International Online Survey Assessing Secondary Traumatic Stress, Burnout, Compassion Satisfaction and Turnover Intentions Among Youth Care (Para)Professionals in Flanders, Wallonia, France and The Netherlands.

NCT07384026 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: B.U.N. 1432021000667
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 4,214
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this observational study is to understand how work-related stress and personal characteristics affect the wellbeing of adults who work with children and young people in youth care services in Flanders, Wallonia, France and The Netherlands. The study focuses on three aspects of professional wellbeing: secondary traumatic stress, burnout, and compassion satisfaction. These feelings can develop when people regularly support children and families who have experienced trauma. The study also looks at whether these experiences influence participants' intention to leave their job. The main questions this study aims to answer are:

1. 1.What are the levels of secondary traumatic stress, burnout, and compassion satisfaction among youth care (para)professionals?
2. 2.Which personal, work-related, and client-related factors raise or lower the risk of experiencing these outcomes?
3. 3.How do these wellbeing outcomes relate to participants' intention to leave their job?
4. 4.Do these outcomes differ between regions (Flanders, Wallonia, France, The Netherlands) and between types of youth care roles (professional vs. paraprofessional)?

Conditions

Professional Quality of Life; Secondary Traumatic Stress; Burnout, Professional; Compassion Fatigue; Compassion Satisfaction; Turnoverintention

Keywords

Burnout; Secondary Traumatic Stress; Compassion Fatigue; Compassion Satisfaction; Turnover; Child Welfare; Foster Carer

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Secondary Traumatic Stress Score on the Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL-5)

  Secondary traumatic stress will be measured using the Secondary Traumatic Stress subscale of the Professional Quality of Life Scale Version 5 (ProQOL-5). The scale produces a summed score ranging from 10 to 50, where higher scores indicate higher levels of secondary traumatic stress resulting from indirect exposure to others' trauma. Participants rate how often work-related experiences occurred in the past 30 days on a 5-point Likert scale.

  Day 1

• Burnout Score on the Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL-5)

  Burnout will be measured using the Burnout subscale of the Professional Quality of Life Scale Version 5 (ProQOL-5). This subscale yields a total score between 10 and 50, with higher scores reflecting higher levels of work-related emotional and physical exhaustion. Items are rated using a 5-point Likert scale based on the frequency of experiences during the past 30 days.

  Day 1

• Compassion Satisfaction Score on the Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL-5)

  Compassion satisfaction will be measured using the Compassion Satisfaction subscale of the Professional Quality of Life Scale Version 5 (ProQOL-5). Scores range from 10 to 50, with higher values indicating greater satisfaction and positive feelings derived from helping others in one's professional role. Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale based on experiences in the past 30 days.

  Day 1

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Turnover Intention Score on the Turnover Intention Scale

  Day 1

Study Arms (1)

Youth Care (Para)Professionals

This cohort consists of adults working as (para)professionals in youth care services in Flanders, Wallonia, France and The Netherlands. Participants share the common exposure of providing direct support to children and adolescents who may have experienced trauma. All participants complete a single, anonymous online survey assessing personal, work-related, and client-related factors as well as measures of secondary traumatic stress, burnout, compassion satisfaction, and turnover intention. No intervention is administered, and no follow-up occurs; the cohort represents a single cross-sectional observational group.

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The study population consists of adults working as (para)professionals in youth care services in Flanders, Wallonia, France, and The Netherlands. Participants are recruited from organizations that provide support, guidance, or protection to children and adolescents, including residential care facilities, family support services, foster care agencies, and other youth care settings. Recruitment occurs through collaboration with youth care organizations and universities in the participating regions. All participants complete a one-time anonymous online survey.

You may qualify if:

• Adult (18 years or older).
• Currently working as a (para)professional in youth care services.
• Provides support or guidance to children or adolescents who are followed by a youth care organization in Flanders, Wallonia, France or The Netherlands.
• Able to complete an online survey in Dutch or French.
• Provides informed consent electronically.

