Identifying the Experiences of Secondary Traumatic Stress in Rural Child Welfare Workers: Action Research Study [Ph.D. Thesis]
Abstract
Secondary traumatic stress is the physiological reaction to vicarious traumatization.
Public child welfare workers are exposed daily to the traumas of child maltreatment from
neglect to death. Unlike other first responders, child welfare workers have continued
exposure to the trauma of child maltreatment with every report, change in placement, and
discussion. Rural child welfare workers have an added burden of issues common to both
the children and families they serve, and to themselves as members of their communities:
isolation, social proximity, dual relationships, remoteness, and fewer resources. In an
effort to identify the experiences of secondary traumatic stress in rural child welfare
workers in this study, eight child welfare workers were individually interviewed from
two separate, remote, rural communities. Using semi-structured, open-ended questions,
discussions of their experiences produced a wealth of data that was analyzed using
qualitative content analysis. The findings gave discovery that rural child welfare workers
do experience secondary traumatic stress, and included symptoms such as: depression,
frustration, exhaustion, sleeplessness, crying, hypervigilance, avoidance, guilt, loss of
appetite, and more. Many of these symptoms were exacerbated by the characteristics of
the remote, rural community as there were few outlets and venues for discussing and
debriefing in privacy. Conclusions were rural child welfare agencies need to engage in
providing trauma informed training and support to their workers, and include secondary
trauma as part of their culture in supervision and management. Finally, several new
resources are discussed which are available to agencies and staff from national child
welfare institutes, agencies, and online publications. (Author Abstract)
Description
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Article
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Keywords
child abuse, child protective services, vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, research
Citation
Federico, D. R. (2017). Identifying the Experiences of Secondary Traumatic Stress in Rural Child Welfare Workers: Action Research Study (Doctoral dissertation, Minneapolis, MN: Capella University). 140 p.