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Mental health professionals' responses to work with trauma survivors vary among a range of aversive and positive psychosocial experiences. This study examines the prevalence and predictors of these responses, including secondary traumatic stress (STS), vicarious resilience (VR), burnout, and compassion satisfaction (CS), among mental health professionals who work specifically with human trafficking survivors within the United States (n = 89). Specific attention is devoted to examining the role of professionals' own trauma histories and their self-care practices in building their resiliency and potentially reducing their risk of aversive work-related psychosocial experiences. Findings reveal that responses range in intensity among this group of providers. Promisingly, none of the professionals demonstrated high levels of burnout and none demonstrated low CS. Furthermore, the majority of professionals in the study had low-to-moderate levels of STS and moderate-to-high levels of VR. Results from a series of multiple regressions exploring predictors of these correlates suggest that although professionals who work with trafficking survivors may risk burnout and STS, they also may receive significant personal satisfaction, growth, and resilience from their work. Results also indicate that professionals' personal experiences with trauma may act as a protective factor against aversive correlates. Altogether, findings suggest a need for professionals' active engagement in a wide variety of self-care behaviors, including seeking personal therapy as needed and engaging in advocacy, as a strategy for ensuring their well-being as they deliver mental health support for human trafficking survivors. Impact StatementThis study suggests that professionals who deliver mental health care to human trafficking survivors may experience both risks (e.g., burnout) and rewards (e.g., increased resilience) in response to their work, and that self-care is associated with increased work-related quality of life. These findings may increase professionals' willingness to provide trauma-focused therapy and to engage in proactive self-care strategies, which may translate to improved quality of care for survivors.

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The present study examines an understudied potential warning sign of school shootings: violence against women (VAW). Utilizing the social-ecological model of violence prevention, we employed directed content analysis to determine the prevalence of acts and social-ecological features of VAW among profiles of 59 boys/men who perpetrated school shootings between 1966 and 2018. The majority of shootings profiled occurred in the United States (47, 79.7%), followed by Canada (five, 8.5%), Finland (two, 3.4%), Germany (two, 3.4%), Brazil (one, 1.7%), Scotland (one, 1.7%), and Ukraine (one, 1.7%). Results demonstrated a strong presence of VAW among profiled school shooters, with almost 70% perpetrating VAW and the identification of frequent features of VAW that cut across the social-ecological levels, most notably (the enactment of and failure to meet expectations of) hegemonic masculinity and normalization of violence. Implications for research and intervention are discussed. Public Significance StatementNearly 70% of profiled school shooters perpetrated acts of violence against women, including intimate partner violence and sexual assault. Thus, violence against women and its related social-ecological features, including hegemonic masculinity (e.g., expectations of toughness, antifemininity, and status among men, as well as the failure to meet these expectations) and normalization of violence (e.g., ignoring everyday acts of violence), are critical avenues for intervention in the prevention of school shootings.

The current study examines an understudied potential warning sign of school shootings: violence against women (VAW). Utilizing the social-ecological model of violence prevention, we employed the methodologies of content analysis and feminist inquiry to examine the prevalence of acts and mechanisms of VAW among profiles of 63 individuals who perpetrated school shootings between 1966 and 2018. Results demonstrated a strong presence of VAW among profiled school shooters, with almost 70% perpetrating VAW and the identification of frequent mechanisms of VAW that cut across the social-ecological levels, most notably hegemonic masculinity. Implications for research and intervention are discussed.