Association of Personal Distress With Burnout,Compassion Fatigue,and Compassion Satisfaction Among Clinical Social Workers

ABSTRACT

Studies of empathy and empathy-related responding show that while some people respond to observing the suffering of another with a prosocial concern and urge to help the suffering person, others have an aversive, avoidant response that is primarily self-focused and aimed toward relieving their own distress rather than helping the other person. This self-focused response, labeled personal distress, is associated with various social and psychological problems. This article discusses the concept of personal distress and describes a study of licensed clinical social workers (n = 171) that examines the relationship of personal distress and three other aspects of the empathy construct with compassion fatigue, burnout, and compassion satisfaction. Results of ordinary least squares multiple regression analyses indicate that the model of empathy components and control variables explain 20% to 23% of the variance in the dependent variables. Personal distress is the only component of the empathy construct with significant associations with the dependent variables. Higher personal distress is associated with higher compassion fatigue and burnout and lower compassion satisfaction among clinical social workers. Implications for future research and for social work education are discussed.     

Examining the link between democracy,social policy,and inclusive development in South‐East Asia

This research investigates the impact of democracy on inclusive development and mainly addresses the question “Does democracy matter in the delivery of larger and more effective social policies that improve inclusive development?” The four cases selected to empirically analyze the relationship among three variables (democracy, social policy, and inclusive development) were Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines. The three main variables were modeled and analyzed by partial least squares–structural equation modeling technique. The finding revealed that social policy was one of the potential variables linking democracy and inclusive development, especially when the development of democratic institution runs stably.     

The Relationships of Flexible Work Schedules,Workplace Support,Supervisory Support,Work-Life Balance,and the Well-Being of Working Parents

ABSTRACT

This study, using a secondary dataset from the 2002 National Study of the Changing Workforce, examines how working parents cope with work demands and family responsibilities. The design is a study on the relationships of flexible work schedule, workplace support, supervisory support, and work-life balance on the well-being of working parents employing the Structural Equation Model (SEM). In this study, employee well-being is an endogenous latent construct. Work-schedule flexibility, workplace support, supervisory support, and work-life balance are latent exogenous constructs. This information will assist social workers in developing more effective intervention efforts in the workplace, with the ultimate goal of increasing the quality of life.     

The Work Experiences of Social Workers: Factors Impacting Compassion Satisfaction and Workplace Stress

Abstract

In 2015, over 6,000 licensed social workers in 13?US states responded to an online survey regarding perceptions and feelings about their work, as well as numerous personal and practice issues. Specifically, this study examined participants’ levels of compassion satisfaction and workplace stress, and then determined through multivariate analyses what demographic factors, behavioral and physical health problems, practice issues, fields of practice, and workplace environment issues impacted these two variables.

The findings indicate that participants demonstrated high levels of compassion satisfaction, with a wide range of workplace stress levels. Workplace environment issues had the greatest impact on both variables, with social workers’ mental health problems, physical health status, and certain demographic factors such as race also influencing them. Over 82% of respondents expressed agreement that they were glad that they chose social work as a profession. The results appear to demonstrate that despite being a potentially stressful occupation, licensed social workers tend to experience significant emotional satisfaction from their work. On the other hand, the results also highlight the need for further research to determine how to enhance support for social workers in the workplace in order to not only reduce workplace stress, but also to increase compassion satisfaction.     

Social Vulnerability to Toxic Risk

SUMMARY

A model of social vulnerability to toxic risk from fugitive chemical releases is tested in 8 southeastern U.S. states. Using structural equation modeling techniques, population density emerged as the critical factor driving exposure to toxic risk. Results indicate that: social vulnerability varies across types and sources of toxic risk; social factors, such as race, that increase risk in some circumstances may buffer risk in others; and that toxic risk has both social justice and social welfare components. Practice and research implications include the importance of community planning and economic models that enhance environmental quality and health along with economic security.     

The Effects of Participation and Resources on Democratic Attitudes: Role of Social Capital in Four Latin and South American Countries

ABSTRACT

Social capital research in Latin and South American countries has been gravely limited by the absence of valid measures of social capital. This study seeks to create a scale for measuring social capital in the Latin and South American context using exploratory and confirmatory statistical procedures. It also seeks to test the effect of social capital on democratic attitudes in Latin America through structural equation modeling methods. Analysis of four countries in Latin and South America suggests that social capital is positively related to democratic attitudes. Recommendations for future studies are highlighted, and scale properties and outcomes are discussed.     

The Understanding and Use of Reflection in Family Support Social Work

ABSTRACT

Previous research emphasizes the need for reflection in complex, dynamic practices, like social work. However, increased governance of the public sector and welfare state has caused a reform, which in turn has affected the layout and conditions of work. Private sector control ideals and ideas from the auditing system have led to a new focus. It is argued that we should subordinate practice approaches – characterized by reflection, proven experience, and tacit knowledge – to manual-based treatment, evaluations, and assessments. This study aims at understanding the role of reflection in social work by investigating its use and valuation by family support social workers. Opportunities and resources for reflection are another focus. Focus group interviews (n = 40) were used to produce data. The need for reflection to conduct highly qualitative social work became evident. The question is not whether to reflect or not, rather how this best can be done, given current time constraints. Reflection was considered a coping mechanism, offering a sense of professional legitimacy. Organizational changes seem to impact on time for reflection. However, when enabling process, learning, and development, it can be argued that reflection is beneficial for several parties. Therefore, reflection requires continued emphasis, highlighting its potential benefits.     

