© British Association of Social Workers
Social Work Intervention on a New Housing Estate
Douglas Hooper is a psychologist and senior lecturer in the Department of Mental Health at Bristol University. He was co-director of the project investigating rehousing and stress, a part of which is reported here. He has also taught, researched and practised in Boston, Massachusetts, and Melbourne, Australia.
Judith Coleman undertook her professional training at the University of York, where she obtained an M.Phil. in Social Work. She was involved with the Gulbenkian Project at the Department of Mental Health in the University of Bristol, and has worked in a social work capacity for local authorities in Coventry, South Gloucestershire and Avon, where she is currently specializing in adoption.
Bernard Ineichen is a sociologist who has done research at the University of Bristol in the Departments of Mental Health and Sociology, and has also lectured in social policy at Bristol Polytechnic. He is the author of a forthcoming book on mental illness and has contributed numerous articles to sociological and medical journals. He is currently researching into community care for the mentally handicapped.
Summary
Families moving into a new housing estate were the subject of a controlled experiment. Half received social work assistance, half did not. The two groups showed little difference in levels of health or satisfaction with their environment. The problems identified tended to be communal problems of the estate, related to its design and management.