Florin Lazăr
Biographic Data
| ID | 3894721 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Florin Lazăr |
| GIVEN NAMES | Florin |
| FAMILY NAME | Lazăr |
| SIGNATURE | LAZAR F |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Bucharest |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-4078-0617 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 16 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 14 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 16 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2010 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
The effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions on improving social workers’ mental health
This paper reports the findings of an updated systematic review on the evidence for the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) on social workers’ mental health. We addressed two research questions: (RQ1): What are the effects of MBI on social workers’ stress, burnout, mental wellbeing, coping, and resilience? (RQ2): What is the effective structure of MBIs in relation to these outcomes? The review searched seven databases for peer…
Stress and burnout among social workers – a relation mediated by coping styles
As social workers experience higher levels of stress and burnout than comparable occupational groups, understanding what mediates their relationship could help develop adequate support services. Little is known about the mediating role of social workers’ coping strategies in the relationship between perceived stress and burnout, even more so in Romania, where the profession was reinstated after the fall of communism. We used measures of stress (P…
Retention and turnover in social work practice
In a mixed methods research, we explored various professional aspects of the Romanian social work workforce, such as employment, responsibilities, available resources, satisfaction at work, professional quality of life, among others. Through an online survey (n = 1044), we asked respondents to rate how satisfied they are with various resources available at work. We tested three models (using linear regressions) to predict satisfaction at work. Th…
Preventive measures as a mediating factor between belief in conspiracy theories and vaccination hesitancy among Romanian students
Pandemic times were considered one of the most disruptive experiences for the recent history, with large-scale implications. Vaccines became available for supporting people in their fight against the COVID-19 disease. We argue that vaccine adoption has been different depending on beliefs in conspiracy theories taking into account the preventive measures used, if any. Based on data collected from a sample of Romanian students in 2021, we investiga…
Enhancing leadership in social work
In Romania, the concept of leadership in relation to social work has only recently gained traction, without having this recognized within professional frameworks or regulatory processes yet. However, steps were made in the direction of acknowledging the importance of leadership for advancing the field, while enhancing social workers' competencies and intervention capabilities. As of right now, leadership in social work, in the case of Romania, re…
Thrown into a pit
This study investigates the perceptions of early-career social workers on their academic preparation for their social work employment in the context of the challenging road and ambitious comeback of social work in post-communist Romania. Results showed respondents felt ill-prepared in their transition from education to their employment and received limited resources from employers to support the application of knowledge and skills learnt at unive…
The ProQol-20, a restructured version of the professional quality of life scale (ProQOL)
I learned to better understand those around me and myself’
Through this paper, we aim to emphasise the impact of a Self-reflection, personal and professional growth seminar on the personal and professional development of social work students (n = 110, from the third year of study). We invited the students to keep a diary during the semester in which they recorded their personal reflections and to provide feedback on the impact of the seminar at the end of this elective course. Based on a thematic analysi…
Social work competencies
The study analyses how social work professionals from Romania relate to a set of 45 practice behaviours further classified as professional and transversal competencies. During the last 30 years, upon the reinstalment of the profession in the early 90s, Romanian social work has gone through systemic changes in the areas of education and practice. We consider that this study contributes to strengthening the workforce in dealing with the current soc…
Perceived needs and barriers related to continuing professional development of child protection social workers in Romania
Back from the Ashes of Communism
The profession of social work in Romania was re-established in the early 1990s after being completely abolished for three decades during the communist period. This article reports findings from the first national survey of Romanian social workers, which studied characteristics of social workers and their roles, tasks and types of services provided. In addition, it explores how burnout, income and efficacy were associated with social workers’ plan…
Individual, Familial and Social Environment Factors associated with Religiosity among Urban High School Students
Background Adolescence is a time when beliefs and values are developed and when the influences of the significant others take shape in the life of the future young adult and manifest themselves in affecting the level of religiosity. Apart from other factors, the relationship between adolescents and parents is essential for understanding the development of religiosity. Although numerous studies show an association between the religiosity of parent…
Romanian social workers facing the challenges of neo-liberalism
With a history of almost 90 years, professional social work in Romania once flourished up until World War II. The Communist Party disbanded the profession in 1968 and it was reinstated after the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989. Within the context of the socio-economic transition from a centralised to a free-market economy, Romanian social policy and social work have evolved from a Marxist/socialist-type ideology, one that advocates for state int…
Satisfaction with sexual life in people living with HIV in Romania, together with associated individual and social factors
The present study aimed to identify social and individual factors associated with satisfaction with sexual life (SSL) in people living with HIV (PLHIV) in contact with a community-based organisation in Romania. A standardised questionnaire was administered (N = 300) in a community-based research study. Multivariate analysis (using a weighted logistic regression restricted to the 291 respondents who answered a question about SSL) was used to deter…
Was it a Mistake to Tell Others That You are Infected with HIV?”
