Predictors of Secondary Traumatic Stress among Children's Advocacy Center Forensic Interviewers

This study examined various predictor variables that were hypothesized to impact secondary traumatic stress in forensic interviewers (n = 257) from children's advocacy centers across the United States. Data were examined to investigate the relationship between organizational satisfaction, organizational buffers, and job support with secondary traumatic stress using the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale. The most salient significant result was an inverse relationship between three indicators of job support and secondary traumatic stress. Also significant to secondary traumatic stress were the age of interviewer and whether the forensic interviewer had experienced at least one significant loss in the previous 12 months. Implications for future research, training, program practice, and policy are discussed.     

Is Laughing at the Expense of Victims and Offenders a Red Flag? Humor and Secondary Traumatic Stress

Those who work with human trauma often use humor to handle job stressors. Research has demonstrated that lighthearted humor is related to lower secondary traumatic stress scores, while gallows humor has the inverse relationship. This work explores how three types of humor relate to secondary traumatic stress: (a) humor at the expense of victims, (b) humor at the expense of offenders, and (c) humor containing sexual innuendo. Internet crimes against children taskforce personnel completed questionnaires about secondary traumatic stress and coping techniques. Humor at the expense of victims was rarely used, but when it was, it was indicative of higher secondary traumatic stress. There were no relationships between secondary traumatic stress and the use of humor at the expense of offenders or humor containing sexual innuendo.     

Burnout and Secondary Trauma Among Forensic Interviewers of Abused Children

This study examined factors associated with burnout and secondary trauma among forensic interviewers of abused children. Sixty-six forensic interviewers who are affiliated with advocacy centers across the United States completed an online survey. The Oldenburg Burnout Inventory and Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale were used to measure burnout and secondary trauma, respectively. Results indicate that organizational satisfaction has a moderate inverse relationship with burnout and a slight inverse relationship with secondary trauma. The number of forensic interviews conducted or length of employment in forensic interviewing did not have a strong relationship with either burnout or secondary trauma.     

Volunteer Engagement: Exploring the Distinction Between Job and Organizational Engagement

Retaining engaged volunteers is crucial to many non-profit organizations. However, research on volunteer engagement is limited, and the distinction between job and organizational engagement in volunteers remains to be investigated. In this paper, we examine both organizational- and job-level engagement, and specifically, whether perceived organizational support would enhance volunteer engagement and associated attitudes. We surveyed 221 volunteers, and asked them about their perceptions of organizational support; their engagement with their volunteer job and the organization they volunteer for; satisfaction; commitment; and turnover intentions. Both organizational and job engagements had significant relationships with the attitudinal variables. However, we found that organizational rather than job engagement mediated the relationship between organizational support and volunteer satisfaction and commitment. While organizational engagement correlated with turnover intentions, neither job nor organizational engagement mediated the relationship between support and the intent to leave. Our findings advance the research on volunteer engagement, and highlight the importance of organizational engagement for this important, but too often overlooked, workforce.     

The effects of interviewer race and child race on sexual abuse disclosures in forensic interviews

This study examined the impact of interviewer race and child race on disclosures by alleged child sexual abuse victims during forensic interviews. Despite findings that supportiveness of caretaker, gender of interviewer, gender of child, and age of child affect disclosure, previous studies have failed to examine race as a variable impacting disclosure in a real-world setting. The study examined 220 cases from an archive of reports generated from forensic interviews in an urban setting. The reports were reviewed and coded for degree of disclosure, focusing on African American and Caucasian children and interviewers. The results indicate that child race and the interaction of child race and interviewer race reliably distinguished between no disclosure, tentative disclosure, and disclosure with detailed account of activity, while interviewer race alone failed to serve as a significant predictor. The interaction between child race and interviewer race was not in the predicted direction, with cross-race dyads disclosing more than same-race dyads. Results are discussed in the context of real-world applications versus the previous analogue child sexual abuse literature.     

Impact of Repeated Questioning on Interviewers: Learning From a Forensic Interview Training Project

Forensic interviewers have a difficult job with high risk for career burnout and secondary trauma. Few studies have addressed how new forensic interviewers or trainees experience repeated questioning and multiple interviews. This study simulated the process of training new forensic interviewers through the creation of two interview videos in which social work graduate students participated as actors portraying the roles of interviewer and child. These films served as instructional aids preparing graduate social work students for professional child welfare roles while promoting research-based approaches to interviewing children about sexual abuse allegations. Qualitative data from two cohorts of student actors were collected to analyze interviewers’ perspectives on repeated questioning and interviews in child sexual abuse cases. Two themes were extracted from the subjects’ experiences: “It is emotionally taxing” and “Navigating the interviewer role is unexpectedly complex.” Exposure to repeated questions and multiple interviews affected the performance and confidence of the interviewers.     

Professional quality of life of adult protective service workers

Adult Protective Services (APS) workers are exposed to substantial occupational hazards and job stress, but these stressors are underdocumented. Therefore, we sought to describe APS workers’ work environments and responses to occupational hazards and stressors, including compassion fatigue, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress. Survey data were gathered with closed-ended questionnaires administered to APS workers in an urban setting. Virtually all workers (97%) reported exposure to one or more environmental hazards in their work, and 80% reported hazard exposure in the past month. Workers also reported mixed responses to their work environment and to experiences with supervision. A sizable minority (22.7%) was at high risk for burnout, 24.6% were at risk for secondary traumatic stress, and 19.9% reported low compassion satisfaction. The results document multiple stressors in APS work. The APS partner is committed to ongoing efforts to better support its staff, and these findings can inform future efforts to enhance supervisor support and worker self-care, to minimize burnout and secondary traumatic stress.     

Organizational values,job experiences and satisfactions among female and male psychologists1

This study examined the relationship of managerial and professional women's and men's perceptions of organizational values supportive of work–personal life integration and their job experiences, work and non-work satisfactions and psychological well-being. Data were collected from 324 women and 128 men psychologists in Australia using anonymous questionnaires. Both women and men reported benefits from such values. Women psychologists reporting organizational values more supportive of work–personal life integration also reported working fewer hours and extra-hours worked per week, greater job and career satisfaction, more optimistic career prospects, less time to job and less work stress, greater friends satisfaction, and more positive emotional and physical well-being. Men psychologists reporting organizational values more supportive of work–personal life integration also reported less job stress, greater joy in work, lower intentions to quit, greater job and career satisfaction, more optimistic career prospects, fewer psychosomatic symptoms and more positive emotional and physical well-being. Multiple regression analyses indicated more independent and significant correlates of organizational values supporting work–personal life integration among women than among men. Possible explanations for why women might benefit more from such organizational values are offered.     

Organizational Commitment in a Health NGO in Pakistan

The non-NGO literature provides evidence that employees?? perceptions about their organization??s support to them influences their commitment to the organization. NGOs, which have an increasing presence in developing countries, have not been a target for this type of organizational research. This cross-sectional study, based in a health NGO in Pakistan, examined relationship between employees?? perceived organizational support (POS) and their organizational commitment, and relationship between perceptions about organizational fairness, supervisor support, and job conditions with POS. The current organizational commitment literature guided the design of the survey tool. Focus group discussions were carried out at another health NGO to identify NGO and developing country specific items for inclusion in the survey tool. A total of 249 employees participated in the study, yielding a response rate of 96%. Factor analysis of the survey items indicated that the current scales used for measuring the study variables in the non-NGO sector were valid for the NGO sector as well. In addition, three new variables, namely female supportiveness, personal supportiveness, and favorableness of work conditions were assessed. Findings revealed that POS was significantly related with organizational commitment and actions, such as organizational fairness, supervisor support, and extrinsically satisfying job conditions. Female and personal supportiveness, which are generally ignored in developing countries on the pretext of limited resources and lack of organizational capacity to address them, were also found to be important in influencing POS.     

Internal Marketing,Negative Experiences,and Volunteers'Commitment to Providing High-Quality Services in a UK Helping and Caring Charitable Organization

Abstact This empirical study examined the effects of “negative' contact experiences with beneficiaries on charity volunteers' job satisfaction and organizational commitment within a helping and caring charitable organization that for 3.5 years had operated an internal marketing program. It was hypothesized that negative experiences downwardly moderated (i) the impact of the charity's internal market activities on satisfaction and commitment, and (ii) the influences of certain job attributes (autonomy, teamworking, and supervisory support) on these variables. Three personal characteristics (affect intensity, vulnerability to stress, and a person's reasons for having become a volunteer) were also posited to moderate the effects of negative experiences on job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Linkages between the last two variables and a volunteer's desire to provide high-quality client services were explored. The results indicated strong connections between job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and a volunteer's personal commitment to providing high-quality services. Levels of organizational commitment were influenced positively and significantly by the charity's internal marketing activities and negatively by the number of unpleasant client-contact experiences that a volunteer had to endure.     

