Ethnic Minority and Majority Social Workers Working with Ethnic Minority Clients: Culture-Bound Professional Interventions and Burnout among Arab and Jewish Israeli Social Workers

Abstract

Purpose

This study tests a new bicultural model of social work with ethnic minority clients. We examined how often social workers applied professional interventions rooted in the minority and majority cultures and how the choice of interventions affected the social workers' burnout. Methods: The study was conducted in Israel, and the research samples included Arab (n = 300) and Jewish (n = 210) social workers. Results: We found that Arab and Jewish social workers more often used interventions rooted in the minority than in the majority culture. More frequent application of both types of interventions was associated with a higher level of personal accomplishment in both groups of social workers. However, the connection between interventions rooted in the majority culture and burnout was positive among Jewish and negative among Arab social workers. Discussion: The implementation of the obtained results in social work practice with ethnic minorities is discussed.

Keywords

burnout of social workers culturally bound professional interventions ethnic minority clients ethnic minority and majority social workers Arab Israeli and Jewish Israeli social workers

Introduction

Most previous studies examined social work with ethnic minorities applying the cultural competence paradigm (Sue & Sue, 2015). This paradigm stresses the importance of social workers' cultural awareness and knowledge and applying professional interventions appropriate for the minority culture (Alizadeh & Chavan, 2016; NASW, 2015; Sue & Sue, 2015). However, the cultural competence paradigm ignores the role of the majority culture in social work with ethnic minorities (Kumas-Tan et al., 2007). In the present study, we advance the prevailing theory on culturally competent social work practice with ethnic minorities by adding the majority culture to the equation. We hypothesized that when working with ethnic minorities, social workers may apply two types of professional interventions—rooted in the minority and majority cultures. We further predicted that both types of interventions might affect the work-related well-being/distress of social workers, operationalized in the present study as burnout. Finally, we assumed that socio-demographic variables might affect the social workers’ choice of culture-bound professional interventions and burnout when working with ethnic minority clients.

This study focuses on Arab and Jewish Israeli social workers working with Arab Israeli clients. Arabs are the largest ethnic minority group in Israel, constituting 21% of the population (The Central Bureau of Statistics, 2020). Arab social workers constitute about 10% of Israeli social workers (Tal-Sapiro, 2015). Most Arab Israelis live in communities with an exclusively Arab Israeli population, and most clients of Arab Israeli social workers belong to the ethnic minority group (Tal-Sapiro, 2015). On the other hand, some Arab Israelis live in ethnically diverse cities; therefore, Jewish social workers also work with this population, albeit to a lesser degree. These specific conditions permitted us to compare social workers belonging to the majority and minority groups in their choice of professional interventions and their level of burnout when working with clients belonging to an ethnic minority group.

The number of ethnic minority social workers and ethnic minority clients is growing in many countries. For instance, according to the National Workforce Initiative Steering Committee (2017), in 2015, about 31% of active social workers in the United States were non-whites, while among new social work graduates, the proportion of non-whites was 43%. In the United Kingdom, about 20% of social workers belong to ethnic minorities (UK Government, 2019). However, studies comparing ethnic minority and majority social workers are still rare (Sue & Sue, 2015; Williams & Graham, 2016). Thus, despite being conducted in Israel, our study may be relevant to social workers in other countries as well.

The Cultural Competence Paradigm in Social Work

Social work with ethnic minorities is based on the concept of cultural competence (Alizadeh & Chavan, 2016; Sue & Sue, 2015). The guidelines provided by NASW (2015) and associations of social workers in other countries (e.g., IASW, 2007) suggest that social workers must value diversity, have the capacity for cultural self-assessment, be conscious of the dynamics that emerge when cultures interact, acquire cultural knowledge, and develop programs and services that reflect an understanding of the diversity between and within cultures. Researchers assert that the higher the cultural competence of service providers, the more successful their treatment of service users belonging to a different culture (Sue & Sue, 2015). Empirical studies have demonstrated that the providers' cultural competence is related to a better working alliance and higher user satisfaction from the service provider and treatment in general (Constantine, 2002; Fuertes et al., 2006; Kerfeld et al., 2011; Li & Kim, 2004). In addition, cultural competence was associated with greater client engagement and less dropout from services (Kerfeld et al., 2011; Saha et al., 2013). Finally, cultural competence was associated with lower burnout among helpers belonging to the dominant group (Choi & Kim, 2014; Hayes et al., 2004). However, studies on cultural competence among helpers belonging to ethnic minority groups have been rare and yielded inconclusive results (Alizadeh & Chavan, 2016; Karlsson, 2005).

