Abstract Racial/ethnic disparities in mental health remain a pressing concern in social work, yet limited research has explored whether commonly experienced stressors differentially affect mental health outcomes across racial/ethnic groups. This study investigated whether race/ethnicity moderates the association between sleep problems and mental health. Data were drawn from the 2022 National Health Interview Survey (N = 25,225). Depressive symptoms were assessed using the eight-item Patient Health Questionnaire, and anxiety symptoms were measured using the seven-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale. Sleep problems were evaluated across four dimensions: (1) waking up feeling unrested, (2) difficulty falling asleep, (3) difficulty staying asleep, and (4) use of sleep medication. Race/ethnicity was categorized as non-Hispanic White, Hispanic, Black, and Asian. Results indicated that sleep problems were associated with higher levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms. The positive association between sleep problems and both outcomes was stronger among Hispanic adults compared with non-Hispanic White adults. These differences persisted across several sleep dimensions, including difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, and use of sleep medication. Patterns among Black and Asian adults were more varied. These findings underscore the need for social work research and practice to incorporate sleep health into broader efforts to address racial/ethnic mental health disparities.
Abstract Social services in the rural world have a set of specific characteristics in terms of their organization, their professional practices, and the sociocultural context in which they are developed. However, taking all this into consideration, their core differential expressions, which ultimately condition the praxis of rural social work, must be explored in greater depth. A phenomenological approach to social services in the rural world could help clarify their “experiential” nature to advance an understanding of their specificities beyond organizational or technical aspects. Through a qualitative case study conducted in Andalusia (Spain) that implemented observation, workshops, and interviews (N = 43), distinctive spaces, times, and interactions were determined as a phenomenological pillar of rural social work. These results have theoretical implications in that they advance social workers’ understanding of intervention processes in the rural world and the intervention processes’ eminently relational character against the growing transactional trend observed in urban contexts. The results also have practical use both for the design of rural social services and rural social work practice.
This study investigates the relationships among quantitative workload (QWL), compassion fatigue (CF), family harmony (FH), and life satisfaction (LS) among social welfare workers in Turkiye. Employing a cross-sectional design, data were collected from 453 participants and analyzed using structural equation modeling and moderation analysis with the PROCESS Macro. The results showed that QWL significantly predicted CF (beta = .358, p < .001). CF, in turn, negatively predicted both FH (beta = -.325, p < .001) and LS (beta = -.332, p < .001), while FH positively predicted LS (beta = .284, p < .001). Mediation analyses revealed that QWL indirectly affected FH via CF (beta = -.116, p < .001) and sequentially affected LS through both CF and FH (beta = -.143, p < .001). Additionally, CF indirectly influenced LS via FH (beta = -.092, p < .001). Moreover, gender, work experience, and decision-making authority significantly moderated several of these relationships. These results underscore the importance of addressing emotional exhaustion and work-life balance to support the well-being of social service professionals.