The situation of Romanian HIV-positive adolescents
Young people are one of the groups most affected by HIV/AIDS worldwide. For over a decade after the fall of the Communism, Romania accounted for over 50% of the total pediatric cases in Europe (Buzducea & Lazăr, 2008; Mărdărescu, 2008) with an estimated 10,000 children infected in hospital settings (nosocomial) between 1986 and 1992. Although about 3000 of these children died of AIDS, many of them have survived almost 20 years. This paper present…
Romanian social workers facing the challenges of neo-liberalism
With a history of almost 90 years, professional social work in Romania once flourished up until World War II. The Communist Party disbanded the profession in 1968 and it was reinstated after the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989. Within the context of the socio-economic transition from a centralised to a free-market economy, Romanian social policy and social work have evolved from a Marxist/socialist-type ideology, one that advocates for state int…
Back from the Ashes of Communism
The profession of social work in Romania was re-established in the early 1990s after being completely abolished for three decades during the communist period. This article reports findings from the first national survey of Romanian social workers, which studied characteristics of social workers and their roles, tasks and types of services provided. In addition, it explores how burnout, income and efficacy were associated with social workers’ plan…
Thrown into a pit
This study investigates the perceptions of early-career social workers on their academic preparation for their social work employment in the context of the challenging road and ambitious comeback of social work in post-communist Romania. Results showed respondents felt ill-prepared in their transition from education to their employment and received limited resources from employers to support the application of knowledge and skills learnt at unive…
Social work competencies
The study analyses how social work professionals from Romania relate to a set of 45 practice behaviours further classified as professional and transversal competencies. During the last 30 years, upon the reinstalment of the profession in the early 90s, Romanian social work has gone through systemic changes in the areas of education and practice. We consider that this study contributes to strengthening the workforce in dealing with the current soc…
The situation of Romanian HIV-positive adolescents
Young people are one of the groups most affected by HIV/AIDS worldwide. For over a decade after the fall of the Communism, Romania accounted for over 50% of the total pediatric cases in Europe (Buzducea & Lazăr, 2008; Mărdărescu, 2008) with an estimated 10,000 children infected in hospital settings (nosocomial) between 1986 and 1992. Although about 3000 of these children died of AIDS, many of them have survived almost 20 years. This paper present…
Satisfaction with sexual life in people living with HIV in Romania, together with associated individual and social factors
The present study aimed to identify social and individual factors associated with satisfaction with sexual life (SSL) in people living with HIV (PLHIV) in contact with a community-based organisation in Romania. A standardised questionnaire was administered (N = 300) in a community-based research study. Multivariate analysis (using a weighted logistic regression restricted to the 291 respondents who answered a question about SSL) was used to deter…
Was it a Mistake to Tell Others That You are Infected with HIV?”
