Brad Forenza
Datos Biográficos
| ID | 167073 |
|---|---|
| NOMBRE | Brad Forenza |
| NOMBRES | Brad |
| APELLIDO | Forenza |
| FIRMA | FORENZA B |
| AFILIACIONES | Montclair State University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6963-9206 |
| VERIFICADO | Sí |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 25 |
| TOTAL DE CITAS | 70 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 25 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 0 |
| PRIMER AÑO DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2013 |
| AÑO MÁS RECIENTE DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2025 |
| ÍNDICE H | 5 |
Transformative Community-Based Education Programs
LGB + Moms and Dads
Decades of empirical research has demonstrated that same-sex parenting can produce outcomes that are, at least, comparable to hetero-normative parenting. Less research, however, has examined the common, process-oriented experiences of same-sex adoptive parents. To this end, the current study utilized qualitative interviewing techniques, with nine participants, to discern: (1) the ways in which lesbian and gay adoptive parents came to identify as …
Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare Vol. 47, Issue 4
Beyond the Neighborhood
The purpose of this research is to form an overarching definition of community membership that encompasses all community contexts. Utilizing qualitative interviews with 102 members of five known community contexts (communities of action, circumstance, interest, place, and practice), the authors use cross-case analysis to explore common, transcendent themes of membership. Three takeaways emerge: first, that individuals identify with communities to…
Contextualizing negative sense of community and disconnection among urban youth of color
We explore the experiences of urban youth of color, as well as perceptions, of feeling disconnected and having an overall negative sense of community (SOC). Drawing on data from 11 focus groups, youth ( N = 59) describe their communities and lived experiences. We document several themes put forward through the lens of SOC and community connection that highlight perceived lack of membership, needs fulfillment, influence, and overall emotional conn…
Individual actors in community theater
Throughout history, theater and the arts have been mediums to bond individuals and advance social change. Community theater has the added benefit of allowing nonprofessional thespians the opportunity to collaborate with each other, in pursuit of common goals, while advancing local capacity and individual wellbeing. To the extent that community theaters provide voluntary participants with a civic space to harness intrinsic passions, participation …
Community coalitions as spaces for collective voice, action, and the sharing of resources
This study examined how a community coalition, focused on prevention efforts, can aid in bridging resources between community organizations in a resource‐deprived area. We also explored how it may serve as a venue to support significant changes to the community, adults, and youth who live there. Drawing on 18 individual interviews with adult coalition members from various community organizations, in a large, underserved city in the northeastern U…
Communitarianism and youth empowerment
In recent years, collaborative efforts between universities and community‐based coalitions have helped develop prevention–intervention efforts to decrease the prevalence of drug and alcohol use among youth in low‐income, majority–minority urban areas. One theory often employed to understand the efficacy of community member involvement is McMillian and Chavis's (1986) sense of community (SOC) model. This model posits how 4 main tenants (i.e., sens…
Exploring community stress and empowerment among stakeholders and youth in an urban community
Community-level stress, such as pervasive substance abuse and violence, can yield negative health and mental heath outcomes for youth from disadvantaged communities. Community empowerment is a process whereby community members work together to increase control in their community. This qualitative inquiry analyzed in-depth interviews with adult stakeholders (n = 17) as well as focus group interviews with token youth (n = 85) to explore perceptions…
Solidarity and connection
Supportive housing provides free/reduced-rent and regular access to helping professionals for consumers experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, homelessness. While extant research has explored aspects of consumer social networks, less research has explored consumer social networks derived through the actual housing experience. Through focus groups and in-depth interviews with 34 consumers of a robust housing program, this study attempted to ans…
Sense of community through supportive housing among formerly homeless individuals with serious mental illness
Much research documents the correlation between homelessness and mental illness. Often, existing research focuses on deficits that live at the intersection of these phenomena. The present study utilizes a sense of community (SOC) framework to interrogate the ways in which formerly homeless individuals with serious mental illness perceive and experience community in supportive housing. Through focus groups with 18 consumers, this study contextuali…
What Facilitates and Supports Political Activism by, and for, Undocumented Students
Social Worker Identity
Social work is a broad field encompassing micro, mezzo, and macro areas of practice. Consequently, the field lacks a unifying professional identity due to the expansiveness of the profession. Professional identity is conceptualized as an extension of social identity, vis-à-vis the embodiment of three qualities: connectedness, expansiveness, and effectiveness. This study used 12 in-depth, individual interviews with practicing social workers to exp…
