COPING AND MENTAL HEALTH OF IRANIAN SOCIAL WORKERS: THE IMPACT OF CLIENT VIOLENCE

Client violence towards social workers and its impact on their practice, and physical and psychological health, as well as the importance of coping as a factor in health outcomes, are well documented. However, there is a dearth of studies concerning these issues in Iran. We conducted a national survey of 390 social workers in Iran, and employed structural equation modeling to test the potential mediating role of coping strategies on the relationship between violence and health outcomes. Active coping was used more than passive coping and the use of active coping had a direct positive effect on health. Results indicate that the two coping behaviors are related and the success of each depends on the other. We discuss our findings with special regard to the context of social work in Iran.