The Implications of Adverse Childhood Experiences for the Professional Requirements of Social Work

Dykes, Glynnis

doi:10.15270/47-4-120

Cited by 11 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Several previous studies have reported that social workers tend to enter their professional training with high rates of adverse life experiences (Black et al, 1993;Dykes, 2011;Rompf & Royse, 1994). Results of this current study certainly support this finding.…”

Section: Acessupporting

confidence: 87%

“…Black, Jeffreys, and Hartley (1993) found that MSW students reported a significantly higher frequency of family trauma than did the comparison group of MBA students, and Rompf and Royse (1994) found that social work students reported significantly more marital discord, familial emotional problems, and alcohol or drug addiction in their families of origin than did a comparison group of students in English classes. Dykes (2011) reported 73% of social work students in her sample had experienced adverse childhood experiences.…”

Section: Adverse Childhood Experiencesmentioning

confidence: 91%

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What Doesn’t Kill You

Thomas

Beecher

2019

ASW

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The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and resilience in a sample (n=139) of Masters of Social Work (MSW) students. Perceived stress, religious faith, experiential avoidance, and mindfulness were also examined as correlates of resilience. Resilience scores for the MSW students were comparable to general population and college student norms, but ACEs and perceived stress scores were higher. Despite a broad literature supporting associations of high ACE scores with varied measures of physical and psychological problems, this study paradoxically showed a positive relationship between higher ACE scores and resilience. Regression analysis indicated a model including age, ACE scores, experiential avoidance, religious faith, and perceived stress explained 39.2% of the variance in resilience scores. Prior adverse childhood experiences and stronger religious faith are associated with increased resilience, while experiential avoidance and perceived stress are associated with lower resilience. This study provides further evidence that many students come to social work education with substantial trauma histories and experience considerable stress during their studies. Results suggest that social work educators should acknowledge risks associated with avoidant coping, and provide learning experiences aimed at developing students’ capacities for increased awareness and acceptance of challenging experiences—their own and others.

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Section: Acessupporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Adverse Childhood Experiencesmentioning

confidence: 91%

What Doesn’t Kill You

Thomas

Beecher

2019

ASW

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“…Rutter (2006) suggested that it is, in fact, the presence of adversity that allows resilience and hardiness to develop. Dykes (2011) found that the majority of the students in her study considered themselves to be very resilient, despite (or perhaps because of) early life difficulties. Whereas the social work educators in Lafrance and Gray's (2004) study expressed concern about students who were themselves needy or self-absorbed as a result of their prior exposures, they also acknowledged that such experiences might contribute to insightful and empathic practice, greater awareness of resources, and better ability to relate to clients who feel hopeless or helpless.…”

Section: Meaning For Social Work Educationmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…Lafrance and Gray (2004) interviewed social work educators regarding perceptions about students' suitability for social work practice and found that more than half of the educators interviewed expressed concern about the potential for problems due to such students' negative early life experiences, especially if these students had not adequately acknowledged and resolved these issues. Dykes (2011) agreed that some students may experience lasting effects from early adverse experiences that may interfere with healthy and effective practice. When students are not sufficiently prepared to manage intense emotions that may be triggered, they may develop coping strategies that diminish both job performance and longevity in the profession (Hogan, Moxham, & Dwyer, 2007).…”

Section: Meaning For Social Work Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adverse Childhood Experiences Among MSW Students

Thomas

2016

Journal of Teaching in Social Work

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“…Previous studies have explicated the ACEs of some social work students at a particular university as being the following: (i) Childhood abuse epitomised by emotional, physical and sexual abuses; (ii) Troubled family life through ineffectual caregiving, parental absences, unmet needs, being left behind, substance abuse, inadequate financial/material support, and intimate partner violence. The learning profiles of these students that emerged as a result of the impact of ACEs manifested during social work teaching and learning (Dykes, 2014(Dykes, , 2012(Dykes, , 2011. Their responses were typified by their narratives of distress, tearfulness, negative and struggling emotions, rationalising, and especially a fear of their own bias and partiality regarding particular issues that closely mimic their own (Dykes, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Learning Profiles of Social Work Students: Who Are You and How Should This Influence My Teaching?

Dykes¹,

Green²

2015

SWORK

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This qualitative study explores the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) of social work students on notions of students' learning profile. Data were obtained from both student and staff participants on third year level within the social work programme during the teaching of a particular module focusing on family wellbeing. The implications of strong reactions during teaching and learning are juxtaposed against the notions of students' learning profile and participants' teaching and learning suggestions. Several recommendations are made that have emerged from the study that attempt to relate to students' learning profile in social work professional learning. 577Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk 2015:51(4) LEARNING PROFILES OF SOCIAL WORK STUDENTS: WHO ARE YOU AND HOW SHOULD THIS INFLUENCE MY TEACHING?Glynnis Dykes, Sulina Green INTRODUCTIONInternationally, classrooms reflect an increasingly diverse world of differing ages, abilities, cultures, interests, motivations and difficulties (Rosslyn, 2004;Tomlinson, Brighton, Hertberg, Callahan, Moon, Brimijoin, Conover & Reynolds, 2003). The situation in South Africa is no different. The majority of South African students currently in higher education are first-generation (non-traditional) students commonly (and indiscriminately) described as underprepared, coming from impoverished backgrounds in terms of economic strength, poor schooling and socio-cultural resources, and using English as additional language (Bozalek, 2013;Carelse & Dykes, 2013;Collins & Van Breda, 2010;Hlalele, 2010;Smit, 2012).In order to facilitate learning for these diverse groups, it is vital to know who the adult learner is in terms of the role of personal circumstances in the learning endeavour, as well as to ascertain how adults learn (Merriam, Caffarella & Baumgartner, 2007;Ramsden, 1992). The current student profile at the university where the study was undertaken started to emerge during the 1980s, when the institution initiated an affirmative action admissions policy designed to broaden access particularly for students from all historically disadvantaged communities (Bozalek, 2013). For the non-traditional and adult learner, the concepts of self and self-directed learning are vital (HylandRussell & Groen, 2011) in that they feed into their individual learning approaches; this in turn advances the philosophy of learner-centredness (Wilcox, 1996).Learning styles have been variously defined in the literature. For this study the overall notion of learning profile will be used to refer to students' personal traits (such as biological, cultural and societal factors; emotional and social influences; academic record and learning preferences) that optimise the individual's learning (Powell & Kusuma-Powell, 2011;Rollnick, Lubben, Lotz & Dlamini, 2002). A learning profile consists of two dimensions (Fry, Ketteridge & Marshall, 2009;Vanthournout, Coertjens, Gijbels, Donche & Van Petegem, 2013), namely, learning styles (stable personal characteristics of the learner), and learning approaches (cha...

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The Implications of Adverse Childhood Experiences for the Professional Requirements of Social Work

Cited by 11 publications

References 40 publications

What Doesn’t Kill You

What Doesn’t Kill You

Adverse Childhood Experiences Among MSW Students

Learning Profiles of Social Work Students: Who Are You and How Should This Influence My Teaching?

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