1. School Counselor and School Social Worker Professional Quality of Life and Secondary Trauma Informed Practices in Missouri High Schools
- Author
-
Theresa Wilson
- Abstract
As Missouri schools embrace trauma informed practices, school counselors and social workers across the state experience regular exposure to traumatized children. However, research investigating secondary traumatic stress within this population is scarce. A primary goal of this study was to explore the risk levels for secondary traumatic stress, burnout, and compassion satisfaction among high school counselors and social workers in Missouri. A second aim of this study was to ascertain whether certain demographic factors affect the risk for these afflictions. Finally, this study sought to examine the prevalence of secondary traumatic stress informed organizational practices in Missouri high schools and to determine whether these practices correlate with risk for secondary traumatic stress, burnout, or compassion satisfaction. A survey was conducted with Missouri high school counselors and social workers consisting of the Professional Quality of Life Scale (version 5), the Secondary Traumatic Stress Informed Organizational Assessment, and a demographic questionnaire. Results indicated low to moderate risk for secondary traumatic stress, and moderate to high risk for burnout and compassion satisfaction. Compared to a reference group consisting of a range of helping professions, school counselors and social workers reported a lower frequency of secondary traumatic stress informed practices. Among these practices, schools scored highest in the areas of promoting personal resilience and promoting physical safety and lowest in the area of organizational self-monitoring. Correlation was established between certain leadership and safety practices and the risk for secondary traumatic stress. This research has practical implications for the school counselors and social workers who support Missouri's children. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
- Published
- 2020