Organizational climate and child welfare workers' degree of intent to leave the job: Evidence from New York

With increasingly unstable workforce in child welfare agencies, it is critical to understand what organizational factors lead to intent to leave the job based on job search behaviors. Using recent survey data collected among 359 child welfare workers from eight agencies in New York State during 2009–2011 and a Structural Equation Model (SEM) method, this study examines the relationship between employee perceptions of organizational climate and the degree of intent to leave the job (thinking, looking and taking actions related to a new job). Fifty-seven percent (n = 205) reported that they had considered looking for a new job in the past year. Bivariate analyses indicated that there were significant differences between those who looked for a job and those who did not look for a job in the past year. SEM analysis revealed that four organizational climate factors were predictive of decreasing the degree of intent to leave the job: Perceptions on organizational justice was most predictive factor for thinking of a new job followed by organizational support, work overload and job importance. The findings of this study help us understand the employee perceptions of different organizational factors that impact employee turnover especially from the time an employee thinks of leaving the job to actually taking concrete actions related to a new job.     

A MULTIVARIATE MODEL OF JOB STRESS AND ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION

Although a significant relationship between job stress and alcohol consumption would seem quite logical, it has in fact received limited empirical support. A multi-variate model is developed in this article, in which the relationship between job stress and alcohol consumption is assumed to be mediated by beliefs regarding the efficacy of alcohol to relieve stress. Considerable support for this model is demonstrated, and the implications for practice as well as research are discussed.     

The relationship between student core self-evaluations,support for school,and the work–school interface

More students than ever before are combining the experience of higher education with paid employment, but relatively little research has been done exploring how students manage these roles. In the current study, we explored the association between personality (i.e. core self-evaluations) and support, both specific to the school context. The relationship between support for school and both work–school conflict (WSC) and work-school enrichment (WSE) were also studied, and in turn, associated outcomes (i.e. grade point average, job satisfaction, general psychological health, and school burnout) of inter-role conflict and enrichment. In a two-wave study of 291 employed college students, we found that individuals high in school-specific core self-evaluations perceived greater organizational support and family support for school, which was associated with decreased WSC and increased WSE (through organizational support). In turn, WSC was related to lower general psychological health and higher school burnout whereas WSE was related to higher job satisfaction. These findings are consistent with theories of personality and stress, conservation of resources theory, and organizational support theory, and suggest that both organizations and universities have a role to play in helping students manage ‘learner’ and ‘earner’ roles.     

Secondary traumatic stress and burnout in child welfare workers: a comparative analysis of occupational distress across professional groups

This study describes predictors of secondary traumatic stress and burnout in a national sample of helping professionals, with a specific focus on the unique responses of child welfare (CW) workers. Specific worker and exposure characteristics are examined as possible predictors of these forms of occupational distress in a sample of 669 professionals from across the country who responded to mailed (e-mail and post) invitations to participate in an online survey. E-mail and home mailing addresses were secured from licensure boards and professional membership organizations in six states from across the country that had high rates of child related deaths in 2009. Respondents completed the Professional Quality of Life IV (Stamm, 2005) to ascertain compassion fatigue (CF) and burnout symptoms. Being male, young, Hispanic, holding rural residence, and endorsing a lack of religious participation were significant predictors of secondary traumatic stress. Similarly, being male and young predicted high burnout rates, while actively participating in religious services predicted lower burnout. CW worker job status as a professional was significantly more likely to predict CF and burnout compared to all other types of behavioral healthcare professionals. Based on the findings from this study, this paper proposes strategies for enhancing self-care for CW workers, and describes the essential elements of a trauma-informed CW agency that addresses secondary traumatic stress and burnout.     

Relationships between psychological capital,job satisfaction,and organizational commitment in the Saudi oil and petrochemical industries

During the past decade, Saudi Arabia experienced a significant social, economic, and organizational change. The rapid economic growth created a need for seasoned management professionals and necessitated the development of human capital. Psychological capital, a newly developed construct by academics and practitioners, is defined as the extent to which an individual operates in a positive psychological state, and this state is characterized by high self-efficacy, optimism, hope, and resiliency. By measuring the positive psychological constructs, an organization can learn about employees’ positive psychological states and how training and support can promote positive psychological states. Improving the positive psychological capital can lead to better organizational commitment, favorable organizational citizenship behaviors, lower employee absenteeism, and higher job satisfaction. This quantitative study examined the relationship among psychological capital, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment through a sample of managers in the Saudi Arabian oil and petrochemical industries.     

