Research on Social Work Practice

Purpose: This study assists social work faculty to document their scholarly impact by articulating new bibliometric benchmarks for tenure, promotion, and other professional evaluations. Method: Coders collected data on the h-, g-, hi-norm, and the hi-annual indices on tenure-track faculty in the top 40 schools according to US News. Results: Faculty with earned social work doctorates recorded lower values across all four indices compared to those with other doctorates. For each index, benchmarks were calculated for assistant, associate, and full social work professors in each quartile. Analysis revealed h-index values in the top 10 schools had more than doubled from 2010 to 2025 across all ranks. The most impactful faculty were rank ordered using each index, with different indices producing a different ordering. Discussion: The findings illustrate the importance of disciplinary bibliometric benchmarks. Of the four indices, hi-annual may provide the fairest assessment of scholarly impact within, and possibly across, ranks.

Purpose: On February 6, 2023, two catastrophic earthquakes struck Türkiye, with epicenters in Kahramanmaraş, affecting 11 cities including Hatay. This study evaluated Healing Together, a culturally adapted cognitive-behavioral therapy-based psychosocial group intervention, in reducing psychological distress and enhancing emotional regulation and mindfulness among women survivors. Method: Sixty women participated (30 each from Kahramanmaraş and Hatay) in a pretest-posttest design with a 3-month follow-up. Primary outcomes included symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Results: Repeated measures analysis of variance showed significant reductions in psychological symptoms postintervention, sustained at follow-up: Stress (F(1,52) = 17.31, p < .001), anxiety (F(1,52) = 16.61, p < .001), depression (F(1,50) = 27.53, p < .001), and PTSD (F(1,53) = 8.80, p < .05). Site-specific effects revealed declines in anxiety and depression in Hatay, and reductions in stress, depression, PTSD, and improved emotional regulation in Kahramanmaraş. Qualitative feedback highlighted empowerment, confidence-building, and self-care. Discussion: Findings underscore the importance of culturally and contextually informed psychosocial interventions in postdisaster mental health care.

Purpose: This study examined how the narrative framing of a child protection case shapes social workers’ assessments of a family's situation, perceived risk to children, and family strengths. Method: A randomized vignette survey was conducted among 411 social workers in Poland, who were assigned to read either a professional report or a family voice narrative describing the same multiproblem family. Both vignettes contained identical factual content but differed in narrative perspective. Results: Across all outcomes, the professional frame produced more negative evaluations of the family, higher perceived child risk, and lower ratings of family strengths. Regression analyses confirmed that narrative perspective was the strongest predictor of assessments. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that narrative framing systematically influences professional judgments, highlighting the importance of narrative awareness and balanced case documentation in child protection decision-making.

Purpose: This quasi-experimental study examined the association between Indonesia's Kurikulum Merdeka, as a macro-level social intervention, and discrimination-related outcomes in schools, specifically its links to teacher attitudes toward students with disabilities and school tolerance climate. Method: Using nationally representative data from 333,489 elementary schools, a comparative static-group design was employed, with school socioeconomic status, school status, and regional location included as covariates. Results: Schools implementing the Kurikulum Merdeka were associated with significantly higher disability attitude scores (Cohen's d = 0.88) and tolerance climate scores (d = 1.05) compared to Kurikulum 2013 schools. Mediation analysis indicated that school tolerance climate significantly mediated the curriculum attitude relationship, accounting for 30.82% of the total association. Discussion: These findings provide evidence consistent with the view that values-driven curriculum reform is linked to meaningful reductions in school-based discrimination at scale, with implications for school social work practice in advancing inclusive education and social justice.

Purpose: This study, a replication and extension of previous work, evaluated six abbreviated versions of the DASS-21 to identify a psychometrically sound and gender-equitable tool for assessing emotional distress in adult survivors of sexual violence. Methods: Secondary data from 893 survivors (451 men and 442 women) were analyzed. Bootstrapped confirmatory factor analysis and multigroup CFA were used to assess model fit, reliability, concurrent validity, and gender invariance. Results: While the top-performing models achieved metric invariance, none supported scalar invariance. The two-factor DASS-10 and three-factor DASS-12a demonstrated the strongest psychometric profiles, with the DASS-10 showing the most stable model fit across both men and women. All tested short forms showed strong concurrent validity. Conclusions: The DASS-10 is recommended for rapid screening and the DASS-12a is a robust three-factor alternative. The lack of scalar invariance cautions against cross-gender mean comparisons, highlighting the need for gender-responsive interpretation in trauma-informed practice.

