Structural Barriers and Narratives of Chinese Social Workers’ Coping Strategies

ABSTRACT

Chinese social workers struggle to remain in this emerging profession; structural barriers are a challenging issue. This qualitative research explored the structural barriers Chinese social workers encounter and the coping strategies they utilize through interviews and focus group discussions with 49 experienced social workers. Two themes concerning structural barriers emerged: (a) constraining structural contexts; and (b) immature professionalization. Three categories of coping strategies were identified: (a) building a partnership and integrating resources; (b) utilizing a professional and personal social support network; and (c) improving organizational governance and strategic management. The barriers and coping strategies differentially impacted various career stages.

KEYWORDS:

• Social worker
• challenge
• coping
• Chinese context

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of intrest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by The National Social Science Fund of China [Grant No.: 20BSH124].