Social Work· 2015Q2
The Role of Empathy in Burnout, Compassion Satisfaction, and Secondary Traumatic Stress among Social Workers
- 392citations
- Q2SCImago
- 2015year
Short summary
Higher empathy levels in social workers (N=173) correlate with reduced burnout and secondary traumatic stress (STS), and increased compassion satisfaction.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Empathy may act as a protective factor for social workers against burnout and secondary traumatic stress.
- Higher empathy levels were associated with greater compassion satisfaction among social workers.
- The study surveyed 173 social workers using the Empathy Assessment Index and Professional Quality of Life instruments.
- Empathy should be integrated into social worker training and career development.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Social workers are at risk for experiencing burnout and secondary traumatic stress (STS) as a result of the nature of their work and the contexts within which they work. Little attention has been paid to the factors within a social worker's control that may prevent burnout and STS and increase compassion satisfaction. Empathy, which is a combination of physiological and cognitive processes, may be a tool to help address burnout and STS. This article reports on the findings of a study of social workers (N = 173) that explored the relationship between the components of empathy, burnout, STS, and compassion satisfaction using the Empathy Assessment Index and the Professional Quality of Life instruments. It was hypothesized that higher levels of empathy would be associated with lower levels of burnout and STS, and higher levels of compassion satisfaction. Findings suggest that components of empathy may prevent or reduce burnout and STS while increasing compassion satisfaction, and that empathy should be incorporated into training and education throughout the course of a social worker's career.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Social Work, 2015 · DOI ↗
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Field: Public Administration
Public AdministrationSocial Sciences