Journal article
The Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale (STSS): Confirmatory Factor Analyses with a National Sample of Mental Health Social Workers
Journal of human behavior in the social environment, Vol.11(3-4), pp.177-194
10/12/2005
DOI: 10.1300/J137v11n03_09
Abstract
The Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale (STSS; Bride, Robinson, Yegidis, & Figley, 2004) is an easy to administer 17-itemself-report measure of secondary trauma. Bride et al. (2004) reported a measure of three domains of traumatic stress specifically associated with secondary exposure to trauma: intrusion, avoidance, and arousal. The STSS was reported to have high levels of internal consistency reliability and indicated evidence of convergent, discriminant, and factorial validity. The purpose of this paper is to examine the reliability and validity of the STSS with a national, random sample of mental health social workers. To assess the fit of the data to the three-factor structure proposed by Bride et al., a confirmatory factor analysis was performed on data from 275 social workers who indicated exposure to client trauma. The model fit the data adequately although high factor intercorrelations strongly suggest a unidimensional scale. Subsequent confirmatory factor analysis of a unidimensional scale and a second order factor analysis yielded similar results. Findings indicate the need for further scale validation. Challenges remain for measuring and distinctly differentiating between secondary trauma symptoms of arousal, avoidance, and intrusion. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- The Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale (STSS): Confirmatory Factor Analyses with a National Sample of Mental Health Social Workers
- Creators
- Laura Ting - University of Maryland, Baltimore CountyJodi M. Jacobson - Towson UniversitySara Sanders - University of IowaBrian E. Bride - University of Georgia, School of Social Work, USADonna Harrington - University of Maryland, Baltimore
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Journal of human behavior in the social environment, Vol.11(3-4), pp.177-194
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis Group
- DOI
- 10.1300/J137v11n03_09
- ISSN
- 1091-1359
- eISSN
- 1540-3556
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 10/12/2005
- Academic Unit
- Liberal Arts and Science Admin; Social Work
- Record Identifier
- 9984307159902771
Metrics
20 Record Views