MSW Students' Preparation for Addressing Physical and Emotional Sibling Violence: A Pilot Study

Background

Given that physical and emotional sibling violence (SV) is the most common form of family violence (Straus, Gelles, & Steinmetz, 2006), with approximately 1 in 3 children experiencing SV in any given year (Tucker, Finkelhor, Shattuck, & Turner, 2013), MSW students will likely practice with individuals and families who have experienced this phenomenon. To date, no research study has inquired about MSW students’ knowledge and perceived preparedness and capacity to address SV. In this exploratory study, students in an MSW program at a university in the Midwest were asked to complete an online survey that asked about personal and professional experiences with SV. It was hypothesized that MSW students will have minimal exposure to SV in their coursework and field placements and MSW students who experienced more SV will have more adverse consequences than MSW students who experienced minimal SV in childhood.  

Methods

After approval from IRB was obtained, the data collection procedure included sending a link to an anonymous electronic survey to 507 MSW students. Ninety-five participants provided responses to questions on the Experiences of Sibling Violence Scale, Behaviors Associated with Sibling Violence and Sibling Rivalry Instrument, Capacity to Address Sibling Violence Scale, Factors Associated with Sibling Violence Scale, and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) using the Qualtrics data collection platform. Upon completion of data collection, the data were analyzed with regards to the aforementioned hypotheses.

Results

Demographics data indicated 60.6% were female, 56.4% were Caucasian, with age being M=26.79. Approximately 85% rarely or never heard SV discussed in class with 73% rarely or never hearing SV discussed at field placements. However, 41% had heard SV discussed frequently or occasionally in their personal lives. At least 75% of the participants agreed or strongly agreed that the following were associated with SV: parent-to-child physical/emotional abuse, lack of resources, parental perceptions of violence, parental experiences of sibling violence in childhood, parental stress, parental attitudes on how siblings should interact, child neglect, parental knowledge of managing sibling conflict, and IPV. Many respondents reported they were unable to apply appropriate interventions for those experiencing SV (39% of respondents) or perpetrating SV (41% of respondents). Also, there was a statistically significant difference between groups based on number of ACES and number of SV behaviors experienced F(2,42)=3.425, p=.042. A Tukey post hoc test revealed there was significant difference (p=.046) between those who had experienced no ACES (M=87.11) and those who had experienced three or more ACES (M=109.2) with regard to the number of violent behaviors (perpetrator/victim) experienced between a sibling in childhood.   

Implications

Despite issues of generalizability that could be addressed with a larger sample of MSW students, results indicated a need to consider including more discussion of sibling violence in curriculum related to family violence and child welfare as respondents did not feel prepared to address SV. Results also supported the need to consider past experiences of future social workers and their attitudes of SV as these cognitions may influence how they address and intervene in families experiencing this form of family violence.