The school‐community partnership: Helping at‐risk youth

Abstract

Innovative service delivery models are needed in our schools to help at‐risk youth and to ameliorate family dysfunction so that children have an increased potential to learn. In the model described herein, a consortium of three Long Island school districts contracts with community‐based social service agencies to provide prevention and intervention services which the schools cannot provide. The mechanisms developed to form and implement these partnerships as well as the specific services offered are described. The role ofthe social worker as a program advocate within the school's administrative structures is discussed and techniques that help bridge the gap between client‐focused concerns and administrative and school board imperatives are presented.     

Dare to Care: Exploring the Relationships between Socio-Moral Climate,Perceived Stress,and Work Engagement in a Social Service Agency

Abstract

Human service professionals working in an interpersonal violence social service agency are at increased risk of experiencing emotional burnout, compassion fatigue, and high levels of stress, which may reduce work engagement, increase turnover, and ultimately negatively affect client outcomes. However, a positive organizational climate has the potential to buffer the negative effects of perceived stress on work engagement. Socio-moral climate is a behavioral-based organizational construct that assumes that workplace practices and procedures can impact employees’ attitudes and behaviors. This exploratory study (N?=?41) investigates the relationships between perceived stress, work engagement, and socio-moral climate in a social service agency serving survivors of interpersonal violence, comparing employees with direct interactions with clients in a shelter to those with indirect contact at a different location. Results of moderation analyses show that socio-moral climate significantly predicts higher work engagement, while perceived stress is negatively associated with work engagement; however, the interaction effect was not significant and there were no differences in perceived stress between both employees. Further research should continue to investigate the role of socio-moral climate on employee work engagement in social service agencies, which could improve the quality of services for their clients.     

A Test of a Model with Reciprocal Effects Between Religiosity and Various Forms of Delinquency Using 2-Stage Least Squares Regression

ABSTRACT

This was a study of 1,093 adolescents from six different public high schools, where the same integrated theoretical model of control and social learning theories fit the data on alcohol use, heavy alcohol consumption, use of marijuana, criminal behavior, sexual exploration, and suicidal thoughts. It was observed that the model explained significantly more variance in some of these forms of delinquency than in others, indicating only equivocal support for the deviance syndrome argument in the literature. This study also found that religiosity was a significant influence only on criminal behavior, whereas the feedback eifect of delinquency on religiosity was significant for all forms of delinquent behavior studied. The importance of this particular finding was discussed in relation to previous studies, since almost all prior research has used statistics that do not consider reciprocal eifects. In the present study, the reciprocal effects between religiosity and various forms of delinquency were analyzed with two-stage least squares regression.     

Factors that Influence Physical Activity among Residents in Assisted Living

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to examine factors that influence physical activity among residents in assisted living. This was a secondary data analysis using baseline data from a function-focused care intervention study including 171 residents from 4 assisted living facilities. Using structural equation modeling, we found that mood, satisfaction with staff and activities, and social support for exercise were directly associated with time spent in physical activity. Gender, cognition, depression, and comorbidities were indirectly associated with physical activity and accounted for 13% of the total variance in physical activity. Implications for future research and social work practice are presented.     

Differentiating classroom climate concepts: Academic,management, and emotional environments

Abstract

Extensive research has validated the relationship between classroom climate and students’ social, motivational, and cognitive development. Despite improved methods of measurement, the construct itself is still nebulous and hard to delineate. One reason is that there are different dimensions to classroom climate. We examine the literature and suggest that there are three differentiable components: (1) academic, referring to pedagogical and curricular elements of the learning environment; (2) management, referring to discipline styles for maintaining order; and (3) emotional, the affective interactions within the classroom. While these components overlap, emotional climate is the least recognised or studied, and yet equally consequential. Based on our theoretical and empirical work we outline some of the characteristics of the emotional environment. We argue for the importance of treating emotional climate as a distinct aspect of classroom climate. As a concept, the emotional climate of the classroom is superordinate to other classroom climate domains, since it interfaces with the conventional academic and management elements of effective learning environments.     

A theoretical model of religiosity and drug use with reciprocal relationships: A test using structural equation modeling

Abstract

This study of 1093 adolescents from 6 public high schools was designed to test a hypothesized model formulated by theoretical elaboration of control theory with elements from social learning theory using structural equation modeling procedures. The primary purpose was to establish that religion is relevant to illicit drug use when its direct, indirect and reciprocal effects are tested within a more complete system of relationships than found in existing studies. Most aspects of the model were supported by data and religion had direct inverse effects on illegal drug use for all adolescents studied. However, the feedback effects of drug use on religion were significant only among younger adolescents and females. Other age and gender differences were observed when the hypothesized model was tested with structural equation modeling procedures. The implications of these findings were discussed in regard to future conceptual work and intervention.     

Research as Social Action in the Aftermath of Hurricane Andrew

SUMMARY

A study conducted 14 months after Hurricane Andrew examined the long term impact of this natural disaster on the homeless in the hardest hit areas of South Florida. The effects of a natural disaster on the homeless has not been studied in the past. In addition, this study is presented to illustrate a model of social action research. The foundations for the principles of this model are rooted in the best scientific and social justice traditions. The principles are introduced and described using research methodologies that were utilized in this disaster study. How the findings contributed to changes in policy, procedure, and practice are highlighted.     

Social Empathy: A Model Built on Empathy,Contextual Understanding,and Social Responsibility That Promotes Social Justice

ABSTRACT

A model of social empathy is described where social empathy is defined as the ability to more deeply understand people by perceiving or experiencing their life situations and as a result gain insight into structural inequalities and disparities. The three components of the model—individual empathy, contextual understanding, and social responsibility—are explored and explained. Social empathy provides a framework for more effective social policies that address disparities and support social and economic justice for all people. Social workers are well positioned to enhance social empathy, and application and suggestions for further enhancement and research are provided.