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Secondary Traumatic Stress and Vicarious Posttraumatic Growth among nurses during three COVID-19 lockdowns in Greece

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2022

A. Kalaitzaki ,
G. Tsouvelas ,
A. Tamiolaki ,
M. Theodoratou  and
G. Konstantakopoulos
A. Kalaitzaki
Affiliation:
Hellenic Mediterranean University, Department Of Social Work, Heraklion, Greece
G. Tsouvelas
Affiliation:
University of West Attica, Department Of Nursing, Athens, Greece
A. Tamiolaki*
Affiliation:
Hellenic Mediterranean University, Department Of Social Work, Heraklion, Greece
M. Theodoratou
Affiliation:
Hellenic Open University, School Of Social Sciences, Patra, Greece
G. Konstantakopoulos
Affiliation:
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Department Of Psychiatry, Athens, Greece
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

Since the onset of the pandemic, nurses have been repeatedly exposed to their patients’ COVID-19-related traumatic experiences. Therefore, they are at high risk for Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS), the stress syndrome resulting from helping others who are suffering. Positive psychological outcomes following this vicarious exposure are also likely. Vicarious posttraumatic growth (VPTG) refers to the positive changes from working with patients who themselves have coped with traumatic experiences.

Objectives

This study aims to examine STS and VPTG among 429 nurses during three lockdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic in Greece.

Methods

A repeated cross-sectional survey with a convenience and snowball sampling procedure was conducted. The Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale (STSS), the Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI), the Brief Resilience Scale, and the Brief Cope (BC) were used to measure STS, VPTG, resilience, and coping strategies, respectively.

Results

Nurses in Greece demonstrated high levels of STS at the first lockdown, significantly lower in the second one, which raised again -but not significantly- in the third lockdown. Resilience significantly decreased, whereas VPTG significantly increased across the three lockdowns. Following the escalation of the pandemic nurses in general used significantly more adaptive and less maladaptive coping strategies to deal with the crisis.

Conclusions

Further research is needed to clarify the longitudinal course of the negative and positive psychological effects of the pandemic on healthcare staff. Conclusions can guide the development of interventions to safeguard nurses from the deleterious impacts of the COVID-19 and support them in their process of growth.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

Keywords

coping strategiesVicarious Posttraumatic GrowthCovid-19 pandemicSecondary Traumatic Stress
Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 65 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 30th European Congress of Psychiatry , June 2022 , pp. S311 - S312
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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