The views of social work practitioners with regards to religion and spirituality at the interface of social work practice with children and adolescents

Although a trail of evidence has grown that supports the salience of spirituality in social work practice, little exists with regard to spiritually based intervention with children and adolescents. In order to bridge this scholarly gap, this study sought to investigate the attitudes and practice interventions amongst a group of social work practitioners in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. A cross-sectional descriptive design was used to gather data from 193 social workers who worked at the interface of children and youth. The study found high levels of personal religiosity and spirituality amongst the sample and significant support for the role of religion and spirituality in a social work context.

Automated summary

While there is growing evidence of the importance of spirituality in social work practice, there is little research on spiritually based interventions for children and adolescents. This study investigated the attitudes and practice interventions of social work practitioners in South Africa and found high levels of personal religiosity and spirituality among the sample, as well as significant support for the role of religion and spirituality in a social work context.