Relationship Between Vicarious Traumatization and Turnover Among Child Welfare Professionals

Child welfare professionals work on the front lines with maltreated children and their families every day. The very nature of the work can have a significant impact on their emotional well being and ability to effectively perform their jobs, potentially limiting quality service delivery and contributing to overall workforce capacity issues such a turnover. This study examined the relationship between vicarious traumatization and turnover among 1,192 child welfare professionals in five different child welfare organizations across four states. Propositions from constructivist self-development theory (CSDT) were utilized to examine the causal relationship between vicarious traumatization and child welfare professionals' intent to leave their organization. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to assess the degree of fit between the observed data and a hypothesized theoretical model examining the relationship between vicarious trauma and intent to leave. Findings from SEM analyses revealed a significant relationship between vicarious traumatization and intent to leave. This finding indicates that child welfare professionals who experienced higher rates of vicarious traumatization are more likely to leave their organization. Implications of these findings for theory, practice, and research are delineated.