Failure to Address African Americans’ Spiritual Needs During Hospitalization: Identifying Predictors of Dissatisfaction Across the Arc of Service Provision

Using a national sample of recently hospitalized older African Americans (N = 2,227), this study identified predictors of dissatisfaction with the manner in which clients’ spiritual needs were addressed during hospitalization. Of 8 major areas of service provision examined, 3 were significant predictors of dissatisfaction: nurses, physicians, and the discharge process. The findings underscore the importance of collaborative efforts to address elderly Black clients’ spiritual needs. Social workers, who frequently oversee the discharge process, can play an important role in addressing African Americans’ spiritual needs by developing discharge plans that incorporate clients’ spiritual strengths and resources into the planning process.     

Spiritual Assessment and Latter-Day Saints: Establishing the Preliminary Validity of Spiritual Eco-Maps

ABSTRACT

Few spiritual assessment approaches have been validated with Latter-Day Saints (LDS), in spite of the importance of religion to this culturally distinct population and its burgeoning growth. Drawing on the concept of social validity, this mixed-method study validates a qualitative spiritual assessment approach—spiritual eco-maps—using a geographically diverse sample of social workers (N = 100), all of whom had at least 5 years of direct practice experience with LDS clients. These individuals were asked to identify: a) the degree of cultural consistency, strengths, and limitations of the spiritual eco-map at a conceptual level; and 2) how the questions designed to operationalize the approach might be improved to be more valid, relevant, and consistent with LDS culture. The results suggest that spiritual eco-maps are consistent with LDS culture as long as they are operationalized appropriately. Toward this end, a culturally valid question protocol is provided along with suggestions for administering the instrument in a culturally competent manner. Spiritual eco-maps may be particularly useful in settings where a quick, visually oriented assessment that focuses on clients’ present relationships is indicated. Future research might build upon the present study by assessing the validity of spiritual eco-maps with both community and client samples.     

Spiritual Histories and Native Americans: A Mixed Method Validation Study

ABSTRACT

Although spirituality plays a central role in health and wellness for many Native Americans, surprisingly few spiritual assessment tools have been validated with this population. This mixed-method study modifies an existing spiritual assessment tool—spiritual histories—that may be particularly congruent with Native American culture. Using a sample of recognized experts in Native culture (N = 50), the study identifies: (a) the degree of cultural consistency, strengths, and limitations of the tool, conceptually, and (b) a culturally valid question protocol to operationalize the concept for use with Native clients. The findings are discussed in light of recent accrediting requirements mandating the administration of spiritual assessments in numerous settings and suggestions are provided to administer the assessment in a culturally competent manner.     

Religion and Spirituality in Social Work Education and Direct Practice at the Millennium: A Survey of UK Social Workers

Correspondence to Dr Leola Furman, 1201 Yale Place, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55403, USA. E-mail: furmanlfurman{at}aol.com Summary In recent years, an expanding body of social work publicationsand professional conference presentations has materialized inthe United States due to a resurgence of interest in spiritualityand religion. In order to explore the level of interest in theUnited Kingdom, a random sample of 5,500 practising social workersfrom the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) membershipwere mailed a questionnaire that examined religious and spiritualbeliefs, practices and affiliations. A total of 789 BASW membersin direct practice from England, Scotland Wales, and NorthernIreland returned questionnaires, a response rate of 20 per cent.The majority of respondents believed that spirituality was afundamental aspect of being human. More than three-quartersof the sample reported little or no content on religion andspirituality in their training programme. Respondents stronglyapproved of raising the topic of religion and spirituality withclients who are experiencing terminal illness or bereavement.This also held true in matters of adoption and foster parenting.Approximately 47 per cent of all respondents believed that includingreligion and spirituality in direct practice was compatiblewith social work’s mission. This sample may representthose social workers with a stronger interest in religion andspirituality than a random sample of the general populationof UK social workers. These findings, nevertheless, raise concernabout the availability of practice models and training curriculafor social work practitioners and students.     

