This study aims to answer how social workers conceptualize the risk of violence in their workplace. The data consisted of seven interviews with social workers working in financial aid departments in or around the Stockholm area. Semi structured interviews were used to gather the data which then were processed with a fenomenographic method. The data was analyzed with Lazarus and Folkman theory on coping and Antonovsky’s generalized resistance resources. The findings in this study shows that all respondents have experienced threats or violence in some form in their work. They use strategies to cope with both the situation at hand and the emotions connected to the event. The respondents were affected in their spare time to some extent. It will be argued that there is a form of duality between to not accept violence and at the same time have understanding for client’s vulnerable situation and for the effect social workers decision-making have on the client’s lives.

Titel: “Exposed – but in different ways”. A vignette study on social workers' view of addicted clients based on beliefs about gender. Authors: Caroline Johansson and Linn Johansson. The purpose of this essay was to investigate whether gender affects how social workers in the addiction area assess the client's situation. This was done through a vignette study with a qualitative approach in which six social workers' from four different municipalities participated. The fictional case description was about a client who was in a situation where the use of alcohol and prescription drugs was highlighted. Social factors were also reported when the person in question had two children, a former partner, a current partner and two parents. Two vignettes were constructed with the same content, the only difference was that in vignette 1, the main character was a woman and in vignette 2, the main character was a man. Three social workers received vignette 1 and the remaining three received vignette 2. Individual interviews were conducted and the result was analyzed using a social constructivism perspective focusing on gender. This was done by using the concepts genus order, heterosexual matrix, typing and stereotyping and "making gender". Previous research within the field was also included in the analysis. The result showed that the social workers' made different assessments based on beliefs about gender in a number of different areas. The conclusion is that a discussion needs to be raised about how to create gender equality in social work services which takes into account the different positions that gender entails in society.   Keywords: sex, gender, social worker, addiction, social constructionism.

This study explored social workers perceptions of disproportionality of African American children in the child welfare system, with a particular focus how they felt child welfare agencies, and organization address the specific needs of African American children and families. Along with the types of services social workers felt could be implemented in order to address the concerns amongst African American families. Major findings in the research under represent the perspective of the social workers who work closely with these children and their families. The overall research method that was utilized in this study was qualitative by design. The data collection consisted of 11 face to face interviews with different types of social workers with current and past experiences working with African American children and families, in the child welfare agency. This research called for opinions, experience and personal beliefs from social workers. The survey consist of 13 open/close ended question and demographical questions that were personally asked to each social worker on a one on one bases. The results of this study identified African American children entering and staying in the system at longer rates, poverty, lack of resources in the community, distrust in the government and cultural competency as major contributing factors to disproportionality in the child welfare system. This study displayed a need for social workers to take on more of a strength based approach and remembering to model the NASW code of ethics when working with African American families. Recommendations for future studies include but are not limited to: exploring options to have preventative services for African American families to be offered in their homes or alternatives to easy accessible services and to explore different strategies, tool and techniques in efforts to increase the relationships between the African American families and the social workers.

Child welfare has been part of American society since the early 1900s and continues to play a pivotal role in response to troubled families. Although there is a need for qualified child welfare staff, the process of maintaining staff is a constant struggle for many child welfare agencies. Many states are experiencing high turnover rates within the child welfare system, and Florida has been acutely impacted. Researchers have demonstrated that the nature of the work, supervision, and other organizational factors continue to contribute to job satisfaction among child welfare professionals. Guided by the social exchange theory as the theoretical framework, which is based on intraorganizational relationships and workplace behavior, this quantitative study determined which indices of job satisfaction influenced retention among workers in Palm Beach County, Florida. It also examined how job satisfaction impacted different worker groups. Using Spector's Job Satisfaction Survey and additional demographical questions, data were analyzed to measure job satisfaction among the different worker groups (n = 18). A 2-tailed t test, analysis of variance, and multivariate analysis of variance indicated that adoption workers were more satisfied than were dependency workers in each of the 9 indices measured and that having a degree in social work did not influence job satisfaction among the different worker types. By understanding the factors related to job satisfaction in Palm Beach County, Florida, child welfare agencies can implement measures and procedures geared at increasing retention among child welfare workers.

<p><strong>This essay reflects on the thoughts and experiences of social workers in child protection agencies when it comes to talking about sexuality with teenagers, age 13-20, who is being subjected to inquiry. The research is qualitative and based on five semi-structured interviews. It has a phenomenological position and has been analyzed hermeneutically through cognitive and gender theory. Previous research shows that youths who get in contact with child protection often have issues about their sexuality. This study show that social workers in the agencies lack knowledge about this issue and that they seldom talks about it with the teenagers or their own colleagues. They are however aware of risks involved with the youth’s sexual activities and the problems that may evolve from it. Despite this they sometimes avoid the subject. Their reason is that they are afraid of investigating more than necessary and by doing so offend the clients. Sexuality for them is a private area and they feel that they need motivation for asking certain questions. The study also shows that they find it easier to talk with teenagers of the same gender as themselves. The teenagers therefore get varied help and treatment. </strong></p>

