The Perception of Vicarious Trauma Among Master of Social Work Students

• Main Author: Jackson, Breyana De Sha
• Format: Others
• Published: CSUSB ScholarWorks 2016
• Subjects: social work; MSW students; vicarious trauma; indirect trauma; Social Work
• Online Access: https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd/344; https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1386&context=etd

Social workers are being sought out more often to treat traumatized individuals. In turn, social workers are at risk of vicarious traumatization. Vicarious trauma is a form of indirect trauma that may occur by working with traumatized clients. Master of Social Work (MSW) students should be educated on vicarious trauma as they will have many responsibilities when they begin their work in the field; including treating traumatized individuals. Education on vicarious trauma could lessen the risks of experiencing the pathology. The purpose of this study is to explore the perception of vicarious trauma among MSW students. Sixty-seven students from the MSW program at California State University, San Bernardino participated in this study and completed the Vicarious Trauma Questionnaire (VTQ). The study showed that on average the students scored moderate to low on each category of the questionnaire. Suggestions for future research and the social work curriculum are discussed in this project.