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AIMS: The aim was to study the infl uence of personal factors on how social workers act on signs of drinking problems in clients contacting social services for social assistance. METHODS & DATA: The 103 social workers taking part in the study were, through written vignettes, presented to a hypothetical client in eight fi ctious consecutive visits to the social service offi ce. During the earlier visits the client shows minor signs that may be interpreted as signs of a drinking problem. In each subsequent visit his drinking problems gradually become more obvious. Following each visit, the social worker was asked to choose among alternatives regarding appropriate actions. The relation between individual qualities amongst the social workers - in terms of age, sex, education, professional experience, views on the nature of problem drinking and principals for resource allocation - and the way they acted (in terms of the acting alternatives they chose at each "visit") were tested in bivariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: Social workers with long professional experience tended to inform the client earlier on available help for problem drinking than did other social workers. Demands for clients to take part in some form of treatment in order to get social assistance were made to a higher extent by social workers without a BA in social work. How the social worker looked on principals for resource allocation also affected the tendency to put that demand on the client. CONCLUSIONS The difference between active and more reluctant social workers could only to some extent be explained by the personal factors investigated. However, the fi ndings may suggest that besides education and professional experience, personal values may play a role.

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