Secondary traumatic stress, vicarious posttraumatic growth, and coping among health professionals; a comparison study

The current study explores the relationship between coping strategies and psychological outcomes of vicarious traumatic exposure, as well as investigating inter-speciality differences between five distinct groups of health professionals. Results suggested that self-care and social support from friends and family negatively predicted secondary traumatic stress (STS), while humour, self-care and peer support positively predicted vicarious posttraumatic growth (VPTG). Social workers experienced the highest levels of STS and VPTG, while psychologists experienced the lowest levels of both variables. Regarding coping, generally psychologists and counsellors reported the highest utilisation of coping strategies, while doctors and nurses reported the lowest utilisation. However, the opposite pattern was found for peer social support; nurses reported significantly higher levels of peer support than psychologists. Implications of these results are discussed. Keywords: Vicarious posttraumatic growth, secondary traumatic stress, coping, social support, self-care, humour, health professionals
Health professionals are vicariously exposed to a range of traumatic events including physical injury, rape and sexual abuse, motor vehicle accidents, and disasters (Crabbe, Bowley, Boffard, Alexander, & Klein, 2004). [...]