Problem-Solving Skills and Mental Health of Social Work Students in Greece

Social work is a problem-solving scientific and professional discipline and the problem-solving ability of social work students is of the utmost importance for their education. The aim of this study was to investigate the social work students' problem-solving skills in relation to demographics, year of studies and mental health. The sample included 370 students from the bachelor's degree programme of the Department of Social Work of the University of Western Attica in Athens, Greece. The Problem- Solving Inventory (PSI) and the Symptom CheckList-90 (SCL-90) were completed by the students along with a questionnaire investigating demographics. A significant negative correlation was found between all SCL-90 dimensions and PSI scores. All SCL-90 dimensions were predictive for all PSI scales. Additionally, it was found that unmarried students had lower Problem- Solving Confidence, Approach-Avoidance Style and Total PSI score as compared with the married ones. Furthermore, students coming from urban areas had greater scores on Personal Control and Total PSI score, while greater scores on Problem-Solving Confidence were found in those attended the 3rd or 4th year of studies as compared to those of the 1st and 2nd year of studies. Implications for additional research and the curriculum of social work studies are discussed.