Abstracts of Doctoral Dissertations, 2005 Smith College School for Social Work

Abstract

This essay reflects on personal transformative experiences as explored using ideas from transformative learning, developmental perspectives and the practice of spiritual direction. This reflects the multi-disciplinary, relationally based perspectives that are useful in exploring transformation when spirituality is an essential dimension of understanding the meaning of critical incidents or events in one's life. Using the metaphor of spinning a kaleidoscope to identify memories that elucidate critical transitions in a personal narrative, there are memories from childhood, early professional life and recent events which afford an opportunity to revisit and explore the meaning of those events. The essay provides insight into the practice of spiritual direction that has similar parallels in clinical practice. These parallels include: the importance of attending to the relationship; of paying attention to one's own stillness and silence; and of engaging the other in owning the transformative power of insights from their explorations.     

The Role of Religion and Spirituality in Social Work Practice: Views and Experiences of Social Workers and Students

Findings from surveys of qualified social work practitionersand students indicate a need for social work education and practiceto focus attention both on the importance of religious and spiritualbeliefs in the lives of many service users and on the potentialusefulness of religious and spiritual interventions. In thisBritish study, undertaken in 2003 and 2004, students were lesslikely than their qualified colleagues to consider religiousor spiritually sensitive interventions as appropriate. Attitudesvaried little between those students who held religious beliefsand those who did not, but Muslim students and qualified socialworkers were more likely to view these types of interventionsas appropriate. The authors conclude that there is a clear needfor all social work practitioners and educators to give greaterpriority to exploring the potential significance of religiousand spiritual beliefs in their training, in their professionalpractice and in the lives and perspectives of service usersand colleagues. Social workers need to be able to respond appropriatelyto the needs of all service users, including those for whomreligious and spiritual beliefs are crucial. ‘Culturallycompetent’ practice depends, amongst other things, onan understanding and appreciation of the impact of faith andbelief.     

Social Workers' Use of Spiritual Practices in Palliative Care

Abstract

Numerous studies have examined client use of spiritual and/or religious practices to cope with illness and adversity. This study explores social workers' use of spiritual practices as reflected in their work with palliative care clients. Survey results (n = 327) indicated significant relationships of spiritual practices such as yoga, prayer and meditation to working with palliative care clients. The total number of these approaches is predicted by factors such as theoretical orientation and the social workers' own struggles with palliative care and other issues. Our study supports the need for additional investigation of spiritual issues in practice.     

The Impact of Spiritual Intelligence on the Health of the Elderly in Malaysia

In an attempt to study the impact of spiritual intelligence on the health of the elderly, research has been carried out on 378 elderly people in Perlis, Malaysia. The primary objectives of the study were: (i) to identify the levels of spiritual intelligence and general health of the elderly; (ii) to examine the relationships between spiritual intelligence and health of elderly; (iii) to examine the differences in the level of spiritual intelligence and health based on selected demographic factors; and (iv) to predict the most dominant dimension of spiritual intelligence that affects health. Sets of questionnaires were distributed to gather data. The findings showed that the majority of respondents were in good health, and had excellent spiritual intelligence. It also suggested that spiritual intelligence was positively associated with general health. Those who had higher levels of spiritual intelligence tended to have higher levels of health. The ability to conduct daily life with sanctification based on one’s spiritual belief was the most dominant factor of good health. The study suggested that spirituality is related to health and has a positive effect on participants’ overall health. Based on our findings, we recommend that health practitioners introduce the biopsychosocial‐spiritual model when assessing the health of the elderly.     

Substance use among older youth transitioning from foster care: Examining the protective effects of religious and spiritual capital

Among older youth transitioning from the foster care system, this longitudinal study examined the association of religious and spiritual capital to substance use in the past year at age 19. Participants consisted of African American (N = 179) and White non‐Hispanic (N = 133) older youth in foster care. Drawing from social capital theory, it was posited that religious service attendance (a proxy for religious capital) and belief in a spiritual force (a proxy for spiritual capital) would be inversely associated with substance use. Multiple logistic regression results indicated support for the first and second hypothesis for White foster youth only. Among White foster youth, more frequent religious service attendance and greater belief in a spiritual force were associated with a lower likelihood of illegal substance and polysubstance use. No association between religious or spiritual capital and substance use was found among African American foster youth. The findings underscore the importance of conducting spiritual assessments to help ensure older foster youth who have strong religious or spiritual orientations are in environments where they are accommodated and supported.     

