Mental Health, Coping Strategies and Self-Care Practices Among Professionals Who Work With People Who Experience or Have Experienced Domestic Violence: A Quantitative Study.
Ferreira E, Monteiro R, et al. • Scandinavian journal of caring sciences • 2026
DV professionals reported moderate burnout, STS, and compassion satisfaction alongside mild depressive and anxiety symptoms, with burnout and STS positively associated with both symptom domains, avoidant coping associated with higher symptoms, and self-care associated with lower symptoms.
Key Findings
Results
DV service professionals reported moderate levels of burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and compassion satisfaction, along with mild depressive and generalised anxiety symptoms.
Sample consisted of 251 Portuguese domestic violence service professionals
Measures used included ProQOL-5 for burnout, STS, and compassion satisfaction
PHQ-9 was used to assess depressive symptoms and GAD-7 for generalised anxiety symptoms
Symptom levels were characterised as 'mild' for both depression and anxiety domains
Results
Burnout and secondary traumatic stress were positively associated with both depressive and generalised anxiety symptoms across correlations and regression analyses.
Associations were identified across both correlational and hierarchical regression analyses
Both burnout and STS showed consistent positive relationships with PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores
The hierarchical regressions explained 61.7% of variance in PHQ-9 scores at Step 2
The hierarchical regressions explained 54.9% of variance in GAD-7 scores at Step 2
Results
Avoidant coping was associated with higher depressive and anxiety symptom levels among DV professionals.
The Brief COPE was scored using higher-order domains: avoidant, self-sufficient, and socially supported coping
Avoidant coping aligned with higher symptoms across both correlational and regression analyses
One significant interaction term was identified: Burnout × Avoidant coping for generalised anxiety symptoms
This interaction suggested 'the positive association between burnout and generalised anxiety symptoms may be stronger at higher levels of avoidant coping'
Results
Self-care capacity was associated with lower levels of depressive and generalised anxiety symptoms.
Self-care was measured using the EACAC (self-care capacity scale)
Self-care aligned with lower symptoms across both correlational and regression analyses
The association was observed for both PHQ-9 and GAD-7 outcomes
Authors note findings 'motivate longitudinal and intervention research to test causal leverage and evaluate whether targeting avoidance and routine self-care can improve mental-health outcomes'
Results
Evidence for moderation by coping strategies and self-care on the burnout/STS–symptom relationships was limited and did not reach conventional statistical significance at the block level.
Interaction terms between burnout, STS, and theoretically selected coping and self-care variables were entered at Step 3 of hierarchical regressions
The interaction block 'did not reach conventional significance for either outcome'
Only one individual interaction term—Burnout × Avoidant coping—was significant, specifically for generalised anxiety symptoms
Authors describe moderation evidence as 'limited and exploratory'
Methods
The study used a three-step hierarchical regression design to assess direct associations and moderation effects of coping and self-care on mental health outcomes.
Step 3 included interaction terms between burnout, STS, and theoretically selected coping and self-care variables to test moderation
Analyses comprised both correlations and hierarchical regressions
Instruments included ProQOL-5, PHQ-9, GAD-7, Brief COPE, and EACAC
Sample was n = 251 Portuguese DV-service professionals
What This Means
This research suggests that people who work professionally with domestic violence survivors face notable mental health challenges. Among 251 Portuguese DV service workers studied, researchers found moderate levels of job-related burnout and secondary traumatic stress — the emotional toll of repeatedly hearing about others' trauma — alongside mild symptoms of depression and anxiety. Workers who reported higher burnout and secondary traumatic stress also tended to report worse mental health symptoms, while those who engaged more in self-care practices tended to report fewer symptoms.
The study also found that how workers cope with stress matters. Those who used avoidant coping strategies — such as avoiding thinking about problems or disengaging emotionally — tended to have higher symptom levels. There was also a suggestion that avoidant coping may amplify the relationship between burnout and anxiety, meaning the combination of high burnout and high avoidance could be particularly harmful. However, the researchers caution that the evidence for these interaction effects was limited and should be considered exploratory rather than conclusive.
This research suggests that DV service organizations may benefit from paying closer attention to the mental health of their staff, particularly around preventing burnout and secondary traumatic stress. The findings point toward potentially useful targets for workplace support programs — specifically encouraging self-care habits and reducing reliance on avoidant coping — though the authors emphasize that longitudinal studies and intervention trials are needed before firm conclusions about cause and effect can be drawn.
Ferreira E, Monteiro R, Borges J, Barros S, Oliveira C, Salafranca-Alves M, et al.. (2026). Mental Health, Coping Strategies and Self-Care Practices Among Professionals Who Work With People Who Experience or Have Experienced Domestic Violence: A Quantitative Study.. Scandinavian journal of caring sciences. https://doi.org/10.1111/scs.70264