You may not qualify if:

• Works in a youth care service where exposure to client trauma is unlikely (for example, services focused mainly on prevention).
• Works with children or adolescents who are followed primarily due to a disability, without likelihood of trauma exposure.
• Unable to complete the online survey independently.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Vrije Universiteit Brussel: lead
• Universiteit Leiden: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Brussels, Brussels Capital, 1050, Belgium

Location

Related Publications (25)

• Maslach, C., Schaufeli, W., & Leiter, M. (2001). Job burnout. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 397-422.

  BACKGROUND

• Verheyden, C., Van Holen, F., West, D. & Vanderfaeillie, J. (2020). Secondary traumatic stress, burnout and compassion satisfaction among Flemish foster care workers during the COVID- 19 lockdown. Developmental Child Welfare, 2(4), 227-243. https://doi.org/10.1177/2516103220987227

  BACKGROUND

• Schaufeli, W.B. & Bakker A.B. (2007). Burnout en bevlogenheid [Burnout and work engagement]. In W.B. Schaufeli & A.B. Bakker (Red.). De psychologie van arbeid en gezondheid (pp. 341- 358). Bohn Stafleu van Loghum.

  BACKGROUND

• Salloum, A., Kondrat, D. C., Johnco, C. & Olson, K. R. (2015). The role of self-care on compassion satisfaction, burnout and secondary trauma among child welfare workers. Children and Youth Services Review, 49, 54-61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2014.12.023

  BACKGROUND

• Mor Barak, M. E., Levin, A., Nissly, J. A. & Lane, C. J. (2006). Why do they leave? Modeling child welfare workers' turnover intentions. Children and Youth Services Review, 28(5), 548-577. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2005.06.003

  BACKGROUND

• Middleton, J. S. & Potter, C. C. (2015). Relationship Between Vicarious Traumatization and Turnover Among Child Welfare Professionals. Journal of Public Child Welfare, 9(2), 195- 216. https://doi.org/10.1080/15548732.2015.1021987

  BACKGROUND

• Lizano, E., & Mor Barak, M. (2012). Workplace demands and resources as antecedents of job burnout among public child welfare workers: A longitudinal study. Children and Youth Services Review, 34(9),1769-1776.

  BACKGROUND

• Gosling, S., Rentfrow, P., & Swann, W. (2003). A very brief measure of the Big-Five personality domains. Journal of Research in Personality, 37(6), 504-528.

  BACKGROUND

• Figley, C. (1995). Compassion fatigue as secondary traumatic stress disorder: An overview. In C. Figley (Ed.), Compassion fatigue: Coping with secondary traumatic stress disorder in those who treat the traumatized (pp. 1-20). Routledge.

  BACKGROUND

• Elo, A.-L., Dallner, M., Gamberale, F., Hottinen, V., Knardahl, S., Lindström, K., Skogstad, A., & Ørhede, E. (2000). Validation of the Nordic Questionnaire for Psychological and Social Factors at Work-QPSNordic. In M. Vartiainen, F. Avallone, & N. Anderson (Eds.), Innovative theories, tools, and practices in work and organizational psychology (pp. 47-57). Hogrefe & Huber Publishers.

  BACKGROUND

• Cornille, T. A. & Meyers, T. W. (1999). Secondary traumatic stress among child protective service workers: Prevalence, severity and predictive factors. Traumatology, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/153476569900500105

  BACKGROUND

• Chen, Y. Y., Park, J. & Park, A. (2012). Existence, relatedness, or growth? Examining turnover intention of public child welfare caseworkers from a human needs approach. Children and Youth Services Review, 34(10), 2088-2093. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2012.07.002

  BACKGROUND

• Boyas, J. & Wind, L. H. (2010). Employment-based social capital, job stress, and employee burnout: A public child welfare employee structural model. Children and Youth Services Review, 32(3), 380-388. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2009.10.009

  BACKGROUND

• Borntrager, C., Caringi, J. C., van den Pol, R., Crosby, L., O'Connell, K., Trautman, A. & McDonald, M. (2012). Secondary traumatic stress in school personnel. Advances in School Mental Health Promotion, 5(1), 38-50. https://doi.org/10.1080/1754730x.2012.664862

  BACKGROUND

• Sprang G, Craig C, Clark J. Secondary traumatic stress and burnout in child welfare workers: a comparative analysis of occupational distress across professional groups. Child Welfare. 2011;90(6):149-68.