Psychological Contracts and Organizational Identification: The Mediating Effect of Perceived Organizational Support

Understanding the processes through which employees incorporate the organization’s identity into their own identity is critical to building positive employer-employee relationships. We draw primarily on organizational support theory to advance the argument that psychological contract breach is negatively related to organizational identification and positively related to organizational disidentification because it makes employees believe that their organizations do not value their contributions or care about their well-being (reduces perceived organizational support). Results from two studies generally provide support for our hypotheses: in Study 1, perceived organizational support fully mediated the relationship between psychological contract breach and organizational identification. In Study 2, Time 2 perceived organizational support fully mediated the relationship between Time 1 relational psychological contract breach (e.g., promises related to training, development, job security) and organizational identification, but not the relationship between transactional psychological contract breach (e.g., promises related to pay and work hours) and organizational identification. Time 2 perceived organizational support partially mediated the relationship between relational psychological contract breach and organizational disidentification, but not the relationship between transactional psychological contract breach and organizational disidentification. We conclude that organizations should be concerned with this erosion of the positive employer-employee relationship (organizational identification) and fostering of a negative employer-employee relationship (disidentification).     

Job satisfaction among military prevention specialists

The relationships between role perceptions and job satisfaction were studied. Such perceptions included perceived importance of the military prevention specialist role vis-a-vis substance abuse prevention, organizational efficiency, and supervisory interest. Perceived importance of the prevention duty for substance abuse prevention and organizational efficiency were primarily related to job satisfaction. Perception of the supervisor's emphasis upon the prevention duty was significant but secondary.     

Contribution of mental workload to job stress in industrial workers

This study's central objective is to determine how several individual, organizational and ergonomic factors influence the relationship between job stress and mental workload for workers in an electronics company. A cross-sectional study was made as a test of hypotheses regarding that relationship. The sample is composed of 95 workers, of both sexes, from the electronics industry in the metropolitan zone of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Ergonomic conditions were evaluated with the Ergonomic Evaluation List, stress was evaluated by administering the SWS-Survey to groups of subjects, and mental workload was evaluated with the NASA-TLX Workload Index. Using Cochran's and Mantel-Haenzsel statistics, the odds ratio for each of the independent variables was {e}stimated as a risk factor for job stress, and analysis was later conducted by means of logistic regression for those risks found to be significant. Of the 95 worker participants, 26.3% presented a high level of job stress and 17.9% of the workers were found to present high levels of mental workload. The results show that working hours, mental demand, temporal demand, and frustration when faced with a given task may be considered risk factors for job stress.     

Disparate Levels of Stress in Police and Correctional Officers: Preliminary Evidence from a Pilot Study on Domestic Violence

New data from a prevention curriculum project on officer-involved domestic violence reveals significant differences in the reported job stress of Florida's correctional officers when compared to police officers who took the same surveys. The significantly higher reported levels of organizational stress in particular—especially those related to staff and resource shortages and attitudes about leadership—raise concerns about the relationship between organizational stress and the reported drastic budget cuts, hiring freezes, and layoffs experienced by the Department of Corrections in 2009. The surprising disparity has significant implications for policy makers, who should be aware of the high cost of stress in officer health and well-being when making budgetary decisions about the state's rapidly increasing inmate population.     

The role of ‘workplace family’ support on worker health,exhaustion and pain

The goal of this study was to improve understanding of the potential health benefits of social support at work. We utilized 2002 GSS data to examine the relative influence of workplace support on self-reported health, exhaustion and experience of persistent pain in a sample of 1602 workers. Building on previous Demand-Control-Support models, we examined co-worker, supervisor, and organizational safety support (conceptualized as ‘workplace family’) in concert with job demands, job control and work-family conflict as predictors of worker health measures. We further tested the extent to which work-family conflict acted as a mediator between family and work characteristics and worker health outcomes. We found that increased co-worker support in the workplace was associated with better worker self-reported health, lower exhaustion and less pain. In addition, higher levels of perceived organizational safety support were associated with better self-reported health and lowered exhaustion. There is little evidence that work-family conflict mediates between work and family characteristics and worker health, and work-family conflict does not mediate the relationship between workplace family measures and worker health. We discuss results in light of workers’ changing and expanding definitions of family, with implications for changes in the organization of the workplace to improve workers’ health.