Traumatic stress studies have shown that those who are close to the survivor of a traumatic event may suffer similar post-traumatic stress symptoms as the survivor. This process has been defined as secondary traumatic stress. Therapists who see trauma survivors on a regular basis may be at risk for experiencing secondary traumatic stress reactions. / The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of secondary traumatic stress among marriage and family therapists and the factors that contribute to the development of secondary traumatic stress. A survey research design was employed on a national sample of American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy clinical members. Correlational analyses and hierarchial multiple regression procedures were performed to ascertain possible relationships between secondary traumatic stress symptoms (STSS) and therapists' cognitive schemas; perceived social support; percentage of client case load who have experienced traumatic events; level of satisfaction with total client case load; number of hours per week listening to client traumatic material; and number of personal traumatic events. / The results indicate that marriage and family therapists are experiencing a moderate level of secondary stress as compared to other sampled groups. Cognitive schemas and level of satisfaction with total case load were significantly correlated with secondary traumatic stress. Hours spent listening to client traumatic material were significantly correlated with the intrusion subscale of the Impact of Event Scale. Two sets of predictor variables moderately explained the variance in secondary traumatic stress. These findings suggest that further study is needed to determine possible other factors which might contribute more to the explanation of secondary traumatic stress. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-08, Section: B, page: 4586. / Major Professor: Charles Figley. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1995.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_77548 |
| Contributors | Lee, Cindy Sharon., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 161 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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