UB social work researchers examine racial differences using secondary traumatic stress scale among child welfare workers

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Secondary traumatic stress (STS) occurs from exposure to another person’s traumatic event and the desire to help a person experiencing trauma. Research has long shown that child welfare workers are particularly vulnerable to STS because of the nature of their work and their exposure to distressing familial events.

Now, a new study by a team of University at Buffalo School of Social Work researchers explores the use of the STS scale among child welfare workers of different gender and racial identities. The STS scale measures intrusion, avoidance and arousal symptoms that arise from secondary trauma exposure.

The study, led by Jangmin Kim, PhD, assistant professor in the UB School of Social Work, is available online ahead of print publication in Research on Social Work Practice. Co-authors are Qi Zhou, PhD ’25, Title IV-E researcher at the University of Minnesota’s Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare, and Keith A. Alford, PhD, dean of the UB School of Social Work.

Seeking to test the validity of the STS scale across racial and gender differences, the researchers examined survey data collected from 2,004 public child welfare workers in the Midwest and on the West Coast.

The project was important, they note, to determine whether the scale is “accurately identifying racial and gender disparities in STS experiences and promoting racial and gender equity to improve child welfare workers’ health and well-being.” Without this approach, they posit, statistical differences may reflect biases in how the assessment has been interpreted by different groups — called “measurement invariance” — rather than reflect true differences in the underlying construct.

For their study, the researchers drew on the “intersectionality framework,” which addresses the unique experiences people face when they hold multiple identities at the same time (for example, race, gender and class). It also examines how these identities may shape individuals’ personal and work experiences. Thus, STS may range in impact among different identity groups.

In analyzing the survey data, Kim and his colleagues found that the scale measured STS equivalently across gender groups, and no significant differences in STS were observed between female and male workers.

In contrast, the scale did not measure STS in the same way across racial groups, suggesting that it may not accurately compare STS among Black and white workers. According to the researchers, the measure was implicitly constructed to better reflect STS symptoms and signs among white workers. Consequently, the observed lower STS scores among Black workers may reflect a measurement bias rather than a true racial difference.

“Testing measurement invariance is not only an act of scientific rigor, but also an act of critical inquiry,” Kim points out. “It challenges the assumption that measures are neutral, and it examines when lived experiences are standardized or their meanings are marginalized, when seeking to uncover racial disparities and inequities.”

The existing scale should be refined to accurately identify racial disparities in STS, the researchers conclude. This could be achieved by incorporating additional items that measure common STS symptoms across racial groups.

“If the goal is to better capture the unique experiences of Black workers,” says Kim, “it is essential to develop a new culturally responsive scale that represents their unique experiences of STS.”

Matthew Biddle
Director of Communications and Marketing
School of Social Work
Tel: 716-645-1226
mrbiddle@buffalo.edu