Social Work and Forensic Practice

SOCIAL WORK AND FORENSIC PRACTICE:

AN ASSESSMENT OF ATTITUDES AND EXPERIENCES

LAURA A. LOWE

(Under the Direction of Edwin A. Risler)

ABSTRACT

Criminal justice populations represent oppressed groups with which the social work profession has traditionally identified. However, relatively few social workers are currently practicing in this area. This research study compared social workers with and without educational exposure to and work experience with criminal offenders. It explored the impact of educational exposure on the rate of choosing to practice with criminal offenders. It compared attitudes and experiences in this area of practice. A mail survey was conducted with 400 social workers belonging to two professional organizations. The survey inquired about educational experiences and attitudes towards internship, employment, and the general field of social work with offenders. A response rate of 60% was achieved. The respondents were primarily female

(78%) and White (82.9%), with a mean age of 48 (SD=10.98). Approximately 50% of the respondents had professional experience working with criminal offenders. Results indicated that social workers with professional work experience with offenders were more likely to have completed an internship with offenders or to have taken a specific course on offender work than those without offender experience. Respondents who took an offender course or completed an offender internship reported more years of practice with offenders. Respondents who reported

being exposed through coursework or internships felt more prepared to work with offenders;

however, they did not report higher feelings of comfort with this field of practice. While

respondents with professional experience with offenders had significantly more positive attitudes

toward offender social work than those without such work experience, educational exposure did

not appear to influence this issue. For the most part, attitudes toward internship and employment

experiences were not impacted by whether the experience was with or without offenders. Results

indicated that social workers practicing with offenders are exposed to a wide variety of client

social problems, ethnic groups, and other social agencies. It is suggested that the social work academy has the potential to have a significant impact on the number of social workers who practice with offenders. Exposure to offender issues through specific coursework and internships may encourage students and new professionals to consider this area of practice.

INDEX WORDS: Social Work, Offenders, Forensic, Social work education, Internships, Field experiences, Coursework

SOCIAL WORK AND FORENSIC PRACTICE:

AN ASSESSMENT OF ATTITUDES AND EXPERIENCES

LAURA A. LOWE

BA, Texas Tech University, 1990

MSW, The University of Georgia, 1996

A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial

Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

ATHENS, GEORGIA

2003

Laura A. Lowe

SOCIAL WORK AND FORENSIC PRACTICE:

AN ASSESSMENT OF ATTITUDES AND EXPERIENCES

LAURA A. LOWE

Major Professor: Edwin A. Risler

Committee: Larry Nackerud Stephanie Bohon

Electronic Version Approved:

Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia May 2004

DEDICATION

To Will Queen, my love and companion, for giving me the encouragement I needed to take on this endeavor. To my father George Lowe, who never had any doubt, and my mother

Frances Davis Lowe, who was always there. I thank you both for your love and for granting me the gift of individual thought. v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank Dr. Ed Risler for his years of support and friendship. Without his encouragement and dedication, I would not be in the position to submit this document today. I also thank Dr. Larry Nackerud for his professional guidance and humor throughout this process.

I extend deep gratitude to Dr. Stephanie Bohon who has greatly enhanced my knowledge of research methodology, provided much encouragement and support, and answered many e-mails.

I would also like to thank Dr. Margaret Elbow, who introduced me to what it means to be a social worker, has supported me throughout my career, and has provided good counsel in dark times.

My gratitude also goes to the National Organization for Forensic Social Workers and its dedicated members for extending their support for and participation in this research. Likewise, many thanks to the members of the National Association of Social Workers for their participation.

Finally, I would like to thank the faculty, staff, and student body of the University of

Georgia’s School of Social Work. Their assistance and support throughout my doctoral education has been critical.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...... v

LIST OF TABLES...... viii

CHAPTER

1 INTRODUCTION ...... 1

Individuals Involved in the Criminal Justice System...... 2

Social Work and Criminal Justice...... 6

Social Work Education...... 19

Conclusion...... 22

2 LITERATURE REVIEW...... 24

Education...... 24

Research Questions ...... 62

Conclusion...... 65

3 METHODOLOGY ...... 66

Procedures ...... 67

Participants ...... 72

Survey Instrument ...... 74

Data Coding and Analysis...... 75

Conclusion...... 80 vii

4 RESULTS ...... 82

Group Comparisons...... 83

Analysis...... 86

Conclusion...... 105

5 DISCUSSION...... 107

Education and Offender Work ...... 107

Attitudes and Experiences...... 110

Limitations...... 113

Implications for Social Work Education...... 114

Conclusion...... 118

REFERENCES ...... 120

APPENDICES ...... 131

A ATTITUDE SURVEY...... 132

B SURVEY DATA CODING KEY...... 138 viii

LIST OF TABLES

Page

Table 1: Demographic Characteristics of Overall Sample ...... 73

Table 2: Rotated Factor Loadings for Components 1 & 2...... 78

Table 3: Rotated Factor Loadings for Components 3, 4, 5, & 7...... 79

Table 4: Membership Group t-test Comparisons on Demographic Variables...... 83

Table 5: Membership Group Chi-Square Comparisons on Demographic Variables ...... 84

Table 6: Experience Group t-test Comparisons on Demographic Variables...... 85

Table 7: Experience Group Chi-Square Comparisons on Demographic Variables...... 85

Table 8: Logistic Regression Coefficients for Offender Work Experience...... 87

Table 9: Regression Coefficients for Years of Offender Work Experience ...... 89

Table 10: Regression Coefficients for ‘Preparation for Offender Work’...... 91

Table 11: Regression Coefficients for Comfort Working with Offenders ...... 92

Table 12: Regression Coefficients with Educational Exposure for ‘Offender Work Attitudes’

and ‘Encouraging Others’...... 94

Table 13: Regression Coefficients with Work Experience for “Offender Work Attitudes’ and

‘Encouraging Others’...... 95

Table 14: Regression Coefficients for ‘Internship Attitudes’ and ‘Internship Experiences’...... 96

Table 15: Regression Coefficients for Ethical Conflicts during Internships ...... 98

Table 16: Regression Coefficients for ‘Employment Attitudes’ ...... 99 ix

Table 17: Regression Coefficients for ‘Ethical Conflicts during Employment’ and ‘Difficulty

Practicing Social Work’ Items...... 99

Table 18: Experience Group t-test Comparisons for Total Social Problems, Ethnic Groups,

and Social Agencies...... 100

Table 19: Experience Group Chi-Square Comparisons for Individual Social Problems...... 102

Table 20: Experience Group Chi-Square Comparisons for Individual Ethnic groups ...... 103

Table 21: Experience Group Chi-Square Comparisons for Individual Social Agencies...... 104

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

In the United States, individuals involved with the criminal justice system are a population that is often vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty; issues which, according to the National Association of Social Workers (NASW, 1997), the profession of social work is particularly concerned. Social workers have taken a lead in working with individuals involved with justice agencies and advocating for system change in the past; however, today their involvement appears to be minimal. In addition, less than one-third of social work schools are teaching skills specific to this population. Research in social work and other disciplines has indicated that exposure during education through coursework and field placements may increase the rate of interest and practice with a particular population or social issue.

400 social workers belonging to two national membership organizations. Analyses were conducted comparing social workers with and without educational exposure and employment experience regarding offenders.

This chapter will introduce the need for social work involvement with criminal offenders and trace the history of social work involvement in the field. It will address the current rate of social work with offenders and explore the potential for the expansion of involvement in this field. The discussion will explore two possible explanations for the limited number of 2 practitioners choosing this area of practice. Finally, the chapter will conclude with the purpose of the research and the research questions.

Individuals Involved in the Criminal Justice System

A review of literature about individuals involved in the criminal justice system indicates that this population is growing at an alarming rate. In addition, the research indicates that offenders suffer from social problems appropriate for social work intervention and represent populations with which the profession has historically identified.

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), by the end of 2000, 3.1% of all adult

United States (U.S.) residents or 6.5 million people were involved in the adult justice system through being on probation or parole or being in jail or prison (BJS, 2001). According to Beck and Karberg (2001), there have been significant increases in the rate of incarceration with 1 in every 142 U.S. residents being incarcerated in federal or state prisons and local jails in 2000 as compared to 1 in 218 in 1990. Gender specific rates indicate that 1 in every 109 male residents were held in state or federal prison at the end of 2000 and 1 in every 1,695 females.

Evidence indicates that racial and ethnic minorities are over-represented in justice institutions. According to Beck and Harrison (2001), African-Americans represented 46.2%,

Hispanic’s 16.4%, and Whites only 35.7% of federal and state prisoners at the end of 2000.

African-Americans of both genders and for every age group have consistently higher rates of incarceration than either Whites or Hispanics (Beck & Harrison, 2001). African-Americans have a much higher lifetime likelihood (16.2%) of going to prison than either Hispanics (9.4%) or

Whites (2.5%) (Bonczar & Beck, 1997).

Harms (2002) reports similar issues in the juvenile justice system. In 1998, juvenile courts handled almost 1.8 million cases of delinquency, an increase of 44% since 1989. This 3 increase resulted in 66,100 more detained delinquency cases than in 1989. Female youth accounted for a significant proportion of the overall increase in the numbers of delinquent detentions. The rates of both female (56%) and male (20%) detentions increased during the period of 1989-1998. While the number of cases involving detention during this period increased more for White youth (33%) than for Black youth (15%), Black youth were still more likely to be detained in every offense category than White youth. “In 1997, secure detention was nearly twice as likely in cases involving black youth as in cases involving white youth, even after controlling for general offense category” (Sickmund, 2000, p. 7). This rate of detention represents a dramatic over-representation of Black youths in the overall detention population

(44%), when compared to their proportion of delinquency cases seen in juvenile courts (31%)

(Sickmund, 2000).

Other research indicates that adults involved with justice agencies often demonstrate a variety of mental health issues, apart from criminal behavior. In a study of justice agency inmates, Ditton (1999) found that 16.2% of state prison inmates, 7.4% of federal prison inmates,

16.3% of jail inmates, and 16% of probationers demonstrated evidence of mental illness

(indicated by reports of mental or emotional conditions or overnight stays in mental hospitals or programs). Results also demonstrated that these individuals were more likely than other inmates to have been incarcerated due to a violent offense, to have been using drugs or alcohol at the time of their offense, and to have been homeless prior to incarceration.

It appears that the juvenile system is confronting similar problems. Cocozza and Skowyra

(2000) state, “it is safe to estimate that at least one out of every five youth in the juvenile justice system has serious mental health problems” (p. 6). A study by Teplin, Abram, McClelland,

Dulcan, and Mericle (2002) found these estimates to be conservative. They examined the rates of 4 psychiatric disorder in a random stratified sample of youth detainees in Chicago. Their results indicated that 66.3% of the male and 73.8% of the female youth met the diagnostic criteria for one or more psychiatric disorders. These rates decreased slightly to 60.9% for males and 70.0% for females when conduct disorder (related to delinquent behavior) was excluded. The researchers note that actual rates of psychiatric disorder among youth in the juvenile justice system may actually be higher, because the sample

excluded youth who were not detained because their charges were less serious, they were

immediately released, or they were referred directly into the mental health system.

Second, underreporting of symptoms and impairments by youth is common, especially

for disruptive behavior disorder (p. 1137).

Harlow (1999) found a history of physical and sexual victimization to be prevalent in a study of adult correctional populations. Fourteen percent of males and 36.7% of females in state prison reported having experienced physical or sexual abuse prior to their 18th birthday. Similar

results were found among federal inmates (5.8% of males and 23% of females), jail inmates

(11.9% of males and 36.6% of females), and individuals on probation (8.8% of males and

28.2%). Parents and guardians were identified as the perpetrators by more than half of the male

inmates reporting abuse, while the majority of female inmates identified the perpetrators as

partners. One-third of female state inmates and one-fourth of female jail inmates reported rape

prior to the current incarceration.

These studies appear to indicate that individuals involved in the justice system represent

groups and have social problems pertinent to the field of social work. In addition, research

suggests that the current treatment of offenders is failing to reduce criminal behavior. 5

Recidivism

Langan and Levin (2002) conducted a study on rearrest, reconviction, and reincarceration of former prison inmates over a period of three years. Results indicated that from a sample of

272,111 inmates released from 15 states in 1994, 67.5% of the prisoners had been arrested for a new offense within three years of their release. Fifty-two percent of the sample participants were serving time in prison three years later. Twenty-five percent had received a prison sentence for a new offense.

In a New York Time’s story on the study, Butterfield (2002) suggests that the “prison- building binge of the last 25 years”, increases in the number of prisoners incarcerated and the length of prison time served has failed to deter repeat crimes.

‘The main thing this report shows is that our experiment with building lots more prisons

as a deterrent to crime has not worked’, said Joan Petersilia, a professor of criminology at

the University of California at Irvine and an expert on parole.

According to the article, Professor Petersilia goes on to suggest that the increase in recidivism is likely due to state governments reducing “rehabilitation programs, like drug treatment, vocational education and classes to prepare prisoners for life at home.”

These studies with correctional populations indicate that individuals involved in justice agencies represent oppressed groups traditionally identified with the social work profession. This large population appears to be suffering from social problems with which social workers already work, to be growing, and to be inappropriately or underserved by current practices (based on recidivism rates). Based on this information, it appears that there is a need and a place for social work involvement with both adults and juveniles involved in the criminal justice system. In fact, 6 there is a rich history of social work practice with offenders in the U. S., which the next section describes.

Social Work and Criminal Justice

Since the formation of the National Conference of Charities and Corrections in 1879, practice with offenders has been identified by some as important to social workers. Roberts and

Brownell (1999) have traced the relationship between corrections and social work since the

1800s and demonstrate evidence of social work’s relationship with forensic environments both in direct service and in policy.

There are several historical examples of social workers engaged in direct service with offenders. Social workers became involved with law enforcement and the justice system in the early 1900s (Roberts & Brownell, 1999). By 1926, 175 major urban area police departments had social work employees (Roberts, 1997b). Roberts and Brownell (1999) suggest that social workers were drawn into forensic social work, particularly with youthful offenders, during the

1930s and 1940s. Social Workers served as court liaisons in the 1950s for child guidance clinics across the nation (Roberts & Brownell, 1999). The Columbia School of Social Work developed the New York City Mobilization for Youth in the early 1960s. Lyndon Johnson’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice of 1967 established youth service bureaus, where social workers diverted at-risk youths from the juvenile justice system.

Social workers have also participated in policy formulation and system change in the field of forensics. Jane Addams and Julia Lathrop were integral to the formation of the first juvenile court (Mennel, 1972) and the call for delinquency research and psychosocial assessments of delinquent youth (Roberts & Brownell, 1999). Roberts and Brownell (1999) note several other examples of the profession’s involvement in criminal justice policy. Social workers 7 participated on community-based councils and delinquency prevention program in the 1940s and

1950s. In the 1960s, the executive director of the Council on Crime and Delinquency, Milton

Rector, was a social worker. After conducting a nation-wide study of probation, Rector recommended that probation officers and supervisors have a Masters in Social Work (MSW) degree. Also a social worker, Jerome Miller advocated for the elimination of juvenile institutions and the provision of community treatment for juvenile delinquents in Massachusetts in the 1970s. Ira Swartz, the first director of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency

Prevention, established in the mid 1970s, was also a social worker.

This review suggests that, in the past, social workers have been involved with individuals involved in the criminal justice system in a variety of ways. However, the current rate of social workers involved in this field of practice appears to be low, as discussed in the following section.

Current Rate

It has been estimated that the NASW membership represents about 32% “of the total social work labor force” (Gibleman & Schervish, 1997). While it is unclear what, if any, differences there are between social workers who belong to NASW and those that do not, the

NASW membership reviews provide an estimate of the rate of professionals in different areas of practice. According to Gibelman and Schervish (1995), at mid-year 1995 there were 153,814 social workers with membership in NASW. Of responding members (89,432), only 1.2% identified their primary practice area as criminal justice. This rate was similar to those of 1991

(1.2%) and 1988 (1.3%). This 1995 rate can be compared with other identified primary practice areas, including children-families (24.9%), medical health (13.0%), mental health (38.8%), occupational social work (.8%), schools (5.2%), and other (11.4%) (p. 101). 8

Additional evidence of social workers involved in criminal justice may be demonstrated by membership with the National Organization of Forensic Social Work (NOFSW). This organization, incorporated in 1982, reported only 348 members at founding member, full, associate, or student levels in May of 2003 (NOFSW, 2003). Though certainly many social workers do not belong to professional organizations, this information indicates that relatively few social workers are focusing on offender environments, when compared with other fields of practice.

It has been suggested that while social workers have been more highly involved in this area of practice in this past, the existing paucity of involvement may be attributable to the current approach of the criminal justice system towards offenders and their treatment (Fox, 1997;

Ivanoff & Smyth, 1997; Travisono, 1996; Treger & Allen, 1997; Risler, Sweatman, & Nackerud,

1998; Young & LoMonaco, 2001). In addition, Wilderom et al. (1990) postulates that negative opinions of a particular group by the general public may decrease interest in practicing with that population. The next section will discuss the clear shift from rehabilitative to more punitive approaches to criminal treatment and public support for rehabilitative models.

Historical Background of Criminal Justice

The history of criminal justice in the U. S. appears to be one of marked changes. Clear and Cole (1997) state “This history of correctional thought and practice has been one of periodic shifts, marked by enthusiasm for new approaches, disillusionment with these approaches, and then substitution of yet another tactic” (p. 74). They suggest that while punishment, brutality, and incarceration dominated the treatment of criminal offenders from colonial times to the 1860’s, rehabilitative programs came into focus during the 1870’s – 1890’s. They describe five models of how society has approached corrections since the 1870’s. 9

During this time, the Reformatory model was dominant in corrections, emphasizing individualized consideration of offenders, indeterminate sentences, rehabilitation, and separate services for juvenile offenders. This idea was continued during the Progressive period (1890’s-

1930’s) in which “punishment according to needs of offender” (Clear & Cole, 1997, p. 73) was the philosophy. Offenders were considered on an individual case basis, correctional administrators were given more discretion in treatment and sentences of offenders, probation and parole services were instituted, and juvenile courts were established.

The Medical model arose in the 1930’s, and continuing until the 1960’s emphasized rehabilitation as the “primary focus of incarceration” (Clear & Cole, 1997, p. 73). Clear and Cole suggest that the fields of psychiatry, psychology, and social work gave rise to this movement in which assessment and various treatments were utilized to reform offenders. The 1960’s and

1970’s saw the emergence of the Community model in which reintegration into the community was the prominent aim. Vocational and educational programs were the treatment of choice and incarceration was to be avoided ideally.

In the 1970’s, the community model was on the decline and the pendulum began to swing to more conservative approaches to corrections. Crime Control became the preferred model, characterized by a return to determinant and mandatory sentences, sentencing guidelines, and risk management. Clear and Cole (1997) suggest that crime control, rising crime rates, the political shift to the right, and a new punitive agenda were the philosophical underpinnings of this model of correctional treatment which continues to dominate today.

The decline of social work involvement in work with offenders has been attributed to this more conservative and punitive period of last three decades, which may be seen as antithetical to social work values (Fox, 1997; Ivanoff & Smyth, 1997; Travisono, 1996; Treger & Allen, 1997; 10

Risler, Sweatman, & Nackerud, 1998; Young & LoMonaco, 2001). “These basic philosophical differences between social work and corrections have discouraged social workers from active involvement in correctional settings” (Young & LoMonaco, 2001, p. 476). While this shift to a more punitive philosophy has been identified as the reason for the profession’s movement away from forensic environments, it has also been cited as a reason for a need of increased participation by social workers (Young & LoMonaco, 2001). Another possible explanation for the paucity of current social work involvement with offenders may be negative opinions about criminals by the general public. This postulation has been suggested as a basis for low interest in working with the elderly among social workers (Cummings, Galambos, & DeCoster, 2003) and medical practitioners (Wilderom et al., 1990). In an effort to explore this possibility, the next section reviews information on public opinion about crime control and the treatment of offenders.

Public Opinion on Offenders

No research was found directly addressing the attitudes of social workers or the public toward criminals. However, other research has explored public opinion about crime, crime control, and the criminal justice system, offering some evidence about general attitudes. In a survey of Ohio residents, Cullen, Skovron, Scott, and Burton (1990) explored public opinion about the treatment of offenders. Their results indicated that the majority of the public (54.7% in

Cincinnati and 58.7% in Columbus) believed that the main purpose of prison sentences should be to rehabilitate offenders, as compared to punishment or societal protection. Eighty-four percent of respondents in Cincinnati and 81.0% in Columbus supported the expansion of rehabilitation programs in prisons. The respondents indicated more support for prison policies that were rehabilitative in nature than for punitive programs. Educational or vocational training received 11 more support (63.7%) than psychological counseling (21.7%). However, even this relatively low support was higher than respondents who supported the idea of keeping inmates locked in cells

(3.0%) or requiring hard labor (7.0%). The authors suggest “…the respondents apparently felt that prisons should serve the utilitarian function of improving inmates’ psychological adjustment and, in particular, providing skills that will allow offenders to assume productive economic roles upon reentering society” (p. 14).

More respondents believed that rehabilitation would be very helpful or somewhat helpful with juveniles (85.3%), as compared to violent offenders (21.4%), nonviolent offenders (84.4%), or adult offenders (60.3%). Comparatively, while about 41% of respondents thought that rehabilitation would not be helpful at all with violent offenders, relatively few held this view about nonviolent offenders (2.3%), juvenile offenders (2.3%), or adult offenders (8.0%). The authors conclude that “Despite politicians’ and criminologists’ continual attempts over the past

15 years to undermine its legitimacy” (Cullen et al, 1990, p. 15), the public appears to believe that prisons’ focus should be rehabilitation and that such treatment can be effective, at least with some sub-populations of the system.

Innes (1993) reviews numerous research studies on public perception of the criminal justice system. He suggests that while it appears that public officials often see the punishment and rehabilitation of offenders as mutually exclusive possibilities as far as public support, the general population can and does support both. “There is no evidence in the available survey data that the general public shares the view that there is any necessary incompatibility among the goals of justice in society, punishment of criminals, and teaching or training programs for inmates” (p. 232). Innes suggests that while the public supports harsh sentencing of criminal 12 offenders (i.e. prison time) in an effort to increase community protection, they also support treatment of offenders once they are incarcerated.

