title: What Comes First, Job Burnout or Secondary Traumatic Stress? Findings from Two Longitudinal Studies from the U.S. and Poland.
abstract: This longitudinal research examined the directions of the relationships between job burnout and secondary traumatic stress (STS) among human services workers. In particular, using cross-lagged panel design, we investigated whether job burnout predicts STS at 6-month follow up or whether the level of STS symptoms explains job burnout at 6-month follow-up. Participants in Study 1 were behavioral or mental healthcare providers (N = 135) working with U.S. military personnel suffering from trauma. Participants in Study 2 were healthcare providers, social workers, and other human services professions (N = 194) providing various types of services for civilian trauma survivors in Poland. The cross-lagged analyses showed consistent results for both longitudinal studies; job burnout measured at Time 1 led to STS at Time 2, but STS assessed at Time 1 did not lead to job burnout at Time 2. These results contribute to a discussion on the origins of STS and job burnout among human services personnel working in highly demanding context of work-related secondary exposure to traumatic events and confirm that job burnout contributes to the development of STS.
authors: Trauma, Health, and Hazards Center, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States of America.
authors: Kotaro
authors: K
authors: Shoji
authors: Department of Psychology, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Warsaw, Poland.
authors: Magdalena
authors: M
authors: Lesnierowska
authors: Department of Psychology, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Warsaw, Poland.
authors: Ewelina
authors: E
authors: Smoktunowicz
authors: Trauma, Health, and Hazards Center, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States of America.
authors: Judith
authors: J
authors: Bock
authors: Trauma, Health, and Hazards Center, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States of America; Department of Psychology, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Wroclaw, Poland.
authors: Aleksandra
authors: A
authors: Luszczynska
authors: Trauma, Health, and Hazards Center, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States of America; Department of Psychology, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States of America.
authors: Charles C
authors: CC
authors: Benight
authors: Trauma, Health, and Hazards Center, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States of America; Department of Psychology, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Warsaw, Poland.
authors: Roman
authors: R
authors: Cieslak
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002055:Burnout, Professional / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D000068376:Compassion Fatigue / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D011044:Poland; D014481:United States