Social workers' and service users causal attributions for poverty

Area of Science:

• Social Work
• Sociology
• Psychology

Background:

• Poverty and its causes are central concerns in social work.
• Understanding perceptions of poverty's etiology is crucial for effective interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare social workers' and service users' attributions of poverty.
• To investigate differences in perceived causes of poverty between these two groups.

Main Methods:

• A comparative study involving 401 service users and 410 social workers in central Israel.
• Analysis of four causal attributions: social-structural, motivational, psychological, and fatalistic.

Main Results:

• Service users emphasized social-structural and fatalistic causes more than social workers.
• Both groups agreed on motivational and psychological attributions.
• Poverty attributions correlated with economic status for service users, but not social workers.

Conclusions:

• Discrepancies in poverty attributions highlight potential areas for improved understanding and collaboration.
• Findings suggest tailoring interventions based on differing perceptions of poverty's root causes.