to incorporate global perspectives into teaching, learning, and research in order to build intercultural competence among students, faculty, and staff has received little attention. This paper assesses the level of interest of social work students at a large urban university in the southwestern USA in embracing ISW and how they conceptualized their learning needs. Using a self-administered web-based survey offered to a total of 1,500 social work students with 18% respondent rate, the research determined through a chi-square test that students in Bachelor of Social Work, Master of Social Work, and PhD programs had a significant difference in preferences in areas of interests (χ2 = 153,p ≤ 0.000). Overall, students demonstrated interest in direct practice (74.3%) and community and administrative practice (16.6%). Students also differed in their level of interest in participating in international exchange programs (χ2 = 9.6,p = 0.047). Discussions address specific and unique interests categorized broadly as ‘globalized social worker,’ ‘humanitarian social worker,’ and ‘policy social worker,’ each of which requires specific skillsets and advanced behavior skills. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]