Levels Of Secondary Traumatic Stress Research Articles

The relationship between secondary traumatic stress level and perceived caring behaviors among nursing students

Objective: Secondary traumatic stress in nursing students has adverse effects on students' care behaviors and students' professional and personal lives. The aim of this study: To examine the relationship between secondary traumatic stress levels and perceived caring behaviors of nursing students. Material and Methods: The study was designed as a descriptive and cross-sectional study. The study was conducted with 147 students studying in the nursing department of a foundation university in Istanbul. 60% of the population was reached. The data of the study were collected by using the "Sociodemographic and Occupational Characteristics Information Form", "Caring Behaviors Scale" and "Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale" through Google Form sent online to the participants. Descriptive data were analyzed using mean, median, minimum, maximum, frequency and standard deviation. Results: The study was conducted with a total of 147 nursing students, 83.0% (n=122) female and 17.0% (n=25) male. The total score of the STS scale of the nursing students participating in the study was 32.1 ± 12.6, and the mean score of the CBS was 5.57 ± 0.52. It was found that there was a significant difference between the mean score of secondary traumatic stress in terms of "willingly choosing the department they studied", "being affected by the trauma that patients were exposed to during the clinical practice period", and "thinking that you need psychological support due to an event that affected you during clinical practice" (p<0.05). It was found that there was a significant difference between the Care Behaviors Scale sub-dimension scores in terms of "Gender", "Finding oneself successful in clinical practice during the student period" (p<0.05). Conclusion: According to the results of this study, while secondary traumatic stress was low in nursing students, the perception of caring behaviors was found to be high. There was no relationship between secondary traumatic stress and the perception of caring behaviors in nursing students.

Zentangle® Pilot Study: A Mindfulness Exercise for Oncology Nurses.

This study introduced Zentangle®, which involves drawing simple, repetitive lines and shapes to create patterns, as a tool to promote wellness for oncology nurses in a clinical practice setting. The purpose of this study was to determine whether Zentangle used as a meditative activity in an acute time frame decreased stress, fatigue, and burnout while increasing professional quality of life and well-being in oncology nurses. Twenty-six oncology nurses participated in a two-hour Zentangle class and received materials to complete art over four weeks. The Perceived Stress Scale, the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale, the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System-29, and the Professional Quality of Life measure were administered at selected periods. Twenty-four participants completed the study. Nurses' well-being, socialization, anxiety, fatigue, secondary traumatic stress levels, and stress levels improved significantly. Most participants noted they would continue using Zentangle after the study. Zentangle is another tool to advance nurses' wellness by encouraging self-care.

Adverse Childhood Experiences, Trauma Exposure, and Stress Among MSW Students: Promoting Well-Being Through Perceived Adequacy of Self-Care

ABSTRACT Among graduate social work students, experiences of childhood adversity and trauma, along with secondary exposure to others’ trauma, can result in negative effects. Unaddressed, this may lead to secondary traumatic stress, burnout, or difficulty sustaining effective practice. Self-care strategies that adequately promote well-being and resilience may counter negative effects. This cross-sectional study explored associations between students’ reported childhood adversity, trauma, recent stress, well-being, resilience, and perceived adequacy of self-care. Students from two public universities (N = 362) completed surveys that included measures for childhood adversity, potentially traumatic events, recent stress, secondary traumatic stress, burnout, compassion satisfaction, well-being, resilience, and perceived adequacy of self-care. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate analyses demonstrated students experienced higher rates of four or more adverse childhood experiences compared to the general population (34% vs. 13%); 70% reported four or more potentially traumatic events. Despite high levels of adversity and trauma, students reported average levels of personal well-being, high levels of resilience, average-to-high levels of compassion satisfaction, and low-to-average levels of secondary traumatic stress and burnout. Adversity and trauma were positively associated with secondary traumatic stress, and negatively associated with well-being. Final models suggest perceived adequacy of self-care may support well-being, resilience, and protect against negative effects.

