Stress, anxiety, resilience and coping in social work students (a study from India)

Social work is a stressful occupation but continues to attract large numbers of students every year. This study was conducted by undergraduate students of all three cohorts at a women’s-only college in Tiruchirapalli in South India (N = 73). Standardised instruments to assess stress, anxiety, resilience and coping were administered. It was seen that anxiety and stress levels were relatively higher in the first- and third-year students while compared to those in the second year of their course, while resilience and coping was relatively low in the first-year group. Correlations were significantly positive for the stress and anxiety scores as well as the coping and resilience scores. However, it was seen that only the anxiety scores significantly predicted the manifestation of stress in the students. Implications of the findings and the limitations of the study have also been discussed

Reflective ability, empathy, and emotional intelligence in undergraduate social work students: a cross-sectional study from India

The extant literature indicates that social work is a high stress profession owing to multifarious and complex demands of practice. There is also evidence of stress experienced by student trainees who aspire for a career in social work. Working with service users and the distressing life scenarios encountered on placement often involves negotiating complex emotions and requires reflective skills. Effective practice requires rapport building skills and the ability to demonstrate empathy is a core skill for effective practice. While there is a plethora of Western literature on these issues, the Indian literature has not adequately explored them. Framed against this background, this quantitative study collected data from students of all three years of their undergraduate social work course from a ‘women only’ college in India. Standardised instruments to assess empathy, reflective ability and emotional intelligence were administered. Statistical tests revealed a higher manifestation of these dimensions in final-year students than those in the first year. Further it was seen that the total emotional intelligence and empathy scores were positively correlated. Implications of these findings for the education and training of social work students has also been discussed in this article

Resilience its nature and significance (a theoretical overview)

The Positive Psychology movement has turned the focus on the strengths that people bring to deal with trauma and crisis. The concept of resilience has assumed increasing significance in this regard and looks at how people withstand the effects of adversity and return to a state of normalcy. The understanding of resilience has been approached from several disciplinary perspectives resulting in a plethora of definitions and explanations. It has been regarded as a personality attribute by some and a contextual disposition by others. This theoretical overview adopts a historical approach and seeks to consolidate and synthesise key points in the understanding of resilience. It examines the multi-faceted nature of resilience and other related concepts as detailed in the extant literature. Characteristics of resilient people and its importance in coping have also been discussed. The bio-psychosocial nature of resilience is explored in this paper with reference to the ecosystems perspective. The concluding section briefly outlines implications for intervention

Correlates of Stress and Job Satisfaction: A Quantitative Study of Social Workers in the UK

Background and purpose: Social workers deal with service users in complex life situations and the stress experienced at work has adverse impacts on their mental health and wellbeing. Studies from different countries [e.g., Norway (Nilsen et al., 2023); USA (Rine, 2023); Australia and New Zealand (Alston et al., 2021; India (Stanley &amp; Sebastine, 2023)] suggest high levels of burnout and poor quality of life in social workers. The situation in the UK is much the same. Thematic analysis of interviews in a study of the working conditions and well-being of UK social workers found that workload demands, relationships with peers, management, and service users, and how change was communicated to them were the main difficulties cited about their work environment (Ravalier et al., 2020). Staff shortages and increased work demands owing to the pandemic and its legacy continue (Gillen et al., 2022) and a more recent study by Ravalier et al., (2023), reports a decline in the mental well-being and work-related quality of life in UK based social workers. Methods: Against this background, we conducted an online survey of 98 social workers in the Nort-East region of England to understand the relationship between stress levels and select work correlates as perceived by the respondents. The study was framed with the following three objectives:1.To identify levels of stress manifested in social workers and the extent to which they experienced job satisfaction.2.To determine role ambiguity and role conflict in their work life.3.To determine the nature of the relationship between our four variables of interest (stress, role ambiguity, role conflict and job satisfaction).4.To identify those variables that predicted the manifestation of both stress levels and job satisfaction.The instruments administered were (a) 7 items to assess stress from the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (b) The Short Index of Job Satisfaction (Sinval &amp; Marôco, 2020) (c) The Role Conflict and Ambiguity Scale (Rizzo et al., 1970) and (d) The Perceived Organisational Scale (Apodaca (2010).This quantitative study used a cross-sectional design. Data was analysed using the SPSS package (ver. 24) and findings were generated through statistical procedures (t-tests, Pearson's correlations, and multiple linear regression analysis).Findings: We found high levels of stress and low levels of job satisfaction in the majority of respondents. Stress scores correlated positively with both role conflict and role ambiguity. Significant negative correlations were also obtained for the stress scores in relation to job satisfaction and organisational support. Both stress and role conflict contributed to the experience of job satisfaction while both role ambiguity and job satisfaction explained the experience of stress in the respondents.Conclusions and implications: The post-COVID work scenario for social workers in the UK remains bleak in relation to high stress levels and low job satisfaction. Policies and procedures need to be put in place to ensure that adequate organisational support provisions are put in place and that work roles are presented with greater role clarity and to minimise role conflict.<br/

Predictors of empathy in women social workers

Summary This study explored the manifestation of reflective ability, emotional intelligence and empathy in 120 women social workers in Tiruchirappalli, India. A cross-sectional quantitative design was used and the Emotional Intelligence Scale, Groningen Reflective Ability Scale and the Empathy Assessment Index were administered to assess the manifestation of these dimensions. Multiple regression analysis was used to identify predictors of empathy. Findings Based on mean scores, the majority of respondents were classified as being ‘high’ in terms of emotional intelligence and reflective ability. Respondents of different age groups showed a significant difference in terms of the manifestation of empathy. Age, self-reflection and appraisal and expression of emotions were extracted as significant predictors of empathy. Application The article discusses the importance of these professional attributes for effective practice and the role of academic institutions and social work organisations in fostering the development of these dimensions in social work practitioners

Psychological Distress, Work-Family Conflict and Family Life Satisfaction: A Quantitative Study of Social Workers in the UK.

Frontline social workers work in difficult circumstances with clients who face significant trauma and distress. The increasing turnover of social workers is a matter of concern. This quantitative research explores psychological distress, work-family conflict, and family life satisfaction in a sample of 104 social workers in North-West England. The findings revealed significant correlations among the variables. It was seen that family life satisfaction partially mediated the effects of depression on the manifestation of work-to-family conflict. Social work organisations need to introduce measures to enhance work-life balance, reduce psychological distress and promote the well-being of social work practitioners