Testing assumptions about peer support specialists' susceptibility to stress.

Abstract

Peer support specialists (PSs) have mental health recovery experience and are hired to assist others with similar challenges. This study is among the first to characterize stress among PSs, compared to data on other groups. Seven hundred and thirty-eight PSs working in U.S. mental health settings completed a cross-sectional online survey that included the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale, and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Participants' scores were compared with those obtained in prior samples of nonreferred adults and nonpeer clinicians. Comparisons are stratified by PSs' level of current symptoms, assessed with the Brief Symptom Inventory. As a group, PSs experienced low to moderate levels of general and work-related stress. PSs endorsed modestly lower levels of general stress (d = -.25) than a normative sample of community residents. Although PSs endorsed lower levels of secondary trauma (d = -.15) than social workers and greater emotional exhaustion (d = .13) than nonpeer clinicians, effect sizes are "smaller than small." A small subgroup (21.6%) of PSs with significant current symptoms experienced substantially greater general stress, secondary trauma, and emotional exhaustion than comparisons (d = 0.77, 1.04, and 1.12, respectively); despite having work conditions similar to other PSs respondents. Overall, PSs appear no more susceptible to general stress and work-related stress than relevant comparison groups of community residents and clinicians. A small subgroup of PSs experience both significant stress and symptoms-as is the case in other populations, given the well-established association between these constructs. Implications for supporting PSs and other clinicians with periods of work stress are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).