The Vicarious Trauma Organizational Readiness Guide (VT‐ORG) is an assessment of an organization's readiness to address vicarious trauma (VT), which is exposure to the traumatic experiences of people served. This study reports on the psychometric properties of the VT‐ORG. Employees of first responder agencies (e.g., law enforcement, fire, emergency services) and victim assistance agencies are at a high risk for vicarious traumatization, which can lead to PTSD, substance use, and suicidal ideation, among other negative impacts. Organizations that do not address VT may see such effects as employee turnover, reduced efficiency, and negative work environments. The VT‐ORG is an assessment tool designed to help organizations complete the first step of organizational change—conducting a needs assessment. Study participants were 3,018 employees across 13 first responder and victim assistance agencies who completed the 67‐item VT‐ORG and additional measures for evaluation of its validity and reliability. The VT‐ORG was found to have excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's α = .98). A structural equation model demonstrated that the subscales of the VT‐ORG predicted criterion measures of turnover intention, compassion satisfaction, and organizational resilience, with an overall model fit of CFI = .99, RMSEA = .053. This study found the VT‐ORG to be a reliable and valid assessment of organizational responses to vicarious trauma.
Background
Psychosis prevention and early intervention efforts in schizophrenia have focused increasingly on sub-threshold psychotic symptoms in adolescents and young adults. Although many youth report symptom onset prior to adolescence, the childhood incidence of prodromal-level symptoms in those with schizophrenia or related psychoses is largely unknown.
Methods
This study reports on the retrospective recall of prodromal-level symptoms from 40 participants in a first-episode of schizophrenia (FES) and 40 participants at “clinical high risk” (CHR) for psychosis. Onset of positive and non-specific symptoms was captured using the Structured Interview for Prodromal Syndromes. Frequencies are reported according to onset during childhood (prior to age 13), adolescence (13–17), or adulthood (18 +).
Results
Childhood-onset of attenuated psychotic symptoms was not rare. At least 11% of FES and 23% of CHR reported specific recall of childhood-onset of unusual or delusional ideas, suspiciousness, or perceptual abnormalities. Most recalled experiencing non-specific symptoms prior to positive symptoms. CHR and FES did not differ significantly in the timing of positive and non-specific symptom onset. Other than being younger at assessment, those with childhood onset did not differ demographically from those with later onset.
Conclusion
Childhood-onset of initial psychotic-like symptoms may be more common than previous research has suggested. Improved characterization of these symptoms and a focus on their predictive value for subsequent schizophrenia and other major psychoses are needed to facilitate screening of children presenting with attenuated psychotic symptoms. Accurate detection of prodromal symptoms in children might facilitate even earlier intervention and the potential to alter pre-illness trajectories.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.