We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
An Examination of the Psychometric Properties of the Vicarious Trauma Scale in a Sample of Licensed Social Workers.
- Authors
Aparicio, Elizabeth; Michalopoulos, Lynn M.; Unick, George J.
- Abstract
Vicarious trauma (VT) involves affective distress and shifts in cognitive schemas following secondary exposure to traumatic material. The Vicarious Trauma Scale (VTS) is a brief measure designed to assess distress resulting from such exposure and has potential as a screening tool for VT in practice and educational settings. The current study is the first examination of the psychometric properties of the VTS in a sample of social workers (n = 157) collected in a cross-sectional survey. Results from item response models (IRM) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) suggest the VTS has good to excellent psychometric properties and could be a general screening tool for exposure to traumatic material or distressed clients and a measure of the affective and cognitive impact of such exposure. Both CFA and IRM approaches suggest a two-dimensional solution for the VTS, corresponding to cognitive and affective components. Implications for research and applications to practice are discussed.
- Subjects
MARYLAND; MENTAL health; WOUNDS &; injuries; ENVIRONMENTAL exposure; STATISTICAL correlation; FACTOR analysis; RESEARCH methodology; PSYCHOLOGICAL tests; PSYCHOMETRICS; QUESTIONNAIRES; STATISTICAL sampling; SOCIAL case work; SOCIAL workers; SURVEYS; OCCUPATIONAL hazards; EDUCATIONAL attainment; CROSS-sectional method; RESEARCH methodology evaluation; DATA analysis software; PSYCHOLOGY
- Publication
Health & Social Work, 2013, Vol 38, Issue 4, p199
- ISSN
0360-7283
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1093/hsw/hlt017