The Public’s Attitudes towards Social Workers: The Role of Values, Opinions of Others and Personal Experience

Eugene Tartakovsky*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

The present study investigates the psychological factors affecting the public’s attitudes towards social workers. The study was based on the theory of human values and aimed to investigate the role of personal motivational goals reflected in values on attitudes towards social workers. In addition, we tested the contact hypothesis in the context of social work. The study was conducted in Israel using a stratified representative sample that included individuals who had no contact with social workers during the last 3 years (n = 303) and those with such contact (n = 220). In the inexperienced population, values affected the perception of social workers indirectly through the opinions of others. In the experienced population, personal experience with social workers affected their perception and support of their struggle. Finally, a higher preference for self-transcendence vs. self-enhancement values was associated with stronger support of the social workers’ struggle to improve their working conditions in both the experienced and inexperienced populations. The results of the present study advance the theory of human values and the contact hypothesis in the context of social work. In addition, they have important implications for social work practice, permitting social workers to understand their clients better.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2717-2735
Number of pages19
JournalBritish Journal of Social Work
Volume54
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Sep 2024

Funding

FundersFunder number
Israel Science Foundation22/218

    Keywords

    • attitudes towards social workers
    • opinions of relatives and friends and mass media
    • personal experience with social workers
    • social workers’ struggle to improve their working conditions
    • value preferences

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'The Public’s Attitudes towards Social Workers: The Role of Values, Opinions of Others and Personal Experience'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this