The STS Practice Lab currently has several ongoing research projects and regularly collaborates with other experts in the area of secondary traumatic stress. Here's a list of publications from some of our projects:
Sprang, G., Gusler, S., Eslinger, J., & Gottfried, R. (2025). Development and testing of the secondary traumatic stress policy analysis tool. Advances in Mental Health, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/18387357.2025.2517318
Sprang, G., Gusler, S., Eslinger, J., Hood, C., Whitt, A. (2025). The Role of Secondary Traumatic Stress and Implementation Strategies in Successful Adoption of Evidence-Based Approaches to Address Traumatic Stress, Traumatology. https://doi.org/10.1037/trm0000588
Sprang, G., Garcia, A., Schnell, A. Clark, S., and Lau, C. (2025). An Investigation of Burnout and Secondary Traumatic Stress Over Time in School Personnel Involved in a Trauma-Informed Initiative, submitted to the Journal of Trauma Studies in Education. 4,1, 38-58 http://doi.org/10.70085/jtse.v4i1.140
Brend, D., & Sprang, G. (2025). Relational impacts: trauma-related risk, protection, practice and education. In. Tufford, L., & Dylan, A. (Eds.). Trauma-informed Care in social work education: Implications for students, educators, field, and pedagogy. Routledge.
Gusler, S., Sprang, G., Hood., C., Eslinger, J., Whitt-Woosley, A., Kinnish, K., Wozniak, J. (2025). Untangling Secondary Traumatic Stress and Vicarious Traumatization:
One Construct or Two? Psychological Trauma: Theory Research and Practice. 17(3), 621–630. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0001604
Sprang, G. & Craig, C. (2024). An Interbattery Factor Analysis of Primary and Secondary Traumatic Stress; Determining a Best practice Approach to Assessment, Best Practices in Mental Health, 19, 2, 43-55. https://doi.org/10.70256/910300miyenu
Bride, B. E., Sprang, G., Hendricks, A., Walsh, C. R., Mathieu, F., Hangartner, K., Ross, L. A., Fisher, P., & Miller, B. C. (2024). Principles for secondary traumatic stress-responsive practice: An expert consensus approach. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 16(8), 1301–1308. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0001575
Sprang, G., Gusler, S., Eslinger, J., & Gottfried, R. (2023). The Relationship Between Secondary Traumatic Stress and Compassion Satisfaction: A Systematic Literature Review. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse,25(3), 2282-2296. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380231209438
Sprang, G., & Steckler, Z. (2023). Traumatic stress symptom expression following indirect exposure: A multidisciplinary investigation. Traumatology, 29(2), 224-232. https://doi.org/10.1037/trm0000386
Sprang, G; Whitt-Woosley, A., Wozniak, J.; Gusler, S.; Hood, C.; Kinnish, K.; Stroup, H. (2023). A Socioecological Approach to Understanding Secondary Trauma in Professionals Working with Individuals Involved in Sex Trafficking: A Hierarchical Regression Analysis. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 38, 21-22, 11745-11767. https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605231188047
Whitt-Woosley, A & Sprang, G. (2023). Analysis of Implementation Drivers of Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS)-Informed Organizational Change and Experiences of STS and Burnout in Child Welfare, Child Abuse and Neglect. 14,1, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106194
Sprang, G. Miech, E. J., Gusler, S. (2023). The Role of Secondary Traumatic Stress Breakthrough Champions in Reducing Worker Trauma and Improving Organizational Health: A Configurational Analysis, to Implementation Research and Practice, 4, https://doi.org/10.1177/26334895231164582
Sprang, G., Gusler, S., LaJoie, S., Eslinger, J., & Smith, E. (2023). Using Project ECHO to Keep Professionals Well at Work: Individual and Organizational Outcomes, Academic Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40596-023-01754-0
Garcia, A., Sprang, G., and Clemans, T. (2023). The Role of School Leaders in Cultivating a Trauma-Informed School Climate, Child and Youth Service Review, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2023.106816
Sprang, G. and Garcia, A. (2022). An Investigation of Secondary Traumatic Stress and Trauma-Informed Care Utilization in School Personnel, Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-022-00465-2
Whitt-Woosley, A., Sprang, G., Eslinger, J. (2022) The Impact of COVID-19 and Experiences of Secondary Traumatic Stress and Burnout, Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy.14,3, 507-515. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0001183
Sprang, G. (2022). Attachment styles and vicarious trauma. In R. Geffner, J. W. White, L. K. Hamberger, A. Rosenbaum, V. Vaughan-Eden, & V. I. Vieth (Eds.), Handbook of interpersonal violence and abuse across the lifespan: A project of the National Partnership to End Interpersonal Violence Across the Lifespan (NPEIV) (pp. 4425–4441). Springer Nature Switzerland AG. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89999-2_285
Sprang, G., Cole, J., & Leistner, C. (2021). In Their Own Words: The Impact of Indirect Trauma Exposure on Judges Presiding Over Cases Involving Minors Involved in Sex Trafficking. Juvenile and Family Court Journal, 72(3), 5-20. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfcj.12204
Sprang, G. , Lei, F. & Bush, H. (2021). Can Organizational Efforts Lead to Less Secondary Traumatic Stress? A Longitudinal Investigation of Change. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 91 (4), 443-453. https://doi.org/10.1037/ort0000546
Sprang, G., Whitt-Woosley, A., and Eslinger, J. (2021). Diagnostic and Translational Utility of the Secondary Traumatic Stress Clinical Algorithm (STS-CA). Journal of Interpersonal Violence. https://doi-org.ezproxy.uky.edu/10.1177/08862605211044961
Whitt-Woosley, A., Sprang, G., & Eslinger, J. (2020). Exploration of Factors Associated with Secondary Traumatic Stress in Foster Parents, Child and Youth Services Review, 118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105361
Sprang, G., Ford, J., Kerig, P., & Bride, B. (2019). Defining secondary traumatic stress and developing targeted assessments and interventions: Lessons learned from research and leading experts. Traumatology, 25(2), 72–81. https://doi.org/10.1037/trm0000180
Sprang, G. (2018). Vicarious Trauma Redefining PTSD. In Oxford Bibliographies, Edward J. Mullen, Ed. New York: Oxford University Press. DOI: 10.1093/OBO/9780195389678-0267
Sprang, G., Ross, L., & Miller, B. (2018). A data-driven, implementation-focused, organizational change approach to addressing secondary traumatic stress. European Journal for Person Centered Healthcare, 6, 1, 62-68. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.5750/ejpch.v6i1.1400
Whitt-Woosley, A., & Sprang, G. (2018). Secondary Traumatic Stress in Social Science Researchers of Trauma-Exposed Populations. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 27, 5, 475-486. DOI:10.1080/10926771.2017.1342109
Molnar, B., Sprang, G., Bride, B., & Killian, K. (2017). Setting a Research Agenda for Advancing Science and Practice in the area of Vicarious Traumatization/Secondary Traumatic Stress. Traumatology, 23, 2, 129 -142. https://doi.org/10.1037/trm0000122
Sprang, G., Ross, L., Miller, B., Blackshear, K., & Ascienzo, S. (2017). Psychometric Properties of the Secondary Traumatic Stress Informed Organizational Assessment. Traumatology, 23, 2, 165-171. https://doi.org/10.1037/trm0000108
Miller, B. & Sprang, G. (2017). A Components-Based Practice Model for Reducing Compassion Fatigue by Effecting Clinician Experience. Traumatology, 23, 2, 153-164. https://doi.org/10.1037/trm0000058