Journal of Social Work

This article reports a study that investigates the impact of a three-month online meditation programme for geriatric social workers in South Asian cities for mitigating stress, improving professional quality of life, and building work competencies.

Results indicated that the online meditation sessions were effective (Cohen’s d range = 2.21–4.17, p = . 001) in lowering perceived stress of geriatric social workers, mitigating burnout and vicarious traumatization and promoting higher levels of compassion satisfaction and geriatric social work competencies as compared to online music sessions. Meditation was more effective for women workers, Hindus and Buddhists, who undertook therapeutic interventions, and whose clientele were older adults with physical ailments, in home-care with cognitive impairments and hospice-living elderly. This was in comparison to men, Christian workers, whose work profile comprised resource mobilization and whose clientele were healthy community-dwelling older adults. Regular attendance of the online meditation sessions and self-practice were significant mediators of intervention impact.

The findings contribute to intervention research on mitigating stress at work and more specifically the stress of professional geriatric care-work. In addition to mitigating burnout and reducing emotional exhaustion, this person-directed online meditation programme also led to compassion satisfaction and bolstered competencies for geriatric practice.

An evolution of thought and practice regarding the relationship of racism to well-being, healing, and trauma continues within social work and the helping professions. Additionally, empirical research on colorism as a key dimension of racism suggests that colorism negatively impacts the psychological and physical well-being of African Americans. However, few studies have examined well-being among African Americans in the context of historical trauma, through the lens of colorism. In this paper, the intersectionality of colorism and historical trauma is explored to inform culturally responsive social work education, practice, and research regarding African American well-being. It is the first step toward developing a colorist-historical trauma framework. The impact of colorism as a function of historical trauma response transmission among African Americans is presented.

Advances in culturally responsive practice in social work address the impact of social determinants of health, such as racism. However, the impact of colorism within systemic racism is often unacknowledged. The authors assert that social work practice must attune to the differentiated socioemotional, political, and economic needs that exist among African Americans due to the impact of colorism and historical trauma. An intersectional lens, such as the colorist-historical trauma framework, is essential for culturally responsive practice.

The colorist-historical trauma framework contributes to the professional social work discourse aimed at strengthening effective micro-, meso-, and macro-level practice with African Americans for well-being. Implications for social work practice, research, and education are presented.

In light of longstanding concern about the lack of social care in prisons, the 2014 Care Act made local authorities in England responsible for identifying, assessing and meeting prisoners’ social care needs. However, service planning is difficult, for little is known about the level of demand or the extent to which the needs of older and younger prisoners differ. Against this background, face-to-face interviews (including screens for social care needs, substance misuse and mental health problems) were undertaken with a sample of male prisoners in North-West England.

Three hundred and ninety-nine participants were aged 18–49 and 80 aged 50 plus. Overall, more than a 10th of participants had problems maintaining personal hygiene, dressing and/or getting around the prison safely; a significant minority lacked meaningful occupation; and approaching a sixth acknowledged problems forming/maintaining relationships. Older prisoners were significantly more likely than younger prisoners to need help with personal hygiene, dressing and moving around safely and to identify problems with their physical health and memory.

The findings highlight the substantial number of older prisoners who could potentially benefit from some form of social care and support if they are to maintain their safety and dignity and make best use of their time in prison. They also underline the need to develop suitable screening and assessment tools for older prisoners, and for further research on the best service models for prisoners requiring intimate personal care.

Since the mid-1980s, social work has been recognised as an empowering profession. This article proposes that two more concepts, namely, participation and a strengths perspective, must be taken into account to strengthen and advance the empowerment approach. An integrated intervention model linking empowerment, participation and a strengths perspective, called the EPS model, is developed.

Theoretical advances: Although the concepts of participation and strengths perspective have been mentioned separately in literature about the promotion of empowerment, discussion of the integration of all three concepts is limited. The EPS model goes some way to filling this theoretical and practice gap. It affirms that these three concepts are interrelated and must be closely interlinked. The model links the three concepts by proposing that practice should be based on a strengths perspective and use participation as the method to achieve the goal of empowering service users. The EPS model serves as a framework through which social workers can oversee the application and connection of the three concepts in practice.

As the EPS model incorporates the principles of the World Health Organization age-friendly cities initiative, it is suited to the implementation of a community project in Hong Kong aimed at enhancing the age-friendliness of the city’s transport system. This case study illustrates how the EPS model was applied and how the outcomes resulted in empowerment of the participants and realised benefits for older people in Hong Kong.

The study shows that apprehensions conducted on the suspicion of a purchase of sex target men purchasing sex from women, regardless of geographical location or arena of the local prostitution market. This support and legitimise a present norm within Swedish prostitution policy, regarding who is buying and who is selling sex.

