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PERCEIVED QUALITY OF LIFE OF HUMAN SERVICE PROVIDERS AS A FUNCTION OF CULTURE AND OCCUPATION
Abstract
The perceived quality of life of three groups of human service providers in the United States and New Zealand was examined. The providers were working in mental health, alcoholism treatment, and education. The Heimler Scale of Social Functioning (HSSF) was used to assess perceived quality of life. The results included findings that the New Zealanders expressed greater satisfaction with their financial security and ability to save than did the Americans. This was discussed in light of the New Zealand welfare state approach to government. The Americans expressed greater satisfaction with friendships and their occupational choices. Several possible explanations regarding the friendship issues were offered, none of which were mutually exclusive, and included greater geographic mobility on the part of the Americans and cultural expectations concerning self-sufficiency in New Zealand. The educators expressed high levels of satisfaction with their childhoods while the alcoholism treatment group indicated they felt dissatisfied with their early years. The mental health workers expressed mixed feelings towards their families of origin and childhoods. Profiles of each of the six subsamples were presented. These profiles were based upon each subsample's responses to the HSSF. Each profile was marked by frustrations with their finances--this was especially pronounced among the American educators. Most profiles were marked by reports of feeling overworked. Implications of the findings were offered and included thoughts on which concerns faced by these human service providers might merit consideration from administrators in these fields. How the outlooks on life held by these providers might be passed on to the recipients of their services was also discussed. Comments regarding future research along these lines were offered.
Subject Area
Psychotherapy
Recommended Citation
ANAGNOSTOPULOS, MARK STEPHEN GEORGE, "PERCEIVED QUALITY OF LIFE OF HUMAN SERVICE PROVIDERS AS A FUNCTION OF CULTURE AND OCCUPATION" (1983). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI8328152.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI8328152