The prevalence of and factors associated with depressive and anxiety symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic among healthcare workers in South Africa.

Healthcare workers globally have experienced increased social and occupational stressors in their working environments and communities because of COVID-19 which has increased the risk of mental health concerns. This study aimed to explore the prevalence and correlates of depression and anxiety amongst healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Western Cape, South Africa. In addition, role-related stressors and coping strategies were explored. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of doctors and nurses working in public healthcare facilities across the Western Cape, South Africa. Participants completed the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D), the Professional Quality of Life (PROQL-R-IV), and the Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced (COPE-R) scales. Data were analysed using multivariable logistic regression analysis. The sample comprised 416 health workers (303 nurses, 113 doctors). Almost 40% of the sample (n = 161) had CES-D scores suggestive of probable depression, and 45.9% (n = 186) had GAD-7 scores suggestive of anxiety. In the logistic regression model, the odds of probable depression were higher for female participants compared to men (OR = 2.26, 95% CI 1.00-5.10) and for participants who used behavioural disengagement as a coping strategy (OR = 1.50, 95% CI 1.14-1.97). More time spent working with COVID patients was associated with increased odds of having high levels of anxiety [OR = 1.13, 95% CI (1.02-1.25). Substance use (OR = 1.39, 95% CI 1.08-1.81), venting (OR = 1.31, 95% CI 1.01-1.70), and self-blame (OR = 1.42, 95% CI 1.08-1.87) were some of the coping strategies used by healthcare workers. High levels of secondary traumatic stress and burnout were found to increase the odds of both depression and anxiety. Findings of this study suggest that there is a high prevalence of mental health issues among healthcare workers, and a critical need to focus on workplace mental health interventions to support these frontline workers.

Compassion fatigue and the meaning in life as predictors of secondary traumatic stress in nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study aimed to investigate the relationship among secondary traumatic stress, compassion fatigue, and meaning in life in nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Changes in working conditions during the pandemic also changed the needs of nurses. In addition to physical health, the COVID-19 pandemic led to many psychosocial health problems such as sleep disturbances, depression, and traumatic stress. This makes nurses vulnerable to psychological side effects of the pandemic. A cross-sectional study was conducted. This study was conducted with 166 nurses. Data were collected online at May-June 2021. A Personal Information Form, the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale, Compassion Fatigue Scale, and Meaning in Life Scale were used. The STROBE reporting checklist was followed. As secondary traumatic stress levels increase, compassion fatigue increases, meaning in life decreases, and the search for meaning in life increases. Predictors of secondary traumatic stress were shown to be compassion fatigue, change in sleep habits, meaning in life, marital status, and having a chronic illness. This suggested that working during the pandemic posed significant risks in terms of manifesting negative consequences on mental health in the long term.

How Mental Health Nurses Report Their Compassion Fatigue and Compassion Satisfaction: A Cross-Sectional Study and the Implications for Healthcare Leaders

Compassion fatigue is the cost of caring for others in emotional pain where the helping professional absorbs the trauma of those they help and cannot detach emotionally at the end of the day. Stressful and perceived unsupportive work environments may leave the caregiver at a heightened risk for compassion fatigue. To study the level of compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction experienced by mental health nurses. A descriptive, cross-sectional, electronic survey design was utilized. The Professional Quality of Life Scale-5 was used. The study was conducted at a large, urban hospital that exclusively treats patients with mental health and addiction issues located in Ontario, Canada. The sample included all nurses who were listed on the hospital’s Email list. All nurses who are displayed on this list are mental health nurses. Analyses were conducted to assess for differences between the characteristics and the subscales of professional quality of life. One hundred and forty-eight mental health nurses completed a questionnaire. The response rate was 21%. Seventy-six percent reported moderate levels of burnout, 59% reported moderate levels of secondary traumatic stress, and 21% reported high levels of compassion satisfaction. Predictors were seen for the characteristics of gender, ethnicity, marital status, area, exposure to violence and support felt. Compassion fatigue has clear implications. Organizations willing to invest in reducing it, have the potential to improve patient outcomes and the well-being of nurses. The majority of mental health nurses reported moderate levels for each of the subscales.