Incarcerating offenders transforms them from criminals into prisoners by removing them

as an immediate threat, psychologically, and this may produce a shift in attitude. It could

explain a punitive attitude toward the former but a more positive approach toward the

latter (p. 222).

Innes postulates that the public’s call for harsher sentencing may have more to do with attitudes towards the court system than it does about the criminals.

This sense that the courts are not fulfilling their basic mission appears to fuel the

consistent, strong demand for harsher sentences as much as any punitive attitudes toward

criminals. Rather than just being about criminals, wanting harsher sentences is also

related to attitudes toward the courts and how well justice is being served (p. 227).

Innes notes that while there has been decreasing support for rehabilitation since the 60’s and

70’s, “it remained the most frequently preferred choice” (p. 228).

This interpretation of prior survey results seems to be supported by more recent results of the National Opinion Survey on Crime and Justice (NOSCJ), conducted in 1995. Multiple researchers have used the data from this national stratified random telephone survey designed to assess “public attitudes toward crime and criminal justice” (Sims, 1995, p. 170).

Gerber and Engelhardt-Greer (1996) suggest that there are four reasons why society punishes criminal offenders:

(a) to discourage the same individuals from offending again in the future, or others in the

same crimes (deterrence); (b) to prevent offenders physically from engaging in more

crimes by locking them up (incapacitation); (c) to train, educate, and counsel offenders to 13

help tem become law-abiding citizens (rehabilitation); and (d) to inflict deserved

punishment on people who harm society (retribution) (p. 62).

They examined the NOSCJ data to explore public opinion on the sentencing of criminals, specifically related to these four areas. Their results indicated that 53% of the respondents believed that retribution should be the main purpose in the sentencing of adult criminal offenders, while 13% indicated it should be deterrence, 13% incapacitation, and 21% rehabilitation. In regards to juveniles, the respondents were more likely to support rehabilitation

(50%), as compared with 31% retribution, 15% deterrence, and 4% incapacitation. When asked if money spent to lower crime rates should be allocated to social and economic problems or to police, prisons, and judges, 54% of the respondents indicated it should be spent on social and economic problems, 31% said on police, prisons, and judges, 13% on both, and 2% on neither.

Gerber and Engelhardt-Greer (1996) propose that there is more support for the treatment and counseling of criminal offenders than is typically suggested by “political rhetoric and media coverage” (p. 72). They suggest that while the public generally supports harsh punishing of offenders, it also supports treatment once the offender is in prison, especially in the case of juveniles. In addition, these opinions did not appear to be markedly impacted by the demographics of the respondents. “This finding indicates a remarkable robustness of public opinion regarding the sentencing of criminals… Members of the public were predominantly in favor of punishing criminals and treating prisoners” (p. 73).

Flanagan (1995) examined additional data from the NOSCJ and found that a majority of the public respondents thought that most (15%) or some (46%) of violent criminal offenders can be rehabilitated. Only 9% of respondents thought that rehabilitation was not possible for any violent offenders. The public also largely supported proposed programs for offenders. Ninety- 14 two percent of respondents believed that a proposal for “every inmate to have a skill or to learn a trade to fit them for a job before they are released from prison” (p. 83) was a good idea. In addition, respondents generally thought other programs for offenders were good ideas, including requiring that prisoners should be able to read and write prior to release (94%), inmates working constructing buildings or other work during their sentence (88%), inmates being paid something for their work (80%), and allowing conjugal visits for inmates (49%). However, 75% of respondents thought that refusing parole to a prisoner if that inmate had been paroled for a serious crime prior was also a good idea. To reduce prison overcrowding, respondents were supportive of developing local programs to divert nonviolent and first offenders from prison

(90%) and allowing some offenders to be released prior to completion of their sentence for good behavior (64%). They were less supportive of other alternatives to reducing overcrowding, including shortening sentences (8%), giving parole boards more authority (21%), and increasing taxes to build more prisons (33%).

Flanagan (1995) suggests that the public holds high expectations of the criminal justice system to provide community protection, however

The public also expects that efforts will be made within prisons and other correctional

settings to provide services for offenders that may increase the odds that they will

become law-abiding citizens. These include educational, training, and counseling, efforts

directed to reducing the deficits that are associated with involvement in crime (p. 91).

Flanagan goes on to suggest that while politicians often cite public discontent with criminal justice policies that are judged to be lenient on criminals to justify stiffer sentencing and more prison facilities, 15

there is evidence from previous research that political leaders often midjudge the mind of

the public on criminal justice matters. And their misinterpretation is commonly in one

direction-that of perceiving the public as more punitive and less accepting of community

alternatives to prisons than is actually the case (p. 92).

While the public seems to believe that criminal offenders should be punished, they also support treatment and services for offenders that may decrease the likelihood of additional criminal behavior.

This information may bode well for the increased involvement of social workers in the criminal justice system. While support for tougher reactions to crime and sentencing for offenders seems to have occurred during the past three decades, the public still supports rehabilitative-type services for offenders. It has been noted that social workers were less likely to be involved in this system since it became more punitive in focus (Fox, 1997; Ivanoff & Smyth,

1997; Travisono, 1996; Treger & Allen, 1997; Risler, Sweatman, & Nackerud, 1998; Young &

LoMonaco, 2001). However, if the public maintains the dichotomous view that the criminal justice system should be tough on offenders at the same time that it provides services to inmates to increase their chances to lead productive useful lives in the community, then there appears to be an appropriate and needed role for social workers to play in this system, as least from the viewpoint of the general public. In addition, if public perception of the treatment of criminal offenders is actually more supportive of rehabilitation than the media and political rhetoric would suggest, it might also imply that positive changes could result from social work advocacy in the system and the public arena.

Flanagan (1987) suggests that public opinion regarding the causes of crime, criminal offenders, and the criminal justice system is an important consideration in the examination of 16 how society views and reacts to criminal offenders. He suggests that while general citizens are not seen as experts in criminology or policy, their opinions impact policy nonetheless. “For although these lay perspectives may not contribute to resolution of the scientific debate over crime causation, public views are an important input into policy decisions regarding crime control approaches” (p. 231).

Flanagan (1987) reviews an apparent shift from the attribution of criminal behavior as resulting from primarily family characteristics (poor parental supervision) in public opinion surveys in the 1940’s to the early 1960’s. Surveys in the late 60’s continued this trend of attribution being primarily family, environmental factors (upbringing, bad neighborhoods), and structural factors (unemployment); however, personal characteristics of the individual was also cited by many respondents. Flanagan notes that in the 1970’s a significant shift began to occur, with respondents focusing more on the failure of law enforcement and the criminal justice system as a reason for crime, though they also mentioned environmental and structural reasons.

By the 1980’s respondents were more likely to cite structural factors (unemployment) and the leniency of the court system than family influences.

When asked about reasons for the crime rate, respondents’ opinions suggest “local social conditions as a causal factor have taken on less prominence as explanatory factors, in favor of emphasis on inadequacies of the criminal justice system and structural economic conditions”

(Flanagan, 1987, p. 240). Flanagan suggests that these shifts in attributions of crime causation can be seen reflected in criminal justice policy.

The predominance of these ‘system inadequacy’ attributions in explaining crime rates,

coupled with greater willingness to ascribe blame for individual involvement in crime to

personal disposition rather than external conditions, provides the context for 17

contemporary crime control policy focusing on deterrence of crime through stiffer

penalties, greater efficiency and effectiveness of the law enforcement system, and

concomitant lessening of attention to social conditions that may give rise to crime

(Flanagan, 1987, p. 241).

Therefore, the preceding review appears to indicate that the general public is relatively harsh in the sentencing of criminal offenders, but is supportive of rehabilitation efforts once the court has passed sentence. In addition, the public appears to attribute at least some blame for criminal behavior on structural problems within society, rather than completely within the individual. Both of these conclusions appear to provide support for social work involvement with offenders and the criminal justice system. Therefore, while one explanation for the low interest in working with criminal offenders may be the portrayal of public opinion about offender sentencing and treatment, the evidence suggests that the general public may actually be more supportive of social-work-type services provided to this population than is generally demonstrated by the media or in the political arena. While this is encouraging for future social work involvement in the criminal justice system, the effects of this phenomenon on social workers’ interest in working with criminal offenders remains murky. While social workers practicing with offenders may be relatively rare today in comparison to those who work with other populations, some social workers appear to see a need for a resurgence of involvement in this field.

Potential for Social Work with Offenders

Some social work authors emphasize the importance of social work involvement with offenders (Fox, 1997; Hopps & Collins, 1995; Ivanoff & Smyth, 1997; Roberts, 1997a;

Travisono, 1996; Treger & Allen, 1997; Roberts & Brownell, 1999). Young and LoMonaco 18

(2001) state, “Even though social work as a profession is not as active within the field of corrections as it once was, there is substantial evidence that the need for the profession’s involvement is greater than ever” (p. 476). Others authors outline a variety of opportunities for social workers in this field of practice.

Social workers can be involved in forensics in a variety of settings and relationships.

They can be involved in advocacy, treatment, and policy. Barker and Branson (2000) suggest that forensic social workers have ten major functions including expert testimony in court, evaluation services, case investigation, court recommendations, monitoring and treatment of offenders, mediation, testimony in malpractice cases, educating colleagues on the law and forensic social work practice, facilitation of licensing laws for social work, and maintaining relationships with clients that “uphold the letter and spirit of the law and the ethical principles of their profession” (p. 17).

Needleman and Needleman (1997) suggest that social workers in juvenile courts can participate in intake screening, preadjudication services, psychological assessment, court investigations, courtroom testimony, probation supervision, and court-assigned social services.

Though certainly not an exhaustive list of possible roles for social workers in forensic environments, it seems clear that these settings offer potential practitioners a wealth of different experiences. In addition to experiences, there is also evidence that there are currently plenty of employment opportunities in forensic environments for social workers. Research conducted by

Lowe, Risler, and Nackerud (unpublished) found available employment opportunities for social workers in government agencies, courts, legal offices, and private agencies. The researchers conducted a computerized search for advertised positions in 2002, which revealed that 40% of justice and corrections state level departments and governmental agencies were advertising for 19 positions entitled ‘Social Worker’ or requiring an MSW degree. In addition, in only one state could an appropriate position for a professional forensic social worker not be located. Obviously not exhaustive of possible positions, these results again indicate the potential for social work involvement in the field of forensics.

However, it seems unlikely that social workers will move into this field if they feel that offender environments are inappropriate or impossible to conduct practice, they are uncomfortable working with this population, or feel unprepared for this type of practice. The social work academy plays the major role in socializing new social workers to different areas of practice. However, as the next section describes, there are limited opportunities for students to learn about social work with offenders.

Social Work Education

According to the Council on Social Work Education’s (CSWE) website (www.cswe.org) on September 11, 2002, there were over 400 accredited BSW programs and 146 accredited MSW programs in the United States, with more under candidacy. While the Council on Social Work

Education published a curriculum of correctional social work in 1959 (Fox, 1997), van Wormer and Roberts (2000) state that only between 12 and 24 schools “…have begun to make a commitment to forensic social work” (p. v). Hairston (1997) states, “Only about one dozen schools of social work prepare students to work in criminal justice” (p. x). This represents a very small proportion of accredited social work education programs. Similar results were found by

Lowe, Risler, and Nackerud (unpublished). In their survey, 27% of the responding schools indicated they had a course on offenders, 8% said that they had a specialization or certificate on forensic practice, while 90% indicated they offered internships in this field of practice. Based on 20 this information, it seems reasonable to state that (outside of internships) most social work students are not specifically prepared or encouraged to work with criminal offenders.

This fact seems to naturally lead to inquiries as to what kind of role social work education plays in encouraging or discouraging social work students from entering this field of practice.

Kane (1999) suggests that students show a high interest in other areas (families and children, survivors of domestic violence, and HIV/AIDS) in which social work education has recently placed a focus. Perhaps the lack of focus on offender issues during social work education may at best fail to encourage students to pursue careers in this field, or at worst, discourage them from this area of practice. Therefore, it seems reasonable to explore the current information regarding student interest in working with offenders.

Student Interest

Two studies offer some suggestion about student interest in work with offenders. Rubin,

Johnson, and DeWeaver (1986) examined changes in direct practice interests among 165 students from enrollment to graduation from three MSW programs. The main purpose of their research was to explore if MSW students orientation towards private psychotherapy (as opposed to a “social care” orientation) changed after their MSW educational experience. However, data was also reported pertinent to social work with offenders and therefore this discussion.

In the study, student respondents rated the appeal of working with a variety of cases (16) provided in short descriptions. On a 6 point scale of appeal, working with adult criminal offenders received low mean ratings at both entry (3.16) and graduation (2.56). At entry, only three other cases were rated with less appeal including the physically disabled, hospital- discharge planning in health care, and the chronically mentally disabled discharged from state hospitals. However, at graduation, working with adult criminal offenders received the lowest 21 appeal rating of all other descriptions. Working with juvenile status offenders received a slightly higher mean rating at entry (4.02) and graduation (3.42), similar to those of abusive parents

(from 4.01 at entry to 3.44 at exit). By rank, the juvenile status offenders were rated as the 6th

most appealing (out of 16) at entry and were tied at 8th with alcohol or substance abusers at

graduation. It is important to note that the mean appeal ratings for all but two of the sixteen

listed case descriptions decreased from entry to graduation (nine of which were statistically

significant decreases). However, the decreases in appeal rating for both adult criminal and

juvenile status offenders were larger than for any of the other listed cases. Both means decreased

-.60 from entry to graduation.

In a similar examination of social work students’ career interests, Butler (1990) suggests

that a large number of social work students remain interested in traditional social work

populations and activities, as opposed to individual psychotherapy and private practice. In a

sample of 265 students, from 82-90% of those surveyed indicated that they found at least one of

the listed disadvantaged populations as very appealing. While case situations involving clients

with non-chronic psychological problems were rated as the most appealing, only 13.2% of the

students found work with adult criminal offenders to have high appeal. This percentage of

students was smaller than for any other listed client group reported. Twenty-five percent of the

students indicated that working with juvenile status offenders had high appeal. On a 7-point

likert scale from low to high appeal, adult criminal offenders received a low mean rating (3.0).

This was the lowest rating of any client group. Juvenile status offenders also received a low

mean rating of appeal (3.8).

It would appear from these results that social work students’ interest in working with

offenders, particularly adult offenders, is quite low and that the current educational experience of 22 an MSW program does little to impact this level of interest (if not to decrease it). As previously stated, this low level of interest among students in working with offenders appears to be reflected in rates of professional employment where less than 2% of NASW members report working in this field of practice (Gibelman & Schervish, 1997). So what can be done to encourage more social work practitioners to work in the area of criminal justice? This study sought to begin to answer this question. The purpose of the research and the research questions are addressed in the following section.

Conclusion

The information discussed so far indicates that offender issues should be important to the social work profession. The cited studies indicated that correctional populations represent groups and have social problems with which the profession of social work has traditionally identified.

The social work profession has a responsibility, based on its mission to work with oppressed populations, to address the needs of individuals involved in the criminal justice system.

The purpose of this research was to explore social workers’ attitudes towards offender social work and identify the impact of social work education on practice in this field. The research questions included: (1) How does exposure to criminal offender practice issues during social work education impact the likelihood of professionals’ work in these settings? (2) How does exposure to offender issues impact professionals’ feelings of preparation for and comfort with working with offenders? (3) How does exposure to offender practice issues impact attitudes toward social work with offenders? and (4) Are criminal justice setting experiences different from other social work experiences?

While there is an opulent history of social work involvement in this field, students and practitioners appear to have little interest in choosing this area as a career. This may be 23 attributable to the punitive focus of the criminal justice system and negative public opinion about offenders. However, it has been argued that the conservative nature of the system should suggest an increased need for social work involvement and that the general public appears to be more supportive of treatment provided to this population than is generally recognized. It seems reasonable that the profession should be interested in what impacts social workers attitudes about and likelihood of practice in this field. The social work academy plays a large role in the socialization of new social workers into the field. However, less than one third of social work schools are teaching information specific to offenders. This research study explored the impact of social work education in this area. The following chapter discusses the current state of knowledge about the influence of education on interest and practice.

CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

From the previous section, it appears evident that social work with offenders is an appropriate area for social work practice. Further, while there appears to be a rich history of social work involvement in this area of practice, recent interest appears low. The possibilities that the dearth of social work involvement in this field may be due to the conservative swing of the criminal justice system or negative public opinion were explored. While these explanations may offer some clarification on what has discouraged social workers from this area of practice, they have offered little in the way of what may encourage practitioners to become involved in this area of practice.

It has been noted that while the majority of social work degree programs offer opportunities for field placements with offenders, less than one-third are addressing offender issues through specialized coursework during social work education (Hairston, 1997; van

Wormer & Roberts, 2000; Lowe, Risler, & Nackerud, unpublished). However, it is unclear what kind of impact exposure during social work education may have on professional attitudes and behavior. This study sought to explore this issue, as described in the research questions. This chapter presents empirical evidence regarding the impact of education on student attitudes and professional practice. It will conclude with the research hypotheses for this study.

Education

One of the possible responses to a lack of practitioners in a particular area may be an increased focus on that population during education (Al-Asnag & Jan, 2002; Cummings, 25

Galambos & Decostoer, 2003; Pietz et al., 1998; Prouty, Johnson & Protinsky, 2000; Sobral,

20001; Talbot & Ward, 2000; Werrbach & DePoy, 1993; Wiener & Segal, 1990). This approach suggests that exposing students to a particular practice area during education may impact their interest in and/or comfort with such practice, thereby increasing the likelihood they may choose it for professional employment. No research was located specifically examining the impact of offender education on social work practice. In addition, only three studies were located examining the impact of educational experiences on future social work practice (Amadeo &

Fassler, 2000; Cummings, Galambos, & Decostoer, 2003; Peterson, 1990), in general. However, research in other disciplines offer evidence that may be applicable to the impact of education on interest and practice. As described in the upcoming sections, multiple studies have examined the impact of field placements and classroom instruction on students’ interest and/or comfort in working with underserved populations. This approach has been suggested in social work as well as other related disciplines, including the medical field, marriage and family therapy, education, and psychology.

Exposure to a particular population during field education appears to be the most researched in this area. In addition, researchers have suggested a connection between satisfaction with field placement and interest in employment (Alperin, 1998; Showers, 1990). Therefore, it seems reasonable to begin with an examination of the available evidence regarding student satisfaction with field placements in general and offender internships in particular. The chapter will continue with the general impact of field education on interest and employment.

Student Satisfaction

Multiple studies have been conducted examining both graduate and undergraduate social work student performance and satisfaction regarding field placement. Though not a 26 comprehensive listing, the studies have examined factors associated with overall field placement satisfaction, student performance or satisfaction with field supervision, and satisfaction with field agencies. The studies examining overall field placement have included such factors as field instructor characteristics/quality of supervision (Raskin, 1982; Kissman & Van Tran, 1990;

Fortune, McCarthy, & Abramson, 2001) agency characteristics (Raskin, 1982; Fortune et al.,

1985), field liaison/contact with school characteristics (Fortune et al., 1985;), placement types

(Raskin, 1982), learning opportunities/activities (Raskin, 1982; Fortune et al., 1985; Kissman &

Van Tran, 1990; Fortune et al., 2001), client characteristics (Fortune et al., 1985) and student characteristics (Raskin, 1982; Fortune et al., 1985). Student performance or satisfaction with field instructors or the quality of supervision have included factors such as gender (Behling,

Curtis, & Foster, 1989; Thyer, Sowers-Hoag, & Love, 1989), educational background (Smith &

Baker, 1989; Thyer, Williams, Love, and Sowers-Hoag, 1989), learning activities/opportunities

(Fortune et al., 1985; Kissman & Van Tran, 1990; Fortune et al., 2001; Knight, 2001), supervision behaviors (Behlin et al., 1989, Kissman & Van Tran, 1990; Knight, 2001), and student characteristics (Fortune et al., 2001). Satisfaction with field placement agency has been examined with factors such as type of agency (Fortune et al., 1985), client characteristics

(Fortune et al., 1985), learning activities/opportunities (Fortune et al., 1985), quality of supervision/field instructor characteristics (Fortune et al., 1985), and agency climate (Fortune et al., 1985). However, these research endeavors have not explored student satisfaction as related to the area of agency practice.

Three studies were located that examined aspects related to this issue with social work students. An additional investigation was located specific to offender placements, but with psychology students. 27

Alperin (1998) conducted a study examining student satisfaction with field placements within a particular social work practice area. This research explored student satisfaction in child welfare placements (n=206). Like other study results, these students appeared to be satisfied with their field placements overall. In fact, they seemed similarly satisfied as students in other practice areas. However, several other interesting factors were identified in this study. The researcher found that students who took a class with content specific to the area of child welfare were significantly more satisfied (t=2.66, p<.009) with their child welfare agency than those students who had not taken such a course. This result suggests that curriculum training specific to this difficult area of practice had an impact on students’ perceptions of this field placement.

In addition, this research examined satisfaction and students’ willingness to “(1) accept employment at the field placement agency if it were offered, and (2) recommend the field placement to other students” (Alperin, 1998, p. 51). Both satisfaction with the child welfare agency and with the overall field experience were found to be significantly predictive of students’ willingness to accept employment. Further, of “those students who reported they would not accept employment at the agency, 64% indicated an interest in pursuing a career in child welfare, but at a different agency” (Alperin, 1998, p. 52). Satisfaction with field work program and satisfaction with the overall field experience were also found to be significantly predictive of students’ willingness to recommend the placement to other students. The author notes,

“Exposure to opportunities in child welfare prior to placement may increase student satisfaction with the placement and the probability that they would choose employment in this area”

(Alperin, 1998, p. 52).

Showers (1990) reports that in a study of 238 social work students in field placements in hospital settings, “satisfied students were significantly more willing to accept a job at the host 28 hospital, to believe that a job would be offered, and to recommend the field placement to other students” (p. 57). T-tests revealed significance at the .05 level, though t-scores were not reported in the article.

While not the focus of their study, Fortune et al. (1985) mentioned a relationship between type of practice and student satisfaction with field placement (n=101). Though tests for significant differences in means were not reported, it can be noted that on a 7-point scale, students in justice had the highest reported mean (6.8) for satisfaction with instructors, as compared with those in health (4.3) and those in family (5.7).

