Thomas A. Whelan

Vicarious traumatisation: current status and future directions

ABSTRACT Theorists and practitioners have long recognised that working with trauma clients can trigger reactions in the therapist similar to those experienced by the client. Nevertheless, research in this area has been lacking. One obstacle has been confusion regarding key terms. Vicarious traumatisation is the most appropriate concept given that it relates specifically to trauma work, incorporates intrinsic and extrinsic factors, and can be located within the framework of the constructivist self-development theory. Although limited, research has identified a range of factors that influence vicarious traumatisation, such as experience, personal trauma history and coping style. Future investigation is required to examine aspects that could enhance counsellor resilience. In addition, vicarious traumatisation needs to be studied in terms of a broad range of clientele and occupations.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GRANDPARENT SATISFACTION, MEANING, AND GENERATIVITY

This study investigated predictors of grandparent satisfaction. Participants were 149 non-custodial grandparents (100 grandmothers, 49 grandfathers) aged up to 80 years. They completed grandparent satisfaction, meaning, and generativity scales, and indicated levels of weekly childcare contact with grandchildren. As expected, increasing levels of generativity predicted greater satisfaction, as did valued elder and centrality meanings. Unexpectedly, reinvolvement, immortality, and indulgence meanings were not predictors, nor was childcare contact. There was only partial support for grandparent gender as a predictor: being a grandmother predicted greater satisfaction, but this effect disappeared when the meaning and generativity variables were included in the analysis. In conclusion, the findings highlight the significance the role can have for many grandparents. Grandparenting can be satisfying because it provides a sense of purpose, and feeling of being valued during middle and later life when generative developmental needs are greatest.

Vicarious traumatisation in telephone counsellors: internal and external influences

ABSTRACT The present study investigated vicarious traumatisation among telephone counsellors. In particular, the influence of coping style, supervision, and personal trauma history on vicarious traumatisation was examined. A total of 62 telephone counsellors from trauma related fields completed a series of self-report measures. Generally, levels of traumatisation (i.e. PTSD symptoms and disruptions in beliefs) were low. Nonetheless, five (8.2%) participants had total scores indicating ‘high average’ to ‘very high’ levels of disruption in beliefs. Also, 15 (25.9%) respondents reported that they experienced at least one PTSD symptom. As expected, non-productive coping was related to disruptions in cognitive beliefs, while dealing with the problem was not. In addition, having a strong supervisory working alliance was associated with lower levels of disruption in beliefs. Contrary to expectations, there were no significant predictors of PTSD symptoms despite a positive correlation with personal trauma history. In conclusion, vicarious traumatisation is of concern for telephone counsellors. Efforts to address its impact should focus on developing effective coping styles and enhancing the quality of supervision.

Paternal Commitment and Father's Quality of Life

This study explored the effects of paternal commitment on the quality of life of fathers. Data were gathered from 56 fathers who had at least one child under the age of 10 years. Respondents completed self-report measures that assessed their level of involvement with the children, proportion of contribution to the family income, perception of social supports, as well as objective and subjective quality of life. Higher levels of involvement with the children together with a greater contribution to family finances were related to fathers scoring lower on both the objective and subjective domains of the quality of life measure. It appears that the poorer quality of life scores might be attributed to fathers experiencing role-overload. A second finding was that a greater contribution to family finances predicted higher subjective quality of life scores. This positive relationship suggests that the breadwinner-role still features in the paternal script. Finally, a negative association was found between the level of involvement with the children and perceived social supports. That is, fathers who remained at home appeared to suffer from greater social isolation. In conclusion, while the image of the involved father might be popular, the reality of being a co-parent includes substantial costs in terms of psychological wellbeing and social support. Greater research and policy attention is required to develop support structures for stay at home fathers and to enable men to achieve a more effective balance between work and family commitments.

Adversarial Growth in Telephone Counsellors: Psychological and Environmental Influences.

The aims of this study were to investigate the level of adversarial growth among telephone counsellors, and to examine the influence of psychological and environmental factors on growth. In particular, the effect of compassion fatigue, empathy, environmental support and calls per shift on posttraumatic growth was assessed. Sixty-four telephone counsellors completed five self-report measures: a demographic questionnaire, the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, the Professional Quality of Life Scale, the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy, and the Crisis Support Scale. Although relatively low, levels of posttraumatic growth were in evidence. As predicted, compassion fatigue was significantly related to posttraumatic growth. In addition, calls per shift were associated with growth, although this was a negative relationship whereby the more calls that were taken, the lower the level of growth. Contrary to expectation, neither empathy nor crisis support were significant predictors of growth. In conclusion, adversarial growth was observed in the current sample of telephone counsellors. However, there appears to be a threshold of adversity, beyond which there is less likelihood of continued growth. This was evident in those telephone counsellors who, having taken a relatively high number of calls in a shift, were less likely to experience growth.

Parent Adjustment to a Child's Hospitalisation

Hospitalisation of a child can be a very stressful experience, not only for the patient but also for the child’s parent(s). In fact, some parents of hospitalised children rate their own anxiety as higher than their child’s anxiety. The emotional state of parents can affect that of their child. Researchers have explained this process in terms of the emotional contagion hypothesis or crisis theory. However, further investigation is required to better understand the communication of emotion between child and parent. The factors underlying a parent’s vulnerability to emotional problems have received relatively little attention from researchers. The empirical studies that have been published suggest that key determinants of a child’s hospitalisation relate to how the parent appraises the hospital stressors that confront them (and their child) and how he or she evaluates the resources available to help cope with the situation. This indicates that research into parents’ beliefs about hospitalisation would be of benefit. Such investigation could assist in the identification of those who are at risk of poor adjustment and could lead to the development of interventions to improve parental adjustment and, as a consequence, help child patients to better cope.