REL Midwest Ask A REL Response

Teacher Workforce

June 2020

Question:

What research and resources are available on the impact of secondary trauma on public school educators?

Response:

Following an established Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Midwest protocol, we conducted a search for research reports, descriptive studies and policy overviews on the impact of secondary trauma on public school educators. Secondary trauma stress, as defined by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, is “the emotional duress that results when an individual hears about the firsthand trauma experiences of another.” We also focused on identifying resources related to prevention of secondary trauma in educators. For details on the databases and sources, keywords, and selection criteria used to create this response, please see the Methods section at the end of this memo.

Below, we share a sampling of the publicly accessible resources on this topic. References are listed in alphabetical order, not necessarily in order of relevance. The search conducted is not comprehensive; other relevant references and resources may exist. For each reference, we provide an abstract, excerpt, or summary written by the study’s author or publisher. We have not evaluated the quality of these references, but provide them for your information only.

Research References

Caringi, J. C., Stanick, C., Trautman, A., Crosby, L., Devlin, M., & Adams, S. (2015). Secondary traumatic stress in public school teachers: Contributing and mitigating factors. Advances in School Mental Health Promotion, 8(4), 244–256. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1090235

From the ERIC abstract: “Although research has examined secondary traumatic stress (STS) among mental health workers, child welfare workers, and other human service professionals, such examination among public school teachers has only recently begun. This study represents the first investigation to examine the factors that influence STS levels in public School teachers. Qualitative methods were utilized to develop a thick description of the experience of educators relative to their STS level in public school settings. Themes that were explored included characteristics of students, class load size, and a personal history of trauma. Additional themes emerged during data analysis. The assessment also included extrapolation on the quantitative measures that were described in a previous study. Implications and recommendations for such programs are discussed.”

Note: REL Midwest was unable to locate a link to the full-text version of this resource. Although REL Midwest tries to provide publicly available resources whenever possible, it was determined that this resource may be of interest to you. It may be found through university or public library systems.

Hydon, S., Wong, M., Langley, A. K., Stein, B. D., & Kataoka, S. H. (2015). Preventing secondary traumatic stress in educators. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics, 24(2), 319–333. Retrieved from https://www.childpsych.theclinics.com/article/S1056-4993(14)00112-6/abstract

From the abstract: “Teachers can be vulnerable to secondary traumatic stress (STS) because of their supportive role with students and potential exposure to students’ experiences with traumas, violence, disasters, or crises. STS symptoms, similar to those found in posttraumatic stress disorder, include nightmares, avoidance, agitation, and withdrawal, and can result from secondary exposure to hearing about students’ traumas. This article describes how STS presents, how teachers can be at risk, and how STS can manifest in schools. A US Department of Education training program is presented, and thoughts on future directions are discussed.”

Lander, J. (2018, September 26). Helping teachers manage the weight of trauma [blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/uk/18/09/helping-teachers-manage-weight-trauma

From the article: “Roughly half of American school children have experienced at least some form of trauma—from neglect, to abuse, to violence. In response, educators often find themselves having to take on the role of counselors, supporting the emotional healing of their students, not just their academic growth. With this evolving role comes an increasing need to understand and address the ways in which student trauma affects our education professionals.”

Lawson, H. A., Caringi, J. C., Gottfried, R., Bride, B. E., & Hydon, S. P. (2019). Educators’ secondary traumatic stress, children’s trauma, and the need for trauma literacy. Harvard Educational Review, 89(3), 421–447. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1228588

From the ERIC abstract: “In this essay, authors Lawson, Caringi, Gottfried, Bride, and Hydon introduce the concept of trauma literacy, connecting it to students’ trauma and educators’ secondary traumatic stress (STS). Interactions with traumatized students is one cause of STS; others derive from other traumatic encounters in schools and communities. Undesirable effects of STS start with professional disengagement and declining performance, include spill-over effects into educators’ personal lives, and, ultimately, may cause them to leave the profession. The authors contend that alongside trauma-informed pedagogies and mental health services for students, mechanisms are needed for STS prevention, early identification, and rapid response. To benefit from and advance this dual framework, educators need a trauma-informed literacy that enables self-care, facilitates and safeguards interactions with trauma-impacted students and colleagues, and paves the way for expanded school improvement models.”

