2015/07/27 by Michael Killian, Donald Forrester, David Westlake +1
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Child Abuse and Trauma #Child Welfare and Adoption #Social Work Education and Practice
paper · doi:10.1177/1049731515596816
openalex publication_date 2015/07/27 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
The Working Alliance Inventory remains a widely studied measure of quality of therapeutic relationships between the practitioner and client. No prior study has examined the psychometrics and validity of the Working Alliance Inventory–Short (WAI-S) in a sample of families, social workers, and trained observers within child protection services. Surveys were completed by 130 families, social workers concerning 274 cases, and observers following 165 home visits during the first wave of data collected from a randomized controlled trial of child protection services. Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted on three versions of the WAI-S and demonstrated moderate to good model fit. Convergent construct validity was found with other standardized measures. Results support the use of the WAI-S during in child protection services practice and research. Future research into family engagement in child protection social work services should focus on the working relationship.