<p>This essay describes social workers view on the action contact person. The study was qualitative and six social workers were interviewed on the topic. The effort contact person were chosen as the object for this study since it is the most common action given to young people, despite the lack of research about this subject. The result was analyzed out of conduct action theory and the theory of street level bureaucrats as well as scientific research in this area. The result of this study shows that most of the social workers consider the action as positive. The knowledge that they value the most in their work is gut feeling and their own experience. The young people that are assigned the action have a wide variation of different issues. The action was often used as a first step before placement outside the home. The action also functioned as a way to get a view of the life situation of the young people. The social workers in the study experienced that they have a great deal of freedom of action in their work with the young people. However the study shows that their freedom of action are in many ways restricted; for example they had few alternative actions and they were all limited by the budget.</p>

<p>This study is investigating what conditions can strengthen an alliance and which obstacles there are. Coercion aspects can also influence an alliance and are therefore also written about. The asymmetrical relationship between the social worker and the juvenile delinquent is investigated also with in regards to the tacit and explicit coercion when they are entering care. The study is focusing on the consequence/influence programs that the juvenile delinquents can be sentenced to because of their crimes. Counseling is a major part in these programs. For the definition of alliance I have used Bordin´s definition, it includes mutual agreement about the task and goal. It also includes bonding between the two parts. This study also uses Hill´s definitions sham alliance, mutual adaption and alliance breakdown. This study´s result shows that in order to achieve a strong alliance it is important for the social worker to handle the conditions in a non-judgmental way and be clear about the rules and regulations. It is also important to get the juveniles parents involved in the treatment.</p>

<p>The aim of this study is to illustrate, and analyze how social workers are able to more effectively pursue operative possibilities within their own particular organizations. The main question concerning this issue is: How are social workers, working within the same district organization able to realise any potential for co-operation with other social workers, in different locales and units, yet working within the same organization? Following on from this question, further issues arise such as: 1. How do the varying demands of the clients affect the workload of the social worker? 2. How does the organization facilitate or hinder co-operation between social workers? 3. How does the workload, staff turnover and delegation influence on the co-operation between social workers? To attempt to answer to the above set of questions a qualitative method was employed. A group interview was conducted bringing together a group of five social workers working within the same district administration of the city of Stockholm. The outcome of the interview has been examined using a theoretical framework based on organization theory, symbolic interactionism and social constructivism; all applied in accordance with post-modern research principles. The main result shows that the organization both hinders and facilitate co-operation through work load, staff turnover and delegation. The outcome of this particular study is associated to results of previous research within the same research field.</p>

<p>The exposed position of a social worker entails serious demands to their working environment. The experience of the working environment is coherent with various circumstances such as physical, technical and psychosocial factors. The aim of this study is to investigate how social workers in Gotland experience their psychosocial working environment. As a theoretical ground we describe the working environment regulations and it´s framework. Previous national and international research enlighten issues such as definitions of threat and violence, the significance of education and policys within social work, social support and riskfactors. The research shows that there is no unanimity in how clientrelated threats or violence is manifested and the social worker´s experience is indivudual. With a qualitative method this study is based on interviews with socialworkers. The result of this study shows that the socialworkers in Gotland experience the psychosocial working environment as satisfying concerning their security and safety. The colleagues are significant factors for the outcome. A threatening or violent situation is characterized by the socialworkers feeling of being personally threatened or exposed. The result also discloses the socialworkers request for education in how to handle a threatening or violent situation. They ask for a more continuous discussion of the routins and policys regarding the working environment.</p> / <p>Det sociala arbetets natur och utsatthet ställer stora krav på socialsekreterarens arbetsmiljö. Upplevelsen av arbetsmiljön sammanhänger med olika omständigheter såsom fysiska, tekniska och psykosociala faktorer. Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka socialsekreterarens upplevelse av den psykosociala arbetsmiljön på Gotland. Tidigare forskning visar att den psykosociala arbetsmiljön är av stor betydelse för hur socialsekreteraren upplever sin arbetsplats. Centrala begrepp är arbetsmiljö, trygghet och säkerhet samt hot och våld. Arbetarskyddsstyrelsens författningssamling med lagar, paragrafer och föreskrifter är väsentliga i tolkningsramen. Gällande klientrelaterat hot eller våld visar tidigare forskning att det inte finns någon konsensus om hur en hot– eller våldsituation yttrar sig och forskningen värdesätter kontinuerlig utbildning och konkreta rutiner. Med en kvalitativ metod som redskap baseras denna uppsats på intervjuer med socialsekreterare verksamma inom socialtjänsten. Resultat som synliggörs i uppsatsen är att socialsekreterarna upplever sin psykosociala arbetsmiljö som trygg och säker i de mest väsentliga delarna, samt att kollegor och gemenskap är betydelsefulla faktorer. En hot- eller våldssituation präglas av att socialsekreteraren känner sig hotad för sin egen person eller arbetsgrupp. Resultatet åskådliggör en brist i utbildningen gällande hot- eller våldssituationer och socialsekreterarna efterfrågar en mer kontinuerlig genomgång av rutinerna på arbetsplatsen. Nyckelord: Socialsekreterare, arbetsmiljö, trygghet och säkerhet, hot och våld.</p>

Thesis (Ph.D. (Social Work))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.