Work

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

Year: 2023

Type: article

Abstract: 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.

Source: Behavioral Sciences

DOI: 10.3390/bs13121012

Authors: Miriam Rivka Miller Itay, Maria Nicoleta Turliuc

Institution: Alexandru Ioan Cuza University

Language: English

Topic: Social Work Education and Practice

Subfield: Public Administration

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,002