Keywords

mental health, compassion fatigue, school based, burnout, quality of life, secondary traumatic stress

Abstract

The purpose of this study is twofold: (1) to examine the prevalence of compassion fatigue and secondary traumatic stress within school-based mental health designees and (2) to examine certain demographic factors of mental health designees with relation to secondary traumatic stress, compassion fatigue, and burnout. This non-experimental, quantitative, and descriptive study with a correlational survey design will be conducted through the electronic administration of the Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) survey and additional demographic questions. This scientifically research-based instrument includes subscales to measure these variables and an additional, optional open-ended question to provide information on the positive and negative impacts of working in the helping profession on a school campus (ProQOL, 2019). The findings indicate moderate levels of compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress found in school-based mental health professionals and no significant differences between school levels, certificate types, and years of experience. Improving the recognition of compassion fatigue and secondary traumatic stress amongst mental health designees may prevent burnout and improve the retention of highly qualified professionals.

Completion Date

2024

Semester

Summer

Committee Chair

Eadens, Daniel

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

College

College of Community Innovation and Education

Department

Educational Leadership

Degree Program

Exceptional Educ Trk

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

DP0028587

URL

https://purls.library.ucf.edu/go/DP0028587

Language

English

Rights

In copyright

Release Date

August 2027

Length of Campus-only Access

3 years

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Campus-only Access)

Campus Location

Orlando (Main) Campus

Accessibility Status

Meets minimum standards for ETDs/HUTs

Download

Restricted to the UCF community until August 2027; it will then be open access.

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