IS FIELD A HARD HAT AREA - A STUDY OF VIOLENCE IN FIELD PLACEMENTS

Although human service professionals increasingly are the victims of v iolence, no data exist on the prevalence of violence in the undergradu ate field setting, a nd only one study has addressed the incidence of violence at the graduate level. To fill this gap in the research, the authors surveyed 121 social work students and 96 field instructors at the undergraduate and graduate levels to identify safety issues, compa re incidents of violence, and to examine agency policies on violence p revention and management. Findings revealed that undergraduate and gra duate students experienced verbal abuse, as well as phys al violence. Field instructors were verbally abused or threatened by clients, but d id not report any verbal abuse by students; they also reported physica l assaults by clients and paraprofessionals. Students reported that, a lthough they received some classroom instruction on safety issues in p ractice, agencies used as practicum sites often did not have policies on violence or did not inform students of those policies. The authors suggest that curriculum materials on violence and safety issues be int egrated into the curriculum or included in field placement seminars. T hey also recommend that the Council on Social Work Education mandate t he inclusion of such content.