Relationship Boundaries

The concept of worker/client boundaries (the assumed and sometimes unspoken rules that people internalize about the physical and emotional limits of their relationships with others) is important to all types of social work. The various social work practice theories include different assumptions about appropriate boundaries and thus it is important to closely examine this concept. The major aspects of worker/client boundaries include contact time, the types of information that are appropriate to share, physical closeness of the parties, the range of emotions that is appropriate to share, and the physical space in which the interaction takes place. Both personal and professional boundaries and how they interact to influence relationships with clients are considered.

Family Relational Boundaries Questionnaire (FRBQ): Developing and Standardization

Objective: The present study attempted to develop and validate the Family Relationships Questionnaire (FRQ) Based on Minuchin’s Structural Family Therapy (SFT). Methods: The study sample was comprised of 200 high school students; they were selected by cluster sampling method from Mazandaran, Sari City, Iran. The research instrument included a researcher-developed questionnaire, based on Minuchin’s SFT. Results: The exploratory factor analysis data have led to extracting 3 factors; normal boundary, enmeshment boundary, and disengaged boundary. Additionally, the obtained results suggested that the 3 elicited factors explained 62.28 variances of family relationships boundaries. Confirmatory factor analysis results revealed that elicited factors can also measure family relationships boundaries. Reliability analysis, distinctive, and convergent validity of the components of family relationship boundaries indicated that questions in assessing the components of family relationships boundaries are clear and defined. Reliability testing with Cronbach’s alpha coefficient reported a score of above 0.60 and the structural reliability was measured to be above 0.70. In other words, all 3 components can define the FRQ constructs as well. For validation, we first calculated the scores of family relationships boundaries and categorized those in a frequency table. The results scores of T and Z values revealed that the scores above the mean value indicated that more participants were aware of their family relationship boundaries. Conclusion: The present research results suggested that this questionnaire has proper validity and reliability; thus, it is proper for assessing family relationship boundaries. Therefore, the collected results can help to assess family relationship boundaries and to develop proper strategies for treatment and future researches.

Interpersonal Interaction

Chapter 4 discusses how competence in interpersonal interactions mandates awareness of how the RP affects others, and vice versa, and covers the constructs of empathy, respect, dignity, and multicultural factors, as well as recognition of the effects of stress and the importance of maintaining relationship boundaries in interpersonal interactions. It also touches on how not all health professionals share the same code of conduct or understanding of the ways in which interpersonal factors interact with treatment. Lastly it covers how RPs are often in a position to address the psychological impact of differing perceptions of situations, stressors, interactions and other matters among members of a treatment team comprised of a variety of disciplines, and how those differences may affect the course of treatment.