Professional Group Membership Research Articles

Self-compassion among child welfare workers: An exploratory study

This study employed the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS) to examine self-compassion among a group of child welfare practitioners (N = 223) in one southeastern state. The SCS includes items that ask participants to report how often they participate engage in various actions in self-compassion. Overall, data indicate that child welfare workers only moderately engage in self-compassion. Analyses revealed significant positive relationships between self-compassion and age and years in practice, respectively. Additionally, those with a Master Degree and belonging to a professional member association reported significantly higher self-compassion. Being a child welfare supervisor and professional group membership were significant predictors of self-compassion. After a brief review of relevant literature, this paper explicates findings from this study. Then, the article discusses salient practice, training, and research implications related to child welfare.

We can do it! Inclusive leader language promotes voice behavior in multi-professional teams

Although it is known that leaders can have a strong impact on whether employees voice work-related ideas or concerns, no research has investigated the impact of leader language on voice—particularly in professionally diverse contexts. Based on a social identity approach as well as on collectivistic leadership theories, we distinguish between implicit (i.e., First-Person Plural pronouns) and explicit (i.e., invitations and appreciations) inclusive leader language and test its effects on voice in multi-professional teams. We hypothesized that implicit inclusive leader language promotes voice especially among team members sharing the same professional group membership as the leader (in-group team members) while explicit inclusive leader language promotes voice especially among team members belonging to a different professional group (out-group team members). These hypotheses were tested in a field setting in which 126 health care professionals (i.e., nurses, resident and attending physicians), organized in 26 teams, managed medical emergencies. Behavioral coding and leader language analyses supported our hypotheses: Leaders' “WE”-references were more strongly related to residents' (in-group) and explicit invitations related more strongly to nurses' (out-group) voice behavior. We discuss how inclusive leader language promotes employee voice and explain why group membership functions as an important moderator in professionally diverse teams.

The Identity Work of Leadership in a Professionalized Context: The Case of Nursing

Previous research into social identity has neglected to consider how salient identities are mobilized in leadership contexts and the complicating influence of professional group membership on individual ability to engage in leadership roles. Using the illuminating case of nursing we consider the challenges faced by professionals who are traditionally subordinate to more powerful groups, and whose group culture may be orthogonal with expected leadership behaviors. Through semi-structured interviews we determine the different types of identity work employed by these individuals to overcome internal conflict and create new leadership identities, with varying levels of effectiveness. Our research contributes to and develops existing knowledge concerning leadership and identity and illuminates the way in which subordinate professionals mediate de-coupled identities. We extend the literature on social identity through insights about the process of enacting social identity in a professionalized context where professionals are asked to take on managerial leadership roles.

Professional homogeneity: Global versus local effects

Theoretical approaches in studies on professionals are implicitly based on an assumption of homogeneity of attitudes among professionals. However, this assumption has never been validated. This paper examines whether professionals worldwide have relatively homogenous attitudes towards work as compared to non-professionals, and compares two competing theoretical arguments regarding the role of the state in shaping professionals’ work-related attitudes. These were tested using a multinational representative sample of 12,015 respondents from twenty-one countries. Multilevel models showed that professionals do display more homogenous attitudes than non-professionals and that the effect of professional group membership on attitudes does not vary across countries.

A study of psychiatrists' concepts of mental illness

BackgroundThere are multiple models of mental illness that inform professional and lay understanding. Few studies have formally investigated psychiatrists' attitudes. We aimed to measure how a group of trainee psychiatrists understand familiar mental illnesses in terms of propositions drawn from different models.MethodWe used a questionnaire study of a sample of trainees from South London and Maudsley National Health Service (NHS) Foundation Trust designed to assess attitudes across eight models of mental illness (e.g. biological, psychodynamic) and four psychiatric disorders. Methods for analysing repeated measures and a principal components analysis (PCA) were used.ResultsNo one model was endorsed by all respondents. Model endorsement varied with disorder. Attitudes to schizophrenia were expressed with the greatest conviction across models. Overall, the ‘biological’ model was the most strongly endorsed. The first three components of the PCA (interpreted as dimensions around which psychiatrists, as a group, understand mental illness) accounted for 56% of the variance. Each main component was classified in terms of its distinctive combination of statements from different models: PC1 33% biological versus non-biological; PC2 12% ‘eclectic’ (combining biological, behavioural, cognitive and spiritual models); and PC3 10% psychodynamic versus sociological.ConclusionsTrainee psychiatrists are most committed to the biological model for schizophrenia, but in general are not exclusively committed to any one model. As a group, they organize their attitudes towards mental illness in terms of a biological/non-biological contrast, an ‘eclectic’ view and a psychodynamic/sociological contrast. Better understanding of how professional group membership influences attitudes may facilitate better multidisciplinary working.