Purpose: This study developed a comprehensive bibliographic infrastructure addressing systematic coverage gaps in social work literature indexing and examined disciplinary knowledge production patterns from 1989 to 2025. Method: Article metadata was compiled from Web of Science, Scopus, Directory of Open Access Journals, and web scraping. A small language model performed classification and extraction tasks on abstracts. Results: Analysis of 62,602 scientific articles from 88 journals (1989–2025) revealed 4.9% annual growth. Empirical research increased from 43% to 72% of publications. Methodological composition shifted from quantitative dominance (69% of empirical studies in the 1990s) to methodological pluralism (47% qualitative, 44% quantitative in the 2020s). Author collaboration increased, with mean authors per article rising from 1.85 to 3.35. Citation analysis shows 17.5% of articles remain uncited. Discussion: Findings document exponential growth alongside substantial increases in empiricism, coauthorship, and qualitative methods. Persistent challenges in citation database coverage systematically disadvantage scholarship published outside mainstream commercial indexing systems.

Purpose: To evaluate selected psychometric properties of the Impact of Event Scale–6 (IES-6) for routine intake screening and potential practice-based monitoring in community-based sexual violence services and to examine gender comparability. Methods: Secondary analyses used de-identified intake data from a Southwestern Ontario trauma-service network collected over 12 years. Adult survivors (N = 893; 451 men, 442 women) completed IES-R items from which the IES-6 was derived, and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales–21. Analyses included confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), ordinal CFA sensitivity analysis, internal consistency, convergent validity, known-groups validity, and gender invariance. Results: A one-factor model with two theoretically interpretable residual covariances showed acceptable fit, good internal consistency, and convergent validity. Ordinal CFA produced broadly similar conclusions. Metric invariance held, but scalar invariance did not. Discussion: Findings provide preliminary support for the IES-6 as a brief intake screening measure; gender mean differences should be interpreted descriptively.

Purpose: Interventions combining housing with support services have emerged as a preferred approach to support homeless youth, however their effectiveness remains uncertain. Method: This systematic review examined such interventions’ impact on outcomes for homeless youth (16–25) in high-income countries, identified their core components, assessed barriers and enablers to implementation, and documented outcome instruments used. We undertook a comprehensive search for studies using randomized or non-randomized designs with valid counterfactuals. Results were transformed into standardized effect sizes, and components were coded against Housing First principles. The exploration, preparation, implementation, sustainment framework guided implementation analysis. Results: Five studies met the inclusion criteria, all were from North America and exhibited non-ignorable risk of bias. Heterogeneity in outcome measurement and timing prevented quantitative synthesis. Discussion: While some individual results, most prominently short-term improvements in housing stability, favored the intervention, this evidence overall is insufficient to conclude that these interventions, or their components, are effective.

Purpose: This study aimed to validate the Chinese version of the Cultural Humility Scale (C-CHS) and assess older adult clients’ perceptions of social workers’ humility. Method: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 233 older adults through face-to-face interviews at community day care centers. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess the scale's structure, reliability, and validity. Results: The C-CHS demonstrated a valid two-factor structure. A key paradox emerged: older clients perceived high cultural humility from social workers, yet had extremely limited familiarity with their backgrounds. Discussion: This paradox is not a failure of practitioners but a symptom of a structural crisis of professionalization and role ambiguity in China. The C-CHS is a suitable tool for assessing cultural humility among older adults in China, and this study's key implication is an urgent need for broader social advocacy to build public trust, rather than just microlevel practitioner training, to foster deeper, reciprocal relationships.

