The Relationship Between Hope, Meaning in Work, Secondary Traumatic Stress, and Burnout Among Child Abuse Pediatric Clinicians.

Abstract

INTRODUCTION\nChild abuse pediatricians continuously encounter trauma experienced by abused children, putting them at risk of secondary traumatic stress (STS), a syndrome with symptoms similar to those of posttraumatic stress disorder.\n\n\nOBJECTIVE\nTo examine the relationship between secondary trauma, hope, meaningful work, and burnout in child abuse pediatric clinicians.\n\n\nMETHODS\nParticipants were solicited from the Helfer and Special Interest Group on Child Abuse for Medical Professionals listservs. They were sent a link to a Web-based survey consisting of the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory, the STS Scale, the Dispositional Hope Scale, and the Work as Meaning Inventory.\n\n\nRESULTS\nA total of 151 participants completed the survey. Correlational analyses showed strong positive associations between the STS score and burnout (R2 = 0.47; F3,140 = 40.64; p < 0.001). Hope and meaning in work demonstrated negatively moderate associations with STS and burnout (ΔR2 = 0.07, p < 0.001).\n\n\nCONCLUSION\nA national sample of child abuse pediatric clinicians shows that STS is associated with burnout. Meaning in work and hope can mitigate these effects.