Secondary Traumatic Stress and Child Welfare

Abstract

Although secondary traumatic stress (STS) has garnered some attention in related human service fields, it has only recently begun to be investigated in child welfare. In this article I offer a detailed description of the problem of secondary traumatic stress (STS) in child welfare. The focus of this article is on child welfare in the United States; however the ideas and principles may cut across international systems of child protection. First I provide a background to justify a need for a continuing dialogue regarding STS and its impact on workers. I then provide a comprehensive review of the literature including both the current state of research and emerging theory regarding STS. Also, I offer a rationale for more research regarding the impact of STS on child welfare workers. The current state of the existing STS literature provides indicators of future needs, however still is filled with mainly gaps and silences. Note. Wrongly, on the original pdf the name 'Jeannette Rankin Hall' was mentioned as that of a co-author; the paper was only written by James C. Caringi.  The second name is removed from the revised version.