The Social Work Assessment Tool (SWAT)

Abstract

This paper reports on the last of three National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization initiatives to move hospice and palliative care social workers into the patient/family outcomes arena: the development of the Social Work Assessment Tool. The experience of a team of practitioners and researchers is described, including results of two pilot studies and subsequent SWAT revisions. The major focus is on the current model performance improvement project, in which 19 social workers from 14 hospice and palliative care programs used the SWAT with 101 patients and 81 primary caregivers for a median of 44 days. Quantitative analysis indicated significant improvement in SWAT scores for patients from the first to the second social work visit (t = ?2.60, df = 47, p .01). Qualitative interviewing of the social workers indicated some lack of readiness in the field to conduct quantitative outcomes measurement. Additional measures are needed in addition to the SWAT, including qualitative measures, and measures of mezzo and macro practice. Participants indicated that the SWAT was appropriate for use with economically and culturally diverse clients.     

Social Service Delivery and Social Work Practice for Japanese Elders

No abstract available for this article.     

Viewing Spirituality in Social Work through the Lens of Contemporary Social Theory

This paper locates the social work literature on spiritualitywithin the broad theoretical and epistemological perspectivesof late modernity. It focuses particularly on the rise of individualismand its culmination in the theory of reflexive modernization—lifepolitics and subpolitics—and makes an appeal for an ‘ecospiritualsocial work’—one which would take social work awayfrom individualism back to its communitarian roots. The riseof spirituality in social work is linked to individualism. Bothresult from the depersonalizing and alienating effects of modernity:the detraditionalization and secularization of society; therise of science, rationality, the professions, and industrialand technological progress; and the decline in religion. Socialwork mirrors this process in that it has worked vigorously toshake off its religious, moralistic beginnings, and to embracethe secular trappings of professionalism in the process increasinglyembracing highly individualistic values and scientific explanationsof reality. The literature on spirituality in social work, inwhich the influence of New Age spirituality is strongly evident,tries to re-instantiate our search for quality and meaning.However, social work has yet to examine broader sociologicaltheory and the way in which it can deepen our understandingof the rise of spirituality in social work.     

中国社会工作伦理本土化对社会需求的回应

社会工作本土化是社会工作引入中国以来一直备受重视的问题。文章选择了社会工作伦理的角度，结合社会工作伦理面临的现实困境，探讨社会工作对社会需求回应的路径，提出通过在吸收中国传统文化的基础上改造西方社会工作伦理、调整社会工作者与服务对象的关系并促进双方能力建设、优化评估机制以确保专业服务的质量和重视社会工作伦理教育等四个方面回应社会需求，对社会工作伦理的专业化和本土化进行了思考。     

Multicultural Social Work and Ethnic Identity Positioning

The recent trend in postmodern social work discourses in Australia espouses anti-essentialist views of identity for social work subjects and deconstructs the uniformity of self into hybrid and changeable identities. However, there are few studies that focus on the problem of anti- essentialism in social work theories in relation to the analysis of neoliberal discourses in actual social welfare fields for middle-class migrants like the Japanese community in Australia. This paper explores the perceptions toward ethnic identity positioning among ethnic community leaders in social welfare activities. The research also attempts to examine the relationship between social welfare activities by ethnic minorities and ethnic identity discourses in social work. The case studies revealed that the essentialist practices of Japanese community organizations aimed at keeping their Japanese ethnicity could co-exist with the production of an anti-essential, hybrid culture in Australian society. It is important to consider cultural complexity in the ethnic identification processes that emerge through social welfare practices by ethnic minorities.     

