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Partnership Session

Incorporate Indigenous Perspectives and Environmental Justice Within Korean American Social Work Practice

Saturday, October 26, 2024
1:45 PM – 2:45 PM CT
Location: KC Convention Center, Room 2501C
Korean American Social Work Educators Association Partnership presents five projects under the 70th CSWE Indigenous Perspectives and Environmental Justice that cover the past, present, and future teaching, research, and service needs for the wide range of Korean American population using Korean Americans own indigenous perspective and contextual environment.

Due to few existing research evidences on Korean-Americans, the purpose of this session is to collectively identify, discuss and criticize Korean Americans’ indigenous risk/resilience factor, develop and evaluate culturally appropriate interventions and measurement scale, and examine the barrier to social services that consider Korean-Americans’ indigenous perspective and contextual environment.

A:Religion and Spirituality in Korean American Social Work Education and Practice:
The role of religion and spirituality is an important part of the social work profession (Canda, Furman, & Canda, 2020). This study presents (a) history of social work education regarding religion and spirituality in Korea, (b) meaning of religion and spirituality, (c) current trends of spirituality in social work, (d) roles of religion and spirituality in social work, (e) Korean students’ religious and spiritual influence on their career path, (f) future directions for social work students, educators, and practitioners.

B:Cultural Adaptation of a Peer-led Psychoeducational Program for Korean Immigrant Caregivers of Autistic Children:
The prevalence of autism among Asian-American children grew 2.7 times faster than non-Latinx white children (Maenner et al., 2021). Despite the growth, these families experience disparities when they navigate diagnosis and services due to multiple barriers. We will present the process of cultural adaptation of a peer-led, 10-week manualized program, Parents Taking Action (PTA), to Korean immigrant caregivers of young autistic children that aims to improve family functioning and reduce parenting stress and child’s challenging behavior.

C:Multi-domain Interventions to Prevent Cognitive Decline among Korean Older Adults:
This study examined effectiveness of the collaborative effects of regular social engagement as part of the Stronger-Memory program, which includes cognitive exercises involving reading aloud, writing, and solving math among Korean older adults. Building upon the established success of Phase I with George Mason Gerontology Team (n=104, Northern Virginia), this study explored the combined effects of the Stronger-Memory program and 12 week of quasi-experimental weekly social engagement interventions on cognitive, behavioral, and emotional outcomes among Korean older adults.

D:Present, and Future of Social Work Practice with Korean Americans in Southern California:
The study reviews the history of major agencies serving Korean-American (KA) and their services in Southern California. It provides an overview of current trends and the status of social services for KA: integrated behavioral health services, the expansion and diversification of children and family services, multi-generational and older adults services, and the role of professional organizations of KA providers. The study will address unmet needs, service barriers and gaps, and future directions of social work practice with KA.

E:Factor Structure and Reliability of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) to Assess Depression, Anxiety, and Stress: 
To address accurate mental health assessment and treatment among Korean-Americans, valid, reliable, and culturally appropriate measurement tools are essential. Compared to the shorter version of Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21; Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995), the newer versions—DASS-14, DASS-12, and DASS-9—require further psychometric evaluation. The purpose of study is to investigate their reliability and factor structure through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses using clinical samples, aiming to guide researchers and healthcare providers, including Korean-American healthcare professionals.

Learning Objectives:

  1. Describe at-risk/resilience factors based on Korean-Americans’ indigenous perspectives.
  2. Evaluate culturally appropriate intervention programs that fully recognize Korean-Americans’ indigenous perspectives and environmental justice.
  3. Apply critical thoughts for culturally competent policies, programs, and practices that will better serve the Korean Americans from the young to the older population.