An Exploratory Analysis of Unhealthy and Abusive Relationships for Adults with Serious Mental Illnesses Living in Supportive Housing
Exploring the affirmative role of gay icons in coming out
Technology and Opportunity
Objective: Little information exists regarding how individuals with serious mental illness use technology and whether this usage facilitates social connections. This study contributes to filling this knowledge gap by examining ways in which a sample of persons with serious mental illness use cell phones and the Internet. Methods: Interviews with 50 consumers living in supported housing were asked about their use of cell phones and computers and t…
Psychological Empowerment and the Pursuit of Social Change
Youth aging out of foster care are assumed to embody a disempowered group, for whom civic engagement opportunities are rare. Utilizing a targeted initiative, this study explores individual- and community-level outcomes derived from foster youth civic engagement. Data were collected via: (a) interview and survey research with foster youth advisory board leaders; (b) interview and survey research with civic youth workers; and, (c) non-participant o…
Dream Big
This original, qualitative research analyzed in-depth interviews with five undocumented, college-age, Latino DREAM Act advocates in a single state. An organizational empowerment framework was utilized to explore processes allied with such advocacy. Four emergent themes transcended the data inductively: (1) Challenging Social Injustice, which pertains to participant motivations for involvement; (2) Inherent Connection, which pertains to the unique…
Exploring Service Provider Perceptions of Treatment Barriers Facing Black, Non-Gay-Identified MSMW
Non-gay-identified men who have sex with men and women and who use alcohol and other drugs are a vulnerable population. Little is known about health and medical service provider interaction with these underserved clients. This article presents a thematic analysis of two focus groups undertaken with social and medical service providers regarding the needs of non-gay-identified men who have sex with men and women. Four emergent themes (labeling, co…
Opportunity Role Structure, Social Support, and Leadership
Youth aging out of foster care constitute a vulnerable and understudied population. In spite of evidence that suggests civic participation may be an empowering, developmental process for youth in the general population, few community psychology studies have investigated civic participation among youth aging out of state systems. This qualitative study used in‐depth interviewing with foster Youth Advisory Board leaders as the primary means to expl…
Understanding How Family Science Interns Conceptualize Social Justice
This study examined the connection between social justice and internships in Human Development and Family Science. In particular, the study sought to provide additional clarity to current conceptualizations of social justice by adding the voices of undergraduate family science students. In‐depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 20 family science students who completed an internship that was part of a federally funded HIV/substance abuse…
What Ignites and Sustains Activism
Qualitative methods were employed to investigate processes and competencies experienced by self-described activists, who represent social welfare and civil rights causes in a single northeastern state. In the tradition of phenomenological research, a small number (eight participants) was secured, and in-depth interviews were conducted. Analysis of interview data explored pathways into—and maintenance of—activist orientation. Within this sample, i…
Assessing the Implicit Curriculum in Social Work Education
The implicit curriculum, which refers to a student’s learning environment, has been described as an essential feature of an integrated professional social work curriculum. Very little is known, however, about the heterogeneity of students’ experiences with the implicit curriculum, how this heterogeneity may be distributed across groups of students, and how it may impact students’ professional empowerment. This study used latent profile analysis t…
An Ecological Approach to Experiential Learning in an Inner‐City Context
In‐depth, qualitative interviewing was employed to describe processes and competencies experienced by family science interns, who practiced in a high‐risk ecological context. Twenty interns from a 3‐year period were recruited. All had interned on the same federally funded, HIV/substance abuse prevention grant in the same focal city. Within this sample, it was determined that experiential learning—vis‐à‐vis the internship—facilitated both intraper…
The provider perception inventory
Nongay identified men who have sex with men and women (NGI MSMW) and who use alcohol and other drugs are a vulnerable, understudied, and undertreated population. Little is known about the stigma faced by this population or about the way that health service providers view and serve these stigmatized clients. The provider perception inventory (PPI) is a 39-item scale that measures health services providers' stigma about HIV/AIDS, substance use, and…
Social Worker Identity
Social work is a broad field encompassing micro, mezzo, and macro areas of practice. Consequently, the field lacks a unifying professional identity due to the expansiveness of the profession. Professional identity is conceptualized as an extension of social identity, vis-à-vis the embodiment of three qualities: connectedness, expansiveness, and effectiveness. This study used 12 in-depth, individual interviews with practicing social workers to exp…
