Susana Mariscal

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https://hdl.handle.net/1805/35558

Caring and Collaborative Communities, Strong and Resilient Families

Dr. Susana Mariscal is an associate professor at Indiana University School of Social Work. She researches child maltreatment prevention and the promotion of resilience among children and families. What is resilience? Resilience is the transformational capacity that all human beings have to overcome adversity. It emerges in the interplay between risk and protective factors. What are risk factors? Risk factors can be adversity, victimization, a traumatic event, or a natural disaster. What are protective factors? They're the strengths, assets, resources, skills, and support systems that children and families have or that they may develop to overcome adversity. One of the most important protective actors is caring relationships. When a child feels seen, heard, understood, safe, loved, and valued that child can take that strength throughout their life. That strength is so critical because it can be transformational. And, it can be a protective factor that can be activated anytime that there are difficult times of adversity.

The beauty of resilience is that caring relationships are not exclusive of parents and children. Parents are not the only adults who can make a child feel safe and loved. Grandparents, any relatives, coaches, teachers, mentors, neighbors can also be that caring adult for children. And the same thing for parents. The more protective factors they have, the better families will do. Protective factors actually may be shielding families from maltreatment. And that is the premise of strengths-based prevention.

One of Dr. Mariscal's projects comes from the approach of strength space prevention. It is implementing a primary child maltreatment prevention program. In Indiana, she and her team of researchers and community partners are implementing four family resource centers. And this is in collaboration with over 200 partners at the state and local levels. This is in collaboration with Firefly Children and Family Alliance and Department of Child Services. Multiple agencies that are supporting her research in different ways. What is offered at the Family Resource Centers? They offer concrete support programs. They have a store that offers baby and hygiene items. They have monthly family fun events that are designed to strengthen those bonds between children and parents. They also offer parent cafes to create informal support among parents. It is important to know that it is okay not have everything figured out about parenting, and the parent cafes are the perfect space to talk about it. They also offer a window between World Studies arts program to support the expression of feelings that are sometimes difficult to express. A variety of other services are available through their wonderful community navigators.

Dr. Mariscal's creation of community resources to strengthen child and family support systems is another excellent example of how IUPUI's faculty members are TRANSLATING their RESEARCH INTO PRACTICE.