Purpose: This study examined whether an existentially oriented group intervention reduces existential anxiety and enhances unconditional self-acceptance among men under probation. Method: A controlled quasi-experimental pretest–posttest design was used with 20 male probationers (30–50 years), allocated to an intervention (n = 10) or control group (n = 10). The intervention consisted of eight biweekly 90-min group sessions structured around existential themes of freedom, responsibility, meaning, and authenticity. Outcomes were assessed using the Existential Concerns Questionnaire and the Unconditional Self-Acceptance Questionnaire, and data were analyzed with a 2 (group) × 2 (time) mixed-design analysis of variance. Results: The intervention group showed significant reductions in existential anxiety and significant increases in unconditional self-acceptance, with medium-to-large effect sizes, while no significant changes were observed in the control group. Conclusion: Existentially oriented group work appears to support meaning-making and self-acceptance among individuals under probation, offering a theoretically grounded complement to behavior-focused rehabilitation practices.

Purpose: Schools are critical settings for implementing research-supported interventions addressing students’ behavioral and emotional challenges. However, interventions developed for one developmental stage often require adaptation to remain effective and feasible in new contexts. Method: This article describes the systematic, stakeholder-engaged adaptation of self-monitoring and regulation training strategy (SMARTS)—a manualized, school-based self-regulation intervention originally designed for elementary students, translated for middle school implementation. Guided by Goldstein's stepwise translational framework and grounded in participatory action and co-production methodologies, the project involved iterative testing, stakeholder feedback, and integration of digital tools to support fidelity and scalability. Results: The SMARTS middle school version retained theoretically relevant core ingredients while altering developmentally appropriate content, structures, and supports to develop an intervention to meet middle school student, teacher, and context challenges. Discussion: Adaptation guided by empirical frameworks and embedded within a co-production model promotes collaboratively designed programs that are research-supported, sustainable, acceptable, and meaningful to those they serve.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a solution-focused cognitive group intervention (SCGI) on safety-seeking behaviors among left-behind children. Method: Seventy left-behind children were randomly assigned to the intervention and control groups. A three-stage intervention was developed based on cognitive behavioral therapy and solution-focused brief therapy. Repeated-measures analysis was used to test between/within-group effects, and linear mixed-effects models and latent change score models were employed to analyze mediating effects. Results: After intervention, the intervention group showed significantly increased perceived social support, and significantly reduced safety-seeking behaviors and loneliness. Perceived social support significantly mediated the effect on safety-seeking behaviors, while loneliness did not. At follow-up, mediating effects dissipated, though perceived social support remained negatively correlated with safety-seeking behaviors and loneliness showed a positive correlation. Discussion: The SCGI is effective in reducing safety-seeking behaviors among left-behind children. Integrating family and community support networks is necessary to enhance long-term outcomes.

Purpose: This paper examined pre-post changes in child maltreatment and associated outcomes among caregivers of children ages 2–6 years who participated in a hybrid-digital parenting intervention delivered by civil society organizations (CSOs) in Malaysia. Methods: Data were collected by five CSOs between January and April 2024 in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. The intervention included a parenting support chatbot, WhatsApp groups, and two in-person sessions. Results: Of 133 caregivers, only 36 completed both baseline and post-intervention assessments, resulting in a 73% attrition rate. No significant changes were found in child maltreatment (p = .698), though improvements in positive parenting (β= 1.75 [0.19, 3.32]) and reductions in child externalizing behaviors (IRR = 0.70 [0.53, 0.93]) were observed. Discussion: This is the first study to explore a hybrid-digital parenting intervention in routine services in Malaysia. It shows promise for improving parenting outcomes but also highlights challenges in data collection that should be addressed.

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of a teacher-facilitated digital parenting program—the Chinese version of Parenting for Lifelong Health for Young Children (PLH-YC)—on enhancing parents’ positive parenting and reducing harsh discipline, and to examine factors influencing its effectiveness. Method: Eighty-three classes in nine kindergartens were assigned to the digital PLH-YC intervention (43 classes, 1,034 parents) or the wait-list control (40 classes, 1,039 parents). Cluster-level mixed-effects models assessed outcomes. Results: The intervention group reported significantly improvements in positive parent–child interactions and parenting practices compared to the control. No significant between-group differences were observed in violent parenting practices or attitudes towards corporal punishment. Effectiveness was moderated by school location, with rural kindergartens showing greater gains in parent–child interaction and county kindergartens exhibiting larger reductions in violent discipline. Conclusion: A teacher-facilitated digital parenting program delivered via kindergartens is a low-cost, scalable approach to strengthening positive parenting in Chinese families, with particularly strong effects in resource-limited settings.