Speaker
Description
Background: Helping professionals who indirectly encounter individuals with trauma are prone to experiencing high work stress. Their roles frequently demand emotional engagement with clients and internalization of clients' experiences, which can lead to secondary traumatic stress (STS). Despite the high risk of STS among responders, STS’ latent symptom structure and the role of protective resources remain understudied. Therefore, this study explored the dimensions of STS and examined the influence of personal, social, and organizational resources on the severity of STS.
Method: Using data involving 293 psychosocial responders assisting families displaced by armed conflict, the latent factor structure of STS was examined using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Multiple regression was calculated to determine the relationship of personal, social, and organizational resources as predictors of the best-fitting STS factor models.
Results: CFA supported a hybrid model of STS with seven interrelated symptom clusters: intrusions, avoidance, negative affect, anhedonia, externalizing behaviors, anxious arousal, and dysphoric arousal. Regression analyses revealed that higher levels of personal, social, and organizational resources were associated with lower STS severity across all symptom groups.
Conclusion: The current findings extend the conceptualization of STS and the role of personal, organizational and social resources. As armed conflicts persist globally, tailored interventions should bolster frontline responders’ support resources while mitigating harmful STS symptoms. Multi-level resources, alongside symptom-focused treatments, are vital to buffering against secondary trauma exposure.
