Citation

Noel LT, Teasley M, Tripodi S, Canfield JP, Onifade E, Gandhi P. Adv. Sch. Ment. Health Promot. 2011; 4(4): 47-55.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, Informa-Taylor and Francis)

DOI

10.1080/1754730X.2011.9715642

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

School social workers face requests for a myriad of mental health services. Because practice tasks are usually completed according to the services requested, different types of request may affect school social workers' perceived competency in completing mental health tasks. The objective of this study is to classify practice tasks in terms of request for services and perceived effectiveness in task completion. The study further examines how these groupings of service requests, as well as years practiced in a service area, influence groupings of perception of practice task effectiveness. Using data from a sample of Midwestern school social workers, a hierarchical cluster analysis was used in requests and perceived task effectiveness classifications. Three regression models, one for each perceived effectiveness cluster, were conducted using the request for services and years practiced clusters. The findings indicate that request types had a varying effect on the perceived efficacy of different tasks.

DISCUSSION follows on how future school-based social work interventions could use these findings to tailor their efforts on the basis of school service requests and the social worker's perceived efficacy to deliver the necessary tasks to predict intervention effectiveness.

Language: en

Keywords

INTERVENTIONS; PERCEIVED EFFECTIVENESS; SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK; SERVICE REQUESTS