The Adoption of e-learning Across Professional Groups

The purpose of the study was to determine the impact of professional group membership on the rate of adoption of e-learning. The sample consisted of Engineering, Finance, Human Resources, Legal, and Marketing professionals from a Fortune 500 manufacturing company. Professional groups were categorized based on Rogers (1995) five categories of adoption: Laggard, Late Majority, Early Majority, Early Adopter, and Innovator. Survey was the method of data collection. A mail questionnaire was used to measure the rate of adoption e-learning, concerns about e-learning, and specific demographic variables. Data analysis included the use of basic descriptive, multiple regression, and analysis of variance. The statistical analysis was used to investigate the relationship between professional group membership and rate of adoption of e-learning and concerns about e-learning. Results revealed that professional groups do indeed adopt e-learning at different rates but that primary concerns about e-learning were the same. Recommendations for HRD professionals, business managers, and HRD educators and researchers are provided.

Professionals’ decision-making about out-of-home placements following instances of child abuse

Objective: The goal of this research was to study how different groups of child welfare professionals prioritize and use information to make placement decisions following instances of child abuse. Method: A total of 90 juvenile court judges and guardians ad litem, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), social workers, and mental health professionals responded to a detailed questionnaire describing four case studies of child physical abuse in which a parent was the perpetrator, the child was either 2 years or 6 years of age, and the abuse was either first time or chronic. Participants rated the impact of specific pieces of information regarding child, family, and system-level characteristics on their decision-making process. Results: Analyses of reactions to these vignettes demonstrate that professional groups use different kinds of information when making decisions about foster care placements. Social workers and mental health providers rely on information about the severity and pattern of abuse and on information about services offered in the past and parental responses to those services. Judges and guardians ad litem rely more heavily on information about the likelihood of a reoccurrence of abuse and the child’s ability to recount the abuse, whereas CASA volunteers rely on information about the stability of the family. Conclusions: Professional group membership, rather than factors such as age or ethnicity of the child or chronicity of abuse, accounts for different patterns of prioritizing and using information when making decisions about whether a child should remain in the home or be placed in foster care. The implications for community-based training and intervention efforts are discussed.

Catastrophe model for the exposure to blood-borne pathogens and other accidents in health care settings

Catastrophe models, which describe and predict discontinuous changes in system state variables, were used to model the exposure to blood and bodily fluids and more conventional occupational accidents among 1708 health care workers. Workers at three hospitals completed a survey measuring HIV-relevant exposures (needlesticks, cuts, splashes, contact with open wounds), the accident rate for broadly-defined injuries, and several occupationally relevant themes: safety climate, shift work, depression symptoms, work pace, verbal abuse, and professional group membership. A cusp (cubic polynomial) model predicting HIV-relevant exposures specifically was more accurate (R2=0.56) than a comparable linear model containing the same variables (R2=0.07). Some of the foregoing variables predisposed workers to greater differences in HIV-relevant and general accident exposures: shiftwork, climate, depressive symptoms, and work pace. Other variables governed how close an individual was to a critical threshold where a harmful incident would take place: verbal abuse, professional group membership. Similarly, a cusp model for accident incidents predicted from HIV-relevant exposures and occupational variables was also more accurate (R2=0.75) than comparison models. Two variables predisposed the worker to a greater accident risk: depression symptoms and shift work. Four other variables predisposed the worker to lesser accident risk: job satisfaction, safety climate, environmental stressors, and work pace. Compliance with the universal precautions and HIV-related training were not relevant to either of the models.

The effects of labeling bias on prognostic outlook for children as a function of diagnostic label and profession

Labeling bias refers to expectations that others might have for a person given a particular label. This study investigated the effects of labeling bias on prognostic outlook for children as a function of diagnostic labels and professional group membership. School psychologists, regular and special education teachers, and introductory psychology students read a vignette that described an elementary-school-aged boy with behavior problems. The vignette was held constant for all participants, but one of four labels (conduct disordered, socially maladjusted, serious emotionally disturbed, no exceptionality) was varied at the end of the vignette. Respondents then estimated the child's likelihood of future success in interpersonal relationships, the likelihood of further behavioral difficulties, and overall adjustment of the child. There was a significant effect noted for diagnostic label across all professionals on the interpersonal relations variable; the serious emotionally disturbed label resulted in judgments of significantly poorer outlook than any other diagnostic label except socially maladjusted. There were no other significant labeling bias effects for the other dependent measures, but a main effect for diagnostic label on judgment of overall adjustment did approach significance. There were no significant effects noted for professional group membership. Professionals should consider the use of a label other than SED to minimize labeling bias effects on judgment of interpersonal adjustment in children with behavioral difficulties. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Professionals’ attitudes about victims of child sexual abuse: implications for collaborative child protection teams

