The Use of Humor to Cope with Secondary Traumatic Stress

Professionals in the area of sexual violence often use humor, both lighthearted and gallows humor, in an attempt to counteract the effects of the work on their well-being. There is little research, however, on whether the use of humor is effective in reducing symptoms of secondary traumatic stress. In the current study, more than 500 Internet Crimes Against Children task force personnel were surveyed about their level of secondary traumatic stress and the coping techniques utilized to mitigate work-related stressors. The use of gallows and light-hearted humor were independently related to secondary traumatic stress scores, even controlling for other coping strategies. The two types of humor were not related to secondary traumatic stress in the same direction, nor at the same magnitude.