title: An examination of the psychometric properties of the Vicarious Trauma Scale in a sample of licensed social workers.
abstract: Vicarious trauma (VT) involves affective distress and shifts in cognitive schemas following secondary exposure to traumatic material. The Vicarious Trauma Scale (VTS) is a brief measure designed to assess distress resulting from such exposure and has potential as a screening tool for VT in practice and educational settings. The current study is the first examination of the psychometric properties of the VTS in a sample of social workers (n = 157) collected in a cross-sectional survey. Results from item response models (IRM) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) suggest the VTS has good to excellent psychometric properties and could be a general screening tool for exposure to traumatic material or distressed clients and a measure of the affective and cognitive impact of such exposure. Both CFA and IRM approaches suggest a two-dimensional solution for the VTS, corresponding to cognitive and affective components. Implications for research and applications to practice are discussed.
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA. laparicio@ssw.umaryland.edu
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Aparicio
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Lynn M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Michalopoulos
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, University of Maryland, Baltimore 2121, USA.
authors.forename: George J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Unick
mesh_terms: D002055:Burnout, Professional / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D004645:Empathy; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008396:Maryland; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012947:Social Work; D040921:Stress Disorders, Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology