• Login
    View Item 
    •   UMB Digital Archive
    • School, Graduate
    • Theses and Dissertations All Schools
    • View Item
    •   UMB Digital Archive
    • School, Graduate
    • Theses and Dissertations All Schools
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Browse

    All of UMB Digital ArchiveCommunitiesPublication DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionPublication DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

    My Account

    LoginRegister

    Statistics

    Display statistics

    Compassion fatigue among adult protective services social workers

    • CSV
    • RefMan
    • EndNote
    • BibTex
    • RefWorks
    Find Full text
    Author
    Bergel, Dara P.
    Advisor
    Belcher, John R.
    Date
    2007
    Type
    dissertation
    
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Abstract
    Compassion fatigue is a relatively new concept that describes the symptoms that are experienced by helping professionals who work with clients experiencing trauma from assault, maltreatment, and/or disaster. Little research has focused on the risk factors, effects, and experiences of social workers, specifically who work with the elderly. The purpose of this study was to qualitatively explore the experiences and perspectives of Adult Protective Services (APS) social workers related to compassion fatigue. Nine APS social workers were interviewed from six urban counties of the South Central Region of Pennsylvania. The constant comparative method of qualitative research elicited categories and themes, ultimately leading to a working hypothesis, which helped to explain why this particular sample did not experience compassion fatigue. They indicated that they developed and utilized self-protection measures to stave off any aspects of compassion fatigue. The APS social workers combined personal characteristics and professional factors to develop boundary-setting mechanisms which protected them from experiencing the symptoms and effects of compassion fatigue. The personal characteristics included the knowledge and skills developed from social work education, a personal history of dealing with crisis in their own lives, specific personality traits that APS social workers believe are inherent and needed in order to succeed in this job, the personal sense of achievement that they experience from doing this type of work, their overall fondness for this type of work, the familiarity and knowledge that they have gained from this job, and the personal strengths that these APS social workers intrinsically possess. The professional factors which have assisted APS social workers in creating boundaries are co-worker support, lack of supervisory and institutional support which fosters independence, the feeling of authority that is granted by the job, and the APS social worker's knowledge of the professional resources offered by their employer, the Area Agency on Aging. Social work education, micro practice, macro practice, and policy implications center around the elements needed to implement boundaries in order to maintain a separation between the work and home environment. Suggestions for future research are also provided.
    Description
    University of Maryland, Baltimore. Social Work. Ph.D. 2007
    Keyword
    Psychology, Industrial
    Abused elderly
    Social workers
    Compassion Fatigue
    Pennsylvania
    Social Work
    Identifier to cite or link to this item
    http://hdl.handle.net/10713/1014
    Collections
    Theses and Dissertations School of Social Work
    Theses and Dissertations All Schools

    entitlement

     
    DSpace software (copyright © 2002 - 2023)  DuraSpace
    Quick Guide | Policies | Contact Us | UMB Health Sciences & Human Services Library
    Open Repository is a service operated by 
    Atmire NV
     

    Export search results

    The export option will allow you to export the current search results of the entered query to a file. Different formats are available for download. To export the items, click on the button corresponding with the preferred download format.

    By default, clicking on the export buttons will result in a download of the allowed maximum amount of items.

    To select a subset of the search results, click "Selective Export" button and make a selection of the items you want to export. The amount of items that can be exported at once is similarly restricted as the full export.

    After making a selection, click one of the export format buttons. The amount of items that will be exported is indicated in the bubble next to export format.