Land of Forgetfulness

Abstract

The personal circumstances of dementia caregiving are sometimes experienced as so severely demanding as to be overwhelming. While sustenance within, and recovery from these experiences are increasingly addressed in helpful ways from psychological, emotional, and practical life planning frames of reference, we are still learning how to speak with one another about the spiritual dimensions of this peculiar journey. From a spiritual perspective, the caregiver initially, and frequently perpetually, finds her/himself in a state of spiritual exhaustion. Oddly enough, there are ample resources at hand to address this existential state with wisdom and grace, allowing for the possibility that the caregiver might move from spiritual weariness to enhanced spiritual formation.     

《水浒传》的"社会风俗史"意义及其"精神意象"

《水浒传》特殊的“集体累积”成书过程,决定了它是“历史成份”极其稀薄的“英雄传奇”小说,其绾结短篇的特点,使众多“英雄好汉”的出身经历和聚义故事成为这一鸿篇巨制的主体内容。这些主要源于宋元民间“说话”的故事,保留了大量社会生活“原生态”的描写,使《水浒传》在一定程度上具有了“社会风俗史”的意义。在漫长的成书过程中,《水浒传》不仅在叙事艺术上经历了反复锤锻,同时也积淀、凝聚了“近古”以来中国社会广大民众普遍的观念意识和情绪心理,形成了带有时代特征的精神意象。     

Social Work Values: The Moral Core of the Profession

Correspondence to Cynthia Bisman, Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010, USA. E-mail: cbisman{at}ada.brynmawr.edu Summary This paper argues that an emphasis on the profession’sknowledge base has come at the expense of attention to socialwork's values and mission. The discussion examines the relativeimportance of knowledge, values and skills in an effort to understandthe shifting emphases of the profession within a social andhistorical context. The consequences of these shifts for theprofession and for its relationship to society are also considered.Concepts from the intellectual struggles of social work andfrom an interdisciplinary perspective suggest ways to groundthe profession’s skills and knowledge in its values ofhuman dignity, service to humanity and social justice. At itscore, social work must respond to the moral imperative of caringfor the neediest among us. This entails re-claiming and buildingon the commitment of early social workers ‘to work withforces that make for progress . . . to forward the advance ofthe . . . common people’ (Richmond, 1899, p. 151). Thepaper concludes that for social work to have a future, the professionmust take pride in its moral core, define its contemporary meaningand work for the social welfare in ways that are relevant toboth social workers and non-social workers.     

族群与教育不平等:我国西部少数民族教育获得的一项实证研究

摘 要：本文通过梳理国内外有关族群（民族）分层的文献,认为有必要把“民族”纳入到中国的市场转型和社会分层理论框架之中,并从教育获得的角度对这一问题进行实证分析。影响中国少数民族教育获得的因素主要包括：城乡地域区隔、职业结构（阶层）、文化差异和国家政治进程（政策变迁）。基于对2004年中国西部抽样调查数据分析,作者发现：（1）基础教育阶段入学的族群差异主要由城乡差别和阶层不平等造成,族群不平等已不显著;（2）少数民族子女高中升学概率依然显著低于汉族,其原因部分在于城乡、地域和阶层因素,部分在于少数民族和汉族的文化差异（如语言环境）等因素;（3）与汉族教育不平等的代际传递模式不同,少数民族教育不平等的代际传承以资源转化模式为主,从而影响了不同族群在教育扩展中的获益程度。总体而言,虽然中国西部少数民族的教育获得仍显著落后于汉族,但其教育不平等更多地来自城乡和阶层之间的差异。     

The Sufic Paradigm for Stress Management and its Contribution to a Model of Social Work Practice

This article presents Sufism as a model for helping to alleviate human miseries. As the instability, contradictions, and stress of the socioeconomic structure create a frantic search for relevant modes of treatment, the theories and methods espoused in Sufism present an alternative approach to be taken up in the interest of more effective practice; especially in the field of social work, psychology, and counseling. Sufic masters or teachers, by the nature of their work are social workers; hence, their role in helping stressed people is discussed. Existing tools of measurement that can test stress levels are used in order to present Sufism as being compatible with the mode of scientific inquiry. The article shows that sticking to traditional psychoanalytic, behavioral, transactional and analytical practices, to name a few, limits the avenues of help that can be offered to those in need. Social workers and human service agencies have to work in collaboration with religious institutions and other spiritual organizations in order to better serve the population.