Elizabeth A. Segal’s research while affiliated with Arizona State University and other places

Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) is a valuable tool for social work researchers to examine validity of measurements and other latent constructs. Best practice recommendations are to specify and evaluate the fit of multiple models, balancing plausibility, parsimony and quantitative indices. However, little attention has been given to the conceptual and theoretical implications of CFA model variations. This article offers a brief report on the state of CFA modelling published in social work research and presents a data-based illustration of four CFA models of a measure of empathy including a single-factor, correlated factors, higher order and bifactor models. We present results from each model and describe the models’ conceptual application with substantive explanation and theoretical application to the measurement of empathy. Syntax for all models in Mplus, R, Stata and EQS programmes are provided for reference. As familiarity with CFA and latent variable modelling methods grows, researchers must understand the theory-based implications of varying measurement models and test which model best represents their data and explain their conceptual application.

A proliferation of student enrollment in online higher education, particularly in social work, may reflect a neoliberal shift from public good to private commodity. Critical theory is an excellent lens to assess whether there has been such a shift. While online higher education represents opportunities for information globalization, consciousness-raising, and social justice, it may also be an instrument of colonization related to profit generation, reliance on market transactions, and power related to discourse. Recommendations made here include targeted student recruitment and accessibility, geographically and culturally grounded knowledge integration, cultivation of market skills and student voice, and intentional outcome measures.

Although 43 million people live in poverty in the United States, disdain for government assistance continues to grow. This disdain may come from a lack of contextual understanding of the conditions surrounding poverty, which in turn can lead to a deprioritization of income-assistance programs. This study investigates the relationship of one’s social empathy and attitude about poverty-related social programs using a binary logistic regression. Participants with more contextual understanding are less likely to believe that the poor are too dependent on government assistance. Findings suggest that increasing social empathy could improve attitudes toward people living in poverty and government assistance.

Public engagement in collaborative natural resource management necessitates shared understanding and collaboration. Empathic perspective-taking is a critical facilitator of shared understanding and positive social interactions, such as collaboration. Yet there is currently little understanding about how to reliably generate empathic perspective-taking and collaboration, particularly in situations involving the unequal distribution of environmental resources or power. Here we examine how experiencing the loss or gain of social power influenced empathic perspective-taking and behavior within a computer-mediated scenario. Participants (n = 180) were randomly assigned to each condition: high resources, low resources, lose resources, gain resources. Contrary to our expectations, participants in the perspective-taking condition, specifically those who lost resources, also lost perspective taking and exhibited egoistic behavior. This finding suggests that resource control within the collaborative process is a key contextual variable that influences perspective-taking and collaborative behavior. Moreover, the observed relationship between perspective-taking and egoistic behavior within a collaborative resource sharing exercise suggests that when resource control or access is unequal, interventions to promote perspective-taking deserve careful consideration.

Social work education stresses training students to understand oppressive structural barriers and promote social and economic justice. Social empathy, which is rooted in a deep understanding of those who are different from us through contextual understanding and macro perspective-taking, offers a framework for teaching social justice that addresses critiques of the profession, such as a partisan political perspective. To explore this potential, the study examined relationships between interpersonal empathy, social empathy, political affiliation, and policy positions on issues related to social and economic justice with a sample of social work students. Findings support the teaching of social empathy as a way to promote students’ understanding and advancement of social and economic justice.

Public engagement in collaborative natural resource management necessitates perspective taking, shared understanding, and collaboration. There is currently little understanding about how to reliably generate perspective-taking and collaboration, particularly in situations involving the unequal distribution of resources. Here we examine how using a computer-mediated scenario to simulate resource gain and loss influenced individual perspective-taking and behavior. Participants (n=180) were randomly assigned to each condition: high resources, low resources, lose resources, gain resources. Multilevel analysis revealed that losing resources decreased perspective-taking and collaboration. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of this research for public engagement in environmental decisions.

Social workers are at risk for experiencing burnout and secondary traumatic stress (STS) as a result of the nature of their work and the contexts within which they work. Little attention has been paid to the factors within a social worker’s control that may prevent burnout and STS and increase compassion satisfaction. Empathy, which is a combination of physiological and cognitive processes, may be a tool to help address burnout and STS. This article reports on the findings of a study of social workers (N = 173) that explored the relationship between the components of empathy, burnout, STS, and compassion satisfaction using the Empathy Assessment Index and the Professional Quality of Life instruments. It was hypothesized that higher levels of empathy would be associated with lower levels of burnout and STS, and higher levels of compassion satisfaction. Findings suggest that components of empathy may prevent or reduce burnout and STS while increasing compassion satisfaction, and that empathy should be incorporated into training and education throughout the course of a social worker’s career.