Internal Structure of the Secondary Traumatic Stress Questionnaire in Brazil

Secondary Traumatic Stress is characterized by a set of symptoms and behaviors that manifest themselves after the indirect exposure to the trauma. Professionals caring for traumatized people are susceptible to the disorder. This study examined the internal structure of the Brazilian version of the Cuestionario de Estrés Traumático Secundario. 624 health professionals participated, accessing the online questionnaire. To perform the factorial analysis, the sample was divided into two groups. In the exploratory analysis, 12 components were retained, with factorial loads between 0.312 and 0.999. The confirmatory analysis revealed a twelve-factor model for 50 items provided the best possible fit for the data (RMSEA = 0.044; CI = 10% -90%; CFI = 0.949; TLI = 0.904). However, at the end of the data discussion, 48 items remained in the model, and the overall internal consistency index of the model was 0.91. These twelve factors were distributed on four scales (Background, Secondary Trauma Syndrome, Personality and Consequences), with relatively low psychometric indices and a new organization of the items on the QETS scales in contrast to the theoretical framework in the the original instrument. It is suggested that new psychometric studies analyze the scales of the questionnaire separately and investigate other professional categories, especially in the area of emergency services and comparative studies with clinical samples.