Examining occupational stress in early-career child welfare workers

Abstract

This study examined changes in the perceptions of physical and emotional wellbeing of early career child welfare workers (n = 578) using four waves of data collected during their first 18 months of employment. Measures for physical wellbeing included self-reported physical health and a scale for sleep disturbances. Measures for emotional wellbeing included self-reported mental health and a scale for psychological distress. Compared to baseline, perceptions of physical and emotional wellbeing significantly worsened during the first six months. Self-reported physical wellbeing appeared to stabilize over time; however, emotional wellbeing continued to decline. Implications for agencies, including supervisory support and employee assistance programs are described.

Keywords:

• Child welfare
• emotional wellbeing
• occupational stress
• physical wellbeing

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by Florida Institute for Child Welfare [# 037181].