Predictors of Role Legitimacy and Role Adequacy of Social Workers Working with Substance-Using Clients

Commentary on Berget al.(2016): Who's minding the children-do we need to focus on reducing intergenerational risk due to parents who drink problematically?

“…Social workers are involved extensively in children's social care and often interact with families experiencing a wide range of difficulties. Social workers report a sense of role legitimacy in asking parents about alcohol use, but also difficulty in identifying alcohol problems . This puzzling situation occurs because informal self‐assessment approaches are used typically, which may lead to under‐reporting of problems .…”

“…Moreover, parents often do not receive alcohol intervention, as practitioners often place more focus on illicit drug use. Parents themselves can be reluctant to engage with specialist drug and alcohol services, as they do not perceive themselves as having a ‘alcohol’ problem . Alcohol use is socially normative and regarded as what most adults do, so it can be hard to accept that it may be the source of health, social and relationship problems in a family.…”

The Development of Employment-Based Education on Substance use for Social Workers in England: Embedding Substance use Training in Frameworks of Continuing Professional Development

“…Yet studies indicate that social workers are generally unsure both about their level of knowledge and the nature of their role when working with people who are affected by problems of substance use, reducing confidence in the nature of their practice (Bina et al, 2008;Galvani & Hughes, 2010;Loughran, Hohman, & Finnegan, 2010). Some have argued that social workers already have many of the skills needed to effectively engage with substance use (Wylie, 2010) and that the generic principles of supporting services users to be active citizens through practices which empower and enable are more relevant than ever in the context of substance use and the recovery agenda (Forrester & Hutchinson, 2012).…”

Implementing Rigorous Survey Methodology within Contexts of Social Work Education, Training and Practice: A Case Study in Substance Use

“…Yet research from several countries indicates that social workers often feel poorly equipped to effectively engage with those affected by problematic substance use, often citing a lack of knowledge, role ambiguity and case complexity as the main challenges (Bina, Hall, Harnek, SmithOsborne, & Yum, 2008;Galvani & Hughes, 2010;Loughran, Hohman, & Finnegan, 2010). In response to this there has been a call to increase the education and training received by social workers on substance use, to support increased knowledge, clarify roles and responsibilities, to change practice attitudes and increase levels of confidence when working with substance use (Amodeo & Fassler, 2000;Wiechelta & Okundaye, 2012).…”