Teacher psychopathology, burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and compassion satisfaction during COVID-19: Resilience and risk factors.

Teaching staff have been especially vulnerable to experiencing psychopathology and compassion fatigue during COVID-19, given the significant demands they have experienced. Yet, research on risk and resilience factors is scant. We assessed the psychological status of Israeli teaching staff during COVID-19, focusing on psychopathology (depression, anxiety, somatization), compassion fatigue (burnout, secondary traumatic stress), and compassion satisfaction. We also examined the role of transdiagnostic risk and resilience factors-mentalizing, self-compassion, self-criticism, social support, and specialized trauma training-in predicting psychological status and mitigating the link between COVID-19-related distress and psychological status. An online questionnaire was completed by 350 teaching staff. Analyses included outlining the distributions of psychological status outcomes and running a series of moderation models using hierarchical robust regression. While 48% of the participants exhibited moderated-to-high levels of anxiety and 28.27% had no somatization, only 13% exhibited moderate-to-severe levels of depression; 60% had moderate levels of burnout, 48% had moderate levels of secondary traumatic stress, and 52% had low levels of compassion satisfaction. COVID-19-related distress, self-criticism, prementalizing modes, low socioeconomic status, and being in an intimate relationship emerged as key risk factors positively associated with psychological status, while self-compassion, general mentalizing, interest and curiosity about mental states, and social support were negatively linked with these outcomes. Teacher's mentalizing about students' mental states and social support moderated the link between COVID-19-related distress and psychological status. The findings highlight the importance of risk and resilience factors for assessing and preventing teaching staff's psychopathology and compassion fatigue during COVID-19. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The Relationship Between Secondary Traumatic Stress and Compassion Satisfaction: A Systematic Literature Review.

This systematic literature review examines the relationship between secondary traumatic stress (STS) and compassion satisfaction (CS) to identify the state of the science and directions for future research. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis framework was used to guide the identification and evaluation of studies. Eight academic databases were systematically searched between July and December of 2022 to identify articles and dissertations published in English or Hebrew between 2000 and 2022. Studies were considered for inclusion if they examined the relationship between STS and CS and met an established quality threshold. If studies used a mixed methods approach, only quantitative results were included in the review. The search strategy yielded 537 studies with 33 included in the final review. Findings of this review suggest experiences of high levels of STS can coexist with high levels of CS indicating that people can gain satisfaction from their work and experience STS. Most studies examined the relationship between STS and CS using bivariate analyses with variability found in the direction of the relationship. This variability was also found in multivariate studies included in this review. These findings suggest the need for interventions to address both STS and CS with attention paid to the potential negative impact of emotional contagion and the vulnerability of younger female practitioners. Future research should pay attention to the rigor of the analysis of STS and CS and the exploration of mediating or moderating mechanisms between these constructs.

Reluctance Versus Urge to Disclose Child Maltreatment: The Impact of Multi-Type Maltreatment.

Child maltreatment is a major public health issue in Israel. According to a recent Israeli national epidemiological survey, approximately half of Jewish and Arab girls and boys between the ages 12 and 17 experienced at least one type of child maltreatment, at any severity level. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the influence of multi-type maltreatment on Israeli children and youth survivors' reluctance versus urge to disclose; with the effects of gender, age, and ethnicity taken into account. The study is important since non-disclosure has deleterious effects in terms of continuation of the abuse, delays in criminal prosecution and commencement of treatment. A self-report questionnaire incorporating the following instruments was administered: the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, and the Disclosure of Trauma Questionnaire. The sample consisted of 6,253 Jewish and Arab children and youth who reported experiencing at least one lifetime child maltreatment event. Study results indicated that children and youth's reluctance to disclose is positively associated with their emotional reactions to disclosure, as well as with higher instances of child maltreatment exposure; whereas urge to talk is negatively correlated with their emotional reactions to disclosure.

Prevalence of Child Maltreatment in Israel: A National Epidemiological Study.

The current study is based on data collected from Jewish and Arab 6th, 8th and 10th grade students (age range 12-17) within the Israeli national school system (N = 12,035). Data collection for the study utilized two complementary instruments: the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire (JVQ). Study results revealed that the lifetime prevalence of child maltreatment in contemporary Israeli society is within the range of estimates from other countries. However, contrary to others, Israeli boys reported higher rates of abuse, including sexual abuse, compared to girls. Additionally, Arab compared to Jewish children and youth reported higher rates of all types of abuse. The need for widely accepted, uniform definitions of the various child maltreatment types, a standardized methodology of data collection, and regularly updated national and international data bases is discussed.

Inter-relationships between sexual abuse, female sexual function and childbirth.

BACKGROUND: the present quantitative longitudinal study focuses on the inter-relationships between sexual abuse, distressed female sexual function and childbirth. Additional variables studied include depression, mode of delivery, subjective birth experience and traumatic life events other than sexual abuse. METHODS: data collection for the study was extended across three time periods: during the third trimester of pregnancy and approximately one and six months postpartum. Self-reported questionnaire responses of 300 women from two medical centres in Israel, as well as hospital records regarding their mode of childbirth, were included in the data analysis. Measures incorporated in the study included the Female Sexual Distress Scale-Revised, the Beck Depression Inventory and modified versions of the Traumatic Events Questionnaire, the Sexual Experiences Survey, and the Subjective Birth Experience Questionnaire. RESULTS: findings demonstrated that women with a lifetime history of sexual abuse compared to women without such history, are at an increased risk for distressed antenatal and postpartum female sexual function (Odds Ratio OR=2.66 and OR=2.26, respectively); and postpartum depression (OR=2.36). Antenatal depression was likewise shown to be significantly associated with antenatal and postpartum distressed female sexual function (OR=4.32 and OR=10.4, respectively), as well as with a more negatively experienced childbirth (T-Ratio, T=1.98, p<0.05). Moreover, distressed antenatal female sexual function was found to increase the risk for a more negatively experienced childbirth (T=2.04, p<0.05), and caesarean childbirth (OR=3.34). CONCLUSIONS: the current study enriches the understanding of the inter-relationships between the antenatal, childbirth and postpartum variables studied herein; and has implications for evidence based practice in both preventative and intervention efforts. Recommendations for future research are presented and discussed.

Factors affecting disclosure among Israeli children in residential care due to domestic violence.

Disclosure of child abuse may enable initiating interventions to end maltreatment and mediate its negative physical and psychological consequences. The present study reviews the field of disclosure and examines factors affecting disclosure among a service population of abused children who were placed in residential care due to various forms of abuse (e.g., physical, sexual, emotional, neglect and witnessing domestic violence). The sample consisted of 286 Israeli (Hebrew and Arabic speaking) children aged 12-17 (mean=14±1). Following approval of the Ethics committee of the University and parents' written consent, participants were administered a self-report questionnaire that included the following measures: a Socio-Demographic Questionnaire, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire (JVQ), and the Disclosure of Trauma Questionnaire (DTQ). Results indicated that the three key factors enhancing the likelihood of disclosure were: moral factors, external initiatives and intolerable physical pain. The three key factors inhibiting disclosure were feelings of shame, fear of losing social support and uncertainty as to how and to whom to disclose. Results also showed that children preferred to disclose to their nuclear family members (parents and siblings) in comparison with professionals.