There have been several scoring schemes proposed but generally a. Lifev scale and the secondary traumatic stress scale. Despite this recognition, there is a dearth of literature examining the prevalence of secondary traumatic stress amongst police officers in the uk. Nov 03, 2017 the information in this article is adapted from the compassion fatigue workbook click here for downloadable pdf to share with your organization learning to recognise ones own warning signs of compassion fatigue cf and vicarioussecondary trauma vtsts serves a twofold purpose. In both studies, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis showed unidimensionality of the scale. Keywords secondary traumatic stress, vicarious traumatization, scale. Development and validation of the secondary traumatic stress. Compassion fatigue cf secondary traumatic stress sts. Responses are provided on a 5point scale ranging 1 never to 5 very often.
Introduction the national child traumatic stress network. Secondary traumatic stress sts may occur in the caretakers of individuals who have experienced traumatic events or are suffering and, when severe, may be associated with posttraumatic stress disorder ptsd at a diagnostic level due to sts. The prevalence of secondary traumatic stress among. Secondary traumatic stress administration for children. Although evidence regarding the effectiveness of interventions in secondary traumatic stress is limited, cognitivebehavioral strategies and mindfulnessbased methods are emerging as best practices. Some researchers have identified secondary traumatic stress as a job hazard of trauma counseling. Secondary traumatic stress secondary traumatic stress sts is defined as the stress resulting from ones indirect exposure to a trauma or traumas and the related behaviors and feelings figley, 1995.
The journal of contemporary human services, 824, 363371. Secondary traumatic stress and related conditions secondary traumatic stress sts is the emotional distress that results when an individual hears about the traumatic experiences of another individual. Secondary trauma symptoms are akin to those of posttraumatic stress, and involve anxiety, depression, avoidance, and hyperarousal. Secondary traumatic stress an overview sciencedirect. Secondary traumatic stress administration for children and. This can put a health care professional hcp at risk of experiencing a state of emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion. It is about your work related, secondary exposure to extremely or traumatically stressful events.
Although evidence regarding the effectiveness of interventions in secondary traumatic stress is limited, cognitivebehavioral strategies and mindfulnessbased methods are emerging as. The secondary traumatic stress scale stss confirmatory factor analyses with a national sample of mental health social workers. Vicarious traumatization is used to describe the cumulative effect of working with traumatized. Distress may result from hearing someones trauma stories, seeing high levels of distress in the aftermath of a traumatic event. The secondary traumatic stress informed organization.
The handouts and resources that accompany the presentation are below. The secondary traumatic stress scale stss measures the development of sts on an individuals professional relationships with traumatised patients bride et al, 2004. Secondary traumatic stress sts is a term used to describe the phenomenon whereby. Validity, reliability, and factor structure of the. Abstract for compassion fatigue compassion fatigue cf, also known as secondary traumatic stress sts is a progressive condition characterized by a gradual lessoning of compassion over time. A sample of 287 licensed social workers completed a mailed survey containing the. Validity, reliability, and factor structure of the secondary traumatic. Particularly notable is the free proqol scale pdf 268 kb and tools that can be selfadministered or used during a training or staff meeting to measure the normal positive and negative effects of helping others, categorized into compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress scales.
Vicarious trauma is the emotional residue of exposure that counselors have from working with people as. Proper rest, nutrition, exercise, and stress reduction activities are also important in preventing secondary traumatic stress. Secondary traumatic stress scale the following is a list of statements made by persons who have been impacted by their work with traumatized clients. Developing problems due to exposure to others trauma is somewhat rare but does happen to many people who care for those who have experienced extremely or. Development and validation of the secondary traumatic stress scale. This fact sheet describes how individuals experience sts, understanding who is at risk, how to identify sts, strategies for prevention and intervention, and essential elements to address sts. The secondary trauma stress scale stss, is a 17item questionnaire that measures the frequency of secondary traumatic stress symptoms over the past month. Compassion fatigue is a condition characterized by emotional and physical exhaustion leading to a diminished ability to empathize or feel compassion for others, often described as the negative cost of caring.
Vicarious trauma vt and secondary traumatic stress sts are frequently used interchangeably to refer to the indirect trauma that can occur when we are exposed to difficult or disturbing images and stories secondhand. January 2016 secondary effects of helping others bibliography 5 14 adams, k. Pdf development and validation of the secondary traumatic. Questions on the stss addresses issues with intrusion, avoidance and arousal symptoms similar to those found in ptsd. Occupationalinduced secondary traumatic stress and. Article information, pdf download for development and validation of the secondary traumatic. Secondary traumatic stress refers to the trauma symptoms caused by indirect exposure to traumatic material, transmitted during the process of helping or wanting to help a traumatized person. Offers childserving professionals information about secondary traumatic stress sts. Pdf the secondary traumatic stress scale stss researchgate.
