Violence Toward Social Workers in Spain and its Association with Burnout, Job Satisfaction and Anxiety

The phenomenon of attacks on social workers has been documented worldwide, though most of the related research has been conducted in the United States. This study aims to expands the literature, analyzing the prevalence of workplace violence and associated factors among Social Work professionals in Spain. A total of 195 social workers in south-western Spain completed a questionnaire which the following variables: workplace violence, burnout, job satisfaction and anxiety. The results suggest that majority of social workers in Spain have suffered episodes of violence perpetrated by their clients, the most frequent types of violence being verbal attacks (94.9%) and threats (81.5%). A binary logistic regression analysis showed how the prevalence of workplace violence was statistically associated with higher levels of burnout and anxiety resulting from it. As a main conclusion, it is important to raise awareness of this occupational risk problem, as well as to develop strategies to prevent it.