Determining Whether Vida Alegre is a CBGT Intervention for Depressed Immigrant Moms

Final Paper: Critical Analysis
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Final Paper: Critical Analysis
A.Problem Statement
1 What is the social issue or concern under study? The research issue or concern?
The research issue addressed by the Piedra and Byun (2011) includes determining whether Vida Alegre is a cognitive-behavioral group therapy (CBGT) intervention for depressed immigrant moms living in towns with modest but quickly expanding Hispanic populations.
What is the broad research question?
The research questions seek to address whether an existing CBGT can be modified to address immigrant issues.
2 Describe how the author justifies the importance of this question to social work practice.
The study question has been justified through the study method, which seeks to investigate if being exposed to the intervention lowered depressive symptoms. The study uses a social work-based method of randomized control trial in which the subjects are randomly allocated to one of two groups: one (the experimental group) receives the intervention under study, while the other (the comparison group or control) receives a different (standard) therapy. The randomized method of pretest/posttest/follow-up design was applied in this study in which the participants were given the same evaluation measures before and after receiving therapy or being exposed to a condition, with such measurements being evaluated to see if any changes can be ascribed to the treatment or condition. The method was used to test whether participants exposed to the Vida Alegre intervention showed less depression over time (Piedra & Byoun, 2011).
Critique:
1 Does the author adequately address the importance of the particular research question broadly and to social work practice? Justify your answer.
The authors adequately address the importance of the research by providing strong statistical backgrounds regarding the elements of the study. They have provided the basis by giving the historical accounts of the growth of the Latino population in the United States, to reveal the striking reality. The statistics address the context of aging in American society in comparison to the population under study. The comparison helps in identifying the roles of the Latino population in future labor markets and the broader society. They also gave an account of services that support the wellbeing of the population of the study. The services under study include the appropriate and timely mental health treatments are among these services, especially in parts of the country where the Latino population has grown rapidly. The author also addresses the population dynamics of Latino immigrants towards the demand for service access. The study also addressed the location of the Latino in the urban areas taking into account the importance of segregation in urban centers and their surrounding metros over the past two decades and the benefits from an economic revitalization because of this demographic shift. These particular research elements were appropriate for justifying the demand for mental health services by Latino immigrants and their vulnerability to mental health problem...