While not a study using social work students, Pietz et al. (1998) examined student satisfaction with psychology forensic internships. A survey of current and former psychology interns in forensic placements was used to explore forensic internship experiences. The results of the survey indicated that most of the respondents (n=87) reported being very satisfied with the forensic internship experience. On a scale of 1 to 6, the sample mean was 5.1 (SD=1.0) for satisfaction with training and 5.2 (SD=1.0) for satisfaction with the overall internship. In addition, the forensic internships were found to offer students a wide assortment of experiences,

“Including a variety of therapeutic training experiences in both outpatient and inpatient settings”

(p. 106).

It appears that there is limited evidence about social work students’ satisfaction with field placements and career interests, as related to area of agency practice. In addition, only one study was located investigating student satisfaction with offender internships, but among psychology rather than social work students. However, the available evidence suggests that (1) there is a relationship between satisfaction with field placements and employment interests and (2) students are satisfied with offender-type internships. In addition, other research supports the idea 29 that exposure to a particular area of practice may increase interest, at least in students. While the research in the social work discipline is somewhat limited in this area, other related disciplines also provide useful clues. The next sections describe the research available about the impact of field experiences, coursework, and combinations on students’ interest in practice.

Field Placement

As is noted in several research studies, fieldwork appears to often be perceived as a way to attract new professionals to a field of practice. The following research was located addressing this issue with offender work, albeit with psychology students.

Forensic-setting psychology internships were examined by Pietz et al. (1998). These authors suggest “The expansion of this specialized field requires continuing growth of training experiences in graduate programs and internships” (p. 100). A survey of current and former psychology interns in forensic placements was used to explore forensic internship experiences and interests in forensic psychology. As previously reported, the respondents (n=87) reported a high satisfaction with their internship experiences. In addition, unlike most other research on internships, information on subsequent employment was also obtained. Fifty-four percent of the respondents reported having a preference for forensic internship prior to the internship experience. At the time of the survey, 61% had a high interest in this type of work, 26% moderate, 9% low, and 4% none. In addition, while 87% of the respondents had obtained employment within three months of internship completion, close to 50% had accepted a forensic psychology position. The authors conclude “Individuals completing correctional/forensic internships obtained training that allowed them to be competitive and successful in the job market, regardless of employment setting” (p. 107). These findings offer evidence that forensic settings can offer students a good opportunity for their internship experience and that students 30 with internship experiences in a forensic setting are encouraged to accept employment in this field of practice.

While this was the only investigation found on offender internships, additional research studies have examined the impact of participation in field work on students' attitudes towards other specific populations and/or interest in a particular practice area. As is noted in several research studies, fieldwork appears to often be perceived as a way to attract new professionals to a field of practice. However, as the available research found in social work is somewhat limited

(Werrbach & Depoy, 1993), the review has been expanded to include work in multiple disciplines, including psychology, marriage and family therapy, the medical field and teacher education. Further, a variety of social problems and populations are addressed in the following sections.

Social Work. Werrbach and DePoy (1993) examined social work students’ feelings of competence with and interest in working with the seriously mentally ill (n=90). Results indicated that on all of the seven competency items assessed, no more than half the students indicated that they felt competent (from 12%-52%). The majority of students (87%) indicated that they needed more training in this area of practice. In addition, only 37% of the responding students indicated an interest in working with serious mental illness upon graduation, while 47% expressed an overall interest in practice with seriously mentally ill clients. ANOVA analysis indicated significant differences in perceived competence and interest in working with serious mental illness between those students who had completed a field placement in this area of practice and those with other field experiences. Students without a field placement exposing them to seriously mentally ill individuals were significantly less likely to express competence on 4 of the 7 competence items. Students with a mental health field placement were significantly more likely 31 to express an interest in working with this population following graduation [F(1,88)=8.962, p=.004]. In addition, students with a field placement in mental health indicated less need for additional training than students without such a placement [F(1,88)=7.629, p=.008]. The authors conclude,

The correlation that was revealed between interest in working with the seriously mentally

ill and mental health experience through employment or field placement suggests that

exposure to the population could be an important factor to consider in recruitment and

training (p. 208).

Finally, “findings suggested that exposure within the context of an educational experience should be considered as an important contextual element to investigate as a basis for nurturing this interest” (p. 209-210).

Though only one study, this research suggested a positive relationship between internships and career interest among social work students. Additional evidence can be found in other disciplines.

Marriage and Family Therapy. The effects of undergraduate internships in marriage and family therapy was discussed by Prouty, Johnson, and Protinsky (2000). They suggest that internships in a marriage and family therapy (MFT) clinic can encourage students to pursue a career in this field of practice. Of 24 undergraduate students participating in the MFT internship, approximately 50% went on to apply for graduate training in this area, reflecting an interest in eventual practice. The internship appeared to have been important in the field choice for some students. “At least a few former interns… have indicated that they might not have applied to

MFT programs had they not taken our internship” (p. 49). In addition, the authors suggest that the interns who did not ultimately decide to pursue this area of practice “are, we believe, more 32 aware of the uniqueness and importance of family therapy in the world of mental health, and help increase public and professional acceptance of MFT” (p. 50). They conclude,

The undergraduate internships we have created are one very small step in helping to bring

undergraduates into better contact with our field… and one that we hope may rapidly lead

to new and better ideas for recruiting young people into MFT careers (p. 50).

This research report provided additional evidence of a relationship between educational exposure and practice.

Medical field. The area of pediatrics appears to be a field in medicine in which there is concern about declining or low interest among medical students (Al-Asnag & Jan, 2002; Jospe et al., 2001; Kaplowitz, Boyle, & Lu, 1996). Three studies have examined the effects of clinical rotations in this practice area (similar to a field placement in social work) on student’s willingness to pursue a career in the field.

Al-Asnag and Jan (2002) examined attitudes towards the pediatrics field prior to and after the clinical rotation. Prior to an internship in pediatrics, 19.5% of the sample (n=188) indicated that pediatrics was their 1st career choice, as compared to 26% after the internship. While this

difference was not significant, the internship experience did appear to significantly decrease

some of the participants’ worries and anxiety regarding pediatric practice. Significant decreases

in the percentage of students who indicated that they felt strongly about concerns regarding

medical procedures causing or increasing pain (p=.01) and concerns about intravenous access

(p=.003) were found from pre to post pediatric internship rotation. Other worries decreased as well, though differences from pre to post were insignificant. A significantly smaller percentage

of students felt strongly that “children are very difficult to examine and uncooperative” (p. 511)

after the experience than prior to internship. While Al-Asnag and Jan (2002) suggest that the 33 field of pediatrics “is a specialty that may be viewed by some students and junior physicians as difficult, sad, and depressing” (p. 509), “the best stimulus to persue [sic] a career in pediatrics is the actual practical experience” (p. 510) and that the “experience may influence many of their

[the interns] misconceptions and apprehension” (p. 510). The researchers suggest that the results of their study “confirm that the rotation experience positively influenced certain unfavorable impressions and attitudes towards pediatrics” (p. 512).

These results are similar to an earlier study by Jospe et al. (2001) with 704 students. On a scale with lower scores indicating increased interest, student interest in pediatrics as a career choice was neutral (M=2.83 out of 5), prior to the clerkship in pediatrics. Following the clerkship, it was more positive (M=2.14). In addition, “strong positive feelings rose from 9.2% to

28.6%” (p. 593-594).

Kaplowitz, Boyle and Lu (1996) found that “the percentage of students indicating strong interest in a pediatric career” (p. 436) doubled from pre (6.7%) to post (15.2%) clerkship

(n=1161). Even stronger, “the correlation was good between the percentage indicating strong interest in a pediatrics career and the actual percentage matching in pediatrics and medicine- pediatrics” (p. 436), indicating that the ratings of interest were related to the actual choosing of pediatrics as a career. Like the later study (Al-Asnag & Jan, 2002), these researchers found that students had a more positive view about pediatric practice after the clerkship. In their conclusion, the authors state “The results of this survey suggest that the pediatric clerkship increased the proportion of students with a strong interest in pediatrics and resulted in more positive attitudes toward the field of pediatrics” (p. 438).

The impact of field placements of medical students on interest in generalist practice has also been examined. Sobral (2001) examined the influence of undergraduate experiences on the 34 choice of generalist practice as a specialty among 299 medical students. Sobral suggests that the influences that impact the student on choosing a specialty are important because “The graduates’ career choices affect the distribution of professionals in the various levels of health care and the public’s access to medical care” (p. 296). Generalist practice is important to the profession as they “provide the bulk of primary health care” (p. 296) to the population in most countries. The results of the regression analysis indicated that selective training (field experience) in a generalist area was an important predictor of choice of the generalist specialty (for medical residency).

Another influential factor was a “student preceptorship” with a generalist upper level student, a kind of mentoring/tutoring service between upper level and lower level medical students. Sobral also notes that the results indicated influence of the medical school on specialty choice as approximately 1/3 of the students changed their minds about their choice from beginning to end of the undergraduate program. The author concludes that field experience in a generalist practice area had the strongest influence on students choosing this area for their medical residency.

However, other characteristics, including having a generalist student mentor/tutor, also seemed to have an impact on students’ choice.

The impact of participating in a rural field experience on medical students choice to practice in such a setting was examined by Woloschuk and Tarrant (2002). The results indicated that participation in a field experience in a rural setting (n=273) increased students’ interest in completing a rural residency [F(1,250)=7.32, p<.008] but not in eventual rural practice

[F1,250)=0.00, p>.05]. However, students from a rural personal background expressed an increased interest in both rural residency and practice after the field experience.

Similar results were indicated in a study by Talbot and Ward (2000). These researchers evaluated a 4-day voluntary program exposing medical students to rural practice (n=103). The 35 results indicated that 67% “of those who were either negative or unsure about rural general practice prior to the attachment [field experience] had become positive about rural general practice after the experience” (p. 20). Overall, significant (p<.0001) differences were found between the numbers of students interested in rural practice prior to the field experience (48%) with those interested after the experience (81%). The authors suggest that to increase student interest in order to meet the demand for rural practitioners, medical education should be

“innovative about providing experiences that will reinforce or develop the positive aspects of rural practice as a potential career” (p. 20) and “encourage students who are yet to come to a career decision to consider rural practice as an option” (p. 20).

Hegney, McCarthy, Rogers-Clark, and Gorman (2002) examined attraction to rural practice among 146 nurses. Their results indicated that attraction to the rural lifestyle and

“previous exposure to rural or remote life” (p. 181) were the most likely factors reported by nurses as to why they practice in rural areas. Exposure to rural practice during nurse education was not reported as a significant reason for rural practice among nurses.

Rowland and Shoemake (1995) investigated changes in 169 nursing students’ attitudes towards the elderly after a nursing home field experience. Their results largely indicated few changes in attitudes from pre to post tests. Negative attitudes about the elderly increased among the student sample in four areas including cleanliness, willingness to share with others, knowledgeable, and helpful. However, a significant decrease from pre to post-test was also found in the number of students indicating they would avoid the company of elders. In addition, a significant decrease in the number of nursing students indicating that the elderly “get in the way”

(p. 742) was also found. No significant change was found in the number of nursing students indicating that they would “really like working professionally with the elderly” (p. 743) from the 36 pre to the post-test. Overall, the study seemed to indicate that a practicum in a nursing home did little to improve the attitudes of nursing students towards the elderly. In fact, some attitudes became more negative after the experience.

Overall, these studies from the medical field offer additional evidence that field education experiences can impact student attitudes and interest in practice. Additional studies have addressed field education in teacher education programs.

Teacher education. In addition to the disciplines of social work, psychology, marriage and family therapy, and medicine, education researchers have also examined the influence of field experiences on student teachers’ attitudes towards environments and populations. The education field appears particularly concerned with student teachers interest and comfort with teaching in urban environments, with largely minority students.

Wolffe’s (1996) research indicated that students who had field experience in an urban environment (n=16) significantly decreased their negative attitudes [t=1.87, p=.04] toward urban teaching, while the attitudes of students who did not have an urban field experience (n=16) did not significantly change. Wolffe (1996) concludes that the results indicate that a well planned, short-term field experience… can positively influence their attitudes of and expectations for students enrolled in integrated urban schools” (p. 106).

In another study of student teachers (n=112), Groulx (2001) compared education student attitudes about teaching in different settings before and after field experience. To measure attitudes, participants rated their feelings of comfort and interest in teaching in schools described in vignettes, including African-American, suburban, Hispanic, and private.

ANOVA analyses indicated that the ratings of comfort and interest in teaching in the different types of schools described in the vignettes were significantly different both before and 37 after field placements. Post-hoc comparisons of ratings prior to field placement revealed that private and suburban schools were rated “significantly higher than the urban and/or minority school ratings” (p.69). Analysis also revealed that there were significant changes in the ratings of comfort [F(3,84)=6.72, p<.001] and interest [F(3,84)=3.45, p=.02] from before to after field placement. Post hoc comparisons indicated that the student ratings of comfort and interest in teaching in a school increased for the African-American school vignettes and decreased for the private school vignettes. Prior to placement in an urban setting with a large African-American or

Hispanic student population, education students’ attitudes towards working in these settings were more negative than after such a placement.

In addition, the small changes from pre to post testing became more significant when compared with students placed in suburban, largely white, settings, whose attitudes toward these settings did not change over the period. After placement in an urban setting, the students

“recognized more potential in themselves for working effectively with diverse children and less fearful of urban school stereotypes” (p. 88). The researcher concludes “Through field experiences based on planned collaboration and reflection with teachers involved in professional development, we can facilitate confidence, commitment, and readiness to succeed in teaching in all kinds of schools” (p. 88).

In a qualitative study, Nelson (1998) compared student teachers placed in urban settings to students placed in suburban settings (total n=10). Student teachers placed in urban setting placements reported an increase in interest in and comfort with teaching in this kind of setting, while students placed in suburban settings continued to be uncomfortable with the prospect of teaching in an urban environment. Nelson comments “…student teachers who have had significant interactions and relationships with people from different cultural backgrounds as they 38 were growing up were more open to working in urban schools. Student teachers who have not had these experiences report positive perceptions about urban schools, if they have participated in an urban field experience” (p. 570-571).

Haberman and Post (1992) dispute the idea that field experience alone will change education students’ attitudes towards low-income minority children. In a qualitative study, they asked 23 sophomore students to describe their expectations about children and classrooms before and after a voluntary summer field experience in a low-income urban minority school. Their results indicated that students’ attitudes became more negative after the experience, but, for the most part, little change was indicated. They suggested that the lack of additional consultation with students during the experience allowed them to “reinforce their initial perceptions more than to change them” (p. 30). In addition, most of the students would not indicate that they had interest in working in a similar school environment; however, the researchers suggest that most were still unsure about their career choice of teaching.

Despite the limited impact on interest, most of the students felt positive about the summer experience. The authors conclude that broadening student teachers’ perceptions about diverse student populations and encouraging them to accept job in these types of schools cannot be achieved simply by participation in a field experience. They suggest that without accompanying time to discuss experiences and expectations, field experience will reinforce previously held conceptions rather than to initiate any significant change in attitudes.

Despite the negative findings by Haberman and Post (1992), most of the research studies reviewed indicated that exposure to issues through field experiences can positively impact student interest in teaching with underserved populations. 39

The preceding research studies on field experiences largely indicate that exposure to a particular area of practice may serve to increase student interest in working with a particular population. Therefore, this review would appear to indicate that offering or encouraging student field placements in the criminal justice system might increase student interest in practicing social work with offenders.

Coursework

While field placement is an important feature of socialization to the profession for social work students, other research examines the impact of classroom instruction on student interest.

The following section begins with an examination of the available evidence on the influence of offender coursework on students’ attitudes towards this area of practice and then expands the discussion to other social problems and populations.

Lane (1997) examined the effects of a corrections course (Prisons, Punishment, and

Corrections) on students’ attitudes toward sentencing of criminal offenders (n=141). Using a comparison group of students in another course (White Collar Crime), the researcher found that the “punitiveness” of the students’ enrolled in the experimental group decreased more significantly between pre and post testing than the comparison group [t(1,26)=1.99, p<.05]. In addition, “a majority of students chose less punitive alternatives than jail or prison for all types of nonviolent criminals at both pretest and posttest. Furthermore, even fewer chose incarceration for nonviolent offenders at Time 2 than at Time 1…” (p. 194). Students’ tendency to think violent offenders should be imprisoned remained relatively unchanged. While knowledge about corrections increased significantly for both groups (more so for the experimental group) a regression analysis revealed “knowledge attainment as measured had very little specific impact on the punitiveness change that occurred in the course” (p. 195). However, Lane goes on to note 40

“increased factual information may result in a decreased tendency to choose jail or prison as the best punishment choice-at least for nonviolent offenders” (p. 196). These results suggest that exposure to offender issues through coursework may have a positive impact on student attitudes toward offenders.

Unfortunately, the Kane (1997) study was the only investigation located assessing the impact of offender coursework on student attitudes. However, as with the available evidence regarding fieldwork, social work research about other populations and social problems, as well as information from other disciplines can inform the discussion about the impact of coursework on student attitudes. The following sections offer evidence about the educational impact of classroom instruction from multiple disciplines including social work, psychology, the medical field, teacher education and social service. In addition, the different articles address student interest and comfort with multiple social problems/populations including the elderly, minorities, women, homosexuality, disability, international, and low income.

Social Work. Carmel, Cwikel and Galinsky (1992) examined the effect of coursework in gerontology on the knowledge and attitudes about and interest in working with the elderly among social work (n=19), as well as medical (n=47), and nursing students(n=28). While the mean scores on knowledge about the elderly for medical students were the highest of the groups before the course in gerontology and remained relatively unchanged directly after and 6 months following the course, the effects on nursing and social work student’s knowledge were more striking. T-test and Duncan’s multiple range analysis indicated that nursing student’s scores increased significantly (p<.05) between the pre and post scores, while social work student’s scores increased significantly (p<.05) between the pre test and the third administration (6 months following completion of the course). Further analysis indicated that those students who reported 41 having a meaningful relationship with an elderly person in the past scored higher on the knowledge quiz than those without such a report. Spontaneous answers to an open ended question about pleasant and unpleasant things about old and young people were used to measure attitudes towards the elderly among all the students, with higher scores indicating more negative attitudes. Results indicated no significant changes in the attitudes towards the elderly among the groups of students. All three groups of students rated work with the elderly as of lowest interest when compared with younger people and with other client groups, at all three administrations

(the nursing group did not complete the third administration). The course in gerontology did not appear to increase students’ interest in working with the aged. The researchers conclude “an increase in knowledge about the elderly does not necessarily lead to changes in attitudes and work preferences and can have opposite (negative) effects” (p. 337).

Cramer, Oles, and Black (1997) also explored the effects of exposure to information on homosexual issues/lifestyles with 110 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in social work classes. Students’ attitudes were assessed using the Attitudes towards Lesbians and Gay

Men scale. Instructors used a variety of methods to instruct students on homosexual issues in at least one class period, as well as personal disclosure of sexual identity. Results indicated that over the course of the semester, students’ attitudes toward gays and lesbians became more positive in all four classes.

This study was encouraging in demonstrating that a variety of educational interventions,

conducted by both heterosexual and lesbian/gay instructors, can facilitate a reduction in

homophobia among social work students. The fact that factors, such as income, religion,

and religiosity were diminished in their influence at the study’s posttest leaves one

optimistic about the ability of classroom instruction to alter deep-seated values (p. 48). 42

Third-year social work students in Israel were the participants in a study assessing the impact of coursework on attitudes toward homosexuals. Ben-Ari (1998) compared the attitudes of students enrolled in a course on homosexuality (n=31) with a comparison group of students who did not enroll in the course (n=56). Attitudes were assessed using the Index of Homphobia, utilizing a pre and post-test administration. Results indicated that no significant differences existed between the experimental and comparison group prior to the coursework (t=-1.88, p>.05). While a significant decrease (indicating more positive attitudes) was found between the pre and post-test of the experimental group (t=3.01, p≤.01), such changes were not found in the control group (t=0.99, p>.05). Additionally, a significant difference between the two groups was indicated at the post-test administration (t=3.38, p≤.001). These results suggested that the students’ exposed to homosexuality issues through an social work class significantly improved their attitudes toward lesbians and gay men, while students without such exposure maintained their relatively negative attitudes. Regression analysis revealed that group belonging was “the most significant predictor during Time 2” of scores on the attitude measure. Open-ended questions were also used in the research to elicit qualitative data from the students. Similar results were found when comparisons between groups and time of measurement were examined.

Ben-Ari (1998) suggests that a combination of methods to improve attitudes should be used with students. “That students attribute the change in their attitudes… to both the experiential and theoretical ingredients of the course is informative…. attitude research shows that in order to create an attitude change, a combination of these two factors is necessary” (p.

69). He goes on to state

Recognizing the important role that social workers play in educating the public, it is

important to intervene with social work students just before they receive their degree and 43

start to practice, in the hope that such a course may create a difference in the way in

which homosexuality is viewed (p. 68).

Improved attitudes toward homosexuals were not indicated in a study by Cramer (1997) with 107 graduate social work students. Three standardized instruments were used in the study including the Attitudes toward Lesbians and Gay Men Scale, the Lesbian Identity Development

Knowledge Measure, and the Anticipated Professional Behavior Measure. All participating students were enrolled in a practice course during the study. Two sections were exposed to an educational unit on homosexuality, with a focus on lesbians, while the other students received standard instruction. No significant differences were indicated between the experimental and comparison groups on the students’ attitudes towards lesbians at post-test [F(2,3)=.99, p=.46]. In regards to gay men, a significant difference in student attitudes was demonstrated between one of the experimental groups and the comparison group [F(2,3)=10.24, p<.05]. While knowledge about lesbian development was significantly higher for the experimental groups than the control group, differences were not indicated between the groups on anticipated professional behavior

[F(2.3)=.32, p=.74].

The researcher suggests that significant changes in attitudes may have not been indicated by the data because of the relatively positive attitudes towards lesbians demonstrated at pre-test.

This observation may be supported by the fact that more negative attitudes were expressed toward gay men in the study and significant changes in these attitudes were demonstrated in one of the experimental groups. The author goes on to state “Although the treatment groups showed a significant increase in knowledge, their anticipated professional behavior suggests that this knowledge will not be applied in a way that best serves the clients” (Cramer, 1997, p. 470). This author would seem to imply that having the knowledge alone does not necessarily give social 44 work students competency with lesbian clients, but that attitude change is a necessary ingredient for effective practice.

