Vicarious traumatization in counsellors working in the New South Wales Sexual Assault Service: An exploratory study

A number of case reviews and observations have reported on the effects, on counsellors, of working with victims of violence. In this study two groups of counsellors, sexual assault counsellors (n = 41) and counsellors from a range of other therapy areas (n = 32), were compared on a number of measures including the Maslach Burnout Inventory, Ways of Coping Scale and a Beliefs and Values Questionnaire. The results indicate that sexual assault counsellors experience greater emotional exhaustion and use more escape/avoidance coping strategies. Responses concerning beliefs and values are discussed in terms of McCann and Pearlman's constructivist self-development model and indicate support for the concept of vicarious traumatization. Implications of these findings for Sexual Assault Services are discussed.     

Supervisors’ Perception of Vicarious Trauma and Growth in Australian Refugee Trauma Counsellors

ABSTRACT

Vicarious trauma is a well-accepted phenomenon supported by more than 20 years of research, yet the body of research on the positive impact, known as vicarious post-traumatic growth, is relatively small. Based on a metasynthesis of qualitative peer-reviewed vicarious trauma studies, Cohen and Collens propose a model of the co-occurrence of vicarious trauma and vicarious post-traumatic growth. This model was examined through a qualitative study involving 11 interviews with supervisors of refugee trauma counsellors working in Forum of Australian Services for Survivors of Torture and Trauma (FASSTT) member agencies. This research project both reviewed the model from the perspective of experienced supervisors and illuminated what occurred within the supervision process to manage vicarious trauma and encourage vicarious post-traumatic growth. While the research project affirmed aspects of the model, the failure of the model to consider socio-political factors limited its applicability to FASSTT agencies.

IMPLICATIONS

• FASSTT clinical supervisors engage in supervision in a manner that may assist counsellors to process how their clients’ trauma disclosures impact on their levels of stress and change their perception of self, their role, and their worldview.

• Including recognition of the influence of the socio-political context of refugee trauma and trauma recovery may be an important additional component of supervision practice.

     

No experience required: Violent crime and anticipated,vicarious, and experienced racial discrimination

There is a growing body of evidence linking racial discrimination and juvenile crime, and a number of theories explain this relationship. In this study, we draw on one popular approach, Agnew's general strain theory, and extend prior research by moving from a focus on experienced discrimination to consider two other forms, anticipated and vicarious discrimination. Using data on black, white, and Hispanic youth, from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN), we find that experienced, anticipated, and to a lesser extent, vicarious discrimination, significantly predict violent crime independent of a set of neighborhood, parental, and individual level controls, including prior violent offending. Additional analyses on the specific contexts of discrimination reveal that violence is associated with the anticipation of police discrimination. The effects tend to be larger for African American than Hispanic youth, but the differences are not statistically significant. These findings support the thesis that, like other strains, discrimination may not have to be experienced directly to influence offending.     

Lessons from the flipside: How do acquirers learn from divestitures to complete acquisitions?

We examine whether experience from prior divestitures is associated with higher completion likelihood in subsequent acquisitions. We argue that through divestitures, firms could extract meaningful knowledge that is helpful for completing their acquisitions, such as a general understanding of acquisition deal-making stages, and the stories and aims of the target in an M&A transaction. In addition, viewing divestitures as the flipside of acquisitions, we conjecture that the selling firm can observe how the divested component of their business is acquired, and vicariously learn from these observations. We also investigate the relative importance of learning from divestiture vis-à-vis acquisition experience in determining acquisition deal completion. Finally, we contend that the effect of learning from divestitures on acquisition deal completion depends on acquisition experience and deal value. We find evidence supporting our conjectures in a sample of 2164 M&A transactions from the worldwide computer and printing industries between 1991 and 2010.     

Victimization, Psychological Distress and Subsequent Offending Among Youth

The current study examined the relationship between the victimization of youth, psychological distress and subsequent offending. It examined whether direct and vicarious victimization by exposure to violence in the family, among peers, and in the neighborhood, significantly predicted psychological distress among study participants and whether psychological distress significantly predicted subsequent offending over time. In addition, it examined the extent (if any) to which psychological distress mediated the relationship between victimization and subsequent offending. Method: study data are from wave 1 and wave 2 of the Buffalo Longitudinal Study of Young Men (BLSYM), a population based sample (n = 625) of young men, ages 16-19 years old in a metropolitan area of Buffalo, New York. A path analytic approach was used for the main analyses. Findings: personal, vicarious victimization by exposure to violence among peers, and perception of neighborhood safety were significant predictors of offending at wave 1. Personal and property victimization was significant predictors of psychological distress. Psychological distress did not have a significant relationship with offending at wave 1 yet, it did at wave 2. Vicarious victimization by exposure to violence among peers and offending at wave 1 were all significant predictors of offending at wave 2. The results highlight the need to respond to both direct and vicarious victimization among young males to reduce psychological distress and subsequent offending.     

论我国刑事赔偿义务机关之改革

国家赔偿责任性质的“自己责任说”更能反映国家赔偿责任的本质属性,对解决国家赔偿,尤其是刑事赔偿问题具有“代位责任说”无法比拟的优越性。根据我国现行立法,刑事赔偿义务机关即实施侵权行为的机关,侵权机关一旦支付赔偿费用,通常就必须承担经济上的不利后果以及社会的负面评价,因而实践中导致受害人获得国家赔偿困难重重。根据我国的具体国情,由司法行政机关作为赔偿义务机关较为合理。     

When bankers feel guilty–Employees’ vicarious guilt and the support of moral business practices

Media regularly report on misconduct and ethical transgression in a variety of professions, including banking. This research investigates the conditions under which individual employees experience guilt for wrongdoings on behalf of their profession. In a sample of 295 bankers, I find an inverted u-shaped relationship between professional identification and collective guilt. Furthermore, the data indicates a positive relationship between levels of experienced guilt and degree of moral intentions, such as supporting stricter regulations that aim to prevent future professional malpractice. The study's results present guilt as a central factor related to professional identification and intentions towards improving ethical business practices.     

Hidden trauma victims: Understanding and preventing traumatic stress in mental health professionals

Mental health professionals, including social workers, are often exposed to the traumatic experiences of clients in their work with victims of violence, crime, and disaster. Given their empathetic engagement with traumatized victims, they may experience severe emotional reactions such as terror, grief, and rage. Empirical evidence identifies these emotional reactions as “traumatic stress” including burnout, Traumatic Countertransference (TC), Vicarious Trauma (VT), and Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS)/Compassion Fatigue (CF). In this study, the history and definition of each traumatic stress are examined, and differences among them are explored. Preventive strategies for reducing traumatic stress in mental health professionals are discussed.     

More structural holes,more risk? Network structure and risk perception among marijuana growers

This study examines the relationship between network structure and risk perceptions. We use self-report data on 359 illicit marijuana growers and their personal co-worker networks. Our results show that growers with more structural holes in their co-worker network perceive higher risk of apprehension from law enforcement. We argue that this result is facilitated by two mechanisms: 1) the amount and quality of information available to growers about risks and detection, which uses guidance from Stafford and Warr’s (1993) concept of vicarious deterrence; and, 2) the trust inherent in their network and the growers’ self-awareness of their own network position, which relies on Coleman’s (1988) and Burt’s (2005) ideas of network closure as a protective factor.