Empathy Domains And Secondary Traumatic Stress Among Mental Health Professionals: a Cross-Sectional Study Of a Nigerian Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital

Abstract

Background: Secondary traumatic stress (STS) is a significant occupational hazard among mental health professionals in high-trauma settings, yet the role of empathy in determining differential vulnerability remains insufficiently understood, particularly within Nigerian psychiatric contexts.

Objective: This study examined cognitive and affective empathy domains as predictors of secondary traumatic stress among mental health professionals at the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Barnawa, Kaduna State, Nigeria.

Method: A cross-sectional survey design was employed among 150 mental health professionals (74.7% female; Mage = 40.49 years, SD = 9.14) recruited using proportionate quota sampling. Data were collected using the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale (STSS) and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI). Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted, with demographic variables entered in Step 1 and the two empathy dimensions entered in Step 2.

Results: The hypothesis that empathy would significantly predict STS was partially supported. Affective empathy significantly predicted STS, whereas cognitive empathy did not. Together, the empathy dimensions accounted for an additional 13.0% of the variance in STS beyond demographic controls.

Conclusion: Affective empathy, rather than empathy broadly defined, constitutes the primary empathy-related risk factor for secondary traumatic stress among mental health professionals in this setting, whereas cognitive empathy appears unrelated to STS risk. These findings underscore the importance of interventions that help clinicians regulate emotional absorption while preserving empathic engagement in trauma-focused practice.