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Prevención del abuso sexual infantil
(Universidad Católica Boliviana, 2000) Mariscal, Susana
Este pensamiento, refleja en gran medida la forma en que muchos padres justifican el maltrato al que someten a sus propios hijos. El maltrato infantil es un fenómeno mundial cada vez más alarmante. Nuestro país registra un número creciente de denuncias, las cuales muestran que seis de cada diez niños son maltratados en su familia y tres de ellos son víctimas de abuso sexual por parte de conocidos. Sin embargo, sabemos que gran parte de los casos no son denunciados debido a que la violencia contra la niñez es una práctica socialmente aceptada en nombre del amor y de la disciplina, atentando contra los derechos de niños, niñas y su dignidad de personas.
Programa integral de prevención del maltrato infantil por abuso sexual
(Universidad Cátolica Boliviana "San Pablo", 2002) Mariscal, Susana; Gutiérrez, Blanca
Este estudio propone un programa integral de prevención del abuso sexual infantil dirigido a niñ@s de cuatro a cinco años, sus padres y educadoras. El mismo fue desarrollado empleando metodología cualitativa para detectar factores de riesgo en una primera aproximación a víctimas y denunciantes de abuso sexual infantil en una instancia pública. Estos resultados fueron complementados con la revisión bibliográfica de programas existentes. El programa diseñado fue “puesto a prueba” con una población en riesgo. A partir de los resultados obtenidos, se pone énfasis en la propiedad del cuerpo y las “partes privadas”, identificación y aceptación de las propias sensaciones (agradables o desagradables), identificación de caricias positivas y negativas, situaciones de riesgo y conductas “aviso”, abuso sexual y posibles abusadores, secretos y amenazas, fuentes de ayuda, estrategias de acción frente a posibles situaciones de abuso y otros. Para prevenir el abuso sexual efectivamente, es necesario que aunemos esfuerzos, actuando como reales agente de cambio al responder a problemáticas sociales tan evidentes como este tipo de abuso en Bolivia.
The Comparative Effectiveness of a Model of Job Development versus Treatment as Usual
(2018) Carlson, Linda; Smith, Galen; Rapp, Charles A.; Mariscal, E. Susana; Holter, Mark C.; Ko, Eunjeong; Kukla, Marina; Fukui, Sadaaki; School of Social Work
Job development is critical to assisting people with serious disabilities to obtain jobs, but little is known about the actual methods that make job development effective. Using a post-only quasi-experimental design, this study examined the effects of the Conceptual Selling® method on the number of job development contacts and number of job placements. By controlling for employment specialists' characteristics (age, length of time in current position, years of human service experience, and years of business experience), the authors determined that the employment specialists trained in the Conceptual Selling® method had more job development contacts per employer, leading to more effective job placements for employers contacted, than the control group.
A health research agenda guided by migratory and seasonal farmworkers and the providers who serve them
(Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), 2018-11) Holmes, Cheryl; Levy, Michelle; Mariscal, E. Susana
This document shares the results of an almost two-year process to create a health research agenda specific to migratory and seasonal farmworkers. The purpose was to better understand what health outcomes are important to farmworkers in two Midwestern states and identify research and information gaps. A key strategy in accomplishing this work was not only to engage farmworkers in addition to providers, researchers and various other administrators but to do so in an active, direct and frequent manner, thus highlighting and elevating their voices and perspectives. This document is organized in that spirit.
The Importance of a Trauma-Informed Child Welfare System
(U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children's Bureau, 2020) Child Welfare Information Gateway
Trauma refers to a deeply stressful experience or its short and long-term impacts. Because exposure to trauma can cause a host of problems with lifelong consequences, early screening and intervention is essential. Child maltreatment can cause traumatic stress in some children, while others are more resilient and show few, if any, lasting effects. Widespread recognition of trauma's harmful impacts and the related consequences for children, families, and society has resulted in Federal, State, and local initiatives over the last decade to promote trauma-informed care. This issue brief outlines the essential components of a trauma-informed child welfare system and features examples from State and local programs that are incorporating trauma-informed practice. After providing a brief overview of trauma and its effects, the brief explores trauma-informed practice and the importance of strengthening families and communities to help them develop resilience and heal. The brief concludes by highlighting the importance of cross-systems collaboration in creating a trauma-informed child welfare system that improves child and family well-being.
Resilience following exposure to intimate partner violence and other violence: A comparison of Latino and non-Latino youth
(Elsevier, 2020-06-01) Mariscal, E. Susana