Despite its wide acceptance, the cultural competence paradigm is one-sided because it focuses exclusively on the minority culture and neglects the role of the majority culture in social work with ethnic minorities (Bernhard et al., 2015; Kumas-Tan et al., 2007). However, the majority culture is relevant for social work with ethnic minorities for several reasons. First, ethnic minorities constitute a part of the larger society and, as such, may use its resources for their psychosocial adjustment and personal growth. Second, interaction with members of the larger society and its institutions is crucial for social adjustment and the psychological well-being of minorities; therefore, it may be the focus of their contact with social workers. Third, the education of social workers is mainly based on the values and norms of the dominant group and is aimed at acquiring theories and professional skills rooted in the majority culture (Sue & Sue, 2015; Williams & Graham, 2016). Therefore, we propose that a balanced model of social work with ethnic minorities should account for two types of culture-bound professional interventions—those rooted in the minority and majority cultures.

A Bicultural Model of Social Work with Ethnic Minorities

The research literature opposes social work practices rooted in Western (individualistic) culture and appropriate for the majority society in western countries to practices rooted in non-Western (collectivistic) cultures and, therefore, appropriate for ethnic minorities (Al-Krenawi & Graham, 2005; Haj-Yahia & Sadan, 2008; Robinson et al., 2017; Zoabi & Savaya, 2017). Western cultures (including the Jewish Israeli culture) are secular, democratic, and liberal, espousing egalitarianism and aspiring to gender equality. Non-Western cultures (including Muslim and Arab cultures in general and Arab Israeli culture in particular) are characterized by collectivism, religiosity, and conservatism. Historically, Western social work training and practice have a strong psychological underpinning, whereby the client is treated as a distinct, self-contained entity and is the focus of intervention. In addition, Western social work emphasizes using the resources of the governmental and non-governmental organizations to help the clients. On the other hand, professional interventions rooted in the minority culture consider the existing restrictions of religion and power hierarchy, such as the social stigma of seeking professional help, sharing problems with outsiders, distrust of the state institutions, and difficulties that many ethnic minority clients have in identifying and discussing their emotions. Professional interventions rooted in the minority culture use resources of the ethnic minority group, especially close family ties and the active role played by community leaders.

In the present study, we propose that social work with ethnic minority clients is bicultural, whereby social workers apply professional interventions rooted in the majority and the minority cultures. To operationalize the bicultural model of social work with ethnic minorities, we created an Inventory of Culture-Bound Professional Interventions (CBPI) measuring how often social workers applied interventions rooted in the majority and minority cultures in their work with ethnic minority clients. Part of the inventory items were adapted from questionnaires used in previous studies on cultural competence (Al-Krenawi & Graham, 2005; Alizadeh & Chavan, 2016; Bernhard et al., 2015; Blit-Cohen & Jammal-Abboud, 2017; Haj-Yahia & Sadan, 2008; Sue & Sue, 2015; Williams & Graham, 2016; Zoabi & Savaya, 2017). To generate additional items, we applied a hybrid emic-etic approach and a multistage procedure recommended by Millward (2012): 1) Items were generated from interviews conducted with 20 Arab and Jewish Israeli social workers. 2) Three focus groups with Arab and Jewish Israeli BSW students and five interviews with experts in the field were conducted to discuss the items. 3) The authors used “theoretical sensitivity” (Millward, 2012, p. 432) with their knowledge of literature and theory to conceptualize the questionnaires' framework and formulate the inventory items. After the inventory was created, we tested its construct validity among Jewish and Arab social workers using exploratory factor analysis (see below). Finally, we used the inventory to answer the following research questions:

(1) How do Arab and Jewish social workers compare in their burnout when working with Arab clients?

(2) How do Arab and Jewish social workers differ in their choice of professional interventions when working with Arab Israeli clients?

(3) How does social workers' choice of professional interventions affect their burnout when working with ethnic minority clients?

(4) What socio-demographic variables predict the social workers' choice of professional interventions?