The results show that the three largest cities in Sweden have been targeted by the police, with a focus on a specific arena of the prostitution market in each city. Because of this, there are local differences in how the law is implemented, creating local consequences for individuals involved in prostitution. However, the results also show that gender and sexual orientation (i.e. heterosexuality) appear to be the two main factors for identifying individuals who are later apprehended on the suspicion of purchasing sex.

As certain norms and practices are established and reproduced through the implementation of Swedish prostitution law, professionals within social work, particularly within initiatives targeting individuals buying sex, must consider how this potentially influences their work. In terms of whom they meet, what kind of help and support they offer and what may fall outside the present norm.

This study explored different mentoring strategies: simulations and case studies regarding ethical dilemmas involved with employment of intellectual developmental disability workers in supported employment using questionnaires of psychological empowerment, self-efficacy, and attitudes toward employing intellectual developmental disability workers in the free market. Participants were 83 social workers and 60 employers and were divided into simulations, case studies, and control groups. All participants in the simulations and case studies groups attended nine mentoring sessions throughout one year, where they completed questionnaires at the beginning, the end, and six months after mentoring.

The level of employers’ psychological empowerment and their positive attitudes toward employment of individuals with intellectual developmental disability in their organizations were higher than among the social workers, but the social workers’ self-efficacy level was higher. In addition, we found that mentoring using simulations had more influence than the case studies. The study findings showed that the more dynamic the mentoring, the greater the changes in psychological empowerment perceptions, self-efficacy, and attitudes toward employing intellectual developmental disability workers, both during the study and subsequently.

There is considerable importance in developing in-service training and active mentoring for all those involved in the challenges of supported employment. Simulations with participation of actors among social workers and employers, regarding ethical challenges in supported employment are the recommended mentoring methods, as compared to the case studies tested in the current study. Therefore, the study findings encourage the development of advanced mentoring processes among social workers and employers based on simulations, for coping with ethical challenges in supported employment.

Opportunity youth (i.e. ages 16–24 who are neither working nor in school) are difficult to engage in services. Population-level data and Geographic Information System (GIS) technology play a critical role in helping social work practitioners understand where target populations reside and which characteristics are most salient to their service needs. This case study of the Opportunities for Youth Coalition demonstrates the use of population-level data and GIS technology in social work research and practice. We describe the collective impact approach, extant methods of youth outreach, and the Coalition’s efforts to address youth disconnection. We used American Community Survey data, ArcGIS software, and hot spot analysis to answer three research questions.

In the Phoenix Metro Area, there are 75,200 opportunity youth. Greater percentages of youth of color are opportunity youth in comparison with White youth. One in three individuals who have limited English proficiency and who have a disability are opportunity youth. Nearly one in five individuals living in poverty is an opportunity youth. We identify the top five high population density areas for opportunity youth. Further, we highlight three ways that the Coalition’s use of data and GIS technology has enhanced youths’ and service providers’ engagement: (1) increased referrals, (2) increased involvement of organizations, and (3) increased understanding of special populations.

We discuss the benefits and challenges of using population data and GIS technology to guide youth engagement. We conclude with strategies for community practitioners to replicate in other geographic areas and with other hard-to-reach populations.

A social work advisory group recently proposed 41 generalist-level palliative social work activities applicable to any venue, including hospital-based social work, but this applicability has not been empirically tested. Therefore, we used critical realist grounded theory analysis of qualitative interviews to explore whether the activities proposed by the advisory group reflect inpatient social workers’ perceptions of their generalist-level palliative activities when caring for patients alongside specialist-level palliative social workers. Fourteen Masters educated social workers from six hospitals in the Midwest United States participated. Corresponding concepts from interview data of hospital-based social workers’ perceptions of what facilitates or hinders collaboration with specialist-level palliative social workers were identified and mapped onto the 41 generalist-level palliative social work activities. We used NVivo to organize and track data.

Inpatient social workers find it challenging to engage in specific generalist-level palliative social work activities; provision of generalist-level palliative services is shaped by discharge planning duties, the consultation model, and the concentrated role of specialist-level palliative social workers. Competency in cultural and spiritual aspects of care could be lacking.

Most of the 41 generalist-level palliative social work activities are present in hospital-based social workers’ clinical practice. However, not all activities may be applicable or realizable in the inpatient venue. In the hospital, an emphasis on discharge planning and related time-barriers can mean seriously ill patients and their families lack access to generalist-level palliative social work services. Clarification is needed about which of the 41 activities are relevant to and actionable within the inpatient venue.

The phenomenon of the social withdrawal of youth has been increasingly identified in some developed Asian and Western countries. There is also evidence to suggest that it is an emerging problem among the youth of China. To assess the current status of this youth problem in China, an exploratory mixed-methods study was conducted to collect the views through survey from 364 social workers in Shanghai and five focus group interviews were then conducted.

