Objective: College students may be at heightened risk for suicide and suicidal behavior due to maladaptive cognitive-emotional factors and failure to practice basic health behaviors. However, self-compassion and wellness behaviors may protect against risk. The relation between self-compassion and suicidal behavior and the contributing roles of depressive symptoms and wellness behaviors was examined. Participants: Participants were 365 undergraduate students. Data were collected in April 2015. Methods: A cross-sectional, survey design was employed. Participants completed measures assessing self-compassion, depressive symptoms, wellness behaviors, and suicidal behavior. Serial mediation analyses were conducted covarying age, sex, and ethnicity. Results: Self-compassion was inversely related to suicidal behavior, and this relationship was serially mediated by depressive symptoms and wellness behaviors. Conclusions: Self-compassion may protect against suicidal behavior, in part, due to reduced depressive symptoms and heightened engagement in wellness behaviors. Individual and campus-wide strategies promoting self-compassion and wellness behaviors may reduce suicide risk on college campuses.

Adults of college age are at particular risk for psychopathology, non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), and suicidal behavior, but protective factors (e.g., self-compassion) may buffer risk. We examined the mediating effect of NSSI on the relation between anxiety/depressive symptoms and suicide risk, and the moderating role of self-compassion. Students (N = 338) with greater psychopathology reported more engagement in NSSI and, consequently, more suicide risk; self-compassion weakened the psychopathology-NSSI linkage. Therapeutically addressing psychopathology and NSSI, perhaps via Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and promoting self-compassion via compassion-focused and mindful self-compassion therapy, may halt progression from symptomology to self-harm, ultimately reducing suicide risk in college students.

Emerging evidence indicates self-compassion can be beneficial for medical populations and for medical adherence; yet, research to date has not fully examined the reasons for this association. This study examined the association of dispositional self-compassion to adherence across five medical samples and tested the extent to which perceived stress accounted for this association. Five medical samples (total N = 709), including fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and cancer patients, recruited from various sources, completed online surveys. Self-compassion was positively associated with adherence in all five samples. A meta-analysis of the associations revealed a small average effect size (average r = .22, [0.15, 0.29]) of self-compassion and adherence and non-significant heterogeneity among the effects (Q (4) = 3.15, p = .532). A meta-analysis of the kappa2 values from the indirect effects of self-compassion on adherence revealed that, on average, 11% of the variance in medical adherence that was explained by self-compassion could be attributed to lower perceived stress. Overall, findings demonstrate that dispositional self-compassion is associated with better medical adherence among people with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and cancer, due in part to lower stress. This research contributes to a growing evidence base indicating the value of self-compassion for health-related behaviours in a variety of medical populations.

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit social workers are a particularly vulnerable group of professionals due to their chronic exposure to trauma. Current research has overlooked how social workers specifically can adopt certain strategies and coping mechanisms to prevent the symptoms associated with primary trauma, secondary trauma stress, compassion fatigue, and burnout. Thus, the study that follows was designed to explore the strategies and coping mechanisms utilized by NICU and PICU social workers. Data for this project was collected through the use of open-ended questions in an electronic survey format and analyzed through a conventional content analysis approach. Seven participants fully completed the survey and thus only their responses were considered in the analysis. Results of this study indicate the need for NICU and PICU social workers to gain additional education and training on primary trauma, secondary trauma stress, compassion fatigue and burnout so that they can actively participate in prevention. NICU and PICU social workers reported a range of strategies and coping mechanisms including the awareness of personal and professional barriers, consultation, exercise, among others. This study provides crucial information to an understudied area of research, provides a foundation for future research, and promotes the use of positive strategies and coping mechanisms by NICU and PICU social workers so that they can continue to provide the best services possible for the patients they serve.

Staff in skilled nursing facilities (SNF) can experience physical and emotional strain via caregiving. The purpose of this study was to educate staff on the harm of compassion fatigue and a lack of emotional intelligence and provide steps that can be taken by administration to improve the quality of care provided. It was hypothesized for staff that having low compassion fatigue and high emotional intelligence would result in a higher quality of care. The study design utilized a quantitative approach and a purposive sample from a SNF. Participants were provided with The Professional Quality of Life 5 Scale (ProQoL 5), Wong & Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS), and survey data received from Department of Public Health. A Multiple Regression test analyzed the relationship between compassion fatigue and emotional intelligence on the quality of care provided by staff members. The results of this study indicated that staff’s compassion fatigue was not indicative of quality of care; however, Self-Emotional Appraisal, a subscale of WLEIS, was found to predict the quality of care. This study assisted with informing SNF staff in recognizing how managing their emotions could be a useful tool to improve the quality of care they provide. Lastly, SNF administration could implement policies, procedures, and in-services to ensure that all staff members are educated in identifying emotions and practicing self-care

The goals of this research study were to determine if clergy members were prone to experiencing compassion fatigue and to identify the self-care methods they currently employ. Compassion fatigue can affect anyone in a helping profession and is considered to be a component of burnout. With the use of qualitative interviews, the views of pastors will be used to explain their understanding of compassion fatigue and their implementation of self-care. Data will also be collected to describe the methods of self-care the clergy members utilize when their levels of compassion fatigue presentation are prominent. Audio information gathered from the interviews, and demographic, compassion satisfaction and self-care surveys will be used, and a thematic and phenomena analysis will be created to analyze the data collected. This research will contribute to the collaborative efforts of churches and social workers to increase public awareness of compassion fatigue and self-care deficits that pastors are experiencing and that churches are observing within their faith communities. This can be beneficial in helping communities to effect positive change within the community.

