A Systematic Literature Review of the Career Choice of Helping Professionals Who Have Experienced Cumulative Harm as a Result of Adverse Childhood Experiences

Abstract

The pervasive effects of cumulative harm resulting from adverse childhood experiences influence all aspects of an individual’s life course. Research highlights a relationship between early trauma and career choice; however, there is a dearth of research pertaining specifically to cumulative harm and the influence on career choice in the helping professions. A systematic literature review was conducted to explore the associations of cumulative harm and childhood trauma on career decision making in people in the helping professions. A search was conducted across databases between February 1990 and February 2019 relevant to searches combining three areas of interest: (a) “childhood trauma,” (b) “career choice,” and (c) “helping professionals.” Database searches and further manual searches yielded a total of 208 articles, and 28 studies satisfied all inclusion criteria. Only studies that were peer-reviewed and published between February 1990 and February 2019 were included. The evidence from the review indicated that family of origin dysfunction, parentification, individual characteristics, and traits developed through adversity, and experiential motivations were associated with the career choice in the helping professions. Further research is required to explore different professional cohorts and the utility of life themes as both a source of data for research and reflexive practice in helping professionals.

Childhood adversity and later life prosocial behavior: A qualitative comparative study of Irish older adult survivors

“…The majority of both the intrafamilial and institutional survivors engaged in prosocial behavior in later life, including general (informal) acts to benefit others, more structured (formal) acts (e.g., volunteering), and the choice of a social/caring profession (e.g., nursing). This is consistent with previous research in trauma populations, including childhood adversity survivors (Hernández-Wolfe, 2011 ; Bryce et al, 2021 ; Crann and Barata, 2021 ). Regarding the mechanisms linked to prosocial behavior, three themes were identified in both groups (i.e., enhanced empathy, self-identity, amelioration), as well as group-specific themes (i.e., compassion fatigue in intrafamilial survivors; denouncing detrimental social values in institutional survivors).…”

“…Regarding the second theme, self-identity, participants reported a carer self-perception, which some linked to their choice of a social/caring profession in later life. This is in line with a recent systematic review on the career choice of helping professionals who experienced childhood adversities (Bryce et al, 2021 ). Evidence from 28 peer-reviewed studies identified several childhood adversity-related factors associated with a career choice in the helping professions, including family dysfunction, traits developed through the adversity, and parentification (i.e., children assuming the roles and responsibilities of a parent).…”

Students with and Without Relatives with Problematic Substance Use: Do They Differ in Health, Substance Use and Study Success?

“…Additionally, it is notable that significantly more students of the programs Social work, Teacher training and Arts had relatives with problematic substance use than had students of other study programs. A possible explanation is that a career choice in the helping professions, such as psychology, nursing, counseling, social work, human services and education, is known to be associated with family of origin dysfunction, parentification and childhood adversity (Bryce et al, 2021;Thomas, 2016). Especially in these study programs, it is important to be aware that students may have a family history of problematic substance use.…”

Prevalence of Adverse Childhood Experiences Among Frontline Homeless Services Workers in Texas

“…59)." Thus, a choice to pursue a career as a helping professional may be driven by the need to make meaning of early life adversity or trauma and the need to make that adversity matter by being of service to others who have experienced the same or similar adversities (Bryce et al, 2021). This developmental view of career construction might explain why the rates of ACEs among those who work in human service organizations are often higher than the general population.…”

“…Direct service providers with lived experience of trauma and other adversities, especially experiences similar to the client populations they serve, have the potential to enhance service provision through deeper empathy (Bryce et al, 2021). However, it is important for individual providers and their organizations to be mindful of the heightened risk for burnout and stress.…”