title: Child protection workers dealing with child abuse: The contribution of personal, social and organizational resources to secondary traumatization.
abstract: The present study compared secondary traumatization among child protection social workers versus social workers employed at social service departments. In addition, based on Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, the study examined the contribution of working in the field of child protection as well as the contribution of background variables, personal resources (mastery), and resources in the workers' social and organizational environment (social support, effectiveness of supervision, and role stress) to secondary traumatization. The findings indicate that levels of mastery and years of work experience contributed negatively to secondary traumatization, whereas exposure to child maltreatment, trauma history, and role stress contributed positively to secondary traumatization. However, no significant contribution was found for social support and effectiveness of supervision. The study identifies factors that can prevent distress among professionals such as child protection workers, who are exposed to the trauma of child abuse victims. Recommendations are provided accordingly.
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan 52900, Israel.
authors.forename: Shlomit Weiss
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Dagan
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan 52900, Israel.
authors.forename: Anat
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ben-Porat
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan 52900, Israel.
authors.forename: Haya
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Itzhaky
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D000068216:Child Protective Services; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012944:Social Support; D000068217:Social Workers / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Child abuse; Child protection workers; Conservation of Resources theory; Secondary traumatization