Date of Award
2024-08-01
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Clinical Psychology
Advisor(s)
Craig A. Field
Abstract
Two common phenomena of helping professions are compassion fatigue (CF), and decreased compassion satisfaction (CS). Literature on CF and decreased CS focuses on professionals with extensive education, training, and higher compensation. Peer Support Specialists (PSS) are helping professionals providing comparable support to clients while in recovery, and may be more susceptible to CF, decreased CS, and a return to substance use. Methods to impact these outcomes, including positive psychology interventions (PPIs), are worth investigating as they are generally inexpensive, can be tailored, and may reduce turnover and absences. The current study used the PPI, Using Signature Strengths in a New Way, to mitigate CF—which is composed of Burnout (BO) and Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS)—and increase CS among PSS while also increasing their self-reported ability to cope in high-risk substance use situations. I hypothesized (H1) that PSS who participated in the PPI, Using Signature Strengths in a New Way, would decrease BO and STS, and increase CS from baseline to one-week follow-up as compared to PSS who were given a work-focused writing exercise. I also hypothesized (H2) that PSS would increase situation-specific coping self-efficacy (SE) in high-risk substance use situations when compared to the control. Results indicated no statistically significant interaction effect between time and treatment assignment for BO [F(1,130) = 0.30, p = .67, partial η2 =.00]; CS [F(1,130) = 0.12, p = .78, partial η2 = .00]; STS [F(1,130) = 0.52, p = .50, partial η2 = .00]; and SE [F(1, 130) = 0.97, p =.49, partial η2 = .010]. Future studies should strive to create PPIs and self-report measures tailored to the PSS population. Ideally, a mixture of both PPIs (strengths use) and SUD constructs (relapse prevention strategies) would be delivered with greater frequency and extensive follow-up periods (1-year). Despite null findings, the study expands visibility of PSS, PPIs, and SUD in the wider scientific literature.
Language
en
Provenance
Received from ProQuest
Copyright Date
2024-08-01
File Size
82 p.
File Format
application/pdf
Rights Holder
Eugene Lopez
Recommended Citation
Lopez, Eugene, "Thieves Like Us: The Effectiveness Of A Positive Psychology Intervention On Compassion Fatigue, Burnout, And The Loss Of Compassion Satisfaction Among Peer Support Specialists" (2024). Open Access Theses & Dissertations. 4190.
https://scholarworks.utep.edu/open_etd/4190