Does macrosocial orientation matter in frontline social workers’ professional identity? Considering the critical factors of social work development in China

Abstract

This study focused on the macrosocial orientation of frontline social workers to develop an integrated model for professional identity. We used a nationally representative sample of 3069 frontline social workers in China and conducted confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling, bootstrapping mediation, and multiple-group moderation analyses. The results show that cynicism and job characteristics, as a causal chain, serially mediated the relationship between macrosocial orientation and professional identity, and those relationships varied depending on the following three factors: social work education, licensing, and workplace setting. The findings have theoretical and practical implications for how frontline social workers form professional identity.