• Login
    View Item 
    •   Home
    • Massey Documents by Type
    • Theses and Dissertations
    • View Item
    •   Home
    • Massey Documents by Type
    • Theses and Dissertations
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Vicarious traumatic exposure among New Zealand health professionals : An exploration of coping strategies and vicarious posttraumatic growth : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand

    Icon
    View/Open Full Text
    01_front.pdf (277.2Kb)
    02_whole.pdf (5.396Mb)
    Export to EndNote
    Abstract
    The negative effects of working with trauma survivors have been well documented. This thesis provides an exploration of the less researched positive psychological effects of such work, termed vicarious posttraumatic growth (VPTG). Specifically, the research aimed to investigate New Zealand health professionals’ use of coping strategies (social support, self-care, and humour) following vicarious traumatic exposure, how these coping strategies influenced the psychological outcome of vicarious traumatic exposure, and how VPTG related to secondary traumatic stress (STS). It was also of interest whether all types of health professionals coped with, and psychologically reacted to, vicarious traumatic exposure in the same way, or if there were differences between professions. A total of 365 health professionals participated in the current research by completing a quantitative online survey. The final sample consisted of 103 social workers, 76 nurses, 72 counsellors, 70 psychologists, and 44 medical doctors. Humour, self-care, and peer social support were found to be positive predictors of VPTG, while self-care and social support from family and friends were negative predictors of STS. In addition, peer support was found to be a partial mediator of the relationship between vicarious traumatic exposure and STS. Social workers were found to have the highest levels of STS and VPTG, while psychologists were found to have the lowest levels. Regarding coping, generally psychologists and counsellors were found to engage in the highest levels of coping strategies, while nurses and doctors reported the lowest levels. However, the opposite pattern was found for peer support; nurses reported a significantly higher level of peer support than psychologists. Finally, a curvilinear relationship was found between STS and VPTG; moderate levels of STS were associated with the highest levels of VPTG. However, this was only the case among psychologists; among all other professions STS did not correlate with or predict VPTG. Implications of these results are discussed. Investigation into the relationship between humour and VPTG, exploration of coping strategies as mediators, and the systematic investigation of differences between different types of health professionals represent current gaps in the literature. In addition, exploration of the relationship between VPTG and STS represents an under-researched area with mixed results. Therefore, the current research is an important contribution to the current body of literature. It is envisaged that conclusions drawn from this research will have beneficial implications for health care professionals and the organisations they work within.
    Date
    2016
    Author
    Manning-Jones, Shekinah Faith
    Rights
    The Author
    Publisher
    Massey University
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/10179/9881
    Collections
    • Theses and Dissertations
    Metadata
    Show full item record

    Copyright © Massey University
    | Contact Us | Feedback | Copyright Take Down Request | Massey University Privacy Statement
    DSpace software copyright © Duraspace
    v5.7-2023.7-7
     

     

    Information PagesContent PolicyDepositing content to MROCopyright and Access InformationDeposit LicenseDeposit License SummaryTheses FAQFile FormatsDoctoral Thesis Deposit

    Browse

    All of MROCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

    My Account

    LoginRegister

    Statistics

    View Usage Statistics

    Copyright © Massey University
    | Contact Us | Feedback | Copyright Take Down Request | Massey University Privacy Statement
    DSpace software copyright © Duraspace
    v5.7-2023.7-7