The "cost of caring": Identifying correlates of burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and compassion satisfaction among Texas victim assistance coordinators

Many victim service provider agencies experience high turnover rates as a result of staff suffering from burnout and trauma symptomatology. High turnover rates are problematic because they increase workloads for remaining staff members and decrease the quality of services delivered as new hires are trained. Consequently, many agencies seek ways to reduce symptomatology among their victim service providers. Before agencies can identify effective methods for reducing symptomatology, however, they must first identify the factors that are associated with higher levels of those symptoms. The current study consisted of four primary objectives: (1) identify the prevalence of burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and compassion satisfaction among victim service providers; (2) identify factors that predict burnout among victim service providers; (3) identify factors that predict secondary traumatic stress among victim service providers; and (4) identify factors that predict compassion satisfaction among victim service providers. Data for the current study were derived from 76 victim assistance coordinators (VACs) housed in Texas district attorney's offices. Results demonstrated that one in four VACs reported high levels of burnout, one in five VACs reported high levels of secondary traumatic stress, and one in four VACs reported low levels of compassion satisfaction. Purpose in life, religiosity, social support from family, and child care responsibility emerged as the strongest predictors of the dependent variables in multivariate analyses. Findings highlight the need for agencies to redouble their efforts to protect staff from the negative effects of victim service work and to celebrate their successes.