Examination of psychological capital and secondary traumatic stress levels of professionals attended to disaster studies

This research was conducted with the aim of examining the psychological capital and secondary traumatic stress levels of health professionals who have experience working in the field of disaster. It is a descriptive study. The study’s sample consists of 183 health professionals who work in an emergency service or 112 emergency health services of a provincial Health Directorate, who participate in numerous disaster interventions in Turkey, and who have participated in any disaster. As data collecting methods, the “Socio-demographic form” “Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale” and the “Psychological Capital Scale Short Form” were utilized. In the study, it is concluded that the secondary traumatic stress scale mean score and the psychological capital scale mean score of physicians, nurses and paramedics were moderate, and there is a negative significant relationship between both scales. Negative and significant relationships were found between hope, optimism and resilience, which are sub-dimensions of psychological capital, and secondary traumatic stress. It is concluded that the high level of psychological capital reduces the secondary stress level.

Role of Professional Values in the Quality of Professional Life of Nurses

Background and Objective: Professional values can play an important role in the quality of the professional life of nurses by motivating them to deal with ethical issues and guiding the way they interact with patients and their colleagues. This study aimed to determine the role of professional values on the quality of professional life of nurses working in Ayatollah Khatami Hospital in Khatam City, Yazd, Iran, in 2021. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive-cross-sectional research, the study population and research sample were the same. Accordingly, 103 nurses working in Ayatollah Khatami Hospital affiliated with Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, central Iran, were included in the study by census method. The data collection tools were questionnaires of demographic information, professional quality of life, and Nurses Professional Values Scale-Revised. Data analysis was performed using descriptive and inferential statistics in SPSS (version 21). Results: The average score of professional values was 105.91±13.38. Among the dimensions of quality of professional life, the highest and lowest mean values were related to the burnout dimension (36.06±5.50) and the secondary traumatic stress dimension (21.30±3.46), respectively. There was an inverse and significant statistical relationship between secondary traumatic stress and professional values (r=-0.175, P=0.03). There was no significant relationship between the two dimensions of job burnout and compassion fatigue with professional values. The regression analysis showed that professional values can be considered a predictor of secondary traumatic stress. Conclusion: Based on the results, nurses who provided care based on professional values had a lower level of secondary traumatic stress. Therefore, nursing managers should strive to promote awareness of professional values and provide necessary working conditions to reduce secondary traumatic stress in nurses.

Emotional exhaustion and traumatic stress among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: Longitudinal changes and protective factors

Background Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at high risk of experiencing work-related stress, burnout syndrome, and depression, especially during infectious disease outbreaks like COVID-19. Contributing factors include increased workload, lack of personal protective equipment, and inadequate support from the healthcare administration. Longitudinal studies have shown that the mental health status of HCWs has deteriorated over time. Social support and compassion satisfaction (CS) are protective factors that can mitigate adverse mental health effects. The present longitudinal study examined the mental health status of HCWs during the COVID-19 outbreak and aimed to identify potential predictors and protective factors. Methods The study comprised 386 healthcare workers in Hungary and was conducted in two waves (T1 and T2) from January 2021 to January 2022. Participants completed an online survey including the Professional Quality of Life Scale, Maslach Burnout Inventory, demographic and work-related background factors. Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, and a cross-lagged panel model (CLPM). Results Frontline HCWs had higher levels of secondary traumatic stress (STS) and emotional exhaustion (EE) than non-frontline healthcare workers. Both groups experienced significant increases in these measures between T1 and T2. The CLPM indicated that EE had a significant lagged effect on STS among frontline workers, while STS had a significant lagged effect on EE among non-frontline workers. CS had a significant protective effect on both STS and EE in both groups. Conclusions The findings suggest that CS protects EE and STS, particularly among frontline HCWs. The study also showed that different causative relationships exist between these factors among frontline and non-frontline HCWs, which underlines the possible cyclical relationship between the two depending on the circumstances. The results provide insights into the protective role of positive work experiences and the importance of considering the needs of both frontline and non-frontline HCWs in preventive intervention programs.