Main Hypotheses of the Present Study

(1) We assumed that Arab social workers working with Arab clients have the advantage of language knowledge and understanding of the Arab culture. Therefore, we hypothesized that Arab social workers, compared to Jewish social workers, would report a lower level of burnout and a higher level of personal accomplishment when working with Arab clients (H1).

(2) Both Arab and Jewish Israeli social workers have been educated and trained in Israeli universities to apply cultural competence to working with ethnic minority clients (Haj-Yahia & Sadan, 2008; Zoabi & Savaya, 2017). Therefore, we hypothesized that when working with Arab clients, Arab and Jewish social workers would more often use interventions rooted in the minority than the majority culture (H2). However, we also hypothesized that, compared to Jewish social workers, Arab social workers would more often apply professional interventions rooted in the minority culture. In contrast, Jewish social workers would more often apply interventions rooted in the majority culture (H3). Finally, we hypothesized that the two types of professional interventions would be complementary rather than contradictory among Arab and Jewish social workers (H4).

(3) We assumed that both types of interventions, rooted in the majority and the minority cultures, might be helpful when working with ethnic minority clients. Therefore, a higher frequency of applying both types of interventions would be associated with a lower level of burnout and a higher level of personal accomplishment among Arab and Jewish Israeli social workers (H5).

(4) Previous studies have demonstrated that a higher level of education and seniority was associated with a lower level of burnout among social workers (Tartakovsky, 2016). Therefore, in the present study, we assumed that a higher level of education and seniority would be associated with a lower level of burnout among all social workers. Moreover, we hypothesized that this connection would be partly mediated by more frequent use of interventions rooted in the majority and the minority cultures (H6). Finally, we hypothesized that a higher level of cultural awareness and experience with multiculturalism that is acquired by social workers who are religious, received multicultural training, and had a higher proportion of Arab clients would be associated with more frequent use of interventions rooted in the minority culture and a lower level of burnout among both Arab and Jewish social workers (H7).

Method

Sampling

Table 1 presents the socio-demographic characteristics of the samples. In general, the samples’ demographic characteristics (age, gender, religiosity, education, and place of work) were similar to those reported in previous studies on Jewish and Arab Israeli social workers (Haj-Yahia et al., 2000; Haj-Yahia & Sadan, 2008; Kurazim et al., 2014; Tal-Sapiro, 2015; Zoabi & Savaya, 2017). In the present study, Arab and Jewish social workers were similar in their gender distribution (about 85% female) and seniority (about 9.5 years of experience in social work); however, the samples differed in several other socio-demographic characteristics. On average, compared to their Jewish colleagues, Arab Israeli social workers were younger (33.8 vs. 37.2) and more religious (2.98 vs. 2.09 on a 5-point scale). A lower proportion of them had a MSW (38% vs. 64%), and a higher proportion worked in governmental or municipality organizations (86% vs. 73%). Most Arab social workers lived and worked in exclusively Arab areas (79%), while most Jewish social workers lived and worked either in exclusively Jewish (53%) or mixed areas (43%). The proportion of Arab clients was substantially higher among Arab social workers (85% vs. 27%), with 70% of Arab social workers working exclusively with Arab clients.

Table 1.

Socio-Demographic Characteristics of the Samples.

Socio-demographic Characteristics	Jewish Israeli Social Workers	Arab Israeli Social Workers	Difference
Age: M (SD); range	37.2 (8.64); [25–67]	33.8 (9.11); [22–60]	t (505) = 3.72; p < .001
Seniority—years in social work: M (SD); range	9.34 (7.84); [0–38]	9.67 (8.35); [0–35]	t (489) = −.439; p = .661
Religiosity: M (SD); %	2.09 (.68)	2.98 (.75)	t (505) = −.13.7; p < .001
Proportion of Arab Israelis clients: M (SD)	.27 (.24)	.85 (.28)	t (450) = −22.6; p < .001
Gender: % females	84%	89%	χ² (1; 509) = 2.78; p = .095
Education: % MSW	64%	38%	χ² (1; 509) = 33.7; p < .001
The place of living: %, Jewish, Arab, mixed	53%, 4%, 43%	8%, 79%, 13%	χ² (1; 498) = 273; p < .001
The services’ type: %, government, NGO, business	73%, 17%, 10%	86%, 10%, 4%	χ² (1; 498) = 13.4; p = .001
Multicultural training, %	20%	24%	χ² (1; 510) = .96; p = .326

Note. Religiosity was measured on a 5-point scale: 1—atheist, 2—secular, 3—traditional, 4—religious, 5—orthodox.