Social workers in Shanghai began to identify cases of social withdrawal among youth as early as in 2004. Social workers’ perceptions and intervention approaches were influenced by the extent of their experience in working with the identified youth group. They believed family relationships were a key causal factor in the social withdrawal of youth. The majority of family members of socially withdrawn youth tended to see social workers as the first line of help. Social workers also reported that the fragmentation of existing social services in Shanghai was a significant barrier, with respect to the rendering of timely assistance to this youth population.

This study can be considered to be the first attempt to explore the extent and nature of youth social withdrawal behaviour in China, from the perspectives of Chinese social workers. It is hoped that the study provides insights into the capacity of the existing youth social services in China to deal with this emerging youth issue.

High turnover rate among Chinese social work practitioners is a big challenge facing the nation’s social work profession. Turnover intention, the determinant predictor of actual turnover, has been widely used instead of the actual turnover. Among many predictors, burnout (exhaustion, cynicism, and professional efficacy) was recognized as a key predictor of turnover intention. In addition, recently, organizational justice is getting more and more attention by social work scholars in affecting employees’ intention to leave the organization. This article aims to empirically test how different dimensions of organizational justice influence social workers’ turnover intention, regarding burnout as a mediator, and including the development and validation of a new organizational justice scale in Chinese context.

In total, 616 social workers (223 from Beijing for Study 1 and 393 from Jiangmen for Study 2) participated in the study. The results revealed that interpersonal justice is the most important dimension for predicting social workers’ turnover intention, whereas cynicism plays a mediator role in that relationship.

Turnover is an organizational behavior. Therefore, it is more important for organization managers and policy makers to consider the factors from organizational conditions that are influencing turnover. This study provides the field of social work in China with solid evidence that more attention should be paid to management issues in solving the challenge of a high turnover rate.

Reunification or post-adoption contact between adoptees, birth families, and other adoption stakeholders has become a normalized developmental trajectory, yet the process of seeking contact after adoption placement varies greatly depending on numerous factors including access to original birth certificates, openness of the adoption, and systemic and institutional challenges that may aid or hinder contact. In this study, 101 post-adoption search facilitators responded to an online survey comprised of scale items and open-ended responses.

Respondents reported that most had no formal education or training to prepare them to assist with searches, they were primarily self-taught and utilized workshops and conferences as a secondary source of preparation, and only about one-quarter required counseling as part of the search process. Findings also indicated that formal education was rated as not helpful and office training (for those who had it) as neutral in its helpfulness. The primary theme identified in the data was that search facilitators must recognize emotions, particularly the grief and loss, associated with the search process to be effective.

Social work educators can prepare social work practitioners to effectively assist with post-adoption searches and reunions for adoptees and first/birth parents. Best practice will include training social workers to anticipate both the logistical and emotional needs of searchers.

Perceived social support has often been investigated due to its direct and indirect effects in reducing the impact of several risk factors on physical and psychological well-being. Moreover, many studies have revealed a link between social support and positive parenting, which in turn has an impact on children’s well-being. In Portugal, there is a significant lack of studies in this area. The aim of the present study was to analyze the relationship between parents’ perceived social support and children’s psychological adjustment. The sample consisted of 409 parents (83.13% mothers) living in the region of Algarve (South of Portugal). The Duke-UNC Functional Social Support and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaires were used.

The results showed that, on average, families had a social support network of nine people, with a balanced presence of family (M = 4.25, SD = 3.54) and friends (M = 4.36, SD = 3.17). Parents reported medium-high levels of confidant and affective support, but instrumental support was lower. However, single-parent families, immigrant families, and divorced parents were found to be more socially isolated and received less support than they needed. Affective social support showed predictive value for child psychological adjustment.

These findings suggest that developing universal and selective parental education and support programs that focus on strengthening informal social support networks is needed, especially for vulnerable families. Implications for social workers who intervene with families are discussed.

Assisting the development of clients’ self-efficacy and improving their quality of life by identifying and activating their strengths and resources is at the heart of social work. The present study therefore examines the unique and combined contribution of internal resources (self-esteem, mastery, and hope) and external resources (social support, social competence, and community involvement) to the explanation of the variance in self-efficacy in a needy population. The sample consisted of 400 residents of 30 low-socioeconomic status neighborhoods in Israel, a population that represents the primary clients of welfare services.

Hierarchical regression analyses showed that all the internal and external resources predicted higher levels of self-efficacy, save for social support. The fact that social support was not associated with self-efficacy might be explained by the uniquely high levels of social support found for all the participants and the negligible variance in this variable. The finding of a consistently high level of social support in a sample of low-socioeconomic status residents is an important finding in and of itself.

