Source avec lien : Health & Social Work, 45(2), mai 2020. 10.1093/hsw/hlaa001
Le stress traumatique secondaire (STS) est une forme indirecte de traumatisme affectant le bien-être psychologique des travailleurs de la santé mentale. Cette étude a examiné le STS et les facteurs connexes de comportement empathique et de cas de traumatisme parmi un échantillon ciblé de 190 travailleurs sociaux et psychologues.
Secondary traumatic stress (STS) is an indirect form of trauma affecting the psychological well-being of mental health workers. This study examined STS and related factors of empathetic behavior and trauma caseload among a purposive sample of 190 social workers and psychologists. Participants completed an online questionnaire comprising demographics, the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale, and the Empathy Scale for Social Workers. A moderated moderation model was used to evaluate the hypothesized relationship between the amount of trauma in clinician caseload and STS, as moderated by empathy and personal trauma history. Approximately 30 percent of participants met the criteria for a diagnosis of STS. Results indicated that although caseload trauma was not an independent predictor of STS, there was a significant interaction between caseload trauma and personal trauma history on STS. Similarly, empathy alone was not directly related to changes in STS, yet the trauma in caseload effect on STS was moderated by empathy, and that relationship was moderated by personal trauma history. This overall effect was shown to significantly predict STS. The current study highlights the importance of developing evidence-based risk strategies for mental health workers working in the area of trauma and at risk of developing symptoms of STS.