The results of these studies assessing the impact of classroom instruction on the attitudes of social work students were mixed. Research in medical education also offers additional evidence about the relationship between coursework and attitudes.

Medical field. In a study of medical students, Intrieri, Kelly, Brown, and Castilla

(1993) examined the effects of an educational program on working with the elderly. Their review of the literature suggested “medical students and physicians often lack knowledge about normal aging processes, frequently hold biased or stereotyped views, and demonstrate little active desire to work with older persons” (p. 373). The authors suggest that these attitudes and lack of knowledge may impact the level and effectiveness of care that is provided to elderly patients.

The educational program examined in the study included instruction on the effects of aging, sensitivity training, and “training to improve interpersonal skills in clinical interviews with elderly patients” (p. 374). Students in the experimental (n=45) and control groups (n=51) were tested prior to the educational program on their attitudes towards the elderly and their knowledge about the elderly. As part of the post-testing, students were rated on their interview skills with an older adult by independent and blind reviewers. While the analysis revealed that the attitudes toward the elderly for the overall sample of medical students was neutral (M=126.24, SD=21.92) prior to the training, the experimental group developed significantly more positive views of the elderly from pre to post testing. “A significant group-by-time interaction was obtained on the repeated measures ANOVA for the total Aging Semantic Differential (F(1,94)=9.42, p=.0028)”

(p. 376). Additional analysis revealed significant differences between groups [F(7,76)=2.46, p<.02] on the ratings of seven interview skill variables, indicating more effective communication 45 with older adults by the specialty-trained group. The researchers suggest “The emphasis on social skills training with additional information about aging and age-related normal development, in our opinion, prepared students to better handle interviews with elderly patients”

(p. 377).

Psychology. Attitudes towards older adults were also examined by Harris and

Dollinger (2001) on the effect of a geriatric psychology coursework (n=256). Results indicated that students participating in the course had significantly more positive views [F(1,255)=4.738, p<.05] about the elderly than those in the comparison group (enrolled in a general psychology course), in addition to having more knowledge about this population. The authors conclude

“Students completing an upper level psychology course on adulthood and aging exhibited greater knowledge of aging and older adults and reported more positive attitudes toward the average 70- year-old than those never having taken a course on aging” (p. 664).

Wilson (1997) examined changes in attitudes in 101 female students following a course on women and psychology. Differences in the means for students enrolled in the course and in a comparison group of females enrolled in a general psychology course on the Life Style for

Women Attitude Scale at pre-test were insignificant. However, at post-test results indicated significant effects for course taken [F(1,132)=6.61, p<.05], time [F(1,132)=10.76, p<.01], and course by time interaction [F(1,132)=21.16, p<.001]. Students who had taken the women and psychology course increased their positive attitudes toward women. Additional analysis revealed that students with the most liberal attitudes upon entry changed their attitudes least from pre to post tests, while the changes in means for those with moderate or conservative attitudes at pre- test were much larger. The researcher concludes that the course had a positive impact on changing students’ attitudes toward women in non-traditional roles. 46

Students’ attitudes towards homosexuality following a course on the Psychology of

Homosexuality were examined by Waterman, Reid, Garfield, and Hoy (2001). Their results indicated that students’ attitudes towards homosexuals became more positive from pre to post test (n=71). Students’ scores decreased significantly (indicating more positive attitudes) on the

Index of Homophobia [t(70)=6.88, p<.0001] and the Attitudes Towards Lesbians and Gay Men

[t(70)=4.19, p<.0001] from pre to post tests. These results seem to indicate that participation in a course on homosexuality may have had an impact on students’ attitudes towards this population.

The effects of a human sexuality course on students’ (n=141) attitudes towards homosexuality were explored by Wells (1991). Students’ attitudes were assessed using the Index of Homophobia (IHP) and the Homosexual Behavior Inventory (HBI) at five points during the semester course. Results indicated that attitudes became more positive over the course of the semester for the overall sample, as well as for males and females considered separately.

Examination of the mean scores for each instrument show consecutively decreasing scores

(lower scores indicate less homophobia) at each administration. In the overall sample, significant decreases were found from the 1st to 2nd administration of the IHP (t=2.54, p<.01) and the HBI

(t=2.22, p<.05) and from the 1st to the 5th administration of the IHP (t=6.47, p<.0001) and the

HBI (t=4.55, p<.0001). Similarly significant differences were found for each gender considered

individually. Wells states,

As powerful an impact on changing homophobic attitudes occurred during the four 75-

minute classes covering homosexualities as occurred from class one to class 24, before

the unit on homosexualities was presented. Students may have modified their more

negative views of homosexuality and gay and lesbian relationships at the beginning of the

course to less negative views as the course drew to a close because of classroom 47

instruction and/or modeling the instructors’ acceptance of homosexuals and

homosexuality (p. 236).

Wells suggests the possible importance of instructor attitude modeling on students’ views, in addition to factual information that an instructor may provide in the course of instruction.

Improvement in student attitudes towards homosexuals was indicated in a study by

Nelson and Krieger (1997). “A modified version of the Attitudes toward Homosexuality Scale”

(p. 69) was used to assess attitudes of 190 students enrolled in six psychology courses.

“Intervention was delivered during one 50-minute class period and consisted of personal narratives by the panel members and a question and discussion period in which the audience and panel members could interact” (p. 70). Significant differences were indicated between pre and post-test scores [F(1,188)=75.51, p<.001] indicating “that a homosexual and lesbian peer panel can foster positive attitude change toward homosexuals” (p. 78).

Disability attitudes and coursework among upper level students were examined in a study by Berry (1992). The class focused on increasing knowledge and sensitivity about individuals with disabilities, as well as using a family systems approach in working with this population.

Upper level students majoring in social service fields participated in the course (n=24). Results indicated that student’ attitudes, as measured by the Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons Scale, were significantly more positive following completion of the course [t=15.21, p<.001]. The author stated “These results support the conclusion that course content does have a positive impact on the attitudes of students towards persons with disabilities” (p. 47).

In a sample (n=33) of students enrolled in an international psychology course, Hull

(2001) examined attitudes towards continued study in this area of practice. Using a pre and post test design, results indicated more positive attitudes towards studying this area [t(27)=2.72, 48 p<.05] at completion of the course. Interestingly, a negative relationship was indicated between knowledge level before the course and attitudes at post-test. Regarding this findings, Hull suggests “Perhaps studying international psychology had the greatest positive impact on the attitudes of those who were initially the least knowledgeable about the topic, giving them greater appreciation for the importance of studying it” (p. 31). These results may indicate that coursework in an area of practice may have the greatest impact on the attitudes of students without prior interest or exposure in the area.

Teacher education. Martin and Koppelman (1991) examined the impact of a multicultural education course on the attitudes of 876 education students. The authors state that the examined course “..attempts to stimulate the students’ awareness of social problems, and supplies students with information about prejudicial attitudes and the kinds of perceptions promoted by such attitudes in American society” (p. 18). To determine changes, the researchers administered questionnaires to assess attitudes to half of a class of students at the beginning of the course and the other half at the end of the course for comparison. Results demonstrated that student means significantly increased from pre to post test “indicating a heightened sensitivity toward the issues of diversity involving race, class, and gender” (p. 24). These results would appear to indicate that coursework had a significant impact on students’ attitudes.

The research reviewed on coursework appears to indicate that in addition to fieldwork, classroom instruction can also have a significant positive impact on interest in practicing with a specifically targeted population. Additional research studies examined the combination of coursework and field work on interest in a particular area of practice. 49

Coursework and Field Experience

Eight research studies were located examining the combined impact of fieldwork and classroom instruction on students’ attitudes (Kane, 1999; Cummings, Galambos, & DeCostoer,

2003; Peterson, 1990; Anguiullo, Whitbourne, & Powers, 1996; Baker & Wilber, 1995;

Ferguson & Hope, 1999; Mason, 1997; Bondy, Schmitz, & Johnson, 1993). As with prior sections, the review has been expanded from social work to include other disciplines, including psychology, public policy, the medical field, and teacher education.

Social Work. Kane (1999) examined social work students’ willingness to work with the elderly with Alzheimer’s disease. In the sample of 333, only 2.7% of the students indicated an interest in working in this field of practice in the future . The highest areas of interest reported by the students were families and children, survivors of domestic violence, and HIV/AIDS clients.

Kane states “Unquestionably these areas of specialized practice are among those in which social work education has concentrated much energy and attention in the past few years” (p. 82) and

“…social work education’s response to elders with the disease has not matched its responses to other vulnerable populations” (p. 82). The results indicated a significant relationship between the student’s perceptions of their own of knowledge and skills regarding practice with the elderly and about Alzheimer’s disease and their willingness to work in that area of practice. The students generally perceived themselves as having inadequate knowledge and skills in these areas. Kane suggests that the social work academy may directly influence student competence and interest in this area of practice through specific education on and field placement opportunities.

Another study examined the predictors of social work employment in the area of aging, including coursework and field placement. Cummings, Galambos, and DeCostoer (2003) found that those individuals employed with the elderly population were more likely to have taken a 50 course in gerontology during their undergraduate education (Χ2=6.7, p<.01) and to have had a

BSW (Χ2=8.8, p<.01) or MSW (Χ2=7.9, p<.01) field placement in this area of practice. These

individuals also rated their skills (t=-4.0, p<.001) and knowledge (t=-4.5, p<.001) about the

elderly more highly prior to graduation than those who were not employed in gerontology. Those

employed with the elderly also had significantly different attitudes towards the elderly than those

in other types of employment. However, they were not more likely to have taken a graduate

course in gerontology.

In a regression analysis, contact with elderly and rewarding interaction with older people were the only significant predictors of gerontological employment. In other words, when contact and rewarding interaction with the elderly were included in the model, coursework in gerontology and field placements were not found to be significant predictors of aging-related employment.

In their discussion, Cummings, Galambos, and DeCostoer (2003) note “Increasing rewarding contacts with older clients and enhancing aging knowledge and skills may promote students’ confidence in their ability to work with elders and help to alter student perceptions

about career choices” (p. 308). They go on to suggest how social work education can influence

students’ interest in gerontological careers including “strengthening of gerontological content in

social work education, shaping positive field placement experiences, and offering strong

professional role models in human service settings” (p. 308). However, they caution that

“Exposure to older adults that is not carefully planned and structured to provide students with

positive, rewarding experiences, may not significantly alter students’ definition of the situation,

and may actually deter students from seeking out additional aging-related experiences” (p. 309).

Therefore, according to these research results, social work education can influence students’ 51 attitudes toward a population by increasing their knowledge and exposure to the group, but that exposure should be controlled in a way to maximize the possibility that the experiences will be positive and rewarding.

In a survey of NASW members, Peterson (1990) examined social workers’ attitudes about working with the elderly (n=476). While it might be expected that 97% of the respondents in gerontology reported that gerontology knowledge was required to do their job, 41% of the non-gerontology respondents also reported a need for such knowledge. In addition, the survey results indicated that 87% of the respondents working in gerontology reported completing training specific to the aging population. Only 41% of the non-gerontology respondents reported having such training. In addition, the gerontology group reported an average of 7.2 credit courses taken during their social work education, as compared with only 2.0 credit courses of the non- gerontology group. Peterson goes on to state

the majority of respondents from both groups indicated that people entering social work

who wanted to serve elderly people should get specialized education in gerontology. Both

groups indicated that internships, specialized courses, and concentrations were the three

preferred forms of education (p. 414).

While both groups appeared to agree on the importance of aging services to the field of social work and the need for specialized training in the area, the gerontology group response means indicated stronger agreement than the non-gerontology group. Peterson concludes that there “is a demonstrated need for a specific concentration in gerontology for some social work students” (p.

415). 52

These studies on social work students offer encouraging results. They suggest a positive relationship between exposure through classroom instruction combined with field experience on interest in (or actual) employment.

Psychology. Anguiullo, Whitbourne, and Powers (1996) examined the effects of course instruction and instruction paired with field experience on student attitudes towards the elderly.

The design included students (n=186) enrolled in a psychology of aging course with a voluntary field experience option. Attitudes were assessed using the Aging Semantic Differential (ASD) scale and a rating analysis of a journal kept by the students who volunteered with the elderly.

Results indicated that in addition to an increase in knowledge between pre and post testing, students’ attitudes as a whole towards the elderly became more positive [F(1,94)=20.47, p<.001]. In addition, these gains appeared to have lasted until a follow-up post measurement during the following semester. However, no significant differences were found between students who volunteered with the elderly (20 hours per week), students who conducted an interview with an elderly person, or students who participated in a weekly discussion group on the ASD post testing [F(2,94)=2.007, p>.05]. Therefore, the results indicated that the field component of this class did not appear to significantly impact the attitudes of the students. Analysis of journal entries indicated a significant increase in positive statements by students from the first to second half of the semester [t(21)=-5.307, p<.001]. The authors suggest,

There was a significant effect of the course on the attitudes and knowledge of

undergraduates toward aging, supporting the hypothesis regarding the positive effects of

instruction… The students maintained a positive view of the elderly even 4 months after

the aging class had ended (p. 491). 53

The researchers conclude that the research supports the positive effect of coursework on attitudes of students about the elderly.

Public policy. Baker and Wilber (1995) examined the impact of a gerontology policy specialization education on professional experience. The authors describe this specialized education as “a specialization in public policy embedded in a master’s of science curriculum in human development and aging” (p. 221-222). To obtain the specialization, students complete multiple graduate level courses and an internship in gerontology policy. The study examined program graduates (n=23) who had 5 or more years of post-graduate experience.

Impressively, over 78% of the participants were working in a position incorporating both aging and policy issues at the time of the survey. In addition, graduates were questioned about their interest in gerontology policy prior to entry into the educational program. Only 4% reported an interest in the area of policy prior to the program. Further, the respondents reported that the course curriculum in the program was “the primary factor accounting for the changes in their career goals” (Baker & Wilber, 1995, p. 226). While 61% of the participants identified the entire program experience as influencing their career goals, 33% identified the internship as the primary influencing factor, and 6% said it was an advanced policy seminar course. The researchers conclude that the study results indicated

exposure to the policy-making process and aging policy issues influenced the graduates

to select careers in aging and public policy and provided most of the with the skills and

knowledge base they needed to obtain positions as policy gerontologists. Respondents

indicated that the program was critical in determining the type of career they chose to

pursue (Baker & Wilber, 1995, p. 229). 54

These results seem to suggest that a combination of coursework and field experience may have a strong impact on graduates’ choice of practice area.

Medical field. Field experiences and coursework appeared to make an impact in 10 students choosing a career in mental health nursing in a study conducted by Ferguson and Hope

(1999). The results of this qualitative study indicated that coursework was the most influential factor at the point in education at which the nursing students had to choose between an adult or mental health nursing specialty. The authors state, “the most common reasons given for their choice [of mental health nursing] were the positive experiences of mental health nursing obtained during the CFP” (p. 633), which was the common coursework for all students in which they were exposed to issues in the mental health nursing field, among others. However, a year from program completion, the students generally noted the field experience as the most important factor in choosing this field. These results suggest that both classroom instruction and field experience may have a positive impact on nursing students’ career choices.

Teacher education. Mason (1997) examined the impact of coursework and field placement on student teacher’s (n=176) interest in and perceptions of teaching in urban school environments. Information on diversity and teaching was included in multiple courses in the degree program. Both before and after the field experience, students placed in urban settings

(pre=3.62, post=4.00) indicated significantly (p≤.0001) higher interest in pursuing teaching in an urban environment than those placed in suburban environments (pre=2.74, post=3.04). However, interest in teaching in urban schools increased from pre to post testing for both groups.

Overall, both groups of “students perceived urban schools as generally more

‘problematic’ than suburban schools both prior to and following the field experience” (p. 34).

Students placed in suburban settings rated problems in both urban and suburban schools as 55 higher than those students placed in urban school settings on eight problem areas (motivation, student abilities, language proficiency, discipline, student cooperation, parent support, teacher morale, and administrative support). Students placed in urban settings decreased their ratings of problems in urban schools from pre to post test on 7 of the 8 areas. Students placed in suburban settings also decreased their ratings of urban school problems from pre to post test on 4 of the 8 areas, but increased their ratings on 3 areas. Comparatively, for attitudes toward suburban schools, students placed in urban settings increased their mean ratings of problems on 6 of the 7 areas from pre to post testing. Students placed in suburban settings also increased their mean ratings of problems in suburban schools on 5 of the 8 areas.

Students placed in suburban settings also rated teaching difficultly higher for both urban and suburban settings and at both pre and post testing than did the students with urban field experiences. Means for teaching difficulty with both groups decreased for urban schools and increased for suburban schools from pre to post testing. Significant differences were also reported between the two groups on their ratings of teaching difficulty at both pre

[F(1,174)=8.23, p not reported] and the post administration [F(1,173)=4.02, p not reported].

In the conclusions, the author suggests that because the students were exposed to diversity issues in classes prior to the field experience, the field experience in an urban environment improved the students’ learning in this area.

Bondy, Schmitz, and Johnson (1993) examined the effect of the combination of coursework and field experience on education students’ attitudes toward poor and minority students, as measured by the Beliefs about Teaching Children At Risk Inventory. In this two-part study, the researchers first examined the scores of students enrolled in a research course (n=184) designed to broaden students’ understanding of teaching diverse learners and teaching based on 56 sound and proven methods. ANCOVA analysis revealed a significant difference

[F(8,188)=17.02, p<.05] between the mean scores of the two groups, indicating that the students taking the research course had more positive attitudes about teaching at risk children than those in the control group.

The second phase of the study examined the difference in scores of students taking a revised version of the same course that included a concurrent field experience of tutoring in a public housing site with students enrolled in other courses and other field experiences (n=123).

Results again indicated a significant difference between groups [F(4,118)=29.03, p<.05], indicating that students who were enrolled in the research course with concurrent field experience had more positive attitudes toward teaching at risk youth than the control group.

Additional analysis revealed that the students who were enrolled in the research course and concurrently tutoring scored significantly higher on the beliefs inventory than students who (a) were enrolled in a different course and a similar field experience, (b) who took a different class with a different field experience, or (c) who took a different course with no field experience.

While the researchers point out that they were unable to establish the contribution of the field experience from the course to the increase in positive attitudes, the results do suggest

“students who tutored in the public housing neighborhoods but did not simultaneously take the research course did not alter their beliefs about poor and minority students” (Bondy, Schmitz, &

Johnson, 1993, p. 61). The authors conclude

fieldwork alone, even when it involved direct contact with children who were different

from the tutors, did not change tutors’ beliefs about the causes and consequences of being

different. The research course appeared to play an important role in mediating what tutors

learned from the tutoring experience (Bondy, Schmitz, & Johnson, 1993, p. 61). 57

These research studies with education students suggest that coursework combined with field experiences can have a positive impact on student teachers’ attitudes toward specific populations. The articles reviewed so far appear to indicate that coursework, field experiences, and a combination of the two can also increase student interest in working in specific area of practice or attitudes toward a population. While the majority of located reports examined the impact of educational experiences during a degree program on practice interest or attitudes with a targeted population, supplementary research has examined the issue with continuing education

(post-graduate training).

Continuing Education

Additional insight may be gained from research conducted on attitudes and practice with post-graduate practitioners. A connection between training/education and practice attitudes and behaviors has been addressed in the research literature. Researchers have indicated a connection between training and education specific to a population or social problem and social workers level of comfort, interest in, and attitudes towards working in that area of practice. Only one study was located (Ewers, Bradshaw, McGovern, & Ewers, 2001) specifically addressing work with offenders, albeit with mental health nurses. Therefore, the review was expanded to include social work continuing education in other areas.

Ewers, Bradshaw, McGovern, and Ewers (2001) examined the impact of Psychosocial

Intervention Training among mental health nurses practicing in forensic environments with seriously mentally ill patients (n=20). Their results indicated that nurses participating in the training program received significantly higher scores overall on knowledge after the training than did the control group of nurses who were awaiting training. Significant differences in attitudes

(realistic and positive towards patient care) were also indicated between the groups and between 58 pre and post tests for the training group. In addition, the training group showed significant decreases (positive) in burnout after the training, while the control group mean remained relatively unchanged. This is important as the authors note that nurses practicing in this type of environment appear to be at risk for burnout. The authors stated

As well as helping the nurses understand their patients’ behaviour better, the training also

helped to make them feel more hopeful about the potential outcomes of illnesses such as

schizophrenia and equipped the nurses with a range of evidence based skills for helping

their patients (p. 475).

These results indicate that specific training may increase practitioners ability to effectively function in what may be perceived as a highly stressful and demanding environment, with a population perceived as difficult by many.

No other investigations were found dealing with offender work. The following sections describe other studies addressing the impact of continuing education on practitioners’ interest and practice. The rest of the review has been limited to studies on social workers.

Cartwright and Gorman (1993) examined the impact of a short-term educational program on the therapeutic commitment of participants, including social work and medical non- specialists, to drinking clients. Using multiple regression and path analysis techniques, they examined the empirical support for a model in which different aspects of “role insecurity” of professionals, impact therapeutic commitment. They suggest that prior research has indicated

“that a therapist who shows high therapeutic commitment (and is thus in a position to form an effective alliance) is likely to show role security based on experience, support, and knowledge of alcohol and alcohol problems” (p. 96). The authors describe the 2-day educational intervention as facilitating participants to 59

discuss the difficulties, uncertainties, and negative feelings that they experienced in their

work with problem drinkers; to explore the reasons why individuals begin to drink

heavily and have difficulty resolving this problem, and to develop their basic assessments

and counseling skills (p. 98).

