Antonopoulou, Vivi;
Killian, Michael;
Forrester, Donald;
(2024)
Measuring levels of family stress and engagement in child protection social work: an explorative analysis of parental stress and social worker practice skills.
Journal of Children's Services
, 19
(2)
pp. 123-134.
10.1108/JCS-10-2022-0030.
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Abstract
Purpose: Effectively engaging parents under stress is a key component of skilful child welfare practice. This paper aims to investigate how social workers practice with parents with either high or normal levels of stress. / Design/methodology/approach: The study used a mixed methods design including observations and audio recordings of meetings between families and social workers, interviews with parents/carers and questionnaires with social workers. Validated instruments, including the general health questionnaire (GHQ) for stress levels and the working alliance inventory (WAI), were used to explore how levels of stress influence practice. / Findings: Data from 366 families found twice as many parents had clinically elevated GHQ scores compared to the general population (40% to about 20%). Stressed parents reported significantly less good working relationships with social workers [WAI, for the less stressed parents/carers, M = 65.3 vs highly stressed M = 60.6, t(324) = 2.407, p = 0.017, d = 0.28]. When quality of practice was directly measured, workers showed higher level of relationship skills with the less stressed group [t(291) = 1.71, p = 0.44, d = 0.205]. / Originality/value: This study explored the interaction between practitioner skills and family factors influencing engagement, such as stress and anxiety. Engagement with stressed families may be particularly challenging, making it all the more important to understand how social workers engage such families to provide effective help and support. A better understanding of the parent-worker relationship under stress can lead to the development of training and practice strategies aimed at overcoming barriers in family engagement. This study also highlights the need for practice to re-focus on the relational elements and the emotional well-being of families.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Measuring levels of family stress and engagement in child protection social work: an explorative analysis of parental stress and social worker practice skills |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1108/JCS-10-2022-0030 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1108/JCS-10-2022-0030 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Social work practice, Social worker skill, Family stress, Engagement, Working alliance, Child protection |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > Clinical, Edu and Hlth Psychology |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10192289 |
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