Social workers’ approaches to ethical dilemmas

Abstract

Summary The study objective was the identification of social workers’ ethic profiles in their professional interventions. To conduct this pilot study, we used data from a national survey ( N = 1071) carried out in Spain. The information was collected through an online questionnaire. Findings Results show that social workers face a variety of ethical dilemmas in their professional practice. Through exploratory factor analysis, it was revealed that the underlying structure of the questionnaire consisted of three categories: direct service to individuals and families, design and implementation of social welfare policy and programmes and relationships among professional colleagues. Through latent class analysis, four unique social workers’ ethical profiles were identified: professionals with minimum incidence of experiencing ethical dilemmas, professionals with low incidence of experiencing ethical dilemmas, professionals with a notable incidence of experiencing ethical dilemmas and, finally, professionals with high incidence of experiencing ethical dilemmas. A third of the social workers in the sample showed a very low probability to be conflicted by ethical dilemmas. Applications The pilot study is expected to serve as a catalyst for discussion of social workers’ ethical conduct and professional practice, to promote professional ethics training and education and to support the development of professional guidelines.