As expected, the significant path coefficients indicated that educational intervention had a stronger impact on the participants’ perception of role support (.6) than it did on their knowledge

(.3). The educational intervention also had a direct influence (.26) on role security. While the participants’ levels of knowledge prior to the training had an influence (.31) on final role security levels, the change in feelings of role support also had an effect (.3). Feelings of role security both prior to the intervention (.52) as well as the change in level (.55) both had a significant influence on final therapeutic commitment. “The main impact of the educational intervention is found through its effects on support. However, the amount of change in therapeutic commitment that can be expected from changes in support is conditional upon the pre-education levels of knowledge and security” (p. 101). Those individuals with higher levels of pre-education and who started with higher levels of role security demonstrated much higher levels of change in therapeutic commitment as a result of the educational intervention. The authors suggest that their findings may be applicable to workers with other client groups and that “training will be most effective which raises skills and knowledge and is linked to support systems “ (p. 103). These findings suggest that knowledge about skills may not be enough alone to increase clinicians’ comfort and effectiveness in working with a challenging client group. Increasing workers feelings of role security (including competence, legitimacy, and support) may be necessary as well. 60

Amedeo and Fassler (2000) examined the impact of an intensive training on substance abuse assessment and treatment on social workers services to this population. Social workers having completed a 9-month intensive training program (n=23) were compared with a matched convenience sample of social workers without such training (n=22). While both groups had completed numerous continuing education or in-service trainings on this social issue, t-tests revealed that the intensive training group served more cases with any substance abuse issues

(p=.001), with substance abuse issues only (p=.025), and with substance abuse in addition to other psychiatric diagnoses (p=.045). In addition, the intensive training group rated themselves higher on ability to intervene with all diagnoses [t(43)=2.725, p=.009] and substance abuse diagnoses only [t(31)=4.008, p=.000]. A difference between the groups’ self-ratings of competency with substance abuse with psychiatric diagnoses was close to significance

[t(32)=1.863, p=.072]. The researchers suggest that the intensive training group served more substance abusing cases because “they felt adequately prepared to handle them” (p.638). They conclude that all MSWs need training on working with substance abuse issues and co-morbidity of substance abuse and psychiatric illness. “In addition to the mastery of relevant skills, such training needs to impart to workers a sense of confidence and competence to face the tough clinical challenges before them (p. 639). The results of this study seem to indicate that training specific to the area of social work services with drinking clients may increase the likelihood that they will offer services to this population.

In an attempt to examine the influence of training on competent practice, Leung and

Cheung (1998) examined the impact of a 3-month training program on child protective workers’ skills and attitudes. As measured by performance evaluations, workers with the training program

(n=151) demonstrated significant improvements in their performance and overall ratings between 61 a 6-9 month and annual evaluations [t(55)=5.60, p<.001] and between the first and second evaluation [t(13)=2.05, p<.05]. A comparison group (n=52) also showed significant improvement, but only between the 6-9 month and second annual evaluations [t(34)=3.34, p<.01]. In addition, pre and post training test comparisons indicated that the new hires significantly improved their knowledge on introductory child protection [t(22)=2.98, p<.01], human development and needs [t(22)=4.68, p<.001], and child placement [t(22)=2.97, p<.01], but not in family assessment and treatment. Examination of pre and post training data indicated that trainees significantly increased awareness of attitudes about stereotypes [t(19)=2.10, p<.05], ethnic differences [t(19)=2.75, p<.05], ethnic values [t(19)=2.58, p<.05] values of family preservation [(t(19)=2.44, p<.05]. Significant differences were also found on the attitudinal items taken as a scale [t(19)=3.98, p<.01]. Significant changes were not indicated on five other attitudinal items including: cultural differences; confidence with other cultures; awareness of perception; ability to listen; and attitude on placement.

This section appears to indicate similar results to those on field work, coursework, and a combination of the two. Continuing education and training on a specific social problem or work with a particular population appears to increase social workers’ level of comfort or interest in a specific area of practice.

It appears from this review that numerous professions (social work, psychology, the medical field, teacher education) use educational experiences in an attempt to increase interest in areas of practice that are particularly in need of practitioners, are not typically the areas students or new practitioners express an interest in, or are perceived as particularly difficult or undesirable fields of practice. Further, it appears that most of the research indicates that coursework, field education experiences, and combinations of the two are at least somewhat effective in increasing 62 students’ interest in practicing in a particular area. Finally, this trend appears to continue to post- graduate training. This review of the literature informs the following research questions and hypotheses.

Research Questions

The first research question was: How does exposure to criminal offender practice issues during social work education impact the likelihood of professionals’ work in these settings? In the review of the literature, seven studies indicated that educational exposure to a particular population may increase the rate that professionals choose to be employed in that area of practice

(Alperin, 2002; Amodeo & Fassler, 2000; Baker & Wilber, 1995; Cummings, Galambos, &

DeCoster, 2003; Peterson, 1990; Pietz et al., 1998), while one study found that educational exposure was not an indicator of employment (Hegne, McCarthy, Rogers-Clark, & Gorman,

2002). Three investigations indicated that exposure may increase interest in pursuing further education in an area of practice (Hull, 2001; Prouty, Johnson, & Protinsky, 2000; Woloschok &

Tarrant, 2002). In addition, the results of 10 studies indicated that exposure may increase students’ expressed interest in pursuing a career in a particular field of practice (Ferguson &

Hope, 1999; Groulx, 2001; Jospe et al., 2001; Kane, 1999; Kaplowitz, Boyle, & Lu, 1996;

Mason, 1997; Nelson, 1998; Sobral, 2001; Talbot & Ward, 2000; Werrbach & DePoy, 1993), while four studies indicated that exposure did not impact the rate of interest (Al-Asnag & Jan,

2002; Carmel, Cwikel & Galinsky, 1992; Haberman & Post, 1992; Rowland & Shoemake,

1995). Based on this information, the following hypotheses were constructed.

Hypotheses: (1a) Social workers with professional experience with offenders are more

likely to have been exposed to offender issues through coursework or an internship

during social work education than those without professional experience with offenders. 63

(1b) Social workers will have worked with offenders for longer periods of time when

they were exposed to criminal offender practice issues during social work education.

The second research question was: How does exposure to offender issues impact professionals feelings of preparation for and comfort with working with offenders? Ten reviewed research studies indicated that educational exposure to population issues increases the rate of knowledge on that population/issue (Intrier, 1993; Carmel, Cwike, 1992; Harris & Dollinger,

2001; Cartwright & Gorman, 1993; Cramer, 1997; Perry, 1992; Kane, 1997; Anguiillo,

Whitbourne, & Power, 1996; and Ewers, 2001). Results indicating that exposure through education increase feelings of competence and confidence was indicated in two articles

(Werrbach & DePoy, 1993; Cummings, Galambos & DeCoster, 2003). One investigation indicated that exposure may increase students’ sensitivity to a population/issue (Martin &

Koppelman, 1991). Three research reports indicated that educational exposure increases feelings of comfort with a population/issue (Groulx, 2001; Cartwright & Gorman, 1993; Nelson, 1998).

One investigation indicated that exposure decreased worries and anxiety about working with a population (Al-Asnag & Jan, 2002). Two hypotheses were formulated based on this review.

(2a) Professionals exposed to offender issues during social work education feel more

prepared by that education to work with offenders than those without such

educational exposure. (2b) Social workers with exposure to offender issues feel more

comfortable with the idea of working with offenders than those without such

exposure.

The third research question was: How does exposure to offender practice issues impact attitudes toward social work with offenders? Eighteen of the reviewed research studies indicated that exposure to populations/issues during education may positively change attitudes toward 64 practice with a particular population (Al-Asnag & Jan, 2002; Angiullo, Whitbourne, & Powers,

1996; Ben-Ari, 1998; Berry, 1992; Bondy, Schmitz & Johnson, 1993; Cramer, Oles & Black,

1997; Ewers, Bradshaw, McGovern, & Ewers, 2001; Harris & Dollinger, 2001; Intrieri, Kelly,

Brown & Castillo, 1993; Kaplowitz, Boyle, & Lu, 1996; Leung & Kam-Fong, 1998; Nelson,

1998; Nelson & Krieger, 1997; Talbot & Ward, 2000; Waterman, Reid, Garfield, & Hoy, 2001;

Wells, 1991; Wilson, 1997; Wolffe, 1996). No change in attitudes was indicated in three additional investigations (Carmel, Cwikel & Galinsky, 1992; Cummings, Galambos, & Decoster,

2003; Cramer, 1997; Rowland & Shoemake, 1995). These research reports informed the following hypotheses.

Hypotheses: (3a) Professionals who were exposed to offender issues during social work

education feel more positively about this area of practice than those without such

exposure. (3b) Social workers with professional experience working with offenders have

more positive attitudes about this area of practice than those without such experience.

The fourth research question was: Are criminal justice setting experiences different from other social work experiences? Pietz et al. (1998) found that students placed in forensic settings had a high rate of satisfaction with their internship and instructor. However, it has been postulated (Fox, 1997; Ivanoff & Smyth, 1997; Travisono, 1996; Treger & Allen, 1997; Risler,

Sweatman, & Nackerud, 1998; Young & LoMonaco, 2001) that these environments may be more difficult for social work practice. In addition, it has been suggested that criminal justice environments provide a variety of opportunities for social workers (Barker & Branson, 2000;

Needleman & Needleman, 1997; Pietz et al, 1998; Severson, 1994). Based on these studies, the following hypotheses were formulated. 65

Hypotheses: (4a) Professionals who were placed in offender internships during their

social work education had less positives attitudes and experiences in their internships

than those in other settings. (4b) Professionals in justice settings have less positive

attitudes and experiences in their practice experiences than those in non-justice settings.

(4c) Professionals practicing social work in criminal justice settings encounter a greater

variety of social problems, ethnic groups, and social agencies than those with experience

in other settings.

Conclusion

This chapter has reviewed the currently available evidence assessing the impact of educational experience including field experiences and classroom instruction on interest levels and practice behaviors. The majority of the reviewed research studies suggested a positive impact of exposure through education of students or professionals’ interest, comfort, and willingness to practice with underserved populations. It is important to evaluate the impact of similar educational opportunities in social work with offenders and whether this method can be effectively utilized by the profession to increase the number of social workers in this field of practice. Therefore, informed by the available evidence, hypotheses were formulated for each of the research questions for this study.

The next chapter describes the methodology employed in this research study to test the research hypotheses. The development of the survey instrument, the research process, and sample will be described.

CHAPTER 3

METHODOLOGY

This research explores the impact of social work education on the rate of professionals choosing to practice with criminal offenders. In addition, the study addresses the attitudes and experiences of social workers towards this area of practice. The introductory chapter suggested that offender issues should be important to the social work profession, but that most practitioners do not choose this area of practice as a career today. The literature review indicated that social work education might have the potential to positively impact the rate of social work interest in practice with this population.

In order to address these questions, a quasi-experimental design was used to compare social workers with and without educational exposure and employment experience regarding offenders. A mail survey was used to assess the attitudes and experiences of social workers belonging to two national membership organizations. A pilot study was conducted prior to the main research, to identify problems with the survey instrument and to establish face and content validity. T-test, chi-square, multiple and logistic regression analysis techniques were used to 67 compare social workers with and without educational exposure and employment experience regarding offenders.

Procedures

Sampling

The stratified sample consisted of 400 social workers belonging to one of two professional social work organizations, including the National Organization of Forensic Social

Work (NOFSW) (n=200) or the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) (n=200). Due to the relatively low rate of professional social workers practicing in this area, the researcher maximized the possibility of identifying respondents with experience in criminal justice by utilizing membership in NOFSW. The researcher used this method in order to acquire a roughly equal number of respondents with and without forensic experience, so that adequate comparisons could be made. This sample represented social workers with a fairly wide current geographical location (47 states and 1 territory), age, race, and practice in a variety of settings (see Participants section for respondents’ characteristics).

Members in two national social work organizations were sampled for this research. The

National Organization of Forensic Social Work (NOFSW), established in 1982, “was established to provide for the advancement of education in the field of forensic social work”

(www.nofsw.org). NOFSW allows access to membership rolls to any active member of the organization. The researcher gained full membership (requiring an MSW and three years of experience in the field) in the organization and was then provided with the most current membership list (as of January 2003) of 491 active and inactive members, including full, associate, allied, and student member levels. The researcher eliminated the following individuals from inclusion in the sample: members listed as inactive, student members, allied or associate 68 members without a social work degree, and members with invalid addresses (according to the

United States Post Office (USPO)). This process resulted in a pool of 264 names from the membership rolls. Of these names, 10 were randomly selected (unless otherwise noted, all random selection of names were made using SPSS 11.5 data selection) for use on the pilot pre- test. Of the 254 remaining names, 200 were randomly selected to be included in the final research sample. Of these names, 6 surveys were returned as undeliverable by the USPO and 1 was returned indicating they did not have a social work degree. These 7 names were replaced by additional randomly selected names from the remaining pool (of 54). Mailings to an additional 6 names were eventually returned by the USPO as undeliverable, but were not replaced because the survey packet itself was not returned (4) or the returns were too late in the research process to be replaced (2).

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW), founded in 1955, is the largest organization of social workers in the world, boasting membership of 150,000 (NASW, 2002).

NASW uses the professional company, INFOCUS, Inc., to maintain its membership rolls and handle requests for using names for research and marketing purposes. Due to minimum purchasing requirements, the researcher purchased the right to use 400 randomly selected names from INFOCUS (INFOCUS made the random selection). All mailing documents (letters, survey, postcards), in addition to IRB approval forms were provided to INFOCUS (which subsequently provided to NASW) upon request for approval before name purchase was processed. Of the 400 names provided, 10 were randomly selected for use with the pilot pre-test. Of the remaining 390 names, 200 were randomly selected for the final sample. Of these, 4 were returned by the USPO as undeliverable, 2 were returned blank with a note indicating that the respondents were no longer practicing social work (retired), and 3 were returned indicating that the respondents did 69 not hold a social work degree. Nine of the names could be replaced with additional randomly selected names from the remaining pool (of 190).

Survey Method

The mail survey instrument was constructed by the researcher and reviewed by three faculty members at the University of Georgia, prior to initiation of the pilot. The mail survey method was chosen for several reasons. Mail surveys are frequently used to conduct social science research due to their low cost in comparison to face-to-face or telephone interviews

(Dillman, 1991). The sample participants live throughout the United States, making face-to-face or telephone contact costly and impractical. In addition, it was anticipated that because of the nature of the survey sample (i.e. college graduates), respondents would have relatively little difficulty following instructions and understanding questions in a mail survey format. Response rates have been identified as the major problem with this administration method in the literature

(Dillman, 1991).

Dillman (1991) suggests numerous methods for increasing response rates and the researcher incorporated several of these techniques. Pre-notification letters and reminder postcards were sent to respondents. Correspondence was printed on official letterhead to indicate university sponsorship. The pre-notification and instruction letters indicated the purpose of the research was being conducted, why the respondent’s participation was important, and how confidentiality would be maintained. Both the sent and return envelopes included names, addresses, and a self-adhesive stamp (as opposed to metered). The color of the envelopes was cream, matching the official letterhead and helping them to stand out from other correspondence.

The survey was printed on colored paper to increase its attractiveness to respondents and its 70 ability to stand out among other documents. A second packet mailing was sent to respondents who have not returned the first survey.

Research Process

There were three stages in the research process. The first and second stages were considered a pilot study for the purpose of refining the survey instrument and identifying problems with data coding. The third stage included the main research in which the modified survey instrument was mailed to 400 participants from the membership organizations. Approval from the Human Subjects Office of the University of Georgia’s Institutional Review Board

(IRB) was obtained for all stages of the research process.

Stage 1. Upon approval of the pilot study by the IRB Human Subjects Office, Stage 1 of the pilot study was initiated and the survey was pre-tested with five social work colleagues of the researcher. The pilot study approval included a consent form and the survey instrument for

Stage 1 participants. The participants noted problems with question clarity, format of questionnaire, and additional response categories. For Stage 1 of the pilot, five colleagues of the researcher were contacted by telephone or in-person to request participation in the research. All contacted colleagues agreed to participate. Separate interviews were conducted with each participant at a time and place convenient to the individual. At the interview, the researcher explained the consent form to the participant and provided a copy to be read. The participant then signed two copies, one to retain themselves and one for the researcher. The participant then filled out the survey completely. The researcher instructed each participant to fill out the survey independently, indicating on the survey any problems they encountered or thoughts for modification. Finally, the researcher and the participant went through each question of the survey 71 discussing the problems found or other issues. As a result of Stage 1, the working and format of presentation on several questions was modified and response categories added.

Stage 2. Upon IRB approval of changes to the instrument, the researcher initiated

Stage 2 of the pilot. Approval for this stage of the pilot included a cover letter and the survey instrument. In Stage 2 of the pilot, the survey instrument and a cover letter were mailed to 10

NASW and 10 NOFSW members. The cover letter was printed on UGA School of Social Work letterhead. The survey was printed on green paper in booklet format. An addressed and stamped return envelope was included. Eight surveys were returned to the researcher (a response rate of

40%). This was considered adequate for the pre-test. As a result of responses in Stage 2, two questions were modified and the changes submitted to the IRB. This process also served to establish face and content validity of the survey instrument.

Stage 3. The final research approval included the pre-notification letter, the cover letter, the survey instrument (see Appendix A), and the follow-up postcard. Additional approval was obtained for slight changes to the cover letter for the 2nd mailing, reflecting that it was an

additional mailing. For Stage 3, the research process began with the mailing of pre-notification

letters to the 200 NOFSW and 200 NASW randomly selected members. The pre-notification

letter, printed on cream UGA School of Social Work letterhead and enclosed in a matching

envelope, indicated that the participant would be receiving a survey in the mail in a few days,

requested that the survey be returned, and covered confidentiality and voluntary participation

issues. Four days later, the survey packet was mailed to the same 400 potential participants. Each

survey packet was mailed in a cream envelope matching the UGA SSW letterhead and included

a cover letter, the survey instrument, and a self-addressed stamped return envelope. Each survey

was coded with an identification number in order to allow the researcher to determine which 72 participants had returned a survey. Seven days after the mass survey packet mailing, reminder/thank-you postcards were mailed to all the participants. The postcards were printed on blue cover stock and had the UGA SSW seal in the return address area. Five weeks after the original mailing, the researcher compiled additional survey packets for the 230 participants who had not yet returned a survey. The new survey packets included a modified cover letter, a survey instrument printed on blue paper in booklet format, and a return envelope. Seven days later, a reminder/thank-you postcard printed on green cover stock, was mailed to those participants receiving a 2nd survey packet. For the entire sample, the USPO returned 8 pre-notification letters,

11 survey packets, and 6 postcards as undeliverable from the first mailing. In the second mailing,

4 survey packets and 5 postcards were returned. Mailings for the replacement participants

followed the same process.

Upon receipt of each completed survey, the researcher noted that the participant had

returned a survey on the master name list, excluding them from future mailings. The survey

responses were then coded and included in the response database. The researcher coded each

survey.

Participants

Of the 400 participants, 240 returned a completed survey to the researcher. This resulted

in a 60% response rate. Dillman (1991) suggests that response rates over 50% are considered

adequate for analysis. The final sample of returned surveys consisted of 45% (n=108) NASW

and 55% (n=132) NOFSW members. Two hundred and one respondents (83.8%) returned the

first survey mailed, while an additional 39 surveys (16.3%) were received from the 2nd mailing.

As can be seen in Table 1, the majority of respondents in the overall sample were female

(75%), White (82.9%), and held a MSW degree (93.3%). Respondents ranged from 23 – 73 years 73 old, reported from 1-50 years of social work experience and from 0-34 years of social work experience with offenders.

Table 1

Demographic Characteristics of Overall Sample

Demographic Categories Percentage Mean (SD) n

Gender Female 75.0% -- 180 Male 23.8% -- 57 Degrees Held BSW 14.2% -- 34 MSW 93.3% -- 224 PhD 6.3% -- 15 Ethnicity White 82.9% -- 199 Black 7.9% -- 19 Native American or Alaskan Native 1.3% -- 3 Asian or Pacific Islander 1.3% -- 3 Latino 2.9% -- 7 Mixed 2.1% -- 5 Other .4% -- 1 Age -- 48(10.98) 233 Experience Years Any Social Work -- 18.41(9.79) 238 Years Offender Social Work -- 5.46(7.44) 237

The overall sample appears to be representative of the general social work population.

Prior investigation (Gibelman & Schervish, 1997) has indicated the population of social workers

in the United States (as reflected in the NASW membership in 1995) is primarily white (87.9%)

and female (79.4%), with a middle-aged median (41-45 years). The average number of years of 74 experience for this research sample was higher than those reported for the general social work population (6-10 years).

Respondents’ descriptions of employment practice included a variety of settings that were categorized (by the researcher) into six categories of non-offender practice and seven categories of offender practice. Fifty percent of the respondents had professional experience with offenders (n=120), as compared with 49.6% that did not have such experience (n=119). Non- offender practice descriptions (n=108) included mental health (15.8%), school-based (5.8%), crime victims (4.6%), health/hospice (2.9%), disability (1.3%), private practice (9.2%), and other non-offender practice (5.4%). Offender practice descriptions (n=119) included community programs (6.3%), correctional facilities (11.7%), residential treatment centers (5.0%), child protection (2.5%), court related (14.6%), and other offender practice (4.2%).

Respondents’ descriptions of internship settings were similarly categorized.

Approximately 22% (n=52) of the sample had completed an internship in a justice setting, while

77.5% (n=186) indicated they had not. Non-offender internship descriptions (n=162) included mental health (49.8%), school-based (4.6%), crime victims (5.8%), health/hospice (5.4%), disability (0.8%), and other non-offender practice (7.5%). Offender practice descriptions (n=47) included community programs (6.3%), correctional facilities (4.2%), residential treatment centers (2.9%), child protection (1.3%), court related (3.8%), and other offender practice (1.3%).

Survey Instrument

The final survey instrument (see Appendix A) had 43 questions, plus an open-ended additional item allowing respondents to comment on any issue of their choice. For the purpose of comparison, seven items inquired about demographics, including social work degrees held, years 75 of social work experience, years of social work experience with offenders, gender, ethnicity, age, and political attitudes.

Three items assessed social work education, including two questions about exposure to offender and involuntary issues during social work education and one about feelings of preparation for work with offenders by the social work curriculum. Ten items assessed internships: one item inquired if respondents had completed an internship with offenders; one asked for a description of the internship; and nine likert items inquired about attitudes towards internship experiences. Thirteen items assessed employment issues: two items inquired about current or any professional experience with offenders; one item asked for a description of employment; three items inquired about exposure to social problems, ethnic groups, and social agencies during employment; and seven likert items inquired about attitudes toward employment experiences. Nine items assessed general attitudes toward social work with offenders. All likert items included a 5-point scale.

Data Coding and Analysis

Survey responses were coded into the SPSS dataset using the data coding key (see

Appendix B). Prior to analyses, missing values were replaced with the mean on the likert attitudinal items. Missing data on items related to internships (q7-15) was systematic; all the respondents who skipped these 9 items (n=24) did not have an internship in an offender environment and (it is assumed) thought that they were not supposed to answer these items.

Therefore, a dummy measure representing missing cases (1=missing internship section, 0= not missing) was included as a control to test for significant differences between those with and without missing values on the internship section. 76

Two other variables were constructed from the data for use in the data analysis. A dichotomous variable, Offender Internship, was constructed indicating whether respondents had completed an internship in an offender setting. This variable was coded 0 for other internship and

1 for offender internship. Due to the relatively low number of non-white respondents, a dichotomous variable was formed, named Non-white, combining the ethnic groups. White respondents were coded 0 and all other respondents were coded as 1.

Continuous variables were tested for normality, linearity, and homoscedasticity prior to analysis and were found to be within limits, except for Years of social work practice with offenders. The data on this variable was not normally distributed (skew= 1.466, Kurtosis=1.666) and was therefore transformed using the square root. The resulting variable was considered acceptable (skew=.560, kurtosis=-1.05).

SPSS 11.5 for Windows was used to create the database of survey responses and for all data analysis. The level of significance used in the interpretation of statistical tests was .05, excluding Wald and Levene’s Test for Equality of Variance statistics, where .10 was used. In

2x2 tables, the corrected Chi-square statistic was used in the interpretation of results.

Data Reduction

For the purpose of data reduction, factor analysis was used to assess any underlying structures on twenty-six of the likert attitudinal items. Prior to analysis, 11 outliers were eliminated. Principal components analysis was conducted using a varimax rotation. The analysis produced a 6-component solution. The appropriateness of this solution was evaluated considering the eigenvalues, variance, scree plot, and residuals. Twenty-one of the variables had communalities <.70, therefore, the eigenvalue criteria of >1 appeared to be conservative. In addition, the solution accounted for only 60.6% of the variance and indicated that 36% of the 77 non-redundant residuals had absolute values >.05. Visual analysis of the scree plot was indeterminate. Therefore, it appeared appropriate to consider a solution with additional components.

A second solution was generated with 9 components. In this solution, 71.2% of the variance was explained and the non-redundant residuals with absolute values >.05 was reduced to 25%. This solution appeared to be a better fit to the data. All items loaded in a positive direction on each assigned component (see Tables 2 & 3).

After rotation, the 1st component accounted for 11.72% of the variance of the 26 items.

This component consisted of five survey items (see Table 2) and was labeled Offender Work

Attitudes. A reliability analysis on these items resulted in an alpha of .81.

The 2nd component accounted for an additional 10.00% of the variance and consisted of four survey items (see Table 2). This component was labeled Employment Attitudes, with an alpha of .79.

The 3rd component, consisting of three survey items (see Table 3), accounted for 9.63% of the variance. This component, with an alpha of .83, was labeled Encouraging Others.

Three additional survey items (see Table 3) made up the 4th component, which accounted

for 9.17% of the variance. This component was labeled Internship Attitudes, with an alpha of .82.

The 5th component accounted for 7.834% of the variance, consisted of three survey items

(see Table 3), and was labeled Internship Experiences. The reliability analysis revealed an alpha of .68.

The 6th component, consisting of three survey items, accounted for 7.14% of the variance. This component combined an internship item with two employment items. Practically, it makes sense that these items would load on a factor together, having to do with ethical 78 conflicts encountered and difficulty practicing social work. However, since internship and employment experiences were considered separately in subsequent analysis, these items were considered individually in subsequent analysis rather than combined into a scale.

Table 2

Rotated Factor Loadings for Components 1 & 2

Component Composition Rotated Factor Loading

1: Offender Work Attitudes (Scale Alpha = .81)

Q32: Social workers can make a positive impact with criminal .589 offenders.

Q33: The client populations represented in the justice system .871 are appropriate for the field of social work.

Q34: The social problems of individuals involved in the justice .878 system are appropriate issues for the field of social work.

Q35: Social workers should not be involved in developing .463 criminal justice policy.

Q36: It is appropriate for social workers to be employed in .727 justice settings.

2: Employment Attitudes (Scale Alpha = .79)

Q22: I had the opportunity to use clinical social work skills, .741 such as counseling, guidance, or skill-building.

Q26: I felt I made a positive impact on clients in this setting. .563

Q27: I felt good about providing social work services in this .738 setting.

Q28: I enjoyed working in this setting. .775 79

Table 3

Rotated Factor Loadings for Components 3, 4, 5, & 7

Component Composition Rotated Factor Loading

3: Encouraging Others (Scale Alpha = .83)

Q29: Internships in justice settings are not appropriate .811 placements for social work students.

Q30: I would encourage some social work students to choose .860 an internship in a justice setting.

Q31: I would encourage another social worker to seek .708 employment in a justice setting. 4: Internship Attitudes (Scale Alpha = .82)

Q8: The internship prepared me for social work in a non- .647 justice setting.

Q9: Overall, the internship was a positive learning experience. .916

Q10: I enjoyed my internship experience. .882

5: Internship Experiences (Scale Alpha = .68)

Q11: At the internship, I felt I made a positive impact on .680 clients.

Q12: The internship allowed me the opportunity to develop .789 clinical social work skills, such as counseling, guidance, or skill-building.

Q14: In the setting of the internship, I found it difficult to .632 practice social work.

7: Preparation for Offender Work (Scale Alpha = .62)

Q4: The social work classroom curriculum prepared me for .855 practice in a justice setting.

Q7: The internship prepared me for social work in a justice .795 setting. 80

Two survey items (see Table 3) made up the 7th component, which accounted for 6.14% of the variance. This component was labeled Preparation for Offender Work and had an alpha of

.6234.

The 8th component was made up of two survey items and accounted for 5.18% of the variance. The alpha was .53. However, this component again combined an internship and an employment item (albeit related) and therefore was not considered as a scale for subsequent analysis.

The 9th component was made up of only one survey item and accounted for 4.35% of the variance. This item “How would/do you feel about practicing social work in a justice setting?” loaded in a positive direction on the component (.86).

Using the results of the factor analysis, six new scale variables (see Tables 2 & 3) were generated for the appropriate components (as noted, 3 of the 9 components were not considered as scales for further analysis). These new scale variables were utilized in the analyses of attitudes regarding internships, employment, and social work with offenders.

Conclusion

A quasi-experimental design was used to compare attitudes and experiences of social work with and without educational exposure and professional experience with offenders. A survey instrument was mailed to 200 NASW members and 200 NOFSW members. A response rate of 60% was obtained. While the sample population could not be presumed to represent all social workers in the US, the total sample appeared to adequately capture demographics of the general social work population (according to NASW membership). For the purpose of data reduction, factor analysis was used to collapse numerous items assessing attitudes toward internships, employment, and social work with offenders. As a result, six scale variables were 81 constructed. The next chapter presents the results of t-test, chi-square, logistic, and multiple regression analyses on the data for the purpose of testing the research hypotheses.

CHAPTER 4

RESULTS

The purpose of this research was to explore the impact of social work education on the rate of professionals choosing to practice with criminal offenders and assess the attitudes and experiences of social workers towards this area of practice. A quasi-experimental design was used to compare social workers with and without education exposure and employment experience regarding offenders. A mail survey was used to assess the attitudes and experiences of social workers belonging to two national membership organizations. T-test, chi-square, multiple and logistic regression analysis techniques were used to compare social workers with and without educational exposure and employment experience regarding offenders.

The research questions included: (1) How does exposure to criminal offender practice issues during social work education impact the likelihood of professionals’ work in these settings? (2) How does exposure to offender issues impact professionals’ feelings of preparation for and comfort with working with offenders? (3) How does exposure to offender practice issues impact attitudes toward social work with offenders? and (4) Are criminal justice setting experiences different from other social work experiences? The following sections address the results of analyses used to answer these questions and test the research hypotheses. SPSS 11.5 for Windows was used for all data analysis. The level of significance used in the interpretation of statistical tests was .05, excluding Wald and Levene’s Test for Equality of Variance statistics, where .10 was used. In 2x2 tables, the corrected Chi-square statistic was used in the interpretation of results. The analyses began with a brief introductory comparison of membership and experience groups. 83

Group Comparisons

Preliminary analysis was used to investigate demographic differences between membership and experience groups. The purpose of these analyses was to determine if there were significant differences between the groups that might make additional comparisons inappropriate. T-test analyses revealed no significant differences between the NASW and

NOFSW groups on age, years of social work experience, or political attitudes (see Table 4.

Table 4

Membership Group t-test Comparisons on Demographic Variables

NOFSW NASW

Mean (SD) n Mean (SD) n t-test (df)

Age 48.33(12.01) 106 48.08(10.10) 127 t(205.8)= 0.8641

Yrs SW Experience 17.41(10.41) 107 19.23(9.21) 131 t(213.6)= -1.421

Political Attitudesa 3.70(1.12) 106 3.62(1.11) 128 t(232)= 0.59

1 equal variance not assumed; a Range: 1-5; *p≤.050, ** p≤.010

Chi-Square analyses were used to examine differences in degree, gender, and the non-

White variable. As can be seen in Table 5, 19% of the NASW group reported having a BSW

degree as compared with only 10% of the NOFSW group. However, this difference did not quite

reach statistical significance [Chi-Square=3.774, p=.053]. More than 90% of respondents overall

reported having an MSW and less than 10% a Ph.D.; therefore, chi-square analyses were not

interpreted on these variables. While only 17% of the NASW group self-reported as male, 30% of the NOFSW group did so. This difference was found to be statistically significant [Chi-square 84

= 5.203, p=.02]. No significant difference was indicated between the two groups on the percentage of white versus nonwhite respondents.

Table 5

Membership Group Chi-Square Comparisons on Demographic Variables

NASW NOFSW

No Yes n No Yes n Chi-Square (df)

BSW 80.6% 19.4% 108 90.2% 9.8% 132 Χ2(1)=3.74

MSW 10.2% 89.8% 108 3.8% 96.2% 132 _

Ph.D. 98.1% 1.9% 108 90.2% 9.8% 132 _

Female Male n Female Male n

Gender 83.3% 16.7% 108 69.8% 30.2% 129 Χ2(1)=5.20 b*

White Non-White n White Non-White n

Ethnicity 88.8% 11.2% 107 80.0% 20.0% 130 Χ2(1)=2.74

*p≤.050, ** p≤.010

When comparing respondents who reported having prior social work experience with offenders

to those who reported no such experiences, few differences were found. Table 6 demonstrates

that the offender group reported more years of social work experience than the non-offender

group, while in Table 4 it can be seen that no differences were found between the two groups on

types of social work degree held (BSW only), gender or non-white. 85

Table 6

Experience Group t-test Comparisons on Demographic Variables

No Offender Experience Offender Experience

Mean(SD) n Mean(SD) n t-test (df)

Age 47.37(11.64) 115 49.17(10.15) 117 t(230)= -1.254

Years of SW Experience 16.76(10.04) 118 20.15(9.25) 119 t(235)= -2.70**

Political Attitudesa 3.75(1.11) 117 3.55(1.11) 116 t(231)= 1.35

a Range: 1-5; *p≤.050, ** p≤.010

Table 7

Experience Group Chi-Square Comparisons on Demographic Variables

No Offender Experience Offender Experience

No Yes n No Yes n Chi-Square (df)

BSW 84.9% 15.1% 119 86.7% 13.3% 120 Χ2(1)= 0.05

MSW 10.1% 89.9% 119 3.3% 96.7% 120 -

Ph.D. 94.1% 5.9% 119 93.3% 6.7% 120 -

Female Male n Female Male n

Gender 80.7% 19.3% 119 70.9% 29.1% 117 Χ2(1)= 2.54

White Non-White n White Non-White n

Non-white 83.9% 16.1% 118 84.7% 15.3% 118 Χ2(1)= 0.00

*p≤.050, ** p≤.010

Differences were found between the membership groups on gender and between the experience groups on years of social work experience. More males belonged to the NOFSW group. Though this issue is not explored here, this may possibly indicate that male social workers are more likely to belong to other professional membership groups than NASW or that they are more interested in forensic issues than women. Those respondents with offender work experience had a higher mean number of years of social work experience. This may indicate that those with more experience had a higher likelihood of having an opportunity to work with offenders. However, these differences did not appear to be significant enough to effect further analyses. Nevertheless, these variables were used in subsequent analyses as controls.

Analysis

Statistical techniques including logistic regression, multiple regression, t-tests, and chi- squares were used to test the research hypotheses.

Research Question 1

The first research question was: How does exposure to criminal offender practice issues during social work education impact the likelihood of professionals’ work in these settings?

There were two hypotheses generated to address this question.

Hypothesis 1A. The first hypothesis was: Social workers with professional experience with offenders are more likely to have been exposed to offender issues through coursework or an internship during social work education than those without professional experience with offenders. Logistic regression was used to test this hypothesis.

Table 8 presents the fourteen independent variables (age, male, nonwhite, years of social work experience, political attitudes, offender internship, offender course, offender exposure during field, offender issues integrated, offender issues another way, involuntary course, 87 involuntary issues integrated, involuntary exposure during field, involuntary issues another way) included in the logistic regression model to predict professional work experience with offenders.

Table 8

Logistic Regression Coefficients for Offender Work Experience

Variable B SE Odds Ratio Age -.017 .019 0.983 Male .415 .365 1.515 Non-white -.271 .415 0.762 Years of Social Work experience .061 .021 1.063** Political attitudes -.155 .137 0.856 Offender internship 1.349 .570 3.852** Offender course .976 .469 2.654** Offender exposure during field -.103 .543 0.902 Offender issues integrated -.698 .359 0.497* Offender issues another way .584 .620 1.792 Involuntary course -.271 .556 0.762 Involuntary issues integrated .181 .335 1.198 Involuntary exposure during field -.297 .334 .743 Involuntary issues another way .417 .609 1.517 -2 Log Likelihood 273.39 Cox & Snell R2 .16 Nagelkerke R2 .21 n=225 *p≤.100, **p≤.050

The model resulted with a moderate overall fit with 16-21% of the variance explained (-2

Log Likelihood=273.39). The model was statistically reliable in distinguishing between groups 88 on work experience [Chi-Square (14)=38.52, p=.000] and correctly classified 66.7% of the cases.

Wald statistics indicated that four variables significantly predicted offender work experience

(years of social work experience, offender internship, offender course, and offender issues integrated).

As can be seen, respondents who reported having participated in an internship working with offenders were 285% more likely to have professional work experience with offenders than those in other internships. In addition, respondents who reported taking a specific course on offenders during their social work education were 165% more likely to have offender work experience than those who did not take such a course. Those who reported that information on social work with offenders was integrated into other coursework were 50% less likely to have had professional social work experience with offenders than those who did not report integration.

With each additional year of professional social work experience, respondents were 6% more likely to report professional experience working with offenders. The results of the logistic regression provided enough evidence to reject the null hypothesis that educational exposure would not significantly impact the rate of employment.

Hypothesis 1B. The second hypothesis for the first research question was: Social workers will have worked with offenders for longer periods of time when they were exposed to criminal offender practice issues during social work education. This hypothesis was tested using

OLS regression.

The accuracy of prediction of nine independent variables (male, age, political, years of social work practice, non-white, offender internship, offender issues integrated, offender course, offender exposure during field) on the number of years respondents had practiced with offenders was examined using an OLS regression model. Results indicated that the overall model 89 significantly predicted scores on the scale [F(9,215)=8.464, p=.000]. This model accounted for

27% of the variance in the years of practice with offenders. As can be seen in Table 9, three of the variables indicated significant contribution to the variance explained by the model (offender internship, offender course and years of social work experience).

Table 9

Regression Coefficients for Years of Offender Work Experience

Variable B SE Age -.015 .013 Political attitudes -.076 .094 Nonwhite -.054 .278 Male .246 .244 Years of Social Work experience .075** .014 Offender issues integrated -.170 .222 Offender issues in field .378 .350 Offender course .652* .290 Offender internship .900* .378 R2 .262 F 8.464** n=225 *p≤.050 **p≤.010

Those respondents who had either taken a social work course on offenders or participated in an

offender internship reported more years of social work experience with offenders than those who

had not had these educational experiences. As might be expected, as the number of years of

practicing any social work increased, so did the number of years of social work experience with

offenders. Consequently, there appeared to be enough evidence to reject the null hypothesis that 90 educational exposure would not significantly impact the number of years that social workers practice with offenders.

Research Question 2

The second research question was: How does exposure to offender issues impact professionals’ feelings of preparation for and comfort with working with offenders? There were two hypotheses generated to address this question.

Hypothesis 2A. The first hypothesis was: Professionals exposed to offender issues during social work education feel more prepared by that education to work with offenders than those without such educational exposure. An OLS regression was used to test this hypothesis.

OLS multiple regression was conducted to determine the contribution of 15 independent variables (male, age, nonwhite, political attitudes, years of social work experience, offender internship, offender course, offender issues integrated, offender exposure during field, offender issues another way, involuntary course, involuntary issues integrated, involuntary exposure during field, involuntary issues another way, and the dummy variable on missing internship section) to the attitude scale Preparation for offender work. Results indicated that the missing internship data significantly impacted these analysis results. Therefore, a second analysis was conducted (14 variables) excluding the respondents with missing data on the internship section.

Results indicated that the overall model significantly predicted scores on the scale

[F(14,180)=11.68, p=.000], explaining 48% of the variance in respondents’ attitudes on the scale. As can be seen in Table 10, four of the variables indicated significant contribution to the variance explained by the model (offender internship, offender course, offender issues integrated, and offender exposure during field). Those respondents who reported having learned about offender issues during their social work education through an offender internship (B=.72) or an 91 offender course (B=.36) more strongly agreed that they were prepared to work with offenders through their social work education. Similarly, those respondents who reported that offender issues were integrated into other social work coursework (B=.42) or their field experience

(B=.52) also scored higher on the scale. Therefore, there was enough evidence to reject the null hypothesis that feelings of preparation for offender work would not be related to educational exposure.

Table 10

Regression Coefficients for ‘Preparation for Offender Work’

Variable B SE Age .009 .007 Political attitudes -.076 .050 Nonwhite -.019 .150 Male .018 .131 Years of Social Work Experience -.011 .008 Offender issues integrated .417** .129 Offender exposure during field .522** .188 Offender course .357* .170 Offender issues another way .298 .223 Offender internship .715** .195 Involuntary issues integrated .151 .124 Involuntary exposure during field .162 .121 Involuntary course .187 .205 Involuntary issues another way -.064 .230 R2 .476 F 11.679** n=216, *p≤.050 **p≤.010

Hypothesis 2B. The second hypothesis for the second research question was: Social workers with exposure to offender issues feel more comfortable with the idea of working with offenders than those without such exposure. An OLS regression was used to test this hypothesis.

OLS multiple regression was used to examine the prediction of scores on the single item of comfort with working with offenders. Nine independent variables (age, male, nonwhite, years of social work experience, political attitudes, offender issues integrated, offender course, offender internship, and offender work experience) were entered in the model (see Table 11).

Table 11

Regression Coefficients for Comfort Working with Offenders

Variable B SE Age -.007 .008 Male .226 .145 Non-white .280 .165 Yrs of SW Experience -.007 .008 Political Attitudes -.070 .055 Offender issues integrated .158 .132

Offender course .101 .173 Offender internship .067 .157 Offender Work Experience .932** .128 R2 .265 F 8.633** n=226, *p≤.050, **p≤.010

Results indicated that this model was able to significantly predict scores [F(9,216)=8.63,

p=.000] and accounted for 27% of the variance. However, only work experience with offenders 93 significantly contributed to model. Respondents with work experience with offenders were more comfortable (B=.93) working with offenders. The null hypothesis was rejected, exposure to offender issues (at least through professional experience) was related to comfort with working with offenders.

Research Question 3

The third research question in the study was: How does exposure to offender practice issues impact attitudes toward social work with offenders? Two research hypotheses were formulated to speak to this question.

Hypothesis 3A. The first hypothesis was: Professionals who were exposed to offender issues during social work education feel more positively about this area of practice than those without such exposure. Two OLS regression models were used to test this hypothesis.

The contribution of 14 variables (age, male, non-white, years of social work experience, and political attitudes, offender issues integrated, offender issues in field, offender course, offender issues another way, involuntary issues integrated, involuntary issues in field, involuntary course, involuntary issues another way, offender internship) in the accuracy of predicting scores on two factors, Offender Work Attitudes and Encouraging Others, were examined using OLS regressions. As can be seen in Table 12, these models were unable to significantly predict scores on these attitudinal scales.

Therefore, there was not enough evidence to reject the null hypothesis that exposure to offender issues during social work education was unrelated to general attitudes toward practice with offenders. 94

Table 12

Regression Coefficients with Educational Exposure for ‘Offender Work Attitudes’ and

‘Encouraging Others’

Offender Work Attitudes Encouraging Others Variable B(SE) B(SE) Age -.028(.008)** .003(.008) Political attitudes -.038(.061) -.018(.061) Nonwhite .000(.177) .336(.178) Male -.053(.161) -.088(.162) Years of Social Work Experience .019(.009)* -.003(.009) Offender internship -.055(.246) -.251(.248) Offender course -.108(.200) -.034(.201) Offender issues integrated -.044(.157) -.084(.158) Offender issues in field .341(.237) .455(.239) Offender issues another way .074(.276) .235(.278) Involuntary course -.187(.233) -.134(.235) Involuntary issues in field .341(.237) .023(.149) Involuntary issues integrated .155(.149) -.175(.150) Involuntary issues another way .074(.276) -.504(.277) R2 .085 .062 F 1.336 .951 n=216; *p≤.050 **p≤.010

Hypothesis 3B. The second hypothesis generated for the third research question was:

Social workers with professional experience working with offenders have more positive attitudes

about this area of practice than those without such experience. Two OLS regression models were generated to test this hypothesis (see Table 13). 95

Table 13

Regression Coefficients with Work Experience for ‘Offender Work Attitudes’ and ‘Encouraging

Others’

Offender Work Attitudes Encouraging Others Variable B (SE) B(SE) Age -.024(.008)** .005(.008) Political attitudes -.008(.057) .015(.058) Nonwhite -.025(.170) .278(.174) Male -.106(.149) -.095(.152) Years of Social Work Experience .009(.009) -.007(.009) Offender work experience .410(.129)** .325(.132)* R2 .096 .039 F 3.753** 1.432 n=220; *p≤.050 **p≤.010

OLS regressions were conducted on Offender Work Attitudes and Encouraging Others examining the impact of offender work experience. Six variables were included in these models

(age, male, non-white, political attitudes, years of social work experience and offender work

experience). This model was able to significantly predict scores on the Offender Work Attitudes scale [F(6,213)=3.75, p=.001], though only 10% of the variance was accounted for. As can be seen in Table 13, age and offender work experience contributed to the model. Those respondents who reported having offender work experience indicated more positive feelings (B=.41) on the attitudinal scale. The model was unable to predict scores for Encouraging Others. On the basis

of these results, the null hypothesis that there is no relationship between attitudes towards social work in offender environments and professional experience in this area, could be rejected. 96

Research Question 4

The fourth research question was: Are criminal justice setting experiences different from other social work experiences? Three research hypotheses were devised to address this question.

