Native and immigrant social workers working with immigrants: Appraisal of the immigrant group, acculturation orientations and burnout

Abstract

The present study investigates the effects of group appraisal and acculturation orientations on burnout of social workers working with immigrants. The study is based on the Threat‐Benefit and the Acculturation Theories. The proposed theoretical model was tested in a sample of social workers working with immigrants from the Former Soviet Union (FSU) in Israel (n = 313). Amongst the study participants, 254 were Israeli born, and 59 were immigrants from the FSU. The results demonstrated that social workers' acculturation orientations mediate the connection between the appraisal of the immigrant group and the social workers' burnout when working with immigrants from this group. Specifically, appraisal of immigrants as beneficial for the receiving society was associated with a stronger orientation towards preserving the immigrant culture (β = 0.22). On the other hand, appraisal of immigrants as threatening the receiving society was associated with a weaker orientation towards preserving the immigrant culture (β = −0.21) and with a stronger orientation towards acquiring the majority culture by immigrants (β = 0.12). A stronger acculturation orientation related to preserving the immigrant culture was associated with a lower level of burnout (β = −0.13) and a higher sense of personal accomplishments of social workers working with immigrants (β = 0.20). Immigrant social workers, compared to their native colleagues, reported a higher level of personal accomplishment (M[SD]IM = 5.08[1.24] vs. M[SD]IS = 4.21[1.39]) but also a higher level of burnout working with immigrant clients (M[SD]IM = 1.88[0.83] vs. M[SD]IS = 1.60[0.63]). The main conclusion following the present study relates to the importance of developing a positive appraisal of immigrants and accepting the immigrant culture for successful work with immigrants.