Exploring Juvenile Justice System Social Workers’ Dual Role Conflicts

Social workers working within the juvenile justice system face challenges in managing dual roles of providing social support for clients in a punitive environment of incarceration. The problem that was explored in this study is the ethical and practical dilemmas of dual roles for social workers—specifically the potential for burnout and mental health injury for social workers who work within the parameters of both roles. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of a selected criterion sample of social workers. The study was framed by Goffman’s role theory. Oral narrative data were collected from interviews with eight volunteer participants. Transcripts were hand-coded, and thematic content analysis was used to analyze them. A total of three themes emerged in the data: (a) role dilemma of responsibility without authority, (b) vicarious trauma of professional-role informed approaches, and (c) frustration and helplessness with lack of clinically appropriate resources. This study may impact social change by providing new evidence to inform improving policies and practices to better support social workers with multiple roles.