In responding to victims of child sexual abuse, considerable attention has been given to multidisciplinary collaborative response teams. Recent evidence, however, suggests that team members may be divided by differences in attitudes towards victims and offenders and about the causes and consequences of abuse. This paper draws on a larger study of the various professionals who make up one child abuse response system in Newfoundland, Canada. In particular, the paper focuses on social workers, teachers and the police, and their views about the characteristics and credibility of sexual abuse victims, and the extent to which they attribute to the victim some responsibility for the abuse. Data for the study were collected in two stages: key informant interviews; and a survey of social workers, teachers and police. The analysis includes an interpretation of the role of gender, professional group membership and experience with cases. The most striking finding is the extent to which the child's age and behaviour appears to influence differentially attitudes about the victims’ credibility. These differences complicate multidisciplinary collaborative initiatives since it would appear that those with the least real case experience, and the least knowledge about the relationship between abuse and behaviour, are the ones most likely to be the first point of contact for reports or disclosures.

Effects of professional group membership, intervention type, and diagnostic label on treatment acceptability

Differences in ratings of treatment acceptability among groups of individuals who are often involved in the recommendation, selection, implementation, and evaluation of behavioral interventions in educational settings were examined. Teachers, school psychologists, and school social workers were presented with a vignette of a 3rd grade student exhibiting a pattern of disruptive problem behavior. The vignette was held constant but diagnostic labels (LD, BD, ADD) and interventions (verbal praise and token economy program versus time out from reinforcement program and verbal praise) for the child in the vignette were varied. After examining the vignette, participants rated the acceptability of the interventions. There was a significant interaction for professional group membership by intervention type on ratings of treatment acceptability. No significant effects of diagnostic label occurred. Implications of the present study and future research directions are discussed. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Effects of professional group membership, intervention type, and diagnostic label on treatment acceptability

Differences in ratings of treatment acceptability among groups of individuals who are often involved in the recommendation, selection, implementation, and evaluation of behavioral interventions in educational settings were examined. Teachers, school psychologists, and school social workers were presented with a vignette of a 3rd grade student exhibiting a pattern of disruptive problem behavior. The vignette was held constant but diagnostic labels (LD, BD, ADD) and interventions (verbal praise and token economy program versus time out from reinforcement program and verbal praise) for the child in the vignette were varied. After examining the vignette, participants rated the acceptability of the interventions. There was a significant interaction for professional group membership by intervention type on ratings of treatment acceptability. No significant effects of diagnostic label occurred. Implications of the present study and future research directions are discussed. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Selected Predictors of Health Promotion Counseling by Three Groups of Allied Health Professionals

Three groups of allied health professionals, including dental hygienists, dietitians, and certified nurse-midwives, were surveyed to determine current practice, beliefs, and attitudes regarding health promotion and disease prevention. The study aimed to explore the power of selected variables drawn from social learning theory in predicting self-reported level of counseling. We conducted separate analyses for 10 areas of health promotion and disease prevention: high blood pressure, smoking, lack of exercise, overweight, high-fat diet, alcohol abuse, illicit drug use, stress, isolation and loneliness, and nonuse of safety belts. The predictor variables were respondents' professional group membership, confidence that they possess appropriate skills and knowledge to counsel patients (self-efficacy), belief that patients will follow through on recommendations (adherence expectation), and belief that reduction of risk will improve patients' health status (expectation of health impact). The level of counseling activity varied markedly across the risk areas, with blood pressure and weight receiving the most emphasis on average and isolation and loneliness and nonuse of safety belts receiving markedly less attention. There also was variation across the professional groups. Certified nurse-midwives had higher mean counseling scores in all topics except those related to diet, where the dietitians' mean scores were approximately the same. Of all the areas about which counseling might be increased, use of safety belts stands out as having the lowest reported prevalence, the least complexity in terms of implementation, and the most relevance to at least two of the professional groups. These findings suggest the importance of skills training, including the provision of actual or simulated counseling experience and modeling by others in the same professional group.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)