Today in light of yesterday : a phenomenological study of child protection workers’ vocational experiences as informed by memories of childhood
department or school: Health and Social Development, Faculty of (Okanagan)
department or school: Social Work, School of (Okanagan)
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCO
creator: St. Jean, Sean Armand Roy
issued: 2018-10-30T15:47:42Z
issued: 2018
related degree: Doctor of Philosophy - PhD
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: Child protection workers are routinely faced with emotionally intense and traumatic work, both personally and via the traumatic narratives and experiences of parents and children. Researchers have developed various theoretical constructs such as vicarious trauma to describe the effects of repeated exposures to the traumatic stories of children and families over time. What remains largely unknown is how child protection workers’ own childhood memories might influence the manner in which they experience and are affected by those stories. After reviewing the existing literature examining the historical, political, and policy contexts in the child welfare field, the review considered the effects of early childhood adversity on the present-day experiences of social workers. It also reviewed the concept of countertransference as a potentially useful lens through which to consider the relationship between one’s nascent memories and the effects of their work in the field. Interpretive phenomenological analysis was used as a research methodology to answer the research question, “In what ways do social workers experience, and make sense of, their own childhood memories in the context of their child protection practice?” The study used semi-structured interviews with eight child protection workers, aiming to understand their personal and professional experiences with regard to this question. The study found a consistent relationship between participants’ adverse childhood experiences and negative present-day triggers when they were faced with practice scenarios that bore similarity to their own childhood experiences. Implications with regard to worker well-being, countertransference, and risk decision-making are discussed. The dissertation concludes with recommendations for mitigating the effects of negative triggers in child protection workers.
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/67725
note: TODAY IN LIGHT OF YESTERDAY: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF CHILD PROTECTION WORKERS’ VOCATIONAL EXPERIENCES AS INFORMED BY MEMORIES OF CHILDHOOD By SEAN ARMAND ROY ST. JEAN B.S.W., The University of British Columbia, 2009 M.S.W., The University of British Columbia, 2010 A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE COLLEGE OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE COLLEGE OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Okanagan) October, 2018 © Sean Armand Roy St. Jean, 2018 ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the College of Graduate Studies for acceptance, a thesis/dissertation entitled: Today in Light of Yesterday: A Phenomenological Study of Child Protection Workers’ Vocational Experiences as Informed by Memories of Childhood submitted by Sean St. Jean in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Dr. Brian Rasmussen, School of Social Work Supervisor Dr. Judy Gillespie, School of Social Work Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Daniel Salhani, School of Social Work Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Kathy Rush, School of Nursing University Examiner Dr. Lucyna Lach, School of Social Work, McGill University External Examiner iii Abstract Child protection workers are routinely faced with emotionally intense and traumatic work, both personally and via the traumatic narratives and experiences of parents and children. Researchers have developed various theoretical constructs such as vicarious trauma to describe the effects of repeated exposures to the traumatic stories of children and families over time. What remains largely unknown is how child protection workers’ own childhood memories might influence the manner in which they experience and are affected by those stories. After reviewing the existing literature examining the historical, political, and policy contexts in the child welfare field, the review c…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2018-11
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0373189
language: eng
degree discipline: Interdisciplinary Studies
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/67725