What Facilitates and Supports Political Activism by, and for, Undocumented Students
Community coalitions as spaces for collective voice, action, and the sharing of resources
This study examined how a community coalition, focused on prevention efforts, can aid in bridging resources between community organizations in a resource‐deprived area. We also explored how it may serve as a venue to support significant changes to the community, adults, and youth who live there. Drawing on 18 individual interviews with adult coalition members from various community organizations, in a large, underserved city in the northeastern U…
Communitarianism and youth empowerment
In recent years, collaborative efforts between universities and community‐based coalitions have helped develop prevention–intervention efforts to decrease the prevalence of drug and alcohol use among youth in low‐income, majority–minority urban areas. One theory often employed to understand the efficacy of community member involvement is McMillian and Chavis's (1986) sense of community (SOC) model. This model posits how 4 main tenants (i.e., sens…
Psychological Empowerment and the Pursuit of Social Change
Youth aging out of foster care are assumed to embody a disempowered group, for whom civic engagement opportunities are rare. Utilizing a targeted initiative, this study explores individual- and community-level outcomes derived from foster youth civic engagement. Data were collected via: (a) interview and survey research with foster youth advisory board leaders; (b) interview and survey research with civic youth workers; and, (c) non-participant o…
Contextualizing negative sense of community and disconnection among urban youth of color
We explore the experiences of urban youth of color, as well as perceptions, of feeling disconnected and having an overall negative sense of community (SOC). Drawing on data from 11 focus groups, youth ( N = 59) describe their communities and lived experiences. We document several themes put forward through the lens of SOC and community connection that highlight perceived lack of membership, needs fulfillment, influence, and overall emotional conn…
Opportunity Role Structure, Social Support, and Leadership
Youth aging out of foster care constitute a vulnerable and understudied population. In spite of evidence that suggests civic participation may be an empowering, developmental process for youth in the general population, few community psychology studies have investigated civic participation among youth aging out of state systems. This qualitative study used in‐depth interviewing with foster Youth Advisory Board leaders as the primary means to expl…
Individual actors in community theater
Throughout history, theater and the arts have been mediums to bond individuals and advance social change. Community theater has the added benefit of allowing nonprofessional thespians the opportunity to collaborate with each other, in pursuit of common goals, while advancing local capacity and individual wellbeing. To the extent that community theaters provide voluntary participants with a civic space to harness intrinsic passions, participation …
Exploring community stress and empowerment among stakeholders and youth in an urban community
Community-level stress, such as pervasive substance abuse and violence, can yield negative health and mental heath outcomes for youth from disadvantaged communities. Community empowerment is a process whereby community members work together to increase control in their community. This qualitative inquiry analyzed in-depth interviews with adult stakeholders (n = 17) as well as focus group interviews with token youth (n = 85) to explore perceptions…
Technology and Opportunity
Objective: Little information exists regarding how individuals with serious mental illness use technology and whether this usage facilitates social connections. This study contributes to filling this knowledge gap by examining ways in which a sample of persons with serious mental illness use cell phones and the Internet. Methods: Interviews with 50 consumers living in supported housing were asked about their use of cell phones and computers and t…
Dream Big
This original, qualitative research analyzed in-depth interviews with five undocumented, college-age, Latino DREAM Act advocates in a single state. An organizational empowerment framework was utilized to explore processes allied with such advocacy. Four emergent themes transcended the data inductively: (1) Challenging Social Injustice, which pertains to participant motivations for involvement; (2) Inherent Connection, which pertains to the unique…
What Ignites and Sustains Activism
Qualitative methods were employed to investigate processes and competencies experienced by self-described activists, who represent social welfare and civil rights causes in a single northeastern state. In the tradition of phenomenological research, a small number (eight participants) was secured, and in-depth interviews were conducted. Analysis of interview data explored pathways into—and maintenance of—activist orientation. Within this sample, i…
An Ecological Approach to Experiential Learning in an Inner‐City Context
In‐depth, qualitative interviewing was employed to describe processes and competencies experienced by family science interns, who practiced in a high‐risk ecological context. Twenty interns from a 3‐year period were recruited. All had interned on the same federally funded, HIV/substance abuse prevention grant in the same focal city. Within this sample, it was determined that experiential learning—vis‐à‐vis the internship—facilitated both intraper…
Understanding How Family Science Interns Conceptualize Social Justice
