Introduction and Purpose:
Large-scale disasters not only affect individuals directly impacted but also pose psychological risks for mental health professionals providing support. One such risk is vicarious trauma (VT), which may lead to either positive psychological change—vicarious posttraumatic growth (VPTG)—or negative outcomes—vicarious posttraumatic depreciation (VPTD). This study aimed to examine the relationships between VT and both VPTG and VPTD in psychologists who provided psychosocial support after the 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquakes in Türkiye. It also investigated the mediating role of coping strategies and the moderating roles of supervision and trauma training.
Method:
The sample consisted of 122 psychologists who worked in clinical settings and were involved in post-earthquake psychosocial support. Participants were reached via purposive and snowball sampling on social media. Data were collected using the Demographic Information Form, Vicarious Trauma Scale, Ways of Coping Questionnaire, and the Posttraumatic Growth and Depreciation Inventory - Expanded Version. Analyses were conducted using multiple regression and mediation analysis.
Results:
Coping strategies such as seeking refuge in fate and supernatural forces were found to significantly mediate the link between VT and VPTG. In contrast, no coping mechanism was found to predict VPTD or mediated the relationship between VT and VPTD. Among the professional variables, only supervision showed a positive association with VPTG, while neither supervision nor trauma-related training moderated the relationships between VT and either VPTG or VPTD.
Discussion and Conclusion:
The findings highlight the importance of addressing spiritual coping strategies in post-disaster support programs designed for psychologists. Additionally, the positive association between supervision and VPTG underscores the value of ongoing professional support. Future studies should further explore the mechanisms behind VPTD by incorporating additional psychosocial variables.*
*This abstract is derived from the author's MSc thesis conducted at TOBB University of Economics & Technology, under the supervision of Dr. Gözde İkizer.