Ruprecht, K., Tomlin, A., Perkins, K. J., & Viehweg, S. (2020). Understanding secondary trauma and stress in the early childhood workforce. Zero to Three, 40(4), 41–50. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1248078

From the ERIC abstract: “Early care and education workers are increasingly recognizing their role in helping children who have experienced trauma, including extended parental separations due to incarceration. These children may have emotional reactions and behaviors that are particularly challenging in group settings. Moreover, early care and education professionals themselves have often had challenging experiences in their own lives. As a result, there is a need for training and support to help the workforce recognize the secondary trauma and stress associated with caring for these young children. This article will explore how to establish systems and policies that support the early care and education workforce who are on the frontlines of helping children cope with trauma.”

Whitfield, N., & Kanter, D. (2014). Helpers in distress: Preventing secondary trauma. Reclaiming Children and Youth, 22(4), 59–61. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1038554

From the ERIC abstract: “Those in close contact with trauma survivors are themselves at risk for trauma (e.g., Bride, 2007; Figley, 1995). Family, friends, and professionals who bear witness to the emotional retelling and re-enacting of traumatic events can experience what is called ‘secondary trauma’ (Elwood, Mott, Lohr, & Galovski, 2011). The literature uses many terms to describe the distress that helping professionals who work in this field may experience, including vicarious trauma, secondary traumatic stress, compassion fatigue, burnout, vicarious traumatization, empathic strains, traumatoid states, and counter-transference. The term secondary trauma is being used here to describe this unique and important challenge. Although professionals and caregivers are becoming more trauma-informed, they can be unknowingly drawn into the emotional distress experienced by those they seek to help. Causes and prevention of this secondary trauma are reviewed.”

Additional Organizations to Consult

Support for Teachers Affected by Trauma – http://statprogram.org/

From the website: “STAT is a user-friendly curriculum that allows participants to engage in a range of STS learning interactives; explore scenarios that highlight the impact of STS; listen to teachers describe their experiences with STS and self-care; and complete self-assessment scales that can measure and track STS levels over time. STAT brings much needed attention and understanding of secondary trauma to the field of preK-12 education.”

The National Child Traumatic Stress Network – https://www.nctsn.org/

From the website: “OUR MISSION is to raise the standard of care and improve access to services for traumatized children, their families and communities throughout the United States.”

Resources on secondary traumatic stress developed by the NCTSN – https://www.nctsn.org/trauma-informed-care/secondary-traumatic-stress/nctsn-resources

Treatment and Services Adaption Center – https://traumaawareschools.org/

From the website: “Promoting trauma-informed school systems that provide prevention and early intervention strategies to create supportive and nurturing school environments.”

Secondary traumatic stress information and resources – https://traumaawareschools.org/secondaryStress

Methods

Keywords and Search Strings

The following keywords and search strings were used to search the reference databases and other sources:

Secondary trauma
Secondary trauma teachers
Secondary traumatic
Secondary traumatic stress
Trauma

Databases and Search Engines

We searched ERIC for relevant resources. ERIC is a free online library of more than 1.6 million citations of education research sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). Additionally, we searched IES and Google Scholar.

Reference Search and Selection Criteria

When we were searching and reviewing resources, we considered the following criteria:

Date of the publication: References and resources published over the last 15 years, from 2005 to present, were included in the search and review.
Search priorities of reference sources: Search priority is given to study reports, briefs, and other documents that are published or reviewed by IES and other federal or federally funded organizations.
Methodology: We used the following methodological priorities/considerations in the review and selection of the references: (a) study types—randomized control trials, quasi-experiments, surveys, descriptive data analyses, literature reviews, policy briefs, and so forth, generally in this order, (b) target population, samples (e.g., representativeness of the target population, sample size, volunteered or randomly selected), study duration, and so forth, and (c) limitations, generalizability of the findings and conclusions, and so forth.

This memorandum is one in a series of quick-turnaround responses to specific questions posed by educational stakeholders in the Midwest Region (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin), which is served by the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL Midwest) at American Institutes for Research. This memorandum was prepared by REL Midwest under a contract with the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES), Contract ED-IES-17-C-0007, administered by American Institutes for Research. Its content does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of IES or the U.S. Department of Education nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.