Procedure

The study was approved by the Tel-Aviv University review board. BSW students distributed the study questionnaires as part of their assignment at a senior research seminar. The students approached social workers at their workplaces, through social media, and using the snowball technique. The participants gave written consent to participate in the study. The questionnaires were distributed either in paper-and-pencil or electronic format (Google Docs and Qualtrics). The participants did not receive compensation for completing the questionnaires. The compliance rate was about 60%.

Instruments

Burnout

Social workers’ burnout was measured using the Maslach Burnout Inventory—Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS, Maslach et al., 1986). The MBI-HSS consists of 22 items divided into three scales: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment. The items were reformulated for working with Arab Israeli clients. Emotional exhaustion refers to feeling overextended, overloaded, and drained from work tasks (e.g., “I feel emotionally exhausted because of my work with Arab Israeli clients”). Depersonalization is characterized by a hostile, callous, and cynical attitude toward clients (e.g., “I feel I relate to some of my Arab Israeli clients as objects”). Finally, a diminished sense of personal accomplishment reflects a decline in feeling competent in one’s work (e.g., “I have accomplished many worthwhile things in my work with Arab Israeli clients”). The participants reported how often they feel according to the description on a 7-point scale (from 0—never to 6—almost every day). Higher scores on the exhaustion and depersonalization scales indicate a higher level of burnout, while higher scores on the personal accomplishment scale indicate less burnout. Due to being highly correlated (Jews/Arabs: r = .72/.65), and following previous studies (Leiter & Maslach, 2016; Maslach et al., 1996), depersonalization and exhaustion were combined into one scale of core “Burnout.” The reliability of the scales was high: Cronbach’s α for the core Burnout scale was .89/.90; Cronbach’s α for the Personal Accomplishment scale was .81/.88.

Culture-Bound Professional Interventions

A newly created inventory of Culture-Bound Professional Interventions (CBPI) measured how frequently social workers applied different types of culturally bound interventions when working with Arab Israeli clients, on a 5-item scale from 1—rarely to 5—very frequently. The CBPI inventory consists of 39 items: 19 items describing interventions rooted in the Arab Israeli culture (e.g., “Encourage your Arab Israeli clients to consult with the community or religious leaders on their problems.”) and 20 items describing interventions rooted in the majority culture (e.g., “Help your Arab Israeli clients make appointments at various institutions, e.g., National Insurance Institute.”). An Exploratory Factor Analysis with Oblimin rotation and Kaiser normalization was used to test the questionnaire’s construct validity (Table 2). All items’ loadings were higher than .4 on their corresponding scale and lower than .2 on the other scale. Eigenvalues of both scales were greater than 1. The total variance explained was 35% in both the Arab and Jewish samples. Measured by Cronbach’s alpha, the internal reliability of both scales was high in both Arab and Jewish samples (.87–.91).

Table 2.

Inventory of Culture-Bound Professional Interventions: Exploratory Factor Analysis. How often do you use these interventions in your work with clients belonging to the Arab Israeli population in Israel (on a 5-item scale, from 1—never to 5—always)?

