The impact of a client's diagnosis of AIDS on social workers' clinical judgements: an experimental study

This article reports the findings and implications of a study in which the effect of the AIDS diagnosis, alone and in interaction with a client's race, gender and sexual orientation, on social workers' clinical assessments was determined. The study utilized a constructed case history in which all information about the client was held constant except for his or her race (African-American or white), gender, sexual orientation and terminal diagnosis (AIDS or heart condition). Licensed social workers in one state were randomly selected and sent one case history as well as a questionnaire which required them to provide clinical assessments of the hypothetical client as well as information about themselves and their evaluations of their ability to be helpful to the client. Results indicate that respondents believed that a variety of treatment options were necessary if the client they had read about had AIDS. Further, they reported feeling uncomfortable and ill-prepared to work with such a client. The interaction effects of the AIDS diagnosis and the client's race, gender, and sexual orientation also influenced several dependent measures.