Practical recommendations are offered relating to the need for social workers to focus on identifying their clients’ internal and social resources, strengthen existing resources, and create opportunities to enhance those that are lacking.

In this study, we examined older people’s views and experiences of family relations in Iceland. The goal was to explore the frequency and kinds of contact, and the support older people received from their adult biological children and stepchildren. We performed cluster sampling covering community centers in municipalities nationwide in Iceland. The questionnaire was answered by 273 older people, including 193 women (75%) and 64 men (25%). The average age was 79 years. About 200 (74%) lived in the capital area of Reykjavik, while 70 (26%) lived in the countryside.

Older people received more support from biological children than stepchildren. Specifically, differences were found in both frequency and quality of contact. The results revealed gender differences; daughters offering more help and support than sons. Older women have more frequent contact and closer relationships with their biological children than with other children. Relationships with stepchildren were weaker in all respects. These results are discussed in connection to structural and cultural factors, with a focus on the implications of changes in family structure, new communication styles, and effects of media.

Although the increased frequencies of divorce and stepparenting can affect connections within families, communities commonly disregard the different needs of stepfamilies, sometimes called “stepblindness”. Policy makers and professionals such as social workers need to concede different needs of older people in stepfamilies. Conclusions are drawn from the perspective of welfare policy issues, such as the need of more precise law provisions and implementations on social services for families.

Mental health remains a significant issue among young people in the US and elsewhere. Evidence of the beneficial role Hip Hop-based approaches can play in this space is growing. The value of such approaches centers on links to community, culture, and the therapeutic potential of practicing certain Hip Hop elements. Yet, while there has been a steady growth in Hip Hop-based approaches, little work has explored how they can overlap, complement, or reinforce each other. In response, this article explores the theoretical synergies between two established Hip Hop-based models – “Hip Hop and Empowerment” (HHE) and “Therapeutic Beat Making” (TBM) – to offer an integrated approach that draws on the complementarity between and uniqueness of each.

Authors identify an integrated HHE–TBM model for supporting youth mental health which forefronts sense of community, cultural relevance, social justice, and empowerment. Authors outline a practice model, which leverages the best of activities, reflections, and discussions, and indicate its potential in working adaptively with diverse communities of young people.

When engaging Hip Hop for therapeutic means, whether for health promotion or complex therapy, it is a dynamic, creative, culturally sensitive, regulating, and developmental means for finding common ground and creating rapport. It bridges creative and insight-oriented practices. It embraces the ability to generate emotional responses from creating and analyzing music, including esthetic emotions (i.e. appreciation (of qualities)), utilitarian emotions (i.e. functional, motivational, relevant to immediate well-being, goal-oriented), and epistemic emotions (i.e. gained knowledge or insight, awareness).

Worker experiences of workload is a poorly understood component of health and safety practice in the social services sector. Job Demands-Resources theory is applied to explore how workload contributes to health and safety, workplace violence, and violence prevention. Data from qualitative interviews (n = 81) of workers in publicly administered social services in Western Canada were analyzed using analytic induction and constant comparison methods.

Qualitative themes highlight the role of Workload Management, Equal Distribution of Workload, Stress Management, and Flexibility on worker experiences with workplace violence prevention. These themes are further elaborated on and contextualized within a Job Demands-Resources framework. Finally, a conceptual model of workload management and health and safety is presented.

Findings highlight areas of workload development and innovation as a component of violence prevention interventions within social service workplaces.

This paper reports on a systematic thematic synthesis of literature focusing on encouraging and discouraging factors for social workers to train and practise as Approved Mental Health Professionals in England. These professionals have legal authority to authorise the detention for assessment/treatment of people with a ‘mental disorder’ under the Mental Health Act 1983 and other statutory responsibilities. The review included 23 papers, which reported on 14 research studies and is presented using the job demands and resources model.

The review identified a lack of quantitative studies and specific gaps in evidence about social workers’ motivations or reasons why they do not want to become Approved Mental Health Professionals. It identified job resources and demands relating to the intrinsic nature of Approved Mental Health Professional work and extrinsic factors such as fit with social work values and the shortage of inpatient beds. Some job resources and demands overlapped and interacted.

The review suggests that a national survey of Approved Mental Health Professionals might be timely, to examine the relative importance of the job resources and demands; to assess their impact on levels of stress and burnout and on Approved Mental Health Professionals’ motivations to continue or cease working in the role. The findings of the review support the need for increasing the number of inpatient mental health beds and community resources and establishing requirements for the availability of doctors (who may make the medical recommendation to detain) and local agreements about the role of the police and ambulance services in Mental Health Act assessments.