Who Will Save the Savior? The Relationship between Therapists' Secondary Traumatic Stress, Secondary Stress Self-Efficacy, and Attitudes toward Trauma-Informed Care.

Therapists who treat traumatized preschool children are vulnerable to secondary traumatic stress. This study investigates the relationship between therapists' attitudes toward trauma-informed care (TIC) and risk of secondary traumatic stress, with secondary traumatic self-efficacy as a mediating variable. Participants included Israeli social workers (N = 101) in preschool trauma frameworks, with 97.2% following trauma-informed care principles. The questionnaire combined three instruments: attitudes related to TIC (ARTIC), secondary traumatic stress (STS), and secondary traumatic stress efficacy (STSE). Therapists with less positive attitudes toward trauma-informed care showed higher levels of secondary traumatic stress (r[99] = -0.23, p = 0.019), while more positive attitudes predicted higher levels of secondary traumatic stress efficacy (r[99] = 40, p < 0.001). Secondary traumatic self-efficacy mediated the relationship between attitudes toward trauma-informed care and secondary traumatic stress (z = 2.72, p = 0.006). Therapists' secondary traumatic stress may be reduced by improving positive attitudes toward trauma-informed care and enhancing their secondary traumatic self-efficacy.

Secondary traumatic stress among pediatric nurses: Relationship to peer-organizational support and emotional labor strategies

BackgroundEven though the cost of caring is acknowledged in multiple helping professions, research into secondary traumatic stress in pediatric nursing remains limited. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of secondary traumatic stress among pediatric nurses and examine its correlation with demographics, perceived organizational support, peer support, and emotional labor strategies. Design and methodsA total of 186 nurses working in a pediatric hospital completed questionnaires addressing secondary traumatic stress, perceived organizational support, peer support, and emotional labor strategies. Through correlational and mediation analyses, we explored the relationships between the study variables. ResultsApproximately 77.8% of the pediatric nurses surveyed exhibited moderate to severe secondary traumatic stress. Notably, the level of secondary traumatic stress did not correlate with demographic variables. Increased peer support was significantly associated with a heightened use of all emotional labor strategies (surface acting, deep acting, and natural expression) and with elevated levels of secondary traumatic stress. However, surface acting was the sole mediator of this relationship. Conversely, greater perceived organizational support correlated with decreased levels of surface acting and secondary traumatic stress, with surface acting serving as the mediator. ConclusionsPediatric nurses are greatly impacted by secondary traumatic stress. Enhancing organizational support and carefully assessing peer support can reduce this, by decreasing nurses' need to suppress or feign genuine emotions. Practice implicationsTo enhance nurses' psychological well-being, healthcare institutions should raise awareness of secondary traumatization and foster a supportive organizational environment that prioritizes effective team emotional support and evaluates collegial emotional labor.

Contributing factors to secondary traumatic stress and vicarious posttraumatic growth in therapists.

Alongside the recognized potential negative repercussions of working as a psychological therapist, there is growing interest in the potential positive impacts of engaging in such work. The current study used a cross-sectional online survey design to explore the impact of a range of demographic, work-related, and compassion-related factors on levels of secondary traumatic stress (STS) and vicarious posttraumatic growth (VPTG) in an international sample of 359 psychological therapists. Hierarchical multiple regressions demonstrated that burnout, lower levels of self-compassion, having a personal trauma history, reporting a higher percentage of working time with a trauma focus, and being female were the statistically significant contributors to STS scores, explaining 40.8% of the variance, F(9, 304) = 23.2, p <.001. For VPTG, higher compassion satisfaction, higher self-compassion, higher STS, a higher percentage of working time with a trauma focus, fewer years qualified, being male, and having a personal trauma history were all statistically significant contributors, explaining 27.3% of the variance, F (10, 304) = 11.37, p <.001. The findings illustrate the potential risk and protective factors for developing STS and clarify factors that may increase the likelihood of experiencing VPTG. Implications for psychological therapists and the organizations and institutions for which they work are considered along with potential directions for future research in the discussion.

Compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction in pediatric and neonatal care nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden

PurposeQuality of care and the mental and physical health of nurses are interlinked. The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed an extremely high burden on health care. This study aimed to: 1) describe professional quality of life of registered nurses (RN) working in the pediatric and neonatal care units during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden, 2) compare professional quality of life between RNs with and without a Master's degree in specialist nursing pediatric care (MSc), and 3) compare differences in professional quality of life associated with the nursing experience (years). Design and methodsThis study adopted a cross-sectional survey design. The PROQoL®-5-questionnaire was administered as a web survey to 160 RNs at four pediatric wards and two neonatal units of two hospitals in Sweden. ResultsSeventy-one RNs responded to the survey. Overall, they reported a sufficient professional quality of life. RNs with an MSc suffered significantly lower secondary traumatic stress levels. Experienced RNs reported significantly higher compassion satisfaction and lower occupational burnout. ConclusionHigher education and longer experience are beneficial for nurses' professional quality of life when working in pediatric care units. Practical implicationsResults from this study highlights the importance of offering RN education in pediatric care at master level and supporting novice nurses, to prevent negative professional well-being outcomes in pediatric care, because the health of nurses is of utterly importance when crisis such as a pandemic hits the world. The findings also suggest that the conditions for professional quality of life could improve through activities such as self-care, time for reflection, better working hours, competence-adjusted salary, and educational opportunities.

Japanese public health nurses classified based on empathy and secondary traumatic stress: variable-centered and person-centered approaches

BackgroundHealthcare providers frequently help traumatized people and are regularly exposed to indirect trauma from their work, resulting in negative psychological responses, such as secondary traumatic stress. Empathy has been associated with patient’s quality of care and secondary traumatic stress among healthcare providers. However, the relationship between dispositional empathy and secondary traumatic stress has not been fully elucidated. This study used person- and variable-centered approaches to explore the nature of this relationship.MethodsA total of 1,006 Japanese public health nurses working in the Tohoku region and Saitama prefecture completed questionnaires that included scales assessing dispositional empathy, secondary traumatic stress, and burnout. First, we examined predictors of secondary traumatic stress using multiple linear regression analysis. Then, we conducted a latent profile analysis to classify participants into unique groups based on four subscales of dispositional empathy (i.e., empathic concern, perspective taking, personal distress, fantasy) and secondary traumatic stress. Finally, we compared the mean values of the study variables across these groups.ResultsThe multiple regression indicated that in those working in Saitama prefecture, lifetime traumatic experiences, work-related distress, and personal distress were positively related to secondary traumatic stress, but perceived support was negatively related to secondary traumatic stress. Latent profile analysis extracted four unique subgroups. Group 1 displayed the highest secondary traumatic stress levels. Group 2 was characterized by the highest level of empathic concern, personal distress, and fantasy and the lowest perspective taking. Group 3 had a moderate secondary traumatic stress level. Group 4 had the lowest secondary traumatic stress and personal distress scores. In these four groups, the burnout scale (exhaustion, cynicism, and professional efficacy) showed a pattern similar to the secondary traumatic stress scale.ConclusionsOur person-centered approach showed that this sample of public health nurses could be classified into four unique groups based on their empathy and secondary traumatic stress scores. Although this group of public health nurses was not large, one group displayed high personal distress levels and high secondary traumatic stress levels. Further research is needed to determine effective interventions for this group.

Perceived professional quality of life and mental well-being among animal facility personnel in Spain.