Romanian social workers facing the challenges of neo-liberalism
With a history of almost 90 years, professional social work in Romania once flourished up until World War II. The Communist Party disbanded the profession in 1968 and it was reinstated after the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989. Within the context of the socio-economic transition from a centralised to a free-market economy, Romanian social policy and social work have evolved from a Marxist/socialist-type ideology, one that advocates for state int…
Social work competencies
The study analyses how social work professionals from Romania relate to a set of 45 practice behaviours further classified as professional and transversal competencies. During the last 30 years, upon the reinstalment of the profession in the early 90s, Romanian social work has gone through systemic changes in the areas of education and practice. We consider that this study contributes to strengthening the workforce in dealing with the current soc…
Perceived needs and barriers related to continuing professional development of child protection social workers in Romania
Back from the Ashes of Communism
The profession of social work in Romania was re-established in the early 1990s after being completely abolished for three decades during the communist period. This article reports findings from the first national survey of Romanian social workers, which studied characteristics of social workers and their roles, tasks and types of services provided. In addition, it explores how burnout, income and efficacy were associated with social workers’ plan…
Individual, Familial and Social Environment Factors associated with Religiosity among Urban High School Students
Background Adolescence is a time when beliefs and values are developed and when the influences of the significant others take shape in the life of the future young adult and manifest themselves in affecting the level of religiosity. Apart from other factors, the relationship between adolescents and parents is essential for understanding the development of religiosity. Although numerous studies show an association between the religiosity of parent…
I learned to better understand those around me and myself’
Through this paper, we aim to emphasise the impact of a Self-reflection, personal and professional growth seminar on the personal and professional development of social work students (n = 110, from the third year of study). We invited the students to keep a diary during the semester in which they recorded their personal reflections and to provide feedback on the impact of the seminar at the end of this elective course. Based on a thematic analysi…
The ProQol-20, a restructured version of the professional quality of life scale (ProQOL)
Thrown into a pit
This study investigates the perceptions of early-career social workers on their academic preparation for their social work employment in the context of the challenging road and ambitious comeback of social work in post-communist Romania. Results showed respondents felt ill-prepared in their transition from education to their employment and received limited resources from employers to support the application of knowledge and skills learnt at unive…
Stress and burnout among social workers – a relation mediated by coping styles
As social workers experience higher levels of stress and burnout than comparable occupational groups, understanding what mediates their relationship could help develop adequate support services. Little is known about the mediating role of social workers’ coping strategies in the relationship between perceived stress and burnout, even more so in Romania, where the profession was reinstated after the fall of communism. We used measures of stress (P…
Retention and turnover in social work practice
In a mixed methods research, we explored various professional aspects of the Romanian social work workforce, such as employment, responsibilities, available resources, satisfaction at work, professional quality of life, among others. Through an online survey (n = 1044), we asked respondents to rate how satisfied they are with various resources available at work. We tested three models (using linear regressions) to predict satisfaction at work. Th…
Preventive measures as a mediating factor between belief in conspiracy theories and vaccination hesitancy among Romanian students
Pandemic times were considered one of the most disruptive experiences for the recent history, with large-scale implications. Vaccines became available for supporting people in their fight against the COVID-19 disease. We argue that vaccine adoption has been different depending on beliefs in conspiracy theories taking into account the preventive measures used, if any. Based on data collected from a sample of Romanian students in 2021, we investiga…
Enhancing leadership in social work
In Romania, the concept of leadership in relation to social work has only recently gained traction, without having this recognized within professional frameworks or regulatory processes yet. However, steps were made in the direction of acknowledging the importance of leadership for advancing the field, while enhancing social workers' competencies and intervention capabilities. As of right now, leadership in social work, in the case of Romania, re…
The effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions on improving social workers’ mental health
This paper reports the findings of an updated systematic review on the evidence for the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) on social workers’ mental health. We addressed two research questions: (RQ1): What are the effects of MBI on social workers’ stress, burnout, mental wellbeing, coping, and resilience? (RQ2): What is the effective structure of MBIs in relation to these outcomes? The review searched seven databases for peer…
Psychology (10 works) · Social Work Education and Practice (9 works) · Sociology (9 works) · Social Work (8 works) · Political science (7 works) · Social Psychology (7 works) · Medicine (6 works) · Demography (5 works) · Romanian (5 works) · Environmental health (4 works)