SOCIAL WORK STUDENTS ATTITUDES TOWARDS LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENDER FOSTER YOUTH

• Main Authors: Kolde, Katarina, Benitez, Daniel
• Format: Others
• Published: CSUSB ScholarWorks 2017
• Subjects: Lesbian; Gay; Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) foster youth; Social and Behavioral Sciences; Social Work
• Online Access: https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd/462; https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1533&context=etd

The purpose of this study was to determine and assess social work students’ attitudes towards working with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) clients and identifying factors that would affect such attitudes. LGBT individuals face increased risk factors as opposed to their non-LGBT peers and are disproportionately over-represented in the foster care system. This study assessed California State University, San Bernardino Social Work student's attitudes towards working with LGBT clients through the use of self-administered questionnaires. The data acquired from such quantitative surveys was analyzed utilizing Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) version 23. Results yielded that sexual orientation, religion, religiosity and political view rate were factors that significantly affected attitudes towards LGBT clients. It was also found that Title IV-E participants did not differ significantly compared to non Title IV-E participants in attitudes towards LGBT clients. Implications for social work education and practice include increased training, experience, competence and humility building opportunities when working with LGBT clients.