This study examined the connection between social justice and internships in Human Development and Family Science. In particular, the study sought to provide additional clarity to current conceptualizations of social justice by adding the voices of undergraduate family science students. In‐depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 20 family science students who completed an internship that was part of a federally funded HIV/substance abuse…
Assessing the Implicit Curriculum in Social Work Education
The implicit curriculum, which refers to a student’s learning environment, has been described as an essential feature of an integrated professional social work curriculum. Very little is known, however, about the heterogeneity of students’ experiences with the implicit curriculum, how this heterogeneity may be distributed across groups of students, and how it may impact students’ professional empowerment. This study used latent profile analysis t…
The provider perception inventory
Nongay identified men who have sex with men and women (NGI MSMW) and who use alcohol and other drugs are a vulnerable, understudied, and undertreated population. Little is known about the stigma faced by this population or about the way that health service providers view and serve these stigmatized clients. The provider perception inventory (PPI) is a 39-item scale that measures health services providers' stigma about HIV/AIDS, substance use, and…
Assessing the Implicit Curriculum in Social Work Education
The implicit curriculum, which refers to a student’s learning environment, has been described as an essential feature of an integrated professional social work curriculum. Very little is known, however, about the heterogeneity of students’ experiences with the implicit curriculum, how this heterogeneity may be distributed across groups of students, and how it may impact students’ professional empowerment. This study used latent profile analysis t…
An Ecological Approach to Experiential Learning in an Inner‐City Context
In‐depth, qualitative interviewing was employed to describe processes and competencies experienced by family science interns, who practiced in a high‐risk ecological context. Twenty interns from a 3‐year period were recruited. All had interned on the same federally funded, HIV/substance abuse prevention grant in the same focal city. Within this sample, it was determined that experiential learning—vis‐à‐vis the internship—facilitated both intraper…
What Ignites and Sustains Activism
Qualitative methods were employed to investigate processes and competencies experienced by self-described activists, who represent social welfare and civil rights causes in a single northeastern state. In the tradition of phenomenological research, a small number (eight participants) was secured, and in-depth interviews were conducted. Analysis of interview data explored pathways into—and maintenance of—activist orientation. Within this sample, i…
Exploring the affirmative role of gay icons in coming out
Technology and Opportunity
Objective: Little information exists regarding how individuals with serious mental illness use technology and whether this usage facilitates social connections. This study contributes to filling this knowledge gap by examining ways in which a sample of persons with serious mental illness use cell phones and the Internet. Methods: Interviews with 50 consumers living in supported housing were asked about their use of cell phones and computers and t…
Psychological Empowerment and the Pursuit of Social Change
Youth aging out of foster care are assumed to embody a disempowered group, for whom civic engagement opportunities are rare. Utilizing a targeted initiative, this study explores individual- and community-level outcomes derived from foster youth civic engagement. Data were collected via: (a) interview and survey research with foster youth advisory board leaders; (b) interview and survey research with civic youth workers; and, (c) non-participant o…
Dream Big
This original, qualitative research analyzed in-depth interviews with five undocumented, college-age, Latino DREAM Act advocates in a single state. An organizational empowerment framework was utilized to explore processes allied with such advocacy. Four emergent themes transcended the data inductively: (1) Challenging Social Injustice, which pertains to participant motivations for involvement; (2) Inherent Connection, which pertains to the unique…
Exploring Service Provider Perceptions of Treatment Barriers Facing Black, Non-Gay-Identified MSMW
Non-gay-identified men who have sex with men and women and who use alcohol and other drugs are a vulnerable population. Little is known about health and medical service provider interaction with these underserved clients. This article presents a thematic analysis of two focus groups undertaken with social and medical service providers regarding the needs of non-gay-identified men who have sex with men and women. Four emergent themes (labeling, co…
Opportunity Role Structure, Social Support, and Leadership
Youth aging out of foster care constitute a vulnerable and understudied population. In spite of evidence that suggests civic participation may be an empowering, developmental process for youth in the general population, few community psychology studies have investigated civic participation among youth aging out of state systems. This qualitative study used in‐depth interviewing with foster Youth Advisory Board leaders as the primary means to expl…
Understanding How Family Science Interns Conceptualize Social Justice
This study examined the connection between social justice and internships in Human Development and Family Science. In particular, the study sought to provide additional clarity to current conceptualizations of social justice by adding the voices of undergraduate family science students. In‐depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 20 family science students who completed an internship that was part of a federally funded HIV/substance abuse…