Hypothesis 4A. The first hypothesis was: Professionals who were placed in offender internships during their social work education had less positive attitudes and experiences in their internships than those in other settings. Three OLS regression models were generated to test this research hypothesis.

Two OLS regression analyses were conducted to examine the contribution of seven variables (male, age, nonwhite, political attitudes, years of social work experience, offender internship, and the dummy variable on internship section missing) on the attitude scales

Internship attitudes and Internship Experiences (see Table 14).

Table 14

Regression Coefficients for ‘Internship Attitudes’ and ‘Internship Experiences’

Internship Attitudes Internship Experiences Variable B(SE) B(SE) Age .007(.008) -.003(.008) Political attitudes .017(.056) -.064(.057) Nonwhite -.150(.165) -.114(.168) Male .078(.145) -.195(.148) Years of Social Work Experience -.018(.009)* -.004(.009) Missing Internship Section .101(.211) -.044(.215) Offender internship -.060(.156) -.591(.159)** R2 .027 .075 F .850 2.458* n=219; *p≤.050 **p≤.010 97

The model was unable to significantly predict scores on the Internship attitudes scale. These variables did not appear to have a significant impact on this measure of respondent’s attitudes toward their internships.

However, the regression on Internship experiences as the dependent variable has different results. In this case, the model was able to significantly predict scores [F(7,211)=2.46, p=.019], but with only 8% of the variance was explained. Only an offender internship significantly contributed to the variance in this model. The beta weight indicates that those respondents who participated in an offender internship scored lower on the scale (-.591), indicating less positive experiences.

OLS multiple regression analysis was also used to examine the prediction of 6 independent variables (age, political attitudes, male, non-white, years of social work experience, and offender internship) on the item “During the internship, I experienced professional ethical conflicts between the work environment and social work values” (see Table 15). The variables in this model were able to significantly predict scores [F(6,200)=2.66, p=.017], but explained only 7% of variance. Those respondents who participated in an offender internship reported more frequent ethical conflicts than those with other internships.

The results of these analyses indicated partial support for the research hypothesis in that internship experiences and ethical conflicts were somewhat related to setting. However, the models accounted for only a fraction of the variance. In addition, there was not enough evidence to suggest that attitudes toward internships were related to placement type. Therefore, there does not appear to be enough evidence to reject the null hypothesis.

Table 15

Regression Coefficients on Ethical Conflicts during Internships

Variable B(SE) Age .015(.008) Political attitudes .043(.059) Nonwhite .205(.178) Male -.113(.149) Years of Social Work Experience -.001(.009) Offender internship -.341(.155)* R2 .074 F 2.664* n=207; *p≤.050 ** p≤.010

Hypothesis 4B. The second hypothesis created for the fourth research question was:

Professionals in justice settings have less positive attitudes and experiences in their practice

experiences than those in non-justice settings. Three multiple regression models were used to test this hypothesis (see Tables 16-17).

OLS multiple regression was used to assess the contribution of 6 independent variables

(male, age, nonwhite, political attitudes, years of social work experience, offender work experience) to the scale Employment attitudes. The resulting model was not significant in predicting attitudes on this scale (see Table 16).

Nine independent variables (age, political attitudes, male, nonwhite, years of social work experience, offender work experience) were included in an OLS multiple regression on 2 individual items regarding employment. The models were unable to significantly predict scores on the items “I experienced professional ethical conflicts between the work environment and social work values” or “I found it difficult to practice social work” (see Table 17). 99

Table 16

Regression Coefficients for ‘Employment Attitudes’

Variable B(SE) Age -.001(.008) Political attitudes .027(.059) Nonwhite .003(.175) Male -.303(.153)* Years of Social Work Experience .002(.009) Offender Work Experience -.096(.133) R2 .023 F .845 n=220 *p≤.050 **p≤.010

Table 17

Regression Coefficients for ‘Ethical Conflicts during Employment’ and ‘Difficulty Practicing

Social Work’ Items

Ethical Conflicts Social Work Difficult Variable B(SE) B(SE) Age .008(.007) -.003(.008) Political attitudes -.050(.054) -.032(.055) Non-white .169(.162) -.044(.165) Male .043(.141) -.128(.144) Years of Social Work Experience .001(.008) .016(.009) Offender Work Experience -.158(.122) -.177(.124) R2 .025 .028 F .945 1.077 n=230; *p≤.050 **p≤.010

100

In this case, there was not enough evidence to reject the null hypothesis that social workers with experience in offender work environments have similar attitudes and experiences than those in other environments.

Hypothesis 4C. The third hypothesis for the fourth research question was:

Professionals practicing social work in criminal justice settings encounter a greater variety of social problems, ethnic groups, and social agencies than those with experience in other settings.

T-tests and chi-square analyses were used to test this hypothesis.

T-tests and chi-square analyses were used to determine differences between those respondents who reported professional practice with offenders and those who reported no such experience on the number and type of social problems, social agencies, and ethnic groups encountered during practice. T-tests revealed that there were significant differences in the means of the two groups on the total number of social problems encountered, ethnic groups, and social agencies (see Table 18).

Table 18

Experience Group t-test Comparisons on Total Social Problems, Ethnic Groups, and Social

Agencies

Offender Experience No Offender Experience

Variable Mean (SD) n Mean (SD) n T-test (df)

Social Problems 14.22 (3.16) 119 13.11 (4.05) 117 t(219.18)= -2.34 a *

Ethnic Groups 4.55 (1.17) 119 4.14 (1.28) 115 t(232)= -2.54*

Social Agencies 11.18 (3.30) 120 9.19 (3.85) 117 t(227.84)= -4.26 a **

a - equal variances not assumed; *p≤.05; **p≤.01 101

The mean number of social problems, ethnic groups, and social agencies reported by respondents was higher for those with offender experience than those without. Therefore, there was enough evidence to reject the null hypothesis.

Chi-square analyses were conducted to determine which items accounted for the differences. Three of the social problem items (mental illness, substance abuse, family dysfunction) were excluded from the analyses because more than 90% of the respondents overall reported encountering these issues. However, significant differences were found on 3 of the remaining 15 items (see Table 19). Domestic violence was reported as a social problem encountered in practice by 94% of those respondents with offender experience, as compared to

83% of those without. This difference was significant [Chi-Square=3.96, p=.047]. Similarly, while 87% of those with offender experience reported encountering the problem of mental retardation or developmental disability in their offender practice, only 73% of those with other experience indicated that they had dealt with this issue [Chi-Square=6.01, p=.014]. Ninety-two percent of respondents with offender work experience had encountered child abuse or neglect in their practice as compared with 80% of the group without offender experience [Chi-Square=6.79, p=.009].

Regarding ethnic groups, most respondents reported having encountered Black and White individuals in their social work practice (see Table 20). No significant differences were found between the numbers of offender practitioners and other practitioners who had practiced with

Asian/Pacific islanders, Native Americans, or other racial groups. However, more respondents who had worked with offenders had encountered Latinos in their practice (94%) than had those who had no such experience (81%). This difference was significant [Chi-Square =8.27, p=.004]. 102

Table 19

Experience Group Chi-Square Comparisons for Individual Social Problems

Offender No Offender Experience Experience Variable % n % n X2(df) Mental Illness Yes 99.2 118 93.9 107 -- No 0.8 1 6.1 7 Poverty Yes 89.1 106 86.8 99 X2(1)= 0.10 No 10.9 13 13.2 15 Substance Abuse Yes 97.5 116 89.5 102 -- No 2.5 3 10.5 12 Discrimination Yes 74.8 89 66.7 76 X2(1)= 1.49 No 25.2 30 33.3 38 Sexual Orientation Yes 81.5 97 71.1 81 X2(1)= 2.98 No 18.5 22 28.9 33 Family Yes 96.6 115 93.0 106 -- Dysfunction No 3.4 4 7.0 8 Employment Yes 73.9 88 66.7 76 X2(1)= 1.15 No 26.1 31 33.3 38 Gender Yes 61.3 73 50.0 57 X2(1)= 2.60 No 38.7 46 50.0 57 Parenting Yes 88.2 105 86.0 98 X2(1)= 0.10 No 11.8 14 14.0 16 Domestic violence Yes 93.3 111 84.2 96 X2(1)= 3.96* No 6.7 8 15.8 18 Developmental Yes 86.6 103 72.8 83 X2(1)= 6.01* challenge No 13.4 16 27.2 31 Physical challenge Yes 58.0 69 64.0 73 X2(1)= 0.66 No 42.0 50 36.0 41 Educational Yes 84.0 100 75.4 86 X2(1)= 2.16 No 16.0 19 24.6 28 Child Yes 92.4 110 79.8 91 X2(1)= 6.79** abuse/neglect No 7.6 9 20.2 23 Visual/hearing Yes 44.5 53 45.6 52 X2(1)= 0.001 impairment No 55.5 66 54.4 62 Sexual Trauma Yes 89.9 107 81.6 93 X2(1)= 2.68 No 10.1 12 18.4 21 Medical Issues Yes 86.6 103 82.5 94 X2(1)= 0.47 No 13.4 16 17.5 20 Other Yes 24.4 29 32.5 37 X2(1)= 1.50 No 75.6 90 67.5 77 *p≤.05; **p≤.01

103

Table 20

Experience Group Chi-Square Comparisons for Individual Ethnic Groups

Offender No Offender Experience Experience Variable % n % n Chi-Square (df)

Black Yes 99.2 118 93.9 108 -- No 0.8 1 6.1 7 Asian or Yes 68.9 82 57.4 66 X2(1)= 2.86 Pacific Islander No 31.1 37 42.6 49 Latino Yes 94.1 112 80.9 93 X2(1)= 8.27** No 5.9 7 19.1 22 Native American Yes 53.8 64 46.1 53 X2(1)= 1.09 or Alaska Native No 46.2 55 53.9 62 White Yes 99.2 118 98.3 113 -- No .8 1 1.7 2 Other group Yes 39.5 47 36.5 42 X2(1)= 0.11 No 60.5 72 63.5 73 *p≤.05; **p≤.01

Finally, differences between the two groups on contact with individual social agency

types were explored. More than 95% of respondents overall reported working with mental health

agencies through their practice, therefore any differences between the two groups on this item

were excluded from analysis. Significant differences were indicated on 7 of the 16 social agency

items (see Table 21). As might be expected, significant differences were indicated between the

two experience groups on contact with law enforcement, juvenile court, adult court, adult

corrections, and probation/parole. For these 5 items, those with offender work experience were

more likely to have had contact with the agency than those without offender experience.

However, significant differences were also found on two additional items, including legislature

[Chi-Square=4.96, p=.026] and drug/alcohol agencies [Chi-Square=7.14, p=.008]. Interestingly,

33% of respondents with offender work experience reported having contact with legislature,

while only 19% of those with other experience indicated this to be true. Eighty-six percent of 104 respondents with offender work experiences had contact with drug/alcohol agencies, as compared with 70% of those with other work experience.

Table 21

Experience Group Chi-Square Comparisons for Individual Social Agencies

Offender Experience No Offender Experience Variable % n % n X2 (df) Child Yes 84.9 101 81.7 94 X2(1)= 0.219 Protection No 15.1 18 18.3 21 Adult Yes 47.1 56 44.3 51 X2(1)= 0.081 Protection No 52.9 63 55.7 64 Law Yes 94.1 112 76.5 88 X2(1)= 13.20 Enforcement No 5.9 7 23.5 27 Educational Yes 78.2 93 67.8 78 X2(1)= 2.67 Systems No 21.8 26 32.2 37 Mental Yes 94.1 112 96.5 111 -- Health No 5.9 7 3.5 4 Medical Yes 85.7 102 82.6 95 X2(1)= 0.22 Health No 14.3 17 17.4 20 Welfare Yes 60.5 72 55.7 64 X2(1)= 0.38 No 39.5 47 44.3 51 Juvenile Yes 68.9 82 54.8 63 X2(1)= 4.37* Court No 31.1 37 45.2 52 Adult Court Yes 85.7 102 46.1 53 X2(1)= 39.31** No 14.3 17 53.9 62 Legislature Yes 32.8 39 19.1 22 X2(1)= 4.96* No 67.2 80 80.9 93 Drug or Yes 85.7 102 70.4 81 X2(1)= 7.14** Alcohol No 14.3 17 29.6 34 Adult Yes 83.2 99 34.8 40 X2(1)= 54.84** Corrections No 16.8 20 65.2 75 Disability Yes 58.8 70 65.2 75 X2(1)= 0.76 No 41.2 49 34.8 40 Probation or Yes 89.9 107 61.7 71 X2(1)= 23.98** Parole No 10.1 12 38.3 44 Employment Yes 51.3 61 42.6 49 X2(1)= 1.43 Services No 48.7 58 57.4 66 Other Yes 24.4 29 19.1 22 X2(1)= 0.66 No 75.6 90 80.9 93 *p≤.05; **p≤.01

105

Based on these results, the null hypothesis was rejected. Overall, respondents reported that offender environments gave them contact with at least an equal number of and often a larger variety of social problems, ethnic groups, and social agencies than other environments.

Conclusion

The purpose of this research was to explore the impact of social work education on the rate of professionals choosing to practice with criminal offenders and assess the attitudes and experiences of social workers towards this area of practice. T-test, chi-square, OLS and logistic regression analysis techniques were used to compare social workers with and without educational exposure and employment experience regarding offenders.

Analyses results indicated support for the research hypotheses regarding the first research question, ‘How does exposure to criminal offender practice issues during social work education impact the likelihood of professionals’ work in these settings?’ Social workers with professional experience working with offenders were more likely to have been exposed to offender issues during their social work education. Further, respondents who had educational exposure to these issues had more years of experience working with this population.

Support was also found for the research hypotheses regarding the research question,

‘How does exposure to offender issues impact professionals’ feelings of preparation for and comfort with working with offenders?’ Respondents with exposure to offender issues in classroom instruction or field placements agreed more strongly that their social work education prepared to work with offenders. While educational exposure did not appear to increase feelings of comfort, those with professional offender experience were more comfortable with this area of practice. 106

Mixed results were found on the 3rd research question, ‘How does exposure to offender

practice issues impact attitudes toward social work with offenders?’ Educational exposure did

not appear to be related to attitudes toward offender social work in these results; however,

professional offender experience did impact respondents’ attitudes towards this area of practice.

Analyses testing the research hypotheses for the 4th research question, ‘Are criminal

justice setting experiences different from other social work experiences?’, also had mixed results.

Internship experiences and frequency of ethical conflicts were related to internship setting.

However, there was not enough evidence to suggest that attitudes toward internships were related

to placement type. Social workers with experience in offender work environments had similar attitudes and experiences than those in other environments. Finally, respondents reported that

offender environments gave them contact with at least an equal number of and often a larger

variety of social problems, ethnic groups, and social agencies than other environments.

Overall, the results appeared to indicate a significant relationship between educational

exposure to offender practice issues and professional work experience. Offender internships and

employment did not appear to be much (if at all) more negative than other types of experiences.

In addition, offender environments appear to offer a wide variety of different opportunities for

students and practitioners. Further discussion of these results and their implications appears in

the next chapter. 107

CHAPTER 5

DISCUSSION

The purpose of this research was to explore the impact of social work education on the rate of professionals choosing to practice with criminal offenders and assess the attitudes and experiences of social workers towards this area of practice. A quasi-experimental design was used to compare social workers with and without education exposure and employment experience regarding offenders. A mail survey was used to assess the attitudes and experiences of social workers belonging to two national membership organizations. The previous chapter presented the results of statistical analyses used to test the research hypotheses. This chapter discusses the implication of these results for the social work profession.

Education and Offender Work

The results clearly indicated that professional social workers with offender experience were much more likely to have been exposed to offender issues during their social work education. Professionals who had taken a course on offender work were 165% more likely to have work experience in an offender environment. Those who participated in an internship with offenders were 285% more likely to have had offender experience. This appears to indicate that this kind of exposure during social work education encourages professionals to choose positions in this area of practice. Further results indicated that exposure to offender work through a specific course or internship increased the number of years of experience that professionals reported to have worked with offenders. This result suggests that an increased level of 108 knowledge about this kind of work, gained through social work education, may help professionals to remain in this field of practice.

Respondents with exposure through coursework or field placements agreed more strongly that their social work education prepared them for offender work than those without these experiences. Those respondents who reported integration of offender issues into the curriculum also agreed more strongly that their education had prepared them for this type of work. However, this method of exposure actually served to decrease the likelihood (by 50%) of professional practice. In other words, those respondents who reported that offender issues were integrated into the curriculum of other courses were less likely to have worked with this population. Therefore, while professionals who reported that offender issues were integrated into the curriculum felt that they were prepared through their social work education for this type of work, this exposure technique appeared to discourage their professional practice in this area. Researchers have appeared to touch on this issue, suggesting that exposure must be carefully constructed to provide positive experiences for students (Cummings, Galmbos & DeCostoer, 2003) with support (Haberman & Post, 1992; Cartwright & Gorman, 1993) in order to have the intended effect of increasing their interest in an underserved population. Otherwise, these experiences may reinforce negative attitudes towards practice in the area. While integration may be the easiest and most cost/time efficient way to include information on offender work in the social work curriculum, it does not appear to have a positive effect on professionals’ choices to work with this population.

Integrating content on offenders into the general curriculum of other coursework may increase the knowledge level of students about offenders or may introduce them to the possibility of offender work. However, the attitudes of faculty toward this type of practice may have a 109 stronger impact on students. In a study of 663 medical students, Wilderom et al, (1990) found that role models attitudes toward treating geriatric patients had an effect on students, in regards to interest and perceptions. The author suggests “Investments in medical school teachers’ attitudes toward the elderly might thus yield high returns in terms of student attraction to geriatric medicine” (p. 443). Expanding this idea to social work and criminal offenders, further research would be needed to establish how students perceive faculty attitudes toward working with offenders. However, it appears we may already have some indirect evidence about this factor.

Rubin, Johnson, and DeWeaver (1986) found that social work students’ interests in working with criminal offenders decreased from entry to graduation. Because we know that less than one-third social work schools are teaching specific courses on working with offenders (even fewer at the time of these researcher’s study), we might accurately assume these students received little, if any, specific information about this area of practice. Therefore, this finding may suggest that, in general, social work faculty are having a negative impact on student interest in or attitudes toward criminal offenders. In addition, the current research study found that professionals working with offenders were more likely to have taken a specific course or internship with offenders. In this case, the finding suggests that when directly addressed, social work faculty have a positive effect on student interest and attitudes toward offender practice.

Taken together, these two studies may offer evidence about how social work faculty have an impact on students’ attitudes toward and interest in working with offenders. This impact may be negative or positive. Whether by the direct discouragement about practice in this area or by the indirect discouragement by neglect of the topic, faculty may have a negative impact. 110

Alternatively, they may have a positive impact by directly and specifically addressing offender social work.

Therefore, if we see individuals involved in the criminal justice system as a population that is or should be important to the profession, these results suggest that the social work academy should increase the opportunities of social work students to be exposed to this type of social work in class and internships. As noted in the introductory chapter, most schools offer field experiences in offender environments. However, less than one-third are actively teaching courses specific to the offender population. Unfortunately, providing internships in this area may be somewhat late in the degree program to influence interest. Many students have already identified focus populations by the time they indicate preferences for field placements.

Therefore, offender internships may be serving to reinforce previously existing interest in this field in many cases, rather than truly encouraging students who have not previously considered this type of work. Offering coursework on social work practice with offenders may be a better choice at introducing and encouraging students to choose this area for their careers. While it may be that students who already have an interest in offender work would be the most likely to enroll in these courses, it may also serve to introduce previously uninterested students to this possibility of practice while increasing knowledge and competence in the area. It seems possible that introducing offender practice as a possibility earlier in the program (than at the point of field experiences) may increase the number of students interested in this field.

Attitudes and Experiences

While exposure to offender issues may increase feelings of preparation and likelihood to practice in this area, the analysis did not indicate that it had a significant impact on level of comfort. However, as might be expected, respondents’ level of comfort working with offenders 111 increased with their years of professional experience in this area. These results suggest a need for further research on how we might increase the level of comfort in working with this population.

The results of this study do not appear to indicate that current educational practices are making an impact on this issue.

Respondents were neutral to positive about social work with offenders in general. This result bodes well for social workers involvement in this area of practice in the years to come.

Like Wilderom et al. (1990) suggests regarding physicians and gerontology, it appears that social workers can maintain relatively positive views about offender work, while at the same time showing relatively little interest in or motivation to practice in this area. While educational exposure did not appear to significantly impact attitudes, respondents with offender experience were more positive towards this area of practice than those without such experience. Those social workers that had worked in this field felt better about the involvement of social workers with this population and in this environment. However, it should be noted that this work experience explained very little of the variance in these attitudinal measures.

While their attitudes towards their internships were comparable to those in other settings, social workers with offender internships had somewhat less positive internship experiences.

Again, this may lend evidence to the suggestion that educational experiences with underserved populations and environments, often seen as more difficult, should be carefully constructed to promote positive experiences for students. This may be supported by the analysis results indicating that during offender internships, respondents encountered ethical conflicts more frequently than respondents in other field placements. As discussed by Alperin (1998) in a study of child welfare placements, completing specific coursework on social work practice in an environment may influence satisfaction with such internships. Further research may indicate that 112 in addition to satisfaction, internship experiences may be impacted by specific coursework.