Baird, stephanie, vicarious traumatization, secondary traumatic stress, and burnout in sexual assault and domestic violence agency staff and volunteers. A school community can share information about the signs of secondary traumatic stress so staff members recognize the signs in themselves and in others. Indirect exposure to trauma and demographic variables were assessed as possible factors that should be controlled when testing the hypotheses. We explored the association of md with the severity of stss symptoms, along with the mediating role of mental distress symptoms. Development and validation of the secondary traumatic stress scale article pdf available in research on social work practice 141. To describe the development and validation of the secondary traumatic stress scale stss, a 17item instrument designed to measure intrusion, avoidance, and arousal symptoms associated. Secondary traumatic stress scale seven 7 days 1 2 3. Each year, thousands of nurses provide physical and emotional care to these women. Awareness is the key to managing secondary traumatic stress for the organization and for individuals. Each year, thousands of women experience violence, and many of these are survivors of intimate partner violence. The results indicated good internal consistency of the scale and its stability over time. The secondary traumatic stress scale stss is a 17item measure of the frequency of sts symptoms in the previous month. Burnout, compassion fatigue, and secondary traumatic stress. Benuto, yueran yang, andrew ahrendt, and caroline cummings journal of interpersonal violence 0 10.
Master of science counseling psychology, august 1999, 180 pp. Secondary traumatic stress sts or sts disorder stsd is a syndrome including intrusion, avoidance, and arousal. It is a theoretical term describes the cumulative effects of secondary exposure to trauma. Secondary traumatic stress and selfcare packet 2 vicarious trauma refers to internal changes in teachers and staff members who engage empathetically with students affected by trauma. The symptoms of sts nearly mirror those of ptsd figley, 1995. Article information, pdf download for the secondary traumatic stress scale. Organizational responses to secondary traumatic stress at the july 12, 2018 child welfare virtual expo, hosted by the childrens bureaus capacity building center for states. That trauma experienced by the individual then affects the second individual intensely, causing symptoms that mimic ptsd or post traumatic stress disorder, a psychological. The secondary traumatic stress scale bride, 2004 was used to measure the sts. Secondary traumatic stress sts is a pattern of psychological. The stss is a 17item selfreport scale designed to measure three factors. The second component of compassion fatigue cf is secondary traumatic stress sts.
Tsa managing secondary traumatic stress for educators. Confirmatory factor analyses with a national sample of victim advocates lorraine t. Secondary traumatic stress disorder can occur in anyone who hears the firsthand account of a trauma experienced by another person. The use of small samples and a number of different instruments to measure secondary traumatic stress symptoms, however, hindered the ability to make comparisons across studies and to draw conclusions. Several other terms captures elements of this definition but are not all interchangeable with it. Cultivating secondary traumatic growth among healthcare. Sample items included it seems as if i was reliving the traumas experienced by my patients, i had little. To describe the development and validation of the secondary traumatic stress scale stss, a 17item instrument designed to measure.
According to the professional quality of life scale, burnout and secondary traumatic stress are two interwoven elements of. Cantasd presented a skills seminar entitled restore, refresh, and reenergize. Nurses and employers need to recognize that exposures to traumatized women place nurses at risk for the development of secondary traumatic stress disorder. Secondary traumatic stress sts is a concept that was developed by trauma specialists beth stamm, charles figley and others in the early 1990s as they sought to understand why service providers seemed to be exhibiting symptoms similar to post traumatic stress disorder ptsd without having necessarily been exposed to direct trauma themselves. What comes first, job burnout or secondary traumatic.
To describe the development and validation of the secondary traumatic stress scale stss, a 17item instrument designed to measure intrusion. The symptoms of stsd are the same as those of posttraumatic stress disorder ptsd in the fourth edition of the diagnostic and statistical manual of psychiatric disorders dsmiv. Secondary traumatic stress and resilience among ems. Workrelated moral distress md and secondary traumatic stress syndrome stss may be associated with compromised health status among health professionals, reduced productivity, and inadequate safety of care. First, it can serve as an important checkin process for someone who has. The high risk of secondary traumatic stress for families of. What comes first, job burnout or secondary traumatic stress. Secondary traumatic stress refers to the presence of ptsd symptoms caused by at least one indirect exposure to traumatic material. Formal assessment of secondary traumatic stress and the related conditions of burnout, compassion fatigue, and compassion satisfaction is often conducted through use of the professional quality of life measure proqol. Compassion fatigue is a lessstigmatizing term used for secondary traumatic stress. Organizational responses to secondary traumatic stress.
Defining vicarious trauma and secondary traumatic stress. The traumatic stress institute belief scale as a measure of vicarious trauma in a national sample of clinical social workers. Secondary traumatic stress child welfare information. Two constructs, vicarious trauma vt and secondary traumatic stress sts. Frontiers validity, reliability, and factor structure of. Resilience is an individuals ability to adapt to stress and adversity in a healthy manner. Apr 12, 2019 secondary traumatic stress sts is a syndrome including intrusion, avoidance, and arousal due to indirect trauma exposure e. Warning signs of vicarious traumasecondary traumatic stress.
The most insidious aspect of compassion fatigue is that it attacks the very core of what brings helpers into this work. Associations with emotional exhaustion and professional. Compassion fatigue, or secondary traumatic stress disorder, is a natural but disruptive byproduct of working with traumatized clients. It is believed that secondary traumatic stress is the natural and inevitable consequence, over time, of working with traumaeffected clients. Stse correlated highly or moderately with secondary traumatic stress symptoms. To describe the development and validation of the secondary traumatic stress scale stss, a 17item instrument designed to measure intrusion, avoidance, and arousal symptoms associated with indirect exposure to traumatic events via ones professional relationships with traumatized clients. The high risk of secondary traumatic stress for families.