Sense of community through supportive housing among formerly homeless individuals with serious mental illness
Much research documents the correlation between homelessness and mental illness. Often, existing research focuses on deficits that live at the intersection of these phenomena. The present study utilizes a sense of community (SOC) framework to interrogate the ways in which formerly homeless individuals with serious mental illness perceive and experience community in supportive housing. Through focus groups with 18 consumers, this study contextuali…
What Facilitates and Supports Political Activism by, and for, Undocumented Students
Social Worker Identity
Social work is a broad field encompassing micro, mezzo, and macro areas of practice. Consequently, the field lacks a unifying professional identity due to the expansiveness of the profession. Professional identity is conceptualized as an extension of social identity, vis-à-vis the embodiment of three qualities: connectedness, expansiveness, and effectiveness. This study used 12 in-depth, individual interviews with practicing social workers to exp…
An Exploratory Analysis of Unhealthy and Abusive Relationships for Adults with Serious Mental Illnesses Living in Supportive Housing
Solidarity and connection
Supportive housing provides free/reduced-rent and regular access to helping professionals for consumers experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, homelessness. While extant research has explored aspects of consumer social networks, less research has explored consumer social networks derived through the actual housing experience. Through focus groups and in-depth interviews with 34 consumers of a robust housing program, this study attempted to ans…
Community coalitions as spaces for collective voice, action, and the sharing of resources
This study examined how a community coalition, focused on prevention efforts, can aid in bridging resources between community organizations in a resource‐deprived area. We also explored how it may serve as a venue to support significant changes to the community, adults, and youth who live there. Drawing on 18 individual interviews with adult coalition members from various community organizations, in a large, underserved city in the northeastern U…
Communitarianism and youth empowerment
In recent years, collaborative efforts between universities and community‐based coalitions have helped develop prevention–intervention efforts to decrease the prevalence of drug and alcohol use among youth in low‐income, majority–minority urban areas. One theory often employed to understand the efficacy of community member involvement is McMillian and Chavis's (1986) sense of community (SOC) model. This model posits how 4 main tenants (i.e., sens…
Exploring community stress and empowerment among stakeholders and youth in an urban community
Community-level stress, such as pervasive substance abuse and violence, can yield negative health and mental heath outcomes for youth from disadvantaged communities. Community empowerment is a process whereby community members work together to increase control in their community. This qualitative inquiry analyzed in-depth interviews with adult stakeholders (n = 17) as well as focus group interviews with token youth (n = 85) to explore perceptions…
Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare Vol. 47, Issue 4
Beyond the Neighborhood
The purpose of this research is to form an overarching definition of community membership that encompasses all community contexts. Utilizing qualitative interviews with 102 members of five known community contexts (communities of action, circumstance, interest, place, and practice), the authors use cross-case analysis to explore common, transcendent themes of membership. Three takeaways emerge: first, that individuals identify with communities to…
Contextualizing negative sense of community and disconnection among urban youth of color
We explore the experiences of urban youth of color, as well as perceptions, of feeling disconnected and having an overall negative sense of community (SOC). Drawing on data from 11 focus groups, youth ( N = 59) describe their communities and lived experiences. We document several themes put forward through the lens of SOC and community connection that highlight perceived lack of membership, needs fulfillment, influence, and overall emotional conn…
Individual actors in community theater
Throughout history, theater and the arts have been mediums to bond individuals and advance social change. Community theater has the added benefit of allowing nonprofessional thespians the opportunity to collaborate with each other, in pursuit of common goals, while advancing local capacity and individual wellbeing. To the extent that community theaters provide voluntary participants with a civic space to harness intrinsic passions, participation …
LGB + Moms and Dads
Decades of empirical research has demonstrated that same-sex parenting can produce outcomes that are, at least, comparable to hetero-normative parenting. Less research, however, has examined the common, process-oriented experiences of same-sex adoptive parents. To this end, the current study utilized qualitative interviewing techniques, with nine participants, to discern: (1) the ways in which lesbian and gay adoptive parents came to identify as …
Transformative Community-Based Education Programs
Political science (20 obras) · Psychology (20 obras) · Sociology (19 obras) · Social Psychology (14 obras) · Community Health and Development (12 obras) · Public relations (12 obras) · Social Psychology (11 obras) · Qualitative research (9 obras) · Social science (9 obras) · Empowerment (8 obras)