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Advancing science and practice for vicarious traumatization/secondary traumatic stress: A research agenda

A review of the literature and suggested research agenda is available here.

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Findings from 2018 scientific meeting

Findings from UK CTAC’s 2018 scientific meeting of STS experts on the treatment of STS, symptom targets, best practice for intervening with STS, and next steps in moving forward for the field is available here.

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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. 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 Journal72(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 & Trauma27, 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