Therefore, if students are prepared for offender practice prior to placement through coursework, they may have more positive experiences during their internships. However, the analysis results indicated that having an offender internship explained a very small amount of the variance in the attitudinal scales about internship experiences or ethical conflicts experienced during the internship. Obviously, there are other factors that were not included in the model which impact these attitudes.

There was not enough evidence to support the research hypothesis about employment attitudes and experiences. It does not appear that those respondents who have worked with offenders have significantly different attitudes or experiences in their practice than those without such employment. This seems somewhat contrary to the literature, which suggests that practice in these environments can be difficult for social workers (Fox, 1997; Ivanoff & Smyth, 1997;

Travisono, 1996; Treger & Allen, 1997; Risler, Sweatman, & Nackerud, 1998; Young &

LoMonaco, 2001). However, it suggests good news for encouraging social workers to practice in offender environments.

Variety of Experiences

Analyses results supported the research hypothesis that social workers in offender environments encounter a greater variety of social problems, ethnic groups, and social agencies than social workers in other settings. The analysis indicated that social workers with experience in offender settings were more likely to encounter domestic violence, developmental challenge, and child abuse or neglect in their practice. In addition, they were more likely to have worked with Latino clients. These results offer additional confirmation that individuals involved in criminal justice agencies represent an array of oppressed and disadvantaged populations with 113 which the profession of social work has traditionally identified. The results are consistent with other research that indicates that individuals involved in the criminal justice system have often been victims of child abuse or neglect or interpersonal violence (Harlow, 1999) and that Latinos are overrepresented in incarcerated populations (Beck & Harrison, 2001).

Not surprisingly, social workers in offender environments were more likely to have had contact with law-related agencies, including juvenile court, adult court, probation/parole, and adult corrections. However, they were also more likely to have had contact with legislature and drug or alcohol agencies. These results support the postulation of other authors who have suggested that offender environments offer students a variety of potential experiences during internships (Severson, 1994) and practitioners a good range of opportunities that can fulfill different interests, including specialty areas (Barker & Branson, 2000; Needleman & Needleman,

1997; Pietz et al, 1998). This information may be important as social work faculty consider offender environments for student placements and encourage new graduates in this area of practice.

Limitations

Obviously, sampling issues, response bias and measurement error may have impacted the results found in this study. The sample may not adequately represent the population of social workers within the U.S. There may have been differences between those social workers who returned a survey to the researcher and those who did not. In addition, there may have problems with the survey instrument that confounded the results. Besides these expected issues, there were other limitations in this study that should be addressed.

The respondents reporting experiences working with offenders were largely made up of the NOFSW members. There may have been differences between the NOFSW and NASW 114 sample that were not anticipated by the researcher and affected the data. Though beyond the possible scope for this research, a much larger sample size might be able to include only NASW members, thereby avoiding possible differences between membership groups, while still obtaining enough social workers with offender experience for comparison purposes.

However, it is also possible that there are differences between social workers who belong to NASW (or other membership organizations) and those who choose not to join. At this time, it is unclear how future research could overcome this limitation.

Another limitation of this research included that respondents were asked for retrospective data about their internships and employment experiences. In some cases, it may have been numerous years since a respondent had completed their internship or worked with offenders.

This may have impacted the data. Respondents may have had difficulty accurately remembering their internship or employment experiences and their attitudes towards such experiences may have changed over time. Future researchers in this area should consider tracking attitudes and experiences from the point of internships to later employment choices. In addition, it would be useful to examine attitudes and satisfaction with internships among students in offender settings versus those in other environments, at the point of internship completion.

This research did not use instruments developed by other researchers to assess satisfaction and attitudes toward internships or employment, which may also be seen as a limitation. In order to compare results, future research might utilize instruments from prior research in other areas.

Implications for Social Work Education

It seems clear that the offender population should be of concern to social workers, as it represents oppressed groups with which the profession has traditionally identified. However, less 115 than one-third of schools of social work are teaching courses specific to this population and a relatively small percentage of social workers have post-graduate experience in this field.

The results of this study appear to indicate that social work education can make a significant impact on the rate of professionals working with offenders. As suggested in the literature regarding other underserved populations and other disciplines, offering coursework specific to offender practice and field experiences in offender environments appears to increase the rate of practice in this area.

Though more research is warranted, the results from this study indicate that the academy should focus more attention to this issue. Schools should offer courses to increase interest in, knowledge about, and competence with offender populations. The evidence suggests that the current neglect (for the most part) of issues related to this population by social work education curricula fails to encourage, or possibly discourages, students from this type of practice. In order for social workers to become more involved in this important area, the academy must begin to pay more attention to issues and practice techniques with offenders. In addition, more research is needed to explore the most effective methods of exposure to students.

There are numerous resources for social work educators that focus on practice with offenders and in offender environments. For example, van Wormer and Roberts (2000) published course syllabi for social work in this field of practice compiled from 14 universities. Other examples include Barker and Branson’s (2000) text on forensic social work practice; Needleman and Needleman’s (1997) text which addresses issues specific to practice in juvenile justice systems; Ivanoff and Smyth’s (1997) text outlines the knowledge and skills needed by social workers to practice in residential correctional settings; and Tregor and Allen’s (1997) text offers needed information to practice social work in the justice system, including ethical issues. Other 116 information sources may be particularly pertinent for forensic social work practice, such as

Rooney (1992) on work with involuntary clients. In addition to social work resources, there are certainly educational resources from related disciplines (psychology, criminal justice, and sociology) on intervention in this field of practice. There are also numerous articles and texts on crime and delinquency theories available.

The lack of forensic focus may be due to a lack of delineation in curriculum standards from Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). CSWE regulates the accreditation of social work programs in the U.S., dictating much of the curriculum content. It may be argued that it is simply not possible to expend additional resources to cover forensic issues in Bachelor or Master education curricula. However, it could be argued that if social work education programs and curricula fail to address forensic issues, they also fail to adequately prepare students to work with the diverse clientele implied in the profession’s values and mission.

The CSWE curriculum policy (2002) calls for social work programs, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, to include content in the curricula on the diversity of clients.

While the policy clearly addresses the requirement to prepare students for clients with diverse personal characteristics, it appears that it fails to emphasize the need to prepare students for diverse practice environments. If the academy fails to address diverse practice environments, which affect practice as much as personal diversity issues, then it has failed to completely address diversity. Additionally, it could be argued that forensic settings are not the only environments that are being neglected. There are numerous other environments, in which social workers can and do practice, which have issues that do not appear to be adequately covered in the curriculum. Most social work curricula approach clinical work with individuals, families, and groups from a position of voluntary involvement. Work with involuntary clients is rarely focused 117 on, despite the fact that mandatory relationships can be significantly different from voluntary ones. While social work programs may have improved their content on diverse ethnic, religious, or sexual orientation groups, we may narrow the areas of practice environments with which students are prepared or comfortable to work by primarily addressing work with voluntary clients. If students are not exposed to diverse practice environment issues in the classroom, it seems unlikely they will choose an environment seen as non-traditional for their professional career and they may be inadequately prepared for traditional (but mandatory) environments.

Forensic settings may be, or be seen as, difficult environments for social work practice.

As the pendulum has swung from rehabilitation to more conservative and punishment-oriented treatment of offenders, these environments may be seen as antithetical to the profession’s mission and values. However, CSWE’s curriculum policy (2002) also addresses issues of system change that could be related to forensic practice. It suggests that course content should include information on policies and how to cause change in delivery systems to make them more consistent with social work values. Forensic environments, or indeed involuntary environments, may be uncomfortable for social workers. Nevertheless, the policy seems to imply that programs will prepare students to practice in different kinds of organizations and systems, including mandatory ones.

The standards (CSWE, 2002) also suggest that the curriculum includes information on how social systems help or prevent individual and group systems from gaining well-being. This requirement can be applied to examining the justice system and how well it has succeeded in reducing crime or producing productive citizens. Perhaps the conservative and retributive nature of the justice system today may be seen as decreasing individuals’ ability to maintain or achieve optimal health and well-being; however, this would appear to be a reason for social work 118 involvement rather than withdrawal. If social workers only practice in environments already in line with social work values and ethics, they are unlikely to have much impact on inhumane or unresponsive institutions. If the profession simply abandons those systems or institutions which are seen as failing to follow social work values and ethics, then this researcher would suggest that the profession itself has failed to follow them.

While a few articles published in the professional literature are unlikely to provide much encouragement for practitioners to enter this field of practice, the social work academy is in the position of potentially having a huge impact on social work students’ perception of criminal justice environment and likelihood of entering this field. This researcher would argue that it is imperative for social workers to move into practice with offenders, both for the positive impact on the offenders themselves (regarded as worthwhile human beings) as well the impact on society itself. Social workers must also intervene in offender policy. Without practice with offenders, the profession has little hope of making an impact on policy. With involvement with offenders, social workers can gain the respect within the system, and then move to influence policy that will first impact the rights and needs of the offender and their families and then society itself. Without preparation, social workers are unlikely to choose this area of practice, to be effective in their practice with this population, or to subsequently influence policy in this area.

Conclusion

This research study explored the impact of social work education on professional experience working with criminal offenders. In addition, it assessed the attitudes and experiences of social workers with this population. The author suggested that the offender population should be important to the profession, as it represents oppressed groups with which social work has traditionally identified. Despite a rich history of social work involvement in the criminal justice 119 system, it was noted that relatively few social workers practice in this area today. It was postulated that the social work academy might have the most influence on professionals’ choice of practice area. A review of the literature suggested that classroom instruction and field experiences might increase interest in, attitudes toward, and the rate of practice with an underserved population.

In this study, a quasi-experimental design was used to compare the attitudes and experiences of social workers with and without educational exposure to and professional experience with criminal offenders. A mail survey was used to assess attitudes and experience using a modified Dillman method to increase response rates. T-test, Chi-square, and regression analyses were used to compare group attitudes and experiences.

The results suggested that the social work academy could have a significant impact on the rate of professionals working with offenders. Increasing students’ exposure to offender issues through specific coursework and field practicum appears to encourage professional work experience with this population. In general, social workers appear to have relatively positive attitudes toward this area of practice. Therefore, by increasing the focus on offenders during social work education, the academy may influence the number of social workers practicing in this field. However, exposure experiences should be carefully constructed to provide the most positive learning experiences possible.

120

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APPENDICES 132 APPENDIX A ATTITUDE SURVEY

In the following questions, the survey makes frequent references to “justice-settings”. For the purposes of this research, a justice setting includes any setting that primarily focuses (90% or more of clientele) on work with criminal offenders, juvenile delinquents, or those who have been accused of an offense. This might include juvenile or adult court, criminal defense, criminal prosecution, probation or parole, correctional facilities, and others.

SECTION 1 – SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION

(1) I have the following social work degrees: (CHECK ALL THAT APPLY)

BSW MSW PhD/DSW

I do not have a social work degree (SKIP TO QUESTION 45)

(2) During my social work education, I was instructed about providing social work services in a justice setting through: (CHECK ALL THAT APPLY)

I was not instructed on this issue during my social work education.

integration into the content of courses on other issues. my field placement. a specific course focused on this issue. another way.

(3) During my social work education, I was instructed about providing social work services with involuntary clients (i.e. clients required to receive services) through: (CHECK ALL THAT APPLY)

I was not instructed on this issue during my social work education.

integration into the content of courses on other issues. my field placement. a specific course focused on this issue. another way.

Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree (4) The social work classroom curriculum prepared me for practice in a justice setting.

(5) I was placed in a justice-setting internship while studying for the following degrees. (CHECK ALL THAT APPLY)

I did not complete an internship in a justice setting.

BSW MSW PhD/DSW

Please continue on the next page. 133

SECTION 2 – INTERNSHIPS

The following questions are about social work internships. If you completed a social work internship in a justice setting, please refer to your most recent justice setting internship. If you did not complete a justice setting internship, please refer to your most recent social work internship.

(6) Briefly describe the internship: ______

Continuing to think about this internship, please indicate the choice which best describes your attitude toward the statement.

Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree (7) The internship prepared me for social work in a justice setting. (8) The internship prepared me for social work in a non-justice setting. (9) Overall, the internship was a positive learning experience. (10) I enjoyed my internship experience.

Always Frequently Occasionally Rarely Never (11) At the internship, I felt I made a positive impact on clients. (12) The internship allowed me the opportunity to develop clinical social work skills, such as counseling, guidance, or skill-building. (13) The internship allowed me the opportunity to develop social work generalist skills, such as resource referral or macro work. (14) In the setting of the internship, I found it difficult to practice social work.

(15) During the internship, I experienced professional ethical conflicts between the work environment and social work values.

Please continue on the next page. 134

SECTION 3 – EMPLOYMENT

(16) Are you currently professionally employed in a justice setting?

Yes No

(17) Have you been professionally employed in a justice setting since obtaining a social work degree?

Yes No

(18) Briefly describe your most recent professional employment position in a justice setting. OR If you have not been professionally employed in a justice setting, describe your most recent social work position: ______

If you have been professionally employed in a justice setting(s), please answer the following questions regarding your practice in that area. If you have not worked in a justice setting, please answer the questions regarding your most recent professional social work employment.

Thinking about this professional employment, please indicate the items that are true.

(19) I encountered the following social issues in my social work practice: (CHECK ALL THAT APPLY)

mental illness employment educational poverty gender child abuse or neglect substance abuse parenting visual/hearing impairment discrimination domestic violence sexual trauma sexual orientation developmental challenge medical issues family dysfunction physical challenge other

(20) I have worked with clients of the following racial/ethnic groups: (CHECK ALL THAT APPLY)

African American Latino White Asian or Pacific Islander Native American or Alaska Native Some other race

Please continue on the next page. 135

(21) I had contact with the following social service agencies regarding clients: (CHECK ALL THAT APPLY)

child protection mental health legislature employment services adult protection medical health drug or alcohol other law enforcement welfare adult corrections educational juvenile court disability services systems adult court probation/parole

Continuing to think about this professional employment, please indicate the choice which best describes your attitude toward the statement.

Always Frequently Occasionally Rarely Never (22) I had the opportunity to use clinical social work skills, such as counseling, guidance, or skill-building. (23) I had the opportunity to use social work generalist skills, such as resource referral or macro work. (24) I found it difficult to practice social work.

(25) I experienced professional ethical conflicts between the work environment and social work values. (26) I felt I made a positive impact on clients in this setting.

(27) I felt good about providing social work services in this setting.

(28) I enjoyed working in this setting.

Please continue on the next page. 136

SECTION 4 – SOCIAL WORK IN THE JUSTICE SETTING

Please indicate the choice which best describes your current attitude toward the statement.

Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree (29) Internships in justice settings are not appropriate placements for social work students. (30) I would encourage some social work students to choose an internship in a justice setting. (31) I would encourage another social worker to seek employment in a justice setting. (32) Social workers can make a positive impact with criminal offenders. (33) The client populations represented in the justice system are appropriate for the field of social work. (34) The social problems of individuals involved in the justice system are appropriate issues for the field of social work. (35) Social workers should not be involved in developing criminal justice policy. (36) It is appropriate for social workers to be employed in justice settings.

Very Somewhat Neutral Somewhat Very Comfortable Comfortable Uncomfortable Uncomfortable (37) How would/do you feel about practicing social work in a justice setting?

SECTION 5 – DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION

The following questions are about you.

(38) Including any social work internships, how many years have you practiced any professional social work? ______

(39) Including any social work internships, how many years have you practiced professional social work in a justice setting? ______

Please continue on the next page. 137

(40) What is your gender? Male Female

(41) What race/ethnicity do you consider yourself?

African American or Black Mixed race Alaskan Native or Native American White Asian or Pacific Islander Some other race Latino/Hispanic

(42) How old are you? ______

Very Somewhat In the Somewhat Very Conservative Conservative Middle Liberal Liberal (43) On the following scale, indicate which description best represents your political attitudes.

(44) Please feel free to make additional comments about any of the issues in this survey.

(45) Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey.

End of survey. 138

APPENDIX B

SURVEY DATA CODING KEY

Question # Abbreviated Questions Response Coding

1 bsw? 0=not checked; 1= checked; 9=missing

msw?

phd?

none?

2 no offender education 0=not checked; 1= checked; 9=missing

offender integrated

offender in field

offender course

offender another way

3 no involuntary education 0=not checked; 1= checked; 9=missing

involuntary integrated

involuntary in field

involuntary course

involuntary another way

4 curriculum prepared 5=strongly agree; 4=agree; 3=neutral; 2=disagree;

1=strongly disagree; 9=missing

5 justice intern? 0=not checked; 1= checked; 9=missing

justice intern BSW

justice intern MSW

justice intern PhD

139

Question # Abbreviated Questions Response Coding

6 intern description 1=mental health non-fsw; 2=school-based non-

fsw; 3=crime victims non-fsw; 4=health/hospice

non-fsw; 5=disability non-fsw; 6=private practice

non-fsw; 7=other non-fsw; 10= fsw community

services; 11= fsw correctional facility; 12= fsw

residential treatment center; 13=fsw child

protection; 14=fsw private; 15=fsw court related;

16=fsw other; 99=missing

7 intern prepared offender 5=strongly agree; 4=agree; 3=neutral; 2=disagree;

1=strongly disagree; 9=missing

8 intern prepared non-offender 5=strongly agree; 4=agree; 3=neutral; 2=disagree;

1=strongly disagree; 9=missing

9 Intern positive 5=strongly agree; 4=agree; 3=neutral; 2=disagree;

1=strongly disagree; 9=missing

10 enjoyed intern 5=strongly agree; 4=agree; 3=neutral; 2=disagree;

1=strongly disagree; 9=missing

11 positive impact on clients 5=always; 4=frequently; 3=occasionally; 2=rarely;

1=never; 9=missing

12 developed clinical skills 5=always; 4=frequently; 3=occasionally; 2=rarely;

1=never; 9=missing

13 developed generalist skills 5=always; 4=frequently; 3=occasionally; 2=rarely;

1=never; 9=missing

140

Question # Abbreviated Questions Response Coding

14 sw practice difficult 1=always; 2=frequently; 3=occasionally; 4=rarely;

5=never; 9=missing

15 ethical conflicts 1=always; 2=frequently; 3=occasionally; 4=rarely;

5=never; 9=missing

16 current offender employ? 1=yes; 0=no; 9=missing

17 prior offender employ? 1=yes; 0=no; 9=missing

18 Employ description 1-mental health non-fsw; 2=school-based non-fsw;

3=crime victims non-fsw; 4=health/hospice non-

fsw; 5=disability non-fsw; 6=private practice non-

fsw; 7=other non-fsw; 10= fsw community

services; 11= fsw correctional facility; 12= fsw

residential treatment center; 13=fsw child

protection; 14=fsw private; 15=fsw court related;

16=fsw other; 99=missing

19 total # social problems 0-18; 99=missing

Mental illness 0=not checked; 1= checked; 9=missing

poverty

substance abuse

discrimination

sexual orientation

family dysfunction

employment

141

Question # Abbreviated Questions Response Coding

19 (cont’) gender 0=not checked; 1= checked; 9=missing

parenting

domestic violence

mental retardation

physical disability

education

abuse or neglect

visual/hearing

sexual trauma

medical

other

20 total # Ethnic 0-6; 9=missing

Black 0=not checked; 1= checked; 9=missing

Asian/Pacific Islander

Latino

Native American

White

Other

21 total # agencies 0-16; 99=missing

child protection 0=not checked; 1= checked; 9=missing

adult protection

law enforcement

142

Question # Abbreviated Questions Response Coding

21 (cont’) education 0=not checked; 1= checked; 9=missing

mental health

medical

welfare

juvenile court

adult court

legislature

drug & alcohol

adult corrections

disability

probation / parole

employment

other

22 clinical skills employ 5=always; 4=frequently; 3=occasionally; 2=rarely;

1=never; 9=missing

23 generalist skills employ 5=always; 4=frequently; 3=occasionally; 2=rarely;

1=never; 9=missing

24 difficulty practicing sw 1=always; 2=frequently; 3=occasionally; 4=rarely;

5=never; 9=missing

25 ethical conflicts 1=always; 2=frequently; 3=occasionally; 4=rarely;

5=never; 9=missing

143

Question # Abbreviated Questions Response Coding

26 positive impact 5=always; 4=frequently; 3=occasionally; 2=rarely;

1=never; 9=missing

27 felt good about work 5=always; 4=frequently; 3=occasionally; 2=rarely;

1=never; 9=missing

28 enjoyed setting 5=always; 4=frequently; 3=occasionally; 2=rarely;

1=never; 9=missing

29 offender interns not 1=strongly agree; 2=agree; 3=neutral; 4=disagree;

appropriate 5=strongly disagree; 9=missing

30 would encourage student 5=strongly agree; 4=agree; 3=neutral; 2=disagree;

1=strongly disagree; 9=missing

31 would encourage another 5=strongly agree; 4=agree; 3=neutral; 2=disagree;

worker 1=strongly disagree; 9=missing

32 positive impact on offenders 5=strongly agree; 4=agree; 3=neutral; 2=disagree;

1=strongly disagree; 9=missing

33 populations appropriate 5=strongly agree; 4=agree; 3=neutral; 2=disagree;

1=strongly disagree; 9=missing

34 problems appropriate 5=strongly agree; 4=agree; 3=neutral; 2=disagree;

1=strongly disagree; 9=missing

35 should not policy 1=strongly agree; 2=agree; 3=neutral; 4=disagree;

5=strongly disagree; 9=missing

36 should offender work 5=strongly agree; 4=agree; 3=neutral; 2=disagree;

1=strongly disagree; 9=missing

144

Question # Abbreviated Questions Response Coding

37 comfort offender work 5=very comfortable; 4=somewhat comfortable;

3=neutral; 2=somewhat uncomfortable; 1=very

uncomfortable; 9=missing

38 years of social work #; 99=missing

39 years of offender sw #; 99=missing

40 gender 0=female; 1=male; 9=missing

41 ethnicity 1=black; 2=native; 3=asian; 4=latino; 5=mixed;

6=white; 7=other; 9=missing

42 age #; 999=missing

43 political 1=very conservative; 2=somewhat conservative;

3=middle; 4=somewhat liberal; 5=very liberal;

9=missing

44 comments? 0=no; 1=yes