Is Field a Hard Hat Area? A Study of Violence in Field Placements

Although human service professionals increasingly are the victims of violence, no data exist on the prevalence of violence in the undergraduate field setting, and only one study has addressed the incidence of violence at the graduate level. To fill this gap in the research, the authors surveyed 121 social work students and 96 field instructors at the undergraduate and graduate levels to identify safety issues, compare incidents of violence, and to examine agency policies on violence prevention and management. Findings revealed that undergraduate and graduate students experienced verbal abuse, as well as physical violence. Field instructors were verbally abused or threatened by clients, but did not report any verbal abuse by students; they also reported physical assaults by clients and paraprofessionals. Students reported that, although they received some classroom instruction on safety issues in practice, agencies used as practicum sites often did not have policies on violence or did not inform students of those policies. The authors suggest that curriculum materials on violence and safety issues be integrated into the curriculum or included in field placement seminars. They also recommend that the Council on Social Work Education mandate the inclusion of such content.