Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Social Work: Social Thought
Contemporary “knowledge” relies increasingly on probabilistic data. A key example is the “evidenc... more Contemporary “knowledge” relies increasingly on probabilistic data. A key example is the “evidence” for the effectiveness of health and social welfare interventions. Such claims to “knowing” require an epistemological underpinning. This paper explores the concept of probabilistic knowledge, evidence and “proof” which underpin claims for the effectiveness of social welfare interventions from the perspective of scholastic epistemology. It provides a framework based on contingent events, establishing different levels of certitude and ways of increasing it, thanks to intellectual virtues such as prudence and art. Knowing the value of the data that form the basis for making decisions in social processes, we can construct directions for social policies. Greater methodological precision (that philosophy in its various traditions might offer) may be of service to attempts in social work to conceptualize questions of effectiveness and measurement of outcomes, given their probabilistic nature.
In 2021, the Evidence into Practice Special Interest Group was launched with online events. At th... more In 2021, the Evidence into Practice Special Interest Group was launched with online events. At the 11th European Conference for Social Work Research in Amsterdam in April 2022, the Evidence into Practice Special Interest Group had its inaugural in-person sessions. This short article in the ‘Research, policy and practice exchange’ section of this new journal, European Social Work Research (a collaborative venture involving European Social Work Research Association), has been written to bring the launch of the Evidence into Practice Special Interest Group to a wider audience and to encourage participation. The article gives something of the context for the Evidence into Practice Special Interest Group and a flavour of the presentations at the 2022 European Conference for Social Work Research.
Older people may experience considerable loss when they endure emotional or social loneliness. Em... more Older people may experience considerable loss when they endure emotional or social loneliness. Emotional loneliness is related to the loss or absence of a confidant while social loneliness describes the discrepancy between the nature of one’s desired and actual social network. In this article, both concepts are examined in relation to new attendees at time-limited day center reablement programs in Northern Ireland. Using group work activities, reablement programs aim to motivate participants to continue to live independently, often in the face of later life losses. Out of a total of 91 initial respondents (range, 61–94), 13 lived with adult children (10 of whom were lone parents). Those living with, or who had daily contact with, adult children had significantly higher levels of emotional loneliness at the start of their program, but not at the end. For this sample, reductions in emotional loneliness in certain cohorts of older adults who attend these programs have been identified. ...
To add to our understanding of change processes by analyzing perpetrators' perspectives on in... more To add to our understanding of change processes by analyzing perpetrators' perspectives on intervention. Fourteen databases were searched and 27 articles reporting relevant qualitative findings were identified. Analytic coding was applied across the findings and discussion sections of all 27 study reports to form an interpretive account of the data set. Studies were also grouped according to their perceived theoretical standpoints, and a summary of themes in each grouping is presented. Study participants were largely positive about their experiences in intervention; new learning such as conflict interruption techniques and new communication skills were commonly cited benefits. Perpetrators attend perpetrator intervention programs with a range of motivations, ranging from a determination to change who they are, to a determination to avoid a custodial sentence. The most common barriers to change, found in this analysis, were cognitive distortions, emotional dysregulation, gendered...
More effective work with perpetrators of intimate partner violence (IPV) can be built upon a bett... more More effective work with perpetrators of intimate partner violence (IPV) can be built upon a better understanding of how and why they change their behavior. This article presents a systematic narrative review of female IPV survivor perspectives on the changes brought about by IPV perpetrator programs. Fourteen databases and web search engines were searched and 16 articles reporting relevant qualitative findings were identified. Survivors often reported some level of positive change through their partner's engagement with a program, but the sustainability of this change is unclear and there was also some negative feedback. From the survivors' perspective, key barriers to perpetrator change include alcohol dependency, mental health challenges, relationship dynamics, and their family of origin. Mechanisms by which perpetrators are held to account, namely, survivor validation and judicial measures, were seen as central to the change process. Survivors perceived changes in perpet...
Background. There are increasing demands on health and social care (HSC) professionals to make de... more Background. There are increasing demands on health and social care (HSC) professionals to make decisions based on bestevidence to inform their practice. To do this, they must be skilled in searching the literature. A robust approach to literaturereviewing that results in optimal outcomes is highly desirable in a climate where time and resources are limited.Aim. This paper explores the processes of undertaking a structured literature search and measuring the effectiveness of fivecommonly used health and social care databases.Method. A review question was posed using the qualitative version of PICO (Population, Interest, Context and Outcome): ‘Howdo HSC professionals (P) make decisions (I) in relation to pregnant women (C) where there is a safeguarding concern (O) regardingan unborn child?’ Databases selected for review were: ASSIA, CINAHL Plus, Ovid MEDLINE, PsycINFO and Social Care Online.Searches were undertaken from October 2014 to April 2015. A rapid update was undertaken in Marc...
Social workers are frequently involved in making decisions and in managing risks, although there ... more Social workers are frequently involved in making decisions and in managing risks, although there has been limited conceptualisation to connect these tasks with each other or with assessment processes. This lack of connection reflects the general separateness of the wider academic discourses on risk and uncertainty (often sociological and organisational, relating frequently to business or economic contexts) and those on decision-making (often focusing on psychology of individual judgement, and typically relating to medical or military contexts). This article presents and explores the potential of a ‘risk-managing decision model’, as an example of a model linking risk management with decision science. This is a psycho-social rationality model for choosing between options, such as possible care, support or intervention plans for a client or family. Rather than treating the options as ‘given’ (i.e. unchangeable), as in most decision theories, this model proposes that the decision maker(...
Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Social Work: Social Thought
Contemporary “knowledge” relies increasingly on probabilistic data. A key example is the “evidenc... more Contemporary “knowledge” relies increasingly on probabilistic data. A key example is the “evidence” for the effectiveness of health and social welfare interventions. Such claims to “knowing” require an epistemological underpinning. This paper explores the concept of probabilistic knowledge, evidence and “proof” which underpin claims for the effectiveness of social welfare interventions from the perspective of scholastic epistemology. It provides a framework based on contingent events, establishing different levels of certitude and ways of increasing it, thanks to intellectual virtues such as prudence and art. Knowing the value of the data that form the basis for making decisions in social processes, we can construct directions for social policies. Greater methodological precision (that philosophy in its various traditions might offer) may be of service to attempts in social work to conceptualize questions of effectiveness and measurement of outcomes, given their probabilistic nature.
In 2021, the Evidence into Practice Special Interest Group was launched with online events. At th... more In 2021, the Evidence into Practice Special Interest Group was launched with online events. At the 11th European Conference for Social Work Research in Amsterdam in April 2022, the Evidence into Practice Special Interest Group had its inaugural in-person sessions. This short article in the ‘Research, policy and practice exchange’ section of this new journal, European Social Work Research (a collaborative venture involving European Social Work Research Association), has been written to bring the launch of the Evidence into Practice Special Interest Group to a wider audience and to encourage participation. The article gives something of the context for the Evidence into Practice Special Interest Group and a flavour of the presentations at the 2022 European Conference for Social Work Research.
Older people may experience considerable loss when they endure emotional or social loneliness. Em... more Older people may experience considerable loss when they endure emotional or social loneliness. Emotional loneliness is related to the loss or absence of a confidant while social loneliness describes the discrepancy between the nature of one’s desired and actual social network. In this article, both concepts are examined in relation to new attendees at time-limited day center reablement programs in Northern Ireland. Using group work activities, reablement programs aim to motivate participants to continue to live independently, often in the face of later life losses. Out of a total of 91 initial respondents (range, 61–94), 13 lived with adult children (10 of whom were lone parents). Those living with, or who had daily contact with, adult children had significantly higher levels of emotional loneliness at the start of their program, but not at the end. For this sample, reductions in emotional loneliness in certain cohorts of older adults who attend these programs have been identified. ...
To add to our understanding of change processes by analyzing perpetrators' perspectives on in... more To add to our understanding of change processes by analyzing perpetrators' perspectives on intervention. Fourteen databases were searched and 27 articles reporting relevant qualitative findings were identified. Analytic coding was applied across the findings and discussion sections of all 27 study reports to form an interpretive account of the data set. Studies were also grouped according to their perceived theoretical standpoints, and a summary of themes in each grouping is presented. Study participants were largely positive about their experiences in intervention; new learning such as conflict interruption techniques and new communication skills were commonly cited benefits. Perpetrators attend perpetrator intervention programs with a range of motivations, ranging from a determination to change who they are, to a determination to avoid a custodial sentence. The most common barriers to change, found in this analysis, were cognitive distortions, emotional dysregulation, gendered...
More effective work with perpetrators of intimate partner violence (IPV) can be built upon a bett... more More effective work with perpetrators of intimate partner violence (IPV) can be built upon a better understanding of how and why they change their behavior. This article presents a systematic narrative review of female IPV survivor perspectives on the changes brought about by IPV perpetrator programs. Fourteen databases and web search engines were searched and 16 articles reporting relevant qualitative findings were identified. Survivors often reported some level of positive change through their partner's engagement with a program, but the sustainability of this change is unclear and there was also some negative feedback. From the survivors' perspective, key barriers to perpetrator change include alcohol dependency, mental health challenges, relationship dynamics, and their family of origin. Mechanisms by which perpetrators are held to account, namely, survivor validation and judicial measures, were seen as central to the change process. Survivors perceived changes in perpet...
Background. There are increasing demands on health and social care (HSC) professionals to make de... more Background. There are increasing demands on health and social care (HSC) professionals to make decisions based on bestevidence to inform their practice. To do this, they must be skilled in searching the literature. A robust approach to literaturereviewing that results in optimal outcomes is highly desirable in a climate where time and resources are limited.Aim. This paper explores the processes of undertaking a structured literature search and measuring the effectiveness of fivecommonly used health and social care databases.Method. A review question was posed using the qualitative version of PICO (Population, Interest, Context and Outcome): ‘Howdo HSC professionals (P) make decisions (I) in relation to pregnant women (C) where there is a safeguarding concern (O) regardingan unborn child?’ Databases selected for review were: ASSIA, CINAHL Plus, Ovid MEDLINE, PsycINFO and Social Care Online.Searches were undertaken from October 2014 to April 2015. A rapid update was undertaken in Marc...
Social workers are frequently involved in making decisions and in managing risks, although there ... more Social workers are frequently involved in making decisions and in managing risks, although there has been limited conceptualisation to connect these tasks with each other or with assessment processes. This lack of connection reflects the general separateness of the wider academic discourses on risk and uncertainty (often sociological and organisational, relating frequently to business or economic contexts) and those on decision-making (often focusing on psychology of individual judgement, and typically relating to medical or military contexts). This article presents and explores the potential of a ‘risk-managing decision model’, as an example of a model linking risk management with decision science. This is a psycho-social rationality model for choosing between options, such as possible care, support or intervention plans for a client or family. Rather than treating the options as ‘given’ (i.e. unchangeable), as in most decision theories, this model proposes that the decision maker(...
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