Methods:
Anonymous questionnaires, consisting of 66 closed-ended items, were
sent to 1500 randomly selected direct practice social workers from the
national NASW membership roster. A response rate of 63% (N=942) was obtained.
Items were divided into seven subscales addressing worker demographics,
practice demographics, client violence, job satisfaction, professional
burnout, general health, and health locus of control.
Results:
Data showed a career prevalence rate for client violence of 64.8% and
a yearly prevalence rate of 23.4%. Among types of client violence
measured, respondents reported a total of 1227 incidents for the year prior
to the survey. Verbal abuse was most frequently reported, accounting for
40.5% of the incidents. Younger age, baccalaureate education, less social
work experience, less tenure in current job, work in non-private practice
settings, and employment in public agencies were significantly related
to higher levels of client violence. Although the majority of the
social workers in the study were satisfied with their jobs and more than
three-quarters indicated no plans to seek another position in the next
year, there was a significant positive correlation between experiencing
client violence and professional burnout and job dissatisfaction.
Implications for social work practice:
These findings suggest that client violence toward direct practice
social workers is a significant problem, contributing to burnout and job
dissatisfaction. If we want to encourage social workers' commitment to
public service, we must take action to enhance safety and mitigate workplace
violence, which will benefit both workers and consumers. Suggestions for
such action will be addressed.