| Following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pneumonia in late 2019,there was a nationwide "stigmatization" of Wuhaners,which undermined people’s social identities,created various psychological and behavioral problems,and had a negative impact on people’s mental health and daily lives.Therefore,it is particularly important for social workers to pay attention to the perceived stigma suffered by their clients.At the same time,this is both a challenge and an opportunity for the development of social work.In particular,it is necessary to explore the service strategies and methods for social workers in public health emergencies to provide useful references for the development of social workers’ service norms,and hopefully to propose feasible solutions for epidemic prevention and control as well as future management methods of related public health events.Based on the social identity approach(SIA)and subjective group dynamics(SGD),this study uses the data collection method of questionnaire survey and the data analysis method of PROCESS macro(Model 7)in SPSS to identify the mediator and moderator between the relationship of perceived stigma and post-traumatic growth,which may shed light on potential interventions.The entire data was collected in two waves at the peak of the epidemic in China’s mainland.The first wave of the survey ran from 31 January 2020 to 8 February 2020,whereas the second round ran from 18 April 2020 to 16 May 2020.Given that this study focuses on post-traumatic growth,only the data collected during the second wave of the survey were used.Finally,this study examines and explores the role of social workers in public health emergencies from the three major approaches of social work casework,group work,and community work.The results indicated that participants in the Outside Wuhan group felt more self stigma and public stigma.The effect of self stigma on post-traumatic growth was mediated by perceived identity.The mediating effect of perceived identity on the relationship between self stigma and post-traumatic growth is greater in the Outside Wuhan group than in the Inside Wuhan group.Perceived identity mediated the relationship between public stigma and posttraumatic growth more in the Outside Wuhan group than in the Inside Wuhan group.The effect of public stigma on post-traumatic growth was not entirely mediated by perceived identity,but mediated by the "Inside/Outside Wuhan" moderation.Specific interventions can be developed and conducted to improve post-traumatic growth among individuals outside Wuhan.Therefore,social workers should pay attention to social identity enhancement of this group,strengthen the targeting of their work,and use a variety of social work professional methods to promote social identity and alleviate the negative effects of perceived stigma,while cooperating with other public health professionals to promote post-traumatic growth in a multi-pronged manner.First,at the casework level,social workers need to pay attention to deconstructing and constructively reconstructing clients’ stories with respectful,empathetic and accepting attitudes and language,using narrative therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy to change clients’perceptions and eliminate perceived stigma;Second,at the group work level,social workers use targeted group activities based on a strengths-based perspective to guide group members to share with each other,to overturn and discard discriminatory labels and mitigate the negative effects of perceived stigma;Finally,at the community work level,social workers should take the community as the center,break the shackles of their profession,fully connect and reasonably use the resources of all parties in the community,and promote the active participation and group interaction of residents by disseminating scientific information and carrying out relevant community activities,so as to eliminate the perceived stigma at the community level. |
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