Investigation of psychosocial risk factors for depression level, stress and burnout symptoms in personnel working with refugees and asylum seekers

In this study, it was aimed to investigate the predictive effect of emotional labor and identification with the victim on the symptoms of secondary traumatic stres, depression and burnout in professionals who work with refugees and asylum seekers and listen traumatic life stories as a job requirements. The sample consisted of 285 personnels in the age range of 20 and 44, including 190 women (66.7%) and 95 men (33.3%). Demografic Information Form, Post Traumatic Stres Diagnosis Scale (1st Chapter), Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale, Identification with the Victim Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory, Maslach Burnout Scale and Emotional Labor Scale were administered to the participants. In order to examine the relationship of variables with each other, Pearson's Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient Analysis was conducted. Also, gender and occupational position differences on the dependent variables were tested by Two-Way Analysis of Variance (MANOVA). Moreover, Multiple Hierarchical Regression Analysis was conducted to examine the variables that significantly predicted secondary traumatic stress, depression and burnout levels. According to the findings, women showed higher levels of depression and secondary traumatic stress symptoms compared to men, and men displayed higher levels of false feelings and hidden emotions, which are the sub-dimensions of emotional labor, than women. It was found that the dependent variable levels did not differ based on occupational position. It was revealed that identification with the victim and some subscales of emotional labor have a predictive value on the secondary traumatic stres general symtom level and most of its subscales. It was also found that, identification with the victim didn't predict depression and burnout subscales. It was revealed that some subscales of the emotional labor have a significant effect on depression and burnout subscales in different ways. These findings have been discussed in the scope of the literature. Keywords Secondary Traumatic Stress, Depression, Burnout, Identification with the Victim, Emotional Labor