Childhood exposure to violence can have serious consequences for children’s social-emotional development and maltreatment risk. However, growing evidence suggests that these negative outcomes are not inevitable. In order to identify personal and environmental factors contributing to the resilience of youth involved with child welfare and exposed to IPV and other violence, and then compare these factors between Latino and non-Latino youth, this study examined data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being II corresponding to 601 youth ages 11–17.5 under child maltreatment investigation. Sequential structural equation modeling was used to examine the racial/ethnic differences in the relationship patterns between exposure to violence and personal and environmental protective factors on mental health, risky behaviors, and school engagement. Social and adaptive skills moderated the negative effects of youth-reported exposure to severe violence on mental health; caring adults moderated the negative effects of mother-reported IPV exposure on school engagement; and spirituality moderated the relationship between youth-reported mild violence and school engagement. Maternal monitoring had more positive effects on Latinos’ mental health than on “other” youth’s, despite stronger negative effects of exposure to mild violence were identified among Latinos. Findings from this study support the implementation of programs that prevent child maltreatment and IPV and enhance youth’s resilience by building connections (e.g., mentoring), developing personal strengths (e.g., social and adaptive skills), and enhancing parental monitoring among Latinos.
Novel Service Delivery Approach to Address Reproductive Health Disparities within Immigrant Latino Communities in Geographic Hot Spots: An Implementation Study
(Oxford University Press, 2020-08-01) Parker, Amittia; Johnson-Motoyama, Michelle; Mariscal, E. Susana; Guilamo-Ramos, Vincent; Reynoso, Elizabeth; Fernandez, Cielo
Latinx youths continue to have the highest rates of teenage births in the United States and are at increased risk of acquiring sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS. A community-based research partnership piloted Families Talking Together, a brief, parent-based sexual risk reduction program using a novel and culturally relevant approach. This mixed-methods study examined the feasibility and acceptability of Spanish-speaking promotoras de salud (that is, community health workers) as implementers of an evidence-based intervention (EBI) to reach underserved immigrant communities. Findings suggest that promotoras are capable of implementing the EBI with positive organizational, client, and implementation outcomes. Furthermore, promotoras hold particular promise for addressing reproductive health disparities as they are indigenous and trusted members of the community who can reach members of marginalized Latino populations.
Interpersonal Victimization of Latino Youth: a Latent Class Analysis
(Springer, 2021-01) Mariscal, E. Susana; Sabina, Chiara; Cuevas, Carlos A.; School of Social Work
This study identifies latent classes of interpersonal victimization among Latino youth using a national sample and then compares these latent classes on demographic characteristics, mental health (depression, anxiety, and hostility), and delinquency. We used data from the Dating Violence Among Latino Adolescents (DAVILA) study that surveyed 1525 Latino teens and their caregivers across the USA, by phone, from September 2011 to February 2012. Participants completed modified versions of the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire and the Conflict Tactics Scales 2- Short Form. Latent class analysis examined victimization types and relationship to perpetrators. We compared latent classes on demographics, mental health, and delinquency via multinomial logistic regression. A six-class solution was found. The six classes were Multiform Victimization by Multiple Perpetrators (n = 184, 12.1%), Psychological Dating Violence Victimization (n = 99, 6.5%), Psychological Victimization by Peers (n = 236, 15.5%), Physical Victimization by Peers (n = 127, 8.3%), Physical Violence Victimization by Juvenile Family Members (n = 93, 6.1%) and Uninvolved (n = 786; 51.5%). Classes differed on some demographic variables, hostility scores, and the rate of delinquency. Our findings provide further evidence regarding the heterogeneity of victimization experiences among Latino youth. LCA results also suggest that victimization occurs across a range of perpetrators, both inside and outside of the home. Hostility and delinquency were central to differentiating the classes, indicating their relevance among poly-victimized Latino youth. This analysis provides further understanding of the various ways Latino youth experience victimization and what factors may differentiate the various groupings of victimization profiles.
Updates on Strengthening Indiana Families
(2021-04-22) Mariscal, E. Susana; Victor, Bryan G.; Crone, Angel; Kelly, Jill; Chandler, Christina; Weaver, Tashia
Presented at the Community Collaborations to Strengthen and Preserve Families Annual Grantee Meeting. Virtual Meeting. April 22, 2021.
Child Protective Services Guidelines for Substantiating Exposure to Domestic Violence as Maltreatment and Assigning Caregiver Responsibility: Policy Analysis and Recommendations
(Sage, 2021-11) Victor, Bryan G.; Rousson, Ashley N.; Henry, Colleen; Dalvi, Haresh B.; Mariscal, E. Susana; School of Social Work
The purpose of this study was to examine the range of policy approaches used by child welfare systems in the United States to guide workers in classifying and substantiating child exposure to domestic violence (CEDV) as an actionable form of maltreatment. To that end, we conducted a qualitative document analysis of child protective services (CPS) policy manuals from all state-administered child welfare systems in the U.S. ( N = 41). Our findings indicate that a majority of state-administered systems (71%) have adopted policy requiring workers to demonstrate that children have endured harm or the threat of harm before substantiating CEDV-related maltreatment. Many state systems (51%) also include policy directives that require workers to identify a primary aggressor during CPS investigations involving CEDV, while far fewer (37%) provide language that potentially exonerates survivors of domestic violence from being held accountable for failure to protect on the basis of their own victimization. Based on our findings and identification of policy exemplars, we offer a recommended set of quality policy indicators for states to consider in the formulation of their policy guidelines for substantiating children’s exposure to domestic violence that promotes the safety and wellbeing of both children and adult survivors of domestic violence.

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