Client Violence and Mental Health Status among Iranian Social Workers: A National Survey

Client violence towards social workers is common and its impact on their practice, physical and psychological health is well documented. The majority of research in this field has emerged from the UK and USA, and is limited in developing countries such as Iran. Thus, the aim was to determine the one-year prevalence of client violence in Iran and its association with the mental health status of social workers. A national survey of 390 social workers from the Centres for Socially Injured People affiliated to the Social Affairs Department of the State Welfare Organisation, Iran, was conducted. The results showed that 67 per cent of Iranian social workers had experienced violence with a considerably higher magnitude of psychological violence than physical violence. Psychological violence was associated with poorer health characterised by physical symptoms, anxiety and sleep disorders, and social dysfunction.