Development and testing of the secondary traumatic stress policy analysis tool

Objective: Despite growing recognition of the detrimental effects of secondary traumatic stress on mental health professionals working with individuals who have been exposed to trauma, research examining formal organizational policies designed to address STS are notably scarce. This study describes and tests the Secondary Traumatic Stress Policy Analysis Tool (STS-PAT), analyzes the response patterns of users, and investigates the potential discriminant validity, as well as the utility of the tool. Method: Quantitative data were gathered from the completion of the STS-PAT between June, 2022 and January, 2024 by 45 organizations. General Linear Modeling was used to determine if STS-PAT scores differentiated between three categories of the organization’s Secondary Traumatic Stress Informed-Organizational Assessment (STSI-OA) scores. Role and stage of implementation of STS-PAT users were examined to understand the utility of the measure. Results: The STS-PAT demonstrates strong internal consistency and the ability to discriminate between high and low/midrange STS-informed organizations, as well as detect a high range of variability across organizational type. Discussion: This study advances research evidence in this area which is scarce, and has important implications regarding the context and process for which this tool may have the most utility.