A National Study Predicting Licensed Social Workers' Levels of Political Participation: The Role of Resources, Psychological Engagement, and Recruitment Networks

Abstract

The social work literature is replete with studies evaluating social workers' direct practice interventions, but strikingly few have assessed how well social workers are faring in the political arena. This study tests a major theoretical model, the civic voluntarism model, developed to explain why some citizens become involved in politics, whereas others do not. The study sample consisted of 396 randomly selected social workers licensed in 11 states, all of whom completed a 25-minute telephone survey. Social workers were surveyed to determine the role of the following variables in explaining social workers' political activity levels-resources needed to participate, psychological engagement, and attachment to recruitment networks. The results indicate that the civic voluntarism model was significant and accounted for 42 percent of the variance. The strongest predictors of social workers' political activity were NASW membership and political interest. This study provides empirical support for the idea that being connected to social networks and having a psychological engagement with politics are crucial factors in explaining social workers' political participation. Implications for social work education are included.