Animal facility personnel provide the husbandry and care of laboratory animals. We aimed to investigate their work-related quality of life, empathy and mental well-being. Participants living in Spain were contacted by email and asked to complete an anonymous online questionnaire, in which they answered the Professional Quality of Life scale, the Cognitive and affective empathy test, the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale, and their perceived human-animal interaction. Participants were asked whether they were receiving psychological therapy or were taking anxiolytics, hypnotics or antidepressant medication. The study comprised 80 participants. No differences were observed related to personal or professional variables. Participants working with small carnivores reported higher total empathy, and those working with non-human primates reported higher emotional comprehension. Higher human-animal interaction was reported by participants working with small carnivores, farm animals and non-human primates. More than half of the participants reported high levels of mental well-being, positively correlated with emotional comprehension, emphatic joy and compassion satisfaction. Participants working with farm animals reported higher levels of secondary traumatic stress that was positively correlated with human-animal interaction and negatively with mental well-being. Most participants reported low-average levels of burnout, which was negatively correlated with mental well-being. The percentage of animal facility personnel in psychotherapy was higher than in the general population, and the consumption of anxiolytics was a little lower and antidepressants higher. Overall, our results indicate that animal-facility personnel who felt stress or worse mental well-being were in therapy and took medication to improve their condition.

"The light after the storm": Psychosocial correlates of adversarial growth among nurses in Hong Kong amid the fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Healthcare professionals are highly susceptible to adverse psychological outcomes amid the COVID-19 pandemic due to their job duties. As the largest part of the healthcare workforce, growing attention has been paid to nurses' adjustments to the pandemic. Despite the distress, recent studies found that nurses could still experience positive changes (i.e., adversarial growth, AG) during the pandemic. Research on the general populations has indicated that individuals' stress responses, coping resources, and coping strategies are associated with their AG during the pandemic. This study examined how sociodemographic characteristics, secondary traumatic and posttraumatic stress, coping resources, and coping strategies were associated with AG among nurses in Hong Kong amid the fifth wave (i.e., the most disastrous wave) of the COVID-19 pandemic. Recruited through local nursing associations between May 24 and June 13, 2022, 209 nurses in Hong Kong completed an online questionnaire measuring the abovementioned variables. Hierarchical regression results found that those affiliating with a religion, having participated in mental health-related workshops, higher levels of secondary traumatic stress (STS), social support, job satisfaction, plus more frequent emotional processing were associated with higher AG (βs ranging from 0.15 to 0.31, ps < .01). Nurses did report AG during the fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong. To promote AG among those nurses, future interventions should enhance nurses' understanding about the potential impact of STS on their well-being, solicit their interpersonal and work-related coping resources, plus facilitate their use of effective coping strategies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Addressing secondary traumatic stress, burnout, resilience and turnover in the child welfare workforce: Results from a 6-month, cluster-randomized control trial of Resilience Alliance

IntroductionUS child welfare agencies have historically struggled with workforce retention and turnover. As part of the Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development in Child Welfare, we tested an adaptation of the Resilience Alliance (RA) model in a large, midwestern state to address workplace stress, burnout and actual workforce turnover. RA is a 24-week, facilitated program designed to mitigate the impact of secondary traumatic stress among child welfare professionals, and to therefore increase job satisfaction, resilience and optimism and to decrease turnover, stress reactivity and burnout. Methods: Supervisory units of caseworkers and supervisors were randomized to the RA treatment condition (n = 192) or a control condition (no intervention; n = 183). Hypothesis: We hypothesized that participation in the RA adaptation would cause the workforce to experience lower levels of secondary traumatic stress (STS), burnout and intent to search for work or leave their current position. We hypothesized that RA would lead to higher reported levels of resilience and intent to stay. Furthermore, if hypothesized changes were observed due to participation in RA, then such participation would also lead to decreased actual workforce turnover over a 2.5-year period. Results: There were no statistically significant effects of the intervention on changes in STS, burnout or resilience between treatment and control groups over a 6-month period. Participation in RA did cause significant differences in 6-month changes for four turnover intention measures. Finally, RA had no statistically significant effect on turnover. Limitations and implications are described.

