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W Wolfensberger

Publications and source records attributed to W Wolfensberger.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

A brief overview of Social Role Valorization.

Social roles dominate people's lives, and people largely perceive themselves and each other in terms of their roles. The value people attribute to various social roles tends to decisively shape their behavior toward persons whom they see in valued or devalued roles. Those in valued roles tend to be treated well and those in devalued roles, ill. The most current and recently revised version of the Social Role Valorization (SRV) schema is presented in condensed form, showing how social role theory can be recruited for designing very powerful practical measures to pursue valued roles for mentally retarded and other persons or classes at risk of social or even societal devaluation, to upgrade the perceived value of the roles such persons already occupy, and/or to extricate such persons from devalued roles.

Persons with Disabilities↗
PubMed1999

Cross-validated factor structures and factor-based subscales for PASS and PASSING.

Program Analysis of Service Systems (PASS 3) and Program Analysis of Service Systems' Implementation of Normalization Goals (PASSING) are used internationally to assess service quality in mental retardation and other fields. In two studies, we derived and cross-validated the factor structures of these program evaluation instruments. In Study 1, based on 626 PASS 3 evaluations, four factors provided a good fit to the cross-validation data. In Study 2, based on 633 PASSING evaluations, three factors furnished a good fit to the cross-validation data. Similarities between the two factor structures, parallels with the structural and functional service dimensions emphasized in ecological approaches to evaluation, and practical uses in program evaluation of subscales based on the factors were discussed.

Chi-Square Distribution↗
PubMed1995

An "if this, then that" formulation of decisions related to social role valorization as a better way of interpreting it to people.

Social Role Valorization is interpreted as a high-order empirical social science theory that informs people about the relation between the social roles that people hold and what happens to them as a result and how to valorize (improve or defend) the social roles of people at risk of social devaluation. Because Social Role Valorization is not a "religion," people must go to higher belief systems to determine whether and why other humans should be valued or devalued, whether the social valuation of others should be promoted, and which presumably effective means to this end are morally defensible or even imperative. Whether a pursuit of social valuation in certain cases has unacceptable implications can be in the domain of either "religion" or practical trade-offs.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Quality of institutional and community human service programs in Canada and the United States.

This methodological and substantive study was based on Wolfensberger and Thomas' (1983) Program Analysis of Service Systems' Implementation of Normalization Goals (PASSING), a program evaluation method used by teams of trained raters to assess the quality of human service programs. PASSING is based on Social Role Valorization, an internationally influential theoretical and philosophical approach to structuring human services, particularly services for persons with handicaps or other potentially devaluing conditions. The data for this study were derived from a sample of 213 programs evaluated with PASSING during 1983-88 in Canada (45%), the United States (51%), and the United Kingdom (4%). The programs served mainly mentally retarded persons (40%), subgroups of clients with "mixed" (different) impairments and conditions (38%), or psychiatrically impaired persons (6%). The results showed that PASSING has adequate internal consistency and interrater reliability and yields data suitable for statistical treatment with interval-level, parametric procedures. The average level of quality of services in the sample on the total PASSING scale and its five subscales (Program Relevance, Intensity, Integrativeness, Image Projection, and Felicity) was only modest, however. Community group residences (n = 77) were of significantly better quality than community vocational programs (n = 56), and both were superior to institutional residences (n = 20). Also, Canadian programs (n = 76) were of significantly better quality than U.S. programs (n = 77). An outstanding vocational program that was not part of the study sample was used to illustrate concrete ways in which the quality of many human service programs could be greatly improved, typically at little cost.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1991

Reflections on a lifetime in human services and mental retardation.

The author, a life member of the American Association on Mental Retardation, has reflected on over 30 years of primary engagement in mental retardation and inventoried what he believes are certain changes for the better and for the worse that have occurred since the 1950s as well as certain things that have not changed. Some action implications were sketched.

Adult↗