Using vignettes as a ‘safe space’ for low-income children to discuss sensitive topics in social work assessment

Abstract

SummaryChildren’s voices are rarely heard in the social work assessment process, with their opinions often missing in decisions made about their lives, despite them being key contributors of their lives. As such, this paper aims to examine the usefulness of vignettes in eliciting and discussing sensitive issues, such as the lack of financial resource, with children to aid the social work assessment process. Vignettes are defined as short stories, embedded in a tangible context, about a fictional individual or situation that is relevant to a specific theme. MethodTen children aged seven to 12-years-old from economically disadvantaged families were invited to participate in this study. A two-pronged data collection method was used where (1) interviews incorporating vignettes was conducted with children followed by (2) small group discussions with social workers. Vignettes were crafted that placed the children in hypothetical dilemmas namely, (1) childcare responsibility versus desire for peer activities and (2) tight family finances versus personal wants. Preliminary findings from interview data with children guided small group discussions with social workers on the applicability of this method in the social work assessment process with children in Singapore. FindingsFindings of this research provide evidence that vignettes seem to enable access to children’s viewpoints regarding sensitive topics and provide insights on how they make meaning of and construct solutions to cope with their difficult circumstances in a relational context. It further provided insights into children’s ability to exercise agency in a relational context. ApplicationThis study proposes vignettes as a potentially useful tool that can enhance the social work assessment process, providing an avenue for children to be heard. Beyond being merely a research tool, vignettes can potentially be a useful social work assessment tool as it creates safe spaces to access children’s experiences, aiding social workers to engage in child-centered social work practice.