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Residential social workers (RSWs), working in children's homes, have been shown to be particularly vulnerable to physical assault and threatening behaviour from those in their care and yet little research has investigated the factors related to such aggression. This quasi-experimental design examined prevalence of aggression across different grades and investigated the extent to which qualifications and training and increased experience in the job might moderate the levels of aggression experienced by virtue of increased expertise. Results did not support the common assumption that vocational training and/or experience would necessarily serve to protect staff from victimisation. Existing methods of training staff, both on and off the job to deal with such aggressive incidents should be re-examined in the light of these findings and more detailed investigations into the reasons for the aggression are required.

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