	Arab Social Workers		Jewish Social Workers
Items	Factor 1: Interventions rooted in the minority culture	Factor 2: Interventions rooted in the majority culture	Factor 1: Interventions rooted in the minority culture	Factor 2: Interventions rooted in the majority culture
1. Encourage your Arab Israeli clients to talk about life in their ethnic community or neighborhood.	.471		.420
2. Encourage your Arab Israeli clients to talk about their relationship with Jewish society in Israel.	.416		.477
3. Express your interest in and respect for Arab Israeli culture.	.518		.520
4. Encourage your Arab Israeli clients to talk about their suffering from xenophobia and discrimination.	.603		.559
5. Encourage your Arab Israeli clients to fight the discrimination of their ethnic group.	.556		.574
6. Explain the condition or problems of your Arab Israeli clients using concepts accepted in their culture and religion.	.489		.432
7. Encourage your Arab Israeli clients to consult with the community or religious leaders on their problems.	.593		.670
8. Help your Arab Israeli clients find the resources they need in their community.	.419		.601
9. Express your support for the Arab Israelis' struggle for their collective rights in Israel.	.591		.566
10. Encourage your Arab Israeli clients to use treatment methods traditional in their culture.	.659		.617
11. Encourage your Arab Israeli clients to talk about their religious and spiritual beliefs.	.721		.707
12. Encourage your Arab Israeli clients to engage in marital relations according to the norms of the Arab Israeli society.	.738		.634
13. Encourage your Arab Israeli clients to uphold the norms of child upbringing accepted in the Arab Israeli society.	.620		.540
14. Encourage your Arab Israeli clients to spend their leisure time according to the norms of their traditional culture.	.759		.584
15. Help your Arab Israeli clients maintain the patterns of family planning accepted in the Arab Israeli society.	.733		.636
16. Encourage your Arab Israeli clients to preserve the Arabic language for themselves and their children.	.707		.612
17. Encourage your Arab Israeli clients to seek help from members of their ethnic group in coping with their problems.	.643		.612
18. Encourage your Arab Israeli clients to preserve their Arab Israeli culture.	.707		.658
19. Encourage your Arab Israeli clients to preserve intergenerational relationships and to use the help of parents and grandparents.	.633		.674
20. Inform your Arab Israeli clients about their welfare rights.		.521		.566
21. Inform your Arab Israeli clients about their rights in education and health.		.576		.526
22. Inform your Arab Israeli clients about educational, medical, or psychosocial services that can meet their needs.		.554		.483
23. Inform your Arab Israeli clients about the rules and norms of the majority society in Israel.		.450		.573
24. Inform your Arab Israeli clients about the culture of the majority society in Israel (e.g., holidays, history, and politics).		.513		.517
25. Help your Arab Israeli clients prepare for hearings at various government institutions (e.g., National Insurance Institute).		.470		.529
26. Help your Arab Israeli clients make appointments at various institutions (e.g., National Insurance Institute).		.547		.635
27. Help your Arab Israeli clients find work or solve problems related to their work.		.507		.635
28. Encourage your Arab Israeli clients to learn a profession or to improve their professional qualifications.		.464		.692
29. Help your Arab Israeli clients find a place to live.		.548		.525
30. Help your Arab Israeli clients get medical treatment.		.609		.522
31. Help your Arab Israeli clients find shelter.		.570		.584
32. Accompany your Arab Israeli clients in their visits to various government or non-governmental institutions.		.543		.517
33. Give your Arab Israeli clients guidance on the laws regarding parenting.		.522		.611
34. Protect your Arab Israeli clients' interests vis-à-vis other people (e.g., homeowners or employers).		.608		.595
35. Help your Arab Israeli clients solve problems with their spouses according to the norms governing marital relations in the majority society in Israel.		.596		.597
36. Encourage your Arab Israeli clients to seek mental health counseling or treatment.		.520		.576
37. Encourage your Arab Israeli clients to engage in recreational activities in the style of the majority Israeli society.		.643		.631
38. Help your Arab Israeli clients with family planning as is customary in the majority society in Israel.		.610		.653
39. Encourage your Arab Israeli clients to express their feelings as is customary in the majority society in Israel.		.409		.423
Eigenvalue	9.23	4.28	10.6	3.13
Variance explained, %	24%	11%	27%	8%

Note. Extraction method: a principal component analysis. Rotation method: Oblimin with Kaiser normalization. Loadings smaller than 0.20 are suppressed.

Results

Descriptive Statistics

Table 3 presents means, SDs, and correlations between the variables. Independent samples t-tests demonstrated that the level of burnout when working with Arab Israeli clients was similar among Jewish and Arab social workers (M (SD)_J = 1.48 (1.06) versus M (SD)_A = 1.49 (1.02); t (506) = −.07; p = . 946). However, compared to Jewish social workers, Arab social workers reported a higher level of personal accomplishment when working with Arab Israelis (M (SD)_A = 4.02 (.99) vs. M (SD)_J = 3.25 (1.08); t (506) = 8.30; p > .001; Cohen’s d = .74). Thus, the obtained results only partly corroborated the first hypotheses that stated that Arab social workers would report a lower level of burnout and a higher level of personal accomplishment than their Jewish counterparts when working with Arab clients.

Table 3.

Correlations, Means, and SD.

