Compassion Satisfaction to Combat Work-Related Burnout, Vicarious Trauma, and Secondary Traumatic Stress

Abstract

Helping professionals play an essential role in the recovery of victims of trauma. However, research has demonstrated that, as a result of their work, helping professionals’ indirect exposure to clients’ trauma increases the likelihood of experiencing negative psychological responses, including vicarious trauma (VT), secondary traumatic stress (STS), and burnout. The present study examined the concurrent validity between the STS subscale on the Professional Quality of Life (ProQoL) scale and the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale (STSS). Furthermore, the relationships between compassion satisfaction (CS) and burnout were investigated. Participants were recruited using a comprehensive web search of agencies across the United States that employed victim advocates, a subtype of helping professionals that are understudied. A list of possible agencies ( N = 75) was generated, and each agency was sent an email about the study. In total, 132 victim advocates provided data for these analyses. Findings revealed positive correlations between the STS subscale on the ProQoL and the STSS. In addition, a negative correlation was found between burnout and CS. Two-level hierarchical multiple regression analyses demonstrated that burnout accounted for 47.3% of the variance in STS, and CS contributed an additional 3.9%. Furthermore, burnout accounted 45.8% of the variance in VT, whereas CS contributed an additional 0.6%, indicating that burnout is a strong predictor of VT and STS, but CS may serve as a protective factor against experiencing both. Prevention and intervention efforts should target reducing burnout to combat these psychological sequelae and increasing CS.