While there is considerable research linking trauma to psychological distress, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), among military populations, some service members may develop other variants of psychological difficulties following exposure to traumatic life events. For example, moral injury, a more recently studied outcome within the field of trauma, is conceptualized to occur when a person perceives their response to a morally challenging situation as a transgression that may lead to an incongruence with their morals producing moral emotions (i.e., shame, guilt, and anxiety; Litz et al., 2009). The current study investigated the role of self-compassion in the relationship between moral injury and psychological distress (i.e., PTSD and depression) among a sample of 216 military veterans recruited from TurkPrime online panels. Among these military veterans, a conditional process analysis of our moderated mediation model suggests an indirect effect of moral injury predicting depression symptoms through guilt, Index = 1.469, SE = .460, 95% CI [.602, 2.409] and shame, Index = -.803, SE = .346, 95% CI [-1.552, -.161] was conditioned on different levels of self-compassion. Findings are expected to have important implications for treatment conceptualization for military populations.

Social workers in child protective services often handle hundreds of cases regarding children traumatized by abuse and/or neglect. In time, social workers' experiences can become emotionally and psychologically challenging. A problem for supervising child protection social workers (SCPSWs) is that they might experience the same challenges; however, there was no research that described the lived experiences of SCPSWs. This phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of SCPSWs. Conceptually, constructivist self-development theory (CSDT) provided the framework for understanding how SCPSWs managed their lived experiences and the issues related to them. Ten SCPSWs volunteered their time for face-to-face interviews and provided data for this study. Saldana's coding manual was used to guide the identification and coding of key words and phrases. SCPSWs experienced occupational trauma in the form of vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress, and/or burnout similar to that experienced by front line workers. SCPSWs' experiences required them to set boundaries, stop taking work home and support each other in the workplace. Enhanced resources for training on self-care plus increased administrative and peer support could potentially improve the lives of these SCPSWs and increase their longevity and effectiveness in the workplace. Retaining experienced supervisors also has the potential to promote positive social change by improving the support supervisors can provide to front line staff, thus indirectly helping children, families, and communities they serve.

Few existing studies have examined compassion fatigue among emergency responders even though firefighters and emergency medical service (EMS) professionals have repetitive direct exposure to traumatic events. This study focused on identifying predictor variables for the development of compassion fatigue in firefighters. Karasek's demand-control model, a commonly used work stress model, was the study's theoretical framework as it focuses on specific construct interactions that predict employee well-being. Accordingly, this correlational study examined the predictive nature of EMS license level, years of service, and personality type on the development of compassion fatigue in career firefighters. Data collection occurred with surveys incorporating the Professional Quality of Life Scale and the Big Five Inventory. Mid-Michigan fire departments participated with 129 career firefighters returning completed surveys with results analyzed using logistic regression. Findings revealed a significant predictive relationship between personality traits and the development of compassion fatigue. These findings can inform preventative measures that protect the psychological well-being of these emergency responders by informing and educating the professionals and organizations as to who is at greatest risk and ultimately providing opportunity for risk mediation.

Magister Curationis - MCur / Background: Psychiatric observation units are the units where 72-hour psychiatric observations are conducted in the district and in some of the regional hospitals. These hospitals were selected under the Mental Health Care Act No. 17 of 2002 (MHCA 2002) to admit patients suspected to be mentally ill, ascertain the cause of symptoms, exclude medical illness as a cause of the symptoms, treat and rehabilitate these patients; and at times transfer the patients to tertiary psychiatric hospitals. These units are often overcrowded as only about 30% of patients are transferred to the tertiary psychiatric hospitals. These units are fraught with challenges such as shortage of crucial facilities like seclusion rooms, specialised staff, resources and minimal budget is allocated to these units. Nursing staff in these units are faced with a number of challenges such as shortage of staff, patient overflow, prolonged patient stay, psychologically disturbed patients who can be agitated and violent, and are working long hours. Therefore, Compassion Satisfaction may be affected and these nurses are prone to Compassion Fatigue, which can lead to low Professional Quality of Life. Aim & objectives: The aim was to investigate Professional Quality of Life among nurses working in psychiatric observation units in Metropole District Health Services in the Western Cape Metropole. The objectives were to measure Compassion Satisfaction, to measure levels of Burnout and determine levels of Secondary Traumatic Stress among nurses working in psychiatric observation units in the Metropole District Health Services. Method: A quantitative research approach using a descriptive design was used to determine the Professional Quality of Life of nurses working in psychiatric observation units in the Metropole District Health Services. A self-administered survey using a structured questionnaire, the Professional Quality of Life version 5 (ProQoL 5) was used to collect data from an all-inclusive sample of 175 nurses, yielding a response rate of 93% (n=163). Data was analysed using the Statistical Package of Social Services (SPSS) version 24. Findings: The findings of this study showed that respondents experienced moderate Compassion Satisfaction, moderate Burnout and high Secondary Traumatic Stress. Advanced psychiatric nurse practitioners and registered nurses reported lower Compassion Satisfaction, higher Burnout and higher Secondary Traumatic Stress than enrolled nurses and enrolled nursing assistants. Recommendations: Qualitative research studies need to be conducted on nurses working in psychiatric observation units in order to understand experiences and factors affecting Professional Quality of Life among nurses. Qualitative research studies need to be conducted in order to understand factors affecting Professional Quality of Life of advanced psychiatric nurse practitioners and general registered nurses in psychiatric observations units.