The relationship between psychological resilience and professional quality of life among mental health nurses: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundMental health nursing is a demanding and stressful profession that impacts nurses’ professional quality of life. Psychological resilience can be a protective factor. However, the relationship has not been extensively studied. This study aims to examine the relationship between psychological resilience and professional quality of life and identify potential predictors of ProQOL subscales among mental health nurses.MethodsThe study employed a cross-sectional design to collect data from 179 mental health nurses. Data was collected using two standardized questionnaires: the Connor-Davidson resilience scale and the professional quality of life scale. Participants were recruited through convenient sampling during a 3-month period from April to June 2022, and the data were collected using an online survey tool called QuestionPro.ResultsThe study found a strong positive correlation between psychological resilience and compassion satisfaction (r = 0.632, P < 0.001). However, there was a negative significant correlation between resilience with burnout (r = -0.470, P < 0.001) and secondary traumatic stress (r = -0.210, P = 0.005). The study also found that higher resilience levels were associated with higher levels of compassion satisfaction and lower levels of secondary traumatic stress. Additionally, higher burnout scores were associated with higher levels of secondary traumatic stress. The study also identified that age and the number of children had weak associations with compassion satisfaction, while workplace was a significant predictor of burnout and secondary traumatic stress.ConclusionThe study emphasizes the importance of resilience, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress in the well-being of healthcare professionals, especially nurses. The findings suggest that assessing nurses’ resilience and professional quality of life can raise psychological resilience awareness and help managers create the necessary working conditions to improve nurses’ professional quality of life.

Cumulative exposure to citizens’ trauma and secondary traumatic stress among police officers: the role of specialization in domestic violence prevention

ABSTRACT Police officers are routinely exposed to a variety of critical incidents and as a result are a population vulnerable to various mental health issues. However, little is known about the impacts of exposure to citizens’ trauma on officers’ mental health and whether officers specializing in domestic violence prevention can better cope with the stress resulting from citizens’ trauma. This study aims to address these research gaps by analyzing the data collected from a sample of 734 Taiwanese police officers through an online survey. Findings indicate that cumulative exposure to citizens’ trauma was positively associated with secondary traumatic stress. Though officers specializing in domestic violence prevention experienced a higher level of secondary traumatic stress than their non-specialist counterparts, their specialization did help them better manage secondary traumatic stress. This study represents the first known attempt to examine the impacts of exposure to citizens’ trauma on police officers’ mental health in an Asian setting; it is also groundbreaking in that it tested whether specialization in domestic violence prevention can serve as a protective factor against exposure to citizens’ trauma.

Professional quality of life and psychopathological symptoms among first-line healthcare workers facing COVID-19 pandemic: an exploratory study in an Italian southern hospital.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected the mental health of healthcare workers, who have taken on the major problems triggered by the emergency. The mental consequences concern high levels of insomnia, anxiety, depression and burnout, which inevitably affect their professional quality of life too. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between psychopathological symptoms (tested with the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, DASS-21) and professional quality of life (measured with the Professional Quality of Life Scale, ProQol) in a hospital of southern Italy. 204 healthcare workers were recruited by non-probabilistic sampling and divided by age, gender, work roles (physicians, nurses and intermediate care technicians) and clinical departments (Cardio-medicine, Infectious Diseases, Emergency Medicine, First Aid, Obstetrics and Pneumology). The results showed higher levels of Secondary Traumatic Stress, Depression, Anxiety and Stress in women than in men. Physicians and nurses experienced lower levels of Compassion Satisfaction but higher Burnout than intermediate care technicians; likewise, nurses were more anxious than physicians. The Emergency Medicine had higher scores in Compassion Satisfaction than Infectious Disease, Pneumology, Obstetrics and Cardio-Medicine. In light of what has been said so far, it appears essential to intervene on the first mild signs of Burnout and Secondary Traumatic Stress, because they precede the onset of Depression, Stress and Anxiety in healthcare workers.