Abstract
Essentially nothing is known about the national population of social workers. Accordingly, to enhance our understanding of the individuals who make up the social work profession, this study used nationally representative data to compare the characteristics of graduate- and bachelor's-level workers with those of the general population. Data are provided on present and childhood demographics as well as a number of current perceptions. In terms of perceptions, social workers were more likely to rate their lives as exciting, to live in racially mixed neighborhoods, to be stronger proponents of controversial speech, and to be perceived by survey interviewers as friendlier than the general public. A number of suggestions for further research are provided to flesh out the initial findings presented in this article.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 261-268 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Social work |
Volume | 49 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 2004 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Demographics
- General population
- Social workers
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Sociology and Political Science