Date of Award

6-2014

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Social Work

Department

School of Social Work

First Reader/Committee Chair

Dr. Herbert Shon

Abstract

This study explored human service providers’ perception of the quality of client services provided as related to the providers’ level of self-care. We utilized a quantitative research approach to survey 54 human service providers from three Southern California agencies. An independent t-test was conducted to analyze the difference between participants’ perceptions of self-care by age, gender, and level of education. This study revealed a significant difference was found between gender and social care. Females are more likely to maintain an open, trusting relationship with someone who they can share their frustrations with, sustain balance in their life by pursing a variety of interests outside of work, and have a close relationship with someone who serves as a mentor and/or advisor. Also, a significant difference was found between gender and service delivery. When not meeting self-care needs, men felt that their service delivery was affected more so than women. Additionally, when stressed, males had more difficulty relating to clients than females. Due to the limitations of the study such as: sample size, sampling technique, validity and reliability of the questionnaire, these results cannot be generalized. For future research, it is recommended that similar studies are conducted on human service providers’ perception of the quality of client services provided as related to their level of self-care utilizing a larger sample size and a standardized instrument. It is also recommended that gender differences are studied within social work regarding self-care and its impact on job retention.

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