  PMID: 22533047 BACKGROUND

• Schaufeli WB, Desart S, De Witte H. Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT)-Development, Validity, and Reliability. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Dec 18;17(24):9495. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17249495.

  PMID: 33352940 BACKGROUND

• Rienks SL. An exploration of child welfare caseworkers' experience of secondary trauma and strategies for coping. Child Abuse Negl. 2020 Dec;110(Pt 3):104355. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104355. Epub 2020 Jan 14.

  PMID: 31948676 BACKGROUND

• Prost SG, Middleton JS. Professional quality of life and intent to leave the workforce: Gender disparities in child welfare. Child Abuse Negl. 2020 Dec;110(Pt 3):104535. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104535. Epub 2020 May 22.

  PMID: 32448643 BACKGROUND

• Koeske GF, Kelly T. The impact of overinvolvement on burnout and job satisfaction. Am J Orthopsychiatry. 1995 Apr;65(2):282-92. doi: 10.1037/h0079622.

  PMID: 7611345 BACKGROUND

• Kliem S, Mossle T, Rehbein F, Hellmann DF, Zenger M, Brahler E. A brief form of the Perceived Social Support Questionnaire (F-SozU) was developed, validated, and standardized. J Clin Epidemiol. 2015 May;68(5):551-62. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2014.11.003. Epub 2014 Nov 13.

  PMID: 25499982 BACKGROUND

• Hannah B, Woolgar M. Secondary trauma and compassion fatigue in foster carers. Clin Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2018 Oct;23(4):629-643. doi: 10.1177/1359104518778327. Epub 2018 May 31.

  PMID: 29848049 BACKGROUND

• Dagan SW, Ben-Porat A, Itzhaky H. Child protection workers dealing with child abuse: The contribution of personal, social and organizational resources to secondary traumatization. Child Abuse Negl. 2016 Jan;51:203-11. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2015.10.008. Epub 2015 Nov 6.

  PMID: 26549769 BACKGROUND

• Conrad D, Kellar-Guenther Y. Compassion fatigue, burnout, and compassion satisfaction among Colorado child protection workers. Child Abuse Negl. 2006 Oct;30(10):1071-80. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2006.03.009. Epub 2006 Oct 2.

  PMID: 17014908 BACKGROUND

• Bridger KM, Binder JF, Kellezi B. Secondary Traumatic Stress in Foster Carers: Risk Factors and Implications for Intervention. J Child Fam Stud. 2020;29(2):482-492. doi: 10.1007/s10826-019-01668-2. Epub 2019 Nov 28.

  PMID: 32431483 BACKGROUND

• Adams RE, Boscarino JA, Figley CR. Compassion fatigue and psychological distress among social workers: a validation study. Am J Orthopsychiatry. 2006 Jan;76(1):103-8. doi: 10.1037/0002-9432.76.1.103.

  PMID: 16569133 BACKGROUND

Related Links

• Official government page describing the structure and mission of the Flemish integrated youth care system, relevant to the study context.
• Annual public report offering data and background information about Flemish youth care services, providing contextual background for the study.
• Official ProQOL site providing validated materials, scoring manuals, and information about the Professional Quality of Life framework.

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Compassion Fatigue; Burnout, Professional; Burnout, Psychological

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Mental Fatigue; Fatigue; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior; Occupational Stress; Stress, Psychological; Occupational Diseases

Study Officials

• Johan Vanderfaeillie, PhD

  johan.vanderfaeillie@vub.be

  STUDY CHAIR

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: COHORT
• Time Perspective: CROSS SECTIONAL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: January 26, 2026
• First Posted: February 3, 2026
• Study Start: February 6, 2022
• Primary Completion: October 3, 2024
• Study Completion: October 3, 2024
• Last Updated: February 11, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-01

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

BE (1)