Variables	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Mean	SD
1. Burnout	—	.02	.16^**	.11	−.17^*	.09	.17^*	−.13	−.02	1.48	1.06
2. Personal accomplishment	−.28^***	—	.41^***	.45^***	.08	.05	.23^**	.11	.05	3.25	1.08
3. Interventions rooted in the majority culture	−.17^*	.31^***	—	.59^***	.19^**	−.07	.18^*	.08	.10	3.15	.68
4. Interventions rooted in the minority culture	.03	.21^***	.36^***	—	.10	.05	.08	−.01	.00	3.31	.66
5. Education	−.06	.12^*	.10	.05	—	−.08	.02	.27^***	.13	1.64	.48
6. Religiosity	−.16^**	.20^***	.11	.14^*	−.16^**	—	.16^*	.01	.14^*	2.09	.68
7. The proportion of Arab Israeli clients	.08	.15^*	.05	.12	−.06	.11	—	.06	.21^**	.27	.25
8. Seniority	−.23^***	.30^***	.12	−.03	.21^***	.13^*	.05	—	−.03	9.34	7.84
9. Multicultural training	.06	.09	.12^*	.11	−.01	−.01	.04	.01	—	1.20	.40
Mean	1.49	4.02	3.48	3.56	1.39	2.98	.85	9.67	1.24	—	—
SD	1.02	.99	.60	.65	.52	.75	.28	8.35	.43	—	—

Note. *p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001. Above diagonal—Jewish social workers; below—Arab social workers.

Paired samples t-tests demonstrated that both Jewish and Arab social workers more frequently used professional interventions rooted in the minority than in the majority culture: M (SD)_Min. = 3.31 (.68) vs. M (SD)_Maj. = 3.15 (.66), t (209) = 3.84, p > .001; Cohen’s d = .24; M (SD)_Min. = 3.56 (.65) vs. M (SD)_Maj. = 3.48 (.60), t (299) = 2.04, p = .042; Cohen’s d = .12. Thus, the second hypothesis was corroborated.

Compared to Jewish social workers, Arab social workers more often used both types of professional interventions: interventions rooted in the majority culture (M (SD)_A = 3.48 (.60) vs. M (SD)_J = 3.15 (.68); t (508) = 5.89; p > .001; Cohen’s d = .51) and interventions rooted in the minority culture (M (SD)_A = 3.56 (.65) vs. M (SD)_J = 3.31 (.66); t (508) = 4.38; p > .001; Cohen’s d = .38). Thus, the obtained results partly corroborated the third hypothesis claiming that compared to Jewish social workers, Arab social workers would more often apply professional interventions rooted in the minority culture, and Jewish social workers would more often apply interventions rooted in the majority culture.

The scales measuring professional interventions rooted in the majority and minority cultures were positively correlated among Jewish (r = .59; p < .001) and Arab social workers (r = .37; p < .001). These results corroborated the fourth hypothesis claiming that two types of interventions would be complementary rather than contradictory.

Structural Equation Modeling

Figure 1 presents the research model that includes two aspects of burnout—the “core” of burnout and personal accomplishment, professional interventions rooted in the majority and minority cultures, and five socio-demographic variables: education, religiosity, the proportion of Arab Israelis among one’s clients, seniority (i.e., years of working as a social worker), and multicultural training. Research hypotheses related to the connections between the variables were tested by Multi-Group Structural Equation Modeling (MG SEM) using Mplus Version 7 (Muthén & Muthén, 2012). Recently, using SEM became more widespread in social work research because it permits the testing of theoretical models with complex patterns of connections between variables (Guo et al., 2009).

Figure 1.

The research model.

The two-group model with all parameters allowed to be unequal across groups demonstrated an excellent fit: χ²/df = 1.04, p = .355; RMSEA (CI) = .012 (.000; .125); CFI = 1.000; TLI = .995; SRMR = .008. Among Jewish social workers, the model explained 11% of the variance in burnout and 27% in personal accomplishment. Among Arab social workers, the model explained 11% of the variance in burnout and 23% in personal accomplishment. To test the difference between two groups, the chi-square of the model with all parameters allowed to be unequal across groups was compared to the chi-square of the model with all parameters constrained to be equal across groups. The difference was statistically significant (Δχ² (13) = 39.8, p < .001), thus indicating that the model was different in the two groups. Therefore, the model was tested separately among Jewish and Arab social workers. Aiming for the most parsimonious model in each group, the initial research model was “trimmed,” that is, all not significant paths were excluded from the model in each group, and the model was tested again (Kelloway, 2014). The direct and indirect effects of all the variables in each group were tested simultaneously using the bootstrapping method with 1000 re-samples with a 95% confidence interval.

Figure 2 presents the best-fit model for Jewish social workers, and Figure 3 presents the best-fit model for Arab social workers. Among Jewish social workers, positive effects of both types of professional interventions on personal accomplishment were found for interventions rooted in the majority (β = .19) and minority cultures (β = .33). In addition, a positive effect of interventions rooted in the majority culture on burnout was also found (β = .19). Among Arab social workers, positive effects of both types of interventions on personal accomplishment were found for interventions rooted in the majority (β = .21) and minority cultures (β = .12). In addition, a negative effect of interventions rooted in the majority culture on burnout was found (β = −.15). Thus, the fifth hypothesis which stated that higher frequencies of applying both types of culture-bound interventions would be associated with a lower level of burnout and a higher level of personal accomplishment among Arab and Jewish Israeli social workers was corroborated regarding personal accomplishment. In addition, it was supported regarding burnout among Arab social workers, but it was refuted regarding burnout among Jewish social workers.

Figure 2.

The best-fit model: Jewish social workers.

Figure 3.

The best-fit model: Arab social workers.

The effect of socio-demographic variables differed substantially in the two groups of social workers. Among Jewish social workers, a negative direct effect of education on burnout was found (β = −.16). In addition, positive effects of education were found on interventions rooted in the majority (β = .17) and minority cultures (β = .13). Finally, an indirect positive effect of education on personal accomplishment was significant (β = .073; p = .035). Thus, the sixth hypothesis regarding a positive effect of education was corroborated among Jewish social workers.

Regarding Jewish social workers, significant positive direct effects of the proportion of Arab clients were found on personal accomplishment (β = .16) and interventions rooted in the majority culture (β = .17). However, contrary to the expected, its effect on burnout was also positive (β = .15). Thus, the part of the seventh hypothesis regarding a positive effect of the higher proportion of Arab clients was partly corroborated for culture-bound professional interventions and personal accomplishment but not for burnout among Jewish social workers.

Among Arab social workers, a positive effect of seniority on personal accomplishment (β = .26) and its negative effect on burnout (β = −.20) were found. Thus, the part of the sixth hypothesis regarding the positive effect of seniority was corroborated among Arab social workers.

Among Arab social workers, a positive effect of religiosity on personal accomplishment (β = .14) and its negative effect on burnout (β = −.14) were found. In addition, a positive effect of religiosity on interventions rooted in the majority (β = .11) and minority cultures (β = .16) was found. Finally, the indirect effect of religiosity on personal accomplishment was significant (β =.043; p=.018). Thus, the part of the seventh hypothesis regarding the positive effect of religiosity was corroborated among Arab social workers.

Finally, among Arab social workers, positive effects of multicultural training on interventions rooted in the majority (β = .12) and minority cultures (β = .11) were found. In addition, the indirect effect of multicultural training on personal accomplishment was positive (β =.038; p=.026). Thus, the part of the seventh hypothesis regarding the positive effect of multicultural training was corroborated among Arab social workers.

Discussion and Applications to Practice

In this study, we applied a newly developed bicultural model of social work with ethnic minorities to examine culture-bound professional interventions and burnout among Jewish and Arab social workers working with Arab Israeli clients. We found that both groups of social workers slightly more often used interventions rooted in the minority than the majority culture. This finding probably indicates that social workers belonging to both the majority and minority groups have a high level of cultural awareness and adjust their professional interventions to the needs of their ethnic minority clients. We also found that in both groups, the two types of interventions were complementary rather than contradictory, which indicates that both Arab and Jewish social workers combine the two types of interventions in their practice with ethnic minority clients.

Corroborating our hypothesis, Arab social workers reported more frequent interventions rooted in the minority culture than their Jewish colleagues. These findings indicate that ethnic minority social workers working with ethnic minority clients have the advantage of using their knowledge of the minority culture. However, contrary to our expectations, Arab social workers also more frequently used interventions rooted in the majority culture. It is probable that their intercultural position—belonging to an ethnic minority together with being trained in Western professional tradition—permits them to use a broad spectrum of interventions in their work with ethnic minority clients.

As predicted, among all social workers, more frequent interventions rooted in both the majority and the minority cultures were associated with a stronger sense of personal accomplishment when working with ethnic minority clients. This finding indicates that social workers who actively use both types of culture-bound interventions feel more effective in their work with ethnic minority clients. This finding also indicates that the bidimensional model of social work with ethnic minorities may be more effective than social work practice based on the cultural competence paradigm which emphasizes the minority culture (Sue & Sue, 2015).

However, the association between interventions rooted in the majority culture and burnout differed among Arab and Jewish social workers: It was positive among Jewish social workers and negative among Arab social workers. These findings probably indicate that Jewish social workers experience difficulty using interventions rooted in the majority culture with their ethnic minority clients, while Arab social workers experience no such difficulty. When applying interventions rooted in the majority culture, social workers play the role of cultural mediators between ethnic minorities and the larger society (Al-Krenawi & Graham, 2001; Martin, 2000). The results obtained in the present study indicate that ethnic minority social workers may be better equipped than their ethnic majority colleagues to play the role of cultural mediators with ethnic minority clients.

Different socio-demographic variables affected the choice of professional interventions and burnout among Jewish and Arab social workers. Among Jewish social workers, a higher level of education was associated with a lower level of burnout and (indirectly, through its effect on professional interventions) with a higher level of personal accomplishment. These findings indicate that studies for MSW better prepare social workers belonging to the ethnic majority group to work with ethnic minority clients than do studies for BSW. The proportion of Arab clients affected burnout of Jewish social workers; however, its effect was contradictory—a higher proportion of ethnic minority clients was associated with higher personal accomplishment, but also with a higher level of burnout. These findings indicate that Jewish social workers who have more extensive experience working with Arab clients acquire professional skills that permit them to be more effective in their work. However, working with ethnic minority clients may be demanding for some social workers belonging to the ethnic majority group. Therefore, ethnic majority social workers working with ethnic minority clients may need additional supervision and support.

Among Arab social workers, religiosity, seniority, and multicultural training were connected to professional interventions and burnout. Specifically, a higher level of religiosity was associated with lower burnout and higher personal accomplishment. In addition, among ethnic minority social workers, higher religiosity was associated with the more frequent use of interventions rooted in both majority and minority cultures. These findings indicate that highly religious Arab social workers may be more motivated to help their in-groups than their less religious colleagues. Therefore, they may feel more effective and less tired in their work helping members of their ethnic minority group.

Seniority was associated with a lower level of burnout and a higher level of personal accomplishment among Arab social workers; however, it was not related to professional interventions. This finding probably indicates that more experienced social workers have acquired professional knowledge and skills that permit them to be more effective and feel less tired in their work (similar results were obtained for ethnic majority social workers working with the majority population in Israel, Tartakovsky, 2016). Finally, we found that among Arab social workers, multicultural training was associated with using professional interventions rooted in both the majority and minority cultures more often. Moreover, through its connection with professional interventions, multicultural training positively affected the personal accomplishment of Arab social workers. In the present study, multicultural training did not affect professional interventions and burnout of social workers belonging to the ethnic majority. This finding indicates that probably because of their belonging to two cultures, ethnic minority social workers profit more from multicultural training than their colleagues belonging to the majority group.

Several limitations of this study must be considered. First, the present study was correlational, and therefore causal inferences cannot be drawn from the obtained results. Future experimental or longitudinal research would represent a substantial advancement on the current findings. The second limitation of the present study relates to its samples, which were of medium size and not random. The lack of control over the samples may raise issues related to generalizability, and this should be considered when interpreting the findings. Further research should be based on larger random and representative samples. Finally, the suggested theoretical model was tested in one country regarding one ethnic minority group. Therefore, to generalize the present study results, it would be essential to test the suggested bicultural model in social work with other ethnic minority, immigrant, and racial groups.

Despite its limitations, the results of the present study advance social work theory and practice. In this study, we suggested a new theoretical model of professional interventions with ethnic minorities. Unlike the cultural competence paradigm, the suggested bicultural model is balanced because it includes professional interventions rooted in minority and majority cultures. We demonstrated that the majority and minority social workers differ in their choice of professional interventions and burnout when working with ethnic minority clients. Moreover, we demonstrated that the choice of professional interventions affects the burnout of social workers. The results obtained in the present study may be implemented in the education and training of social workers, better preparing them for more efficient work with ethnic minorities.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iD

Eugene Tartakovsky

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