The Effects of Social Support and Personal History of Traumatic Events on Child Welfare Workers

The relationship of vicarious traumatization (VT), secondary traumatic stress (STS) and burnout to perceived level of social support and a personal history of traumatic events was examined among child welfare workers (N=127). In addition, the relationship between child welfare worker\u27s level of perceived social support and intention to remain employed at their current jobs was addressed. As hypothesized, perceived level of social support from friends, family, significant others, and supervisors was significantly correlated with levels of VT, STS, and burnout. Level of perceived social support from colleagues was negatively correlated with burnout. Level of perceived support from supervisors and colleagues was negatively correlated with intention to remain employed; however, contrary to the hypothesis, level of perceived social support from friends, family, and significant others was not significantly related to intention to remain employed. Last, histories of personal traumatic events